Read seed catalogues and chit-chat here!!!

Nancy.

Read, read, read and knit and crochet and spend lots of time on the internet...and take care of my new milk cow and her calf.

I asked DH recently how on earth I spent last winter (no cow)and he couldn't remember. I know I knitted a afghan...will be sewing it together soon. Somehow, the days go by.

If we didn't have winter, I would never catch up on anything else in my life. I'm grateful for the break. It's awfully pretty though!

It's never over, in fact, it's just beginning ... haven't you seen those tiny hellebore buds barely visible above the earth? And the tiny shoots on some of the garlic and other bulbs?

Seriously, though, I hear you ... just don't hit that point until late January. Perhaps your being two zones colder corresponds with the feeling setting in two months earlier?

A few years ago I saw the Harbor Freight greenhouse discussed on the GH forum, saw the $299 sale price and thought, "How can I not?". So now the end of one growing season is the beginning of another. It's tiny and I wish I had a bigger one, but there's no better place on a cold but sunny winter day. A great place to continue to play in the dirt through the coldest months, I always make sure to leave room for a chair in there for relaxing and even my non-gardening husband disappears out there sometimes ... with a book and a cup of coffee, which I've been known to do myself. At this point - and especially in February - I'd give up my second bathroom before I'd give up my little greenhouse.

Glad to see the mention of needlework, though. I haven't done any in ages and this might be a good time to pick it up again, as I'll be recuperating from surgery through December.

I try to rest. Clean house more often, since I'm stuck inside most of the time; but an old house can close in on you sometimes. And you see all these walls that need painted,ect. ect...

While I dearly love my garden and the process of gardening I do have other interests as many of you do. I read, play on the computer, knit, crochet, and craft among other things. We had snow last week altho it's now gone so the plants are sleeping soundly and we're into that late fall color scheme of browns, dull yellows, and muted greens. We are planning to leave this cold climate for a warmer one for a few months this winter. I'm sure I'll love warmer weather altho I think I'll miss the snow a little and not like the insects at all!

At the top of my list of things to do is to visit as many available gardens as possible down south. And I'm sure I'll still visit every gardening site I can find on the 'net. Can't be away from a true love for long.

We're still in fall and winter doesn't usually stop gardening until January. I'm expecting some bareroot roses for planting next week, then pruning my roses, then seed catalogs, etc. I usually get the seasonal blues in January/February when the real cold sets in. But I have other hobbies like playing music, internet, and reading to pass the time.

I am still raking leaves and more leaves. The 2 little girls next door - 5 & 7 - have decided that helping me is FUN!!! So they come over right after school, with two rakes, ready to go!! I am the childless one, so am amazed how energizing these 2 are for me!! We are finally get towards the end of the leaves. Their Dad came over to get them tonight for dinner, and quietly said, if they're driving you crazy, just send them home! I just said that I hoped that the child labour laws didn't cover this!!!! lol! I just hope that the snow holds off till I get the leaves off of the lawn.

Nancy.

I am sad about winter being here, because the summer went by too quickly for me. Spring was late in coming, and I was really having fun with all my planting. My neighbors across the street were having fun noticing, and saying to each other, "There's Sue, planting more flowers!" Well, now, I've discovered blogging, and it's keeping me away from my housework. I'm loving it, and getting to see what others are up to in warmer places.

Nancy, it's cool that you are enjoying the company of your neighbor girls.
Sue

I crochet, read, sew, make gifts for Christmas and decorate the house.
I take pictures of my yard, my pets and my family.
I watched the leaves change colors and soon snow will fall outside my windows. I can marvel at the sheer beauty of the world in fall & winter.
I feed the wild birds and take care of my chickens and other critters.
I build snowmen when it snows and have snowball fights with anyone willing.
I go for short, brisk walks.
I listen to music and watch movies.
In January, the seed catalogs start to arrive in the mail. I love to look through them, although I will likely never be able to buy anything in them.
In January I start my broccoli, cabbages, tomatoes and peppers for the coming growing season and tend my plants out int he greenhouse.
I love to crochet and can sit and do that while I keep up with political news (I am a political junkie).
I write letters and send packages of stuff to my grandkids.
I work on genealogy and communicate with friends and family all over the world via email and chat.
I work on quilts.
I cook and bake goods for my family.
I stay busy and enjoy the stillness and peace of winter.
I take cozy naps on the sofa with my dogs and cats.
I pop popcorn and make hot cocoa.
When I am not feeling very well, I can stay in bed and pull the covers up over my head and hibernate...with my dogs and cats (grin).
I clean out closets and cupboards I didn't keep up with in the summer. I can always find things to do.
I HAVE to stay busy, even if I am confined to a chair or to bed.
Enjoy each season as it comes.
~ Annie

I love to read and watch movies. But mostly I take college courses at night. I got my Associates degree last spring this way. Going for a Bachelors degree next--that is if I don't get accepted into nursing school. I have been giving some thought to volunteering at our local animal shelter because, for a variety of reasons, I am unable to replace our family dog we had to put down two ywars ago. Somehow, betta fish are just not the same. I also would like to teach English as a second language to some Somalian families in our school district--that's if my next class does not have too much homework. Also, my house is desperate for a good spring cleaning.

