Are you suffering from January-itis? Have some winter magic on me!

I do not recall when I last felt so afflicted by a bout of  the above.

Daily – late afternoon lethargy as the weak North-Western daylight dims. Annoyance with the snowdrops for being so reluctant to appear this year. Stating to The Husband that I was a moany-faced old git, and not having him disagree. Fed up with those admirable space videos with shouty captions telling us how infinitesimally minute we are, therefore entirely without any right whatsoever to moan about anything at all.

Not too pleased...
Not too pleased…

Still coughing somewhat, a long six weeks after THE WORST COLD EVER. Totally, utterly bored with wondering what I would make for dinner today… and every other day for decades. Discovering, today, a Facebook file I never knew existed containing messages going back to December 2013. Cross with myself every day for not being more grateful for almost every way in which I am a deeply fortunate person.

And yet – I find myself always able to be responsive to those moments of magic that life weaves into the dreary tapestry of January.

Today, having my first ever Facebook videocall – all the way to India – with my brilliant nephew, a person whose insatiable curiosity about EVERYTHING and  bibliophiliac habits are probably worse than mine. It was just great to hear his fresh, first-hand impressions of that astonishing continent, and reminded me of the bright face of modern technology.

And – last Saturday – being granted the grace of capturing some images of pure winter magic as the snow, just for a day, turned our grubby rain-soaked city into wonderland. Enjoy some of those photos, as we cold and grumpy Northern people gradually turn our faces to the blessing of  Spring. As the poet Shelley so beautifully put it in his great Ode to the West Wind:

“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

Kibble Palace, winter twilight
Kibble Palace Glasgow UK: snowy winter twilight

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photos: Anne Whitaker 16.1.16

300 words + images copyright Anne Whitaker 2016
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

6 thoughts on “Are you suffering from January-itis? Have some winter magic on me!

  1. When I got to this, I laughed out loud: “Totally, utterly bored with wondering what I would make for dinner today… and every other day for decades.” My goodness, haven’t we all been there?

    But I love the snowman! Here’s my little snowman, made on my deck the year (2004 — eleven years ago!) we had a Christmas eve snow of some substance.

    An unexpected side benefit of you being a moany old git is that I learned a new word: “git.” Over here, a “git” isn’t a thing, but a command, or a verb, as in saying “Git!” to a dog that’s in the way, or saying, “I guess I’ll git along now.” Thus do our worlds expand. It’s another reason to celebrate modern technology, no?

    I hope the sun is shining there as brightly as it is here.

  2. It seems that Washington and some of the northern states are receiving the world’s share of snow this weekend…up to two feet expected in some areas! I haven’t been able to snowshoe yet this year due to lack of snow and the canal is not yet safe enough for skating…plenty of other activities to keep me busy however while I wait for “snow”!

  3. And here is the person who sent that message in 2013 – thank goodness we remain friends in reality if not on Facebook. lots of love Jane

    1. Aha! I am tracking those manifestees, one by one… Thanks for identifying yourself, Jane! I do believe, though, that we have in fact spoken since 2013 … Just as well we weren’t relying on social media, then ! Xxx

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