10 Weeks of Winter
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
A journal style blog exploring the pleasure and enjoyment of winter.
recent posts
start from the beginning
First Post — 10 Weeks of Winter: An Introduction
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- 10 Weeks of Winter Project
- Christmas
- Cleaning and Clearing
- Coziness
- Creativity and Inspiration
- Health and Wellness
- Making Change
- Recipes
- Week 1
- Week 10
- Week 2
- Week 3
- Week 4
- Week 5
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Winter Food
- Winter Mood
- Writing
the author
Michelle is an American born Canadian resident of the Pacific Northwest, hobby writer, book lover, and generally of the autodidact polymath smattering of knowledge, skills, and interests.
Category: Winter Mood
Posts giving or discuss winter mood and ambience.
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When robins return… Spring comes early to the Pacific Northwest. We begin to see the pink bunches of plum tree blossoms, purple crocus heads, and yellow primulas by early February. It’s still winter, and snow and freezing temperatures remain with some likelihood in the forecast, but that doesn’t stop nature from its eager emergence. In…
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A winter highlight… It’s the last week of January and we’re on the cusp of light returning in more and more noticeable ways, but winter is still here and it will be cold outside for a while longer. To me, this means there’s so much more time for coziness! Coziness has to be one of…
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Silver winter magic… Pause before it slips away. Stay a moment in the place where the world is old and the world is new. Listen to the sound of wind and ice and the dampened quiet of snow. Listen closer to the music of growing roots, moaning caves, and crisp cries of winter creatures. Glinting…
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A winter treat… Besides snow, the best most wintery treat in the world is a steaming mug of hot chocolate. It’s the stuff of dreams and happiness to sip sweet creamy chocolate as the bitter cold winter day drifts by. I have been experimenting with brewing batches and mugs of hot chocolate for many years…
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Waiting for snow… This winter has been warm, with scarcely any frost let alone snow. It has been warm, and it has been wet. Yesterday graced us here in the Pacific Northwest with a clear blue sky. My neighbor and I went out for coffee, and she remarked that traffic resembled summer densities with everyone…
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Lingering in winter dark… I think some people feel about summer the way I feel about my bed in the morning, they want it to stay in it forever. There are places in the world for people who want an endless summer, like California. I don’t know of any places that offer an endless lie-in…
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Winter iconography… Winter reaches its full height of symbolism in the iconic creatures which occupy its landscape. Their increased visibility, resilience to the forbidding conditions, and characteristic temperaments and traits grant them almost supernatural powers. Their spirits embody the winter season and impart meaning through metaphors that can summon or amplify qualities we would like…
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Call of the cold… Howling wind blows across frozen icescapes raising a low moan between mountains and across the gaping mouths of caves. A primal instinct stirs. The raging salt sea beats a drum against docked ships at the edge of a barren shoreline. A daunting voyage calls. A herd of bison move imperceptibly into…
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A simple pleasure… A cup of tea is a simple pleasure. Fragrant steam enlivens the room while you sip warm delicious flavors of many kinds. Even the experience of making tea is a kind of calming pleasurable ritual. Putting on the water with the wooshes, clicks, and clinks offers a kind of cozy ASMR experience.…
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A winter palette… In parts of the world where winter denies us the sculptural beauty of ice and snow it grants us another kind of outdoor pleasure that can be cultivated into a rewarding winter experience: winter gardening. Here in the green and blue wet winter a temperate climate permits certain plants to showcase their…