Winter joy list

Fun activities for the current season

Here in Inverness, we are in the midst of winter. We’ve recently come through the best part of 2 weeks of thick snow and ice, which was both beautiful and disruptive all at once. I love how magical our garden looks in the snow, and walking to and from work was a treat with the crunching of my boots on the snowy ground. Having said that, after the first week was over, I found myself pining to go for a run, but the pavements were too treacherous. Several people couldn’t make it to work because they were snowed in, which created a stressful situation of needing to find cover short notice. When it suddenly all vanished over the course of 12 hours last weekend, I have to admit to a sigh of relief.

It’s now cold and damp; dreich is the technical term, meaning dreary, bleak and miserable. I’m not one to hate on winter personally, I find joy in all the seasons, but it is hard sometimes as a night shift worker. I’m often sleeping through the short hours of daylight, meaning I wake in the dark, go to work in the dark, and come home in the dark.

Here are some things I’m planning to do for joy between now and March. I’m trying to prioritise being outside, got to get that vitamin D!

Take Rosie on a 10km run

I haven’t run 10km in a while now, most of my runs are around 5-6km in length. 10km is a bit more of a stretch, and requires a little bit more planning in terms of route. I’m hoping to run a 10km later in the year with my bestie, so I’d like to do a test run, to see how easy or not I’ll find it at this point. It’ll be a good way to work out what training I’ll need to do over the spring and summer. Rosie and I recently explored the first part of the Great Glen Way, running up the hill overlooking the city to the NatureScot building. I can see this property from the window in the gym, and it’s satisfying to look at it now and know I could run there.

Take Badger on a solo adventure

Badger is a doughty old fellow, who is currently (long may it continue) in fine fettle. He has arthritis, so hobbles around the place, but is still keen to chase a ball and rag a toy. I worry that he’s been slightly ignored since we got Rosie, she’s such a whirlwind of energy and chaos, and came with her own special selection of behavioural issues, meaning old man Badge has taken somewhat of a back seat. Coupled with the months of stressful renovation work that took place last year, and none of the dogs really got the walks they deserve. I’d like to take Badger by himself to the beach or the woods, somewhere he can enjoy at his own pace. He loves being in the midst of the Labrador scrum, but can’t really keep up with them on a walk any more. A trip to the beach, to chase the ball and paddle his feet by himself, would be a real tonic.

Cast on Vest No. 1

I have the yarn and pattern picked out for my next knitting project, I just need to make time to sit down and cast it on. I wear a lot of t-shirts in my days off, and would like to start wearing the odd shirt for a bit of variety. I think a sweater vest in a neutral colour would help with this plan and be a useful addition to my wardrobe.

Top up the raised beds ready for the growing season

I didn’t see Daisy sneaking into the bottom right of this photo when I took it!

I’ve been waiting for a warmer day for this plan, and I think I’ll be waiting a while longer. I’ve been emptying the compost bins, which are really only half rotted down, to refill the raised beds. The soil level has fallen dramatically, so they need topped up and mulched before the start of the growing season. I’ll likely buy bagged compost for the final few inches of growing medium when the time comes, but in the meantime I would like to have the rest of the beds topped up and ready to go. I’ve got plenty of leaf mulch to cover the soil until the growing season finally gets under way in around April time.

Spend my Christmas vouchers

My hori hori knife saw a lot of action last season, it definitely needs a good clean and sharpen

I was very lucky to be gifted a couple of vouchers for Christmas, and would like to prioritise buying myself something beautiful and useful. One was for the amazing Japanese garden tools company Niwaki - I’m thinking of treating myself to some secateurs and a tool to clean blades. The other was a generic online shopping voucher, the type you can use for lots of different companies. I’m thinking of using this to buy some blocking combs and drying mats, to allow me to block my knitwear properly. I’ve only ever used the towel and pins method, but having seen Emma use blocking combs on the Woolly Mammoth YouTube channel, I’ve decided it’s time to invest in some proper combs.

That feels like a nice little list to be getting on with, a good balance of indoor and outdoor activities. I’m writing this beside the stove, with the lights down low and a candle on in the background. It feels very wintery and cosy, wearing my newly finished Sweater No. 18. It’s a good time to lean into the season, making the most of these dark, cold winter days.