Not again:

We did have some mild weather.  Keep in mind a change in weather usually means swapping for something else.  We have a sunny day, but it is really, really cold.  Friday we had mild temperatures, but nearly zero visibility with all the snow.  Winnipeg just had its roads cleared of its ruts, only to have a fresh layer of snow to make driving all the more interesting. Once I mourned my car, now I feel glad to be rid of it in times like these.

People complain about the weather in Winnipeg.  Those who can book tickets to far off warm places.  Those of us, like me, with neither the time or the money at the moment try other ways to  get away from it all.  Right now I have a warm cup of coffee and Christmas decorations to put away.  Netflix, as if reading the minds of Canadians everywhere, just added a bunch of new shows to its lineup.

I just finished Season 2 of Wallander featuring the talented Kenneth Branagh in the lead role while the co-crown prince of Tumblr, Tom Hiddleston, plays a supporting role as Magnus Martinsson.  It’s one of those programs a viewer will find their favourite Brit, or Brits in this case, but stays for the taut storytelling as the mystery unwind itself at a leisurely pace. Oh, and there’s a reason why I call Tom Hiddleston the co-Crown Prince of Tumblr.  In a word-hair.  He once talked about his natural curls in an interview I don’t remember which one, but he describes it as ‘Gene-Wilder hair.’  I call it a ‘British Afro’.

Take him and this other curly-haired bloke:

Voila!  A handy set of book ends.

I have milk in the house for tea and coffee.  I have eggs and veggies for an omelet.  I also have lots and lots of soup.  I have loads of books to space between the programming on the television.  Add something productive like laundry, and I will do just fine.

Until tomorrow…

This windchill warming will carry over into the wee, small hours I take the bus.  Try getting up for that, in the dark, despite intellectually knowing more light is coming.  During January and February it is an endurance contest.  Scratch that…it is a battle of wits with you against the Canadian elements.  (Please feel free to substitute the cold elements one feels familiar with like Minnesota.)

In my case I wake up and it is dark.  I go home and it is dark.  (Notice a theme here?)  Forget keeping my hair neat with my hood pulled up, my mouth covered, making me look like an overstuffed ninja.

Don’t forget ‘Blue Monday’ is coming up.  I know it is pseudoscience, but some time in January the cold and the post-Christmas hang over hits people like a ton of bricks.  This year Blue Monday falls on January 20th.  The credit card bills come due, money seems like dust in the bank account, and it is always cold and never Christmas to borrow a phrase from the Narnia series.

Luckily I also plan to catch up with people in this cold weather as a way to get out of the house.  (Some friends reading this blog are quietly saying get your ass in gear, Fatima, and email me!) I have a feeling these same people, like the people in your lives, need to get out too.  Bundle up, go for a movie, or meet at the pub.  (We have those in Winnipeg too.)

Netflix just announced The Immortals starring Henry Cavil will now stream on Netflix. Luke Evans also co-stars in this production as one of the Greek Gods. I love sword-and-sandal epics; All men are in short tunics if they are in anything at all. If that’s not your thing Netflix just posted the Tom Hardy version of Wuthering Heights.  In geek-speak Bane co-stars with Rick Grimes in a tale of passion set in the bleak, Yorkshire Moors.  I know a Bronte fan who would love to see this.

It does not matter how one deals with Winter here in Winnipeg, or Minnesota, or England only the mind-set to take it on.  Albert Camus meant something else, but I think it applies to dealing with weather, and those complaining about it, when he wrote:

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

Find your summer and hang on.