Pat

Nancy - Can I have your neighbor kids talk to my kids? ;) My kids each helped rake for about 5 minutes each, then got bored.

I still have to finish my fall clean-up, so I'm not quite done with the season yet. I usually do my last bit of cleanup right after Thanksgiving. Then, it is time to do all the holiday stuff. My rule for myself is that I don't get to start the next round of garden planning until January, so I can deal with the holiday stuff!

The hard part is reading about everyone's spring gardens while mine is still covered in snow, lol. At least this year I will have daffodils again.

It's time to get out the crochet hooks and knitting needles, The girls in the family love scarfs so I usually hit the yarn store to see what's the new rage in patterns and yarns.

I'm trying to catalog our DVD library, I guess you could call it that as we've got quite a few.

Time to get the rest of the berries out of the freezer, get the jam made.

Thinking about repainting the bathroom and there are some built in shelves in the living room I hate (use to be a doorway) I'm thinking about ripping out and re-plastering the wall. I should have earned a diploma by now for ripping things out and redoing in this old house, now if I can only find the crowbar I think it's hidden LOL.

Annette

I don't know how you cope with such long cold Winters. I get depressed already when the clocks go back in October. I don't know how lucky I am. It's a bit drizzly here but walking to work is still pleasant even if I do require a coat and gloves now. There are lots of things still in bloom. Starting from my house I passed a few ratty geraniums, winter jasmine, violas, hardy fuchsias, mushy chrysanthemums, nerines, a few roses, campanulas, rudbeckias, gauras, hypericums, corydalis lutea, Japanese anemones, viburnums, some left over clematis, schyzostylus, helianthus at which point I lost count. Everything is damp and Autumnal but still going. There are still alot of leaves on the trees, some have not even turned much yet. My lemon tree is still outside but I have to watch each evening to see if the sky is clear and we are going to have a frost. Too cold and it will have to come inside. Meanwhile the daffodils in the window boxes have just appeared. Gardening never really stops over here. It just slows down and gets soggy!

Annette my Bf and I went to the Third World Bazaar last weekend - we saw just the thing for you to knit or crochet - Now I would call it a snood, but, I have looked this up to be sure. Those online to not look like my idea. This could be worn as a touque, a head/neck warmer, or a full blown hat and neck warmer. The closest I saw to it was called a camelot hat! It was made with that funky, feathery yarn that has been around the last couple of years. I know you are crafty.

Irene - it is not cool to help at your own house!!! It is only cool at the neighbours ! lol!!

Oh Flora, don't be bragging!!! lol! Besides, if it didn't snow, my house would never get cleaned and/or renovated!!! btw, we want pics when you daffs bloom - just to depress us even more ;-))

Sweet Annie - I'm with you on the couch, with the cats, a wool blankey and a gardening catalogue, which I should have soon - oh yes, and a roaring fire!!

Cheers, All.

I do handquilting. Long process, enough to last through winter.
I do beading like making jewelry.
Start my wintersowing activities.
Seed exchanges
Trying out new recipes
Going to exotic restaurants to try new cuisines. (The spicier the better when it comes to winter)
catch up on reading
prepare plans for next year's garden.

These are just a few things I intend to do this winter.

I've located crochet hooks. If I can find where I stored the fluffy yarn, I have been thinking about making a scarf similar to what you described, Nancy.

We've remodeled the dog hut for Inky, who finally found his way home, beaten and battered, but still purring. We thought neutering would make him a homebody -- apparently he had a few hormones left over after the surgery last Friday.

The dog hut, which was an open-sided shelter inside the carport, now has a door with a small cat opening, a light bulb and lots of warm blankets. The wiring was a major event, through conduit to an outlet, so kitty can't chew the wires. As soon as the sun went down, Inky went inside his new abode.

DH located a Coleman heater we used to use for camping to try in the greenhouse. The electric heater didn't keep it quite as warm as I'd hoped, barely above freezing the other night when the temps dipped into the mid 20s.

We followed our afternoon treat of sugar-free ice cream with a mug of Chai tea. Ianna is right about spicy.

Nell