Comments on: 7 Frugal Ways to Beat the Winter “Blahs”

By: heather

heather — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:41:01 +0000

@Danielle- Yeah, Michigan winters are the worst! I’m still dreaming of rain and barefeet and tulips.

If you’re anywhere close to Ann Arbor, going to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens is pure bliss. It’s all indoors, and they keep it around 70-80 degrees in there. It’s like a rainforest (they even have waterfalls)! My husband and I love to go for a winter pick-me-up.

Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/

By: Danielle@Newlyweds Paradise

Danielle@Newlyweds Paradise — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:57:00 +0000

Ugh…I live in Michigan. On Saturday, my husband and myself were completely bored, yet we were busy all day. The same thing happened yesterday. So I considered that our winter blahs. I am going to use some of the tips you gave to see if they help us. Thanks

By: Jennie

Jennie — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:13:09 +0000

My suggestion? Walking around a greenhouse, it is warm, colorful, and fragrant-and if you don’t buy anything it’s free. I went to one today with beautiful orchids, bonsai trees and fountains, so nice!

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:45:10 +0000

I got my regular e-mail notices re the added comments. I think I told Heather a good year ago, that I thought she might be my niece who lives in Michigan – her name is Heather.

I was born in Battle Creek, MI – moved in and around the state over the years – ultimately before I moved away, I did a complete tour of both the lower and upper peninsula.

What I noticed is just what Heather mentioned; where there are sand dunes; visions of one of the Great Lakes, and a good wooded area of pines, there is ‘more to’ look at during the winter months.

I’ve traveled 48 of the 50 states; Colorado is a beautiful state, and I think that (again) is why I ended up in the western states (in 1980) – I could handle the rain in Seattle because of the mountains; the water – the scenery, and had it been as it often is in the state of Michigan, it can be a ‘dreary’ kind of rain and nothing much to look at if you take a ride outside, or look through your window.

After living where there are mountains and enormous trees with gorgeous lakes; oceans, and rivers, I’ve truly discovered that I ‘beat my blues’ (when they come) by going outside – in any weather, and enjoying the beauty of nature.

One thing I do miss – watching my birds in Michigan; I had 32 bird feeders on my 5 acres, and I do envy those who live in my home-state, because of the glorious selection of birds to feed and watch…………

So, we all have some place in nature where we can find the joy and beauty to overcome some of those days when we’re not feeling as chipper.

Happy New Year, Heather and your readers who always add interesting comments.

Diane

By: Doreen

Doreen — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:32:44 +0000

I liked all your ideas, I would add to the fish-oil section that Vitamin D-3 might also be of use. I live in a northern lattitude as well, and it can get pretty gloomy in Idaho if there’s not much snow. many folks show low levels of vit.d.
Fresh salmon is just as good, if you can find it.
Thanks for an interesting site.

By: heather

heather — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:27:58 +0000

@Mrs. Money- Do you think it could be because Colorado is prettier? I mean, I think winter would be easier to bear if you had beautiful mountains and rushing streams to look at and hike through. I’ve only ever spent winter in Michigan so I wouldn’t know, but I have often wondered if I would mind it less if I lived in a place like Montana.

@Heidi- I love bird watching, and it’s a great idea to go in winter time. They’re so much easier to see when the leaves are gone! I have several feeders outside my office windows (so I can monitor my daily battle with the locals squirrels too), but I really should make an effort to go out into the woods for some bird watching. That’s probably my biggest hurdle: making myself go out into the cold! Thanks for the great suggestion!

Hmmm…could be reCaptcha is sending me a message!

My code to enter this comment is: has guts

Ok, point taken…

By: heidi

heidi — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:03:06 +0000

Bird watching. It really helps to have warm clothes and either a park nearby or a decently vegetated yard – but seriously, it’s the best time of the year to learn to ID birds. Diversity is usually low, you get to recognize what’s common and as you learn to ID them faster/better/more frequently, suddenly it’s spring and there’s new stuff to learn. You can feed (or not) critters in your backyard, you can use binoculars (or not) or cameras (or not) or scopes (or not) or contact locals who can help get you started… Heck, helping out with Christmas Bird Counts (alas, the season is over now) is a great way to help others while learning a ton.

Or just watch. And don’t get entirely absorbed. Just enjoy =)

/ramble

By: Mrs. Money

Mrs. Money — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:54:01 +0000

I think I’m one of those peeps. It sucks. I can’t wait for spring. It’s weird- I think I got it when I lived in Michigan but when I moved to Colorado I was fine. I have no idea why!

By: Diane

Diane — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:24:37 +0000

If you go to this link, this will play 24/7 – the problem with the rain video is it stops at the end of the cycled time, and you have to start it over again. Here’s the link:

http://www.lime.com/files/meditation_room/water_loader.html

Then, layer on top of this link, this link: http://www.baby-to-sleep.com

I play both of them together – 24/7…..

If you join http://www.playlist.com (it’s 100% free and takes about 3 minutes to complete the sign-up), then search for music and sounds. Type in ‘Sounds of Nature’ into the search window; it will bring up crickets, thunder, rain, ocean waves, etc., and add them to your personal play-list, and this also will run 24/7 – so I have ALL THREE of them going during those gloomy days and even during the wonderful bright days.