1. make cartoon. cartoons are not that difficult to produce. mostly you need a camera. a subject. a basic knowledge of timing and movement, and a lot of time to put the puzzle together. and well, cabin fever affords that time. mindy and i began our foray into the world of cartoons while being snowed in a few years ago. we were bored to death, so we got out all the parts for my county fair installation and began shooting all the moving pieces in stop-action with my crappy little nikon. that parlayed into telling the other stories with the games and clay animals. then i decided that simple animated drawings would be a nice addition. it didn't take long to figure out, the main trick is to not move the camera. use a tripod.
2. plan your garden. for a couple of years now, since mindy's infamous anaphylaxis episode, we have been devoted to keeping a garden in our tiny house. and the dead of freezing winter is a great time to dream about spring. it is the first of february, so all the seed catalogs have begun arriving in mailboxes. mindy and i don't have much space to work with so we have to diligently plan our plantings and rotations to get the max out of our patio garden. but here in the winter, everything is going to be beautiful in the summer. there will be no root rot, not aphids, no white flies, or giant caterpillars. there will be giant tomatoes and sweet raspberries and blueberries. the peach tree with its brilliant pink flowers will soon be in bloom. and this black and white and grey light will soon turn back to color. ahhhh garden dreams.
3. risk game. risk is my favorite board game. i didn't learn to play until i was a young adult, but it can be a great way to spend hours at odds with the other people you live with. it helps beat cabin fever because it can last for days if you let it.
4. cook. most of us don't have time to play in the kitchen. if you're snowed in, go with it. get out the kitchen aid mixer and whip up something delicious. or experiment with some of your summer canned foods. the idea is that you have been afforded time to yourself/family that is normally not afforded. use it. food is one of the greatest things about living in a society. make something delicious. or gross, but just play.
5. leave. this is not always an easy option. if you live south of the ohio river, this is not an option for you at all. don't drive anywhere in the snow, you'll just end up with what happened in atl. but for those of us that live where it snows regularly, pack up the car and get to an airport. then get the hell outta dodge. my friends prefer to travel to florida or take a cruise when the weather turns to hibernation time. mindy and i prefer to hit the 'less' cold spots. NYC has always been one of our favorite winter destinations. it is super cheap to go in the winter, there are less tourists, and if you're lucky enough to be there while it is snowing, it is just magical. in the midwest when it snows the quiet is something that i always notice. in new york, quiet is something that does not exist. unless it is snowing. i walked to get bagels one morning in the snow in NYC. it was the only time i've ever been there that it felt like the city was sleeping. the streets were silent. the snow was beautiful. just avoid stepping anywhere near the edge of the sidewalks. you're bound to step in someone's dog shit.
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