The Yin and Yang of Seasons : Cabin Bliss.

The other day I was doing some thinking about Summer & Winter, how they are similar to the concept of Yin & Yang.  Interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn, in relation to each other.  They are not opposing forces, but complementary forces, that interact to form a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system. (Wikipedia)
In Minnesota, we get the full feel of that dynamic.
Summer in Minnesota is wonderful.  It's time to get exterior projects done.  Time for the lawn & gardens.  Time to explore our endless lakes, pick berries, and seek wildflowers.  Time to soak up the sun.  We tend to spend every minute of the nice weather outdoors enjoying it & getting those things done while we can.  It's busy.
But now the woods & garden are dormant (or currently filled with rifle hunters.)  The kayaks & bikes are put away, days are chilly & evenings dark.  Everything I love about the outdoors is on hold, redirecting me to all the things I love about the indoors.
During the middle months of the year, our living room almost never gets used.  Over the past weeks our family has been gathering more & more in the living room by a warm fire. We're physically closer as we go about reading, playing, & each doing our things.  It's nice. 
As Dame Edith Sitwell said, “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
And for me - it's a time for creating. 
With dreary-gray days, cold weather & less daylight.. I'm hunkering down with a creative to-do list a mile long.  While I use my camera so much more during the nicer months, the quiet time indoors allows more room for other kinds of creativity.

I picked up a pair of knitting needles recently.  I bought this yarn when visiting New Orleans' French Quarter a year or two ago.  Finally putting it to use, I decided I'm making a cowl.  I hadn't knitted since last winter.


I've been playing away on the piano.  I'm by no means an accomplished pianist.  (I wish I'd stuck with it as a kid.)  But I can play a handful of songs, and I've been teaching myself some new ones.  It's something I enjoy finding more time for. 

The above piano book, from 1945, is one of many recent thrift finds.
Throughout the past months I've been finding all kinds of treasures at garage sales & thrift stores.  Now I look forward to finding ways to use them all.  (I look forward to sharing, too.) 

My mind is thinking about how to better the use of our home at all times.  Nesting is in my nature. 
The other day I had an idea and started sketching...  

We're considering enclosing our front porch into a mudroom, and I'm thrilled with the possibilities.
Winter is also a wonderful time for indoor home improvement projects.  More to come on that, I hope.

I guess I'm experiencing the opposite of Cabin Fever.  Cabin Bliss?  I can't wait to read more good books & plug away at my set-aside-over-the-mild-months hobbies & to-do list.  I look forward to time cooped up with my ideas, my family, & my home.

Sharing with Simple Things Sunday and Macro Monday.