Inspiration and "the Winter Madness"

I've meant to post for a few days now. I started February off pretty strong and was thinking that maybe I'd do yoga every day and post to my blog every day, for 28 days, and that I'd have a great leap into spring! Well... I've missed a few days with the yoga, and I've missed more than that with the blog.

I think the cold has something to do with it. That episode of 30 Rock a few weeks ago that talked about January's "Winter Madness" (also the name of the episode I think, if you head over to Hulu to watch it) was right on target. The cold, the gray, the damp... the constant swamp in our back yard and the fact that our painters can't get here to do the job because of the weather just add to it.

Last weekend was fabulous with the lovely snow and quiet, and the bright, crisp landscape... but then Monday came and traffic started up and the melt began and we had two or three days of gray blech. It's like New York preparing for a parade. Then the parade comes and it's so great and festive... then everyone goes home and the streets are just a wreck. It's like that but with wet slush.

Paige has said a number of times over the past week, "I hope we never have to live anywhere colder than this." And before you say that Durham is no Boston or Chicago... that's exactly what we're talking about. It's been cold, but it hasn't been as cold as it's been further up the coast, and we're glad for that! Because if the Winter Madness has taken us in quiet little 38-degree high Durham, imagine how Seasonally Affected we'd be somewhere else.

In happier news, I was pleased to find this post, How to be inspired every day, using my "Explore" feature in Google Reader. It's from a digital photography blog/website, but it talks about inspiration in a more holistic manner which I appreciate. I especially appreciate numbers 3, 4 and 9, respectively: Read biographies of artists that you admire, experiment, and look after yourself. Good ideas.