A Dozen Free Ways To Spend An Endless Month

Or "how to endure January 67th."

I am Mozzie. Mozzie is me.

Hello, happy Monday! I wonder if you woke up today feeling as if it couldn’t possibly still be January and then looked at the date and - surprise! - it still was. I know I did. I really felt that we must at least have oozed somewhat into February but no. Still in the first month of our calendar and, if you’re from the 757, still experiencing grey weather in the high 40s - low 50s, give or take.

In the leftover bits of a party, a calendar month, or a packet of cookies, isn’t it easy to feel down and dull? Since my general rule in life is, “what goes down must bounce back up eventually,” I sometimes get a little wild and wooly at the bitter end. I want to force some action; to shake myself and the rest of it awake as I feel the sludgy sleepiness of prolonged boredom gripping me. Here then, is a list of Very Free Things to do today and any old day at the end of a slog. I added an exclamation mark to the end of each suggestion to wake you up in case you fall asleep halfway through reading. And if you have no interest in doing anything fun and just want to fall asleep and ride it out? I’ll see you after hibernation!

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1. Do a no-equipment workout on Youtube! I did this one today from MadFit! I didn’t feel cured but I felt a little less like a slug and that’s something. I was so sleepy that I didn’t feel like going to the gym, and a walk felt drippy, but I knew I had to move a little or I’d turn into a sort of house-mushroom on the spot.

2. Watch a thriller with a friend! There’s nothing less thrilling than the 67th day of a month, so watching a movie with some get up and go is better than another romantic comedy. I recommend Charade (1963) if you’re unable to segue from romcom to thriller without a little crossover. Doing it with a friend runs against the midwinter desire to clam up and away from society which only makes thing worse for you.

3. Lock your phone up somewhere! Scrolling makes the doldrums longer, and your guilt about feeling like a slug more intense. Get off that tiny glowing rectangle and you’ll probably feel marginally more alive within a matter of moments. I know I do!

4. Water your houseplants (and yourself)! Nobody is well-hydrated in January and probably that’s half the problem? There’s something really nice about being suddenly hydrated. You know those animal documentaries that show the Serengeti suddenly turning lush and green with a quick two-minute rain? That’s you on water.

5. Listen to some new (to you) music with a little boogie in it! Unfamiliar music? Yuck! But sometimes the problem with us on January 67th is that every thought in our heads has been thought before, every sensation sensed before, and that’s the whole trouble. Worth a try? I like to put on music while I’m cleaning.

6. Cook a dinner you haven’t memorized! Tonight I’m cooking a beef & broccoli sheet-pan dinner from a recipe my mom sent over. We don’t usually buy beef, and I thought it would be fun to surprise our tummies. (Also helps with my lazy threat to get takeout when I’m uninspired.) I’m hoping this is better than a long-awaited focaccia pizza recipe I followed on Friday that was just a profound disappointment.

7. Finish one thing you abandoned! In the best of times I’ve fully inspired all the time and excellent at starting things. Sometimes I finish those things but many times I lose or set them aside for the next burgeoning idea. Finishing something feels really good, though, so this week I picked up a cross-stitch mushroom pattern I was given a couple Christmases ago. This morning I finished it! It’s super cute, I feel accomplished, and it is no longer languishing in a corner of my “art cabinet.”

8. Sell or donate things you’re tired of looking at! Overconsumption is a big issue for most Americans, and sometimes the pressure of owning so many items stands in the way of being able to relax in our own homes. Gross. Gather those things up, list or donate them somewhere, and enjoy never having to look at them again. I’m in no way a minimalist, but I’ve learned to really enjoy a simplified list of things I keep. I would so much rather something be used and enjoyed in a new home than kept by me! In a sort of calm rampage I listed everything I meant to “take to the tailor” on Poshmark, and feel so much lighter.

9. Take time to make a fancy coffee! I’ve whittled down my caffeine/coffee consumption to only about three cups a week, so I’ve forgotten about the midday joy of taking the time to make a little iced latte as a treat. I won’t claim that homemade hot espresso drinks are the same quality as those you can buy (unless you own a fancy machine) but I will say there’s probably no reason for me to buy an iced latte out and about. They’re so easy to make at home!

10. Listen to a funny podcast on a walk! For this very specific genre, I recommend the Table Manners podcast with Lennie and Jessie Ware. This British mother & daughter duo cook for a variety of famous guests and have the best, most gossipy time. It’s full of good food, fun, and a little bawdy British humor. Love it to death. Podcast episodes are a great marker of a decent walk-length (usually about 45 minutes apiece) and when the weather and nature are both sort of uninteresting, having something to listen to can really bring color to an otherwise dull walkabout.

11. Do the dishes before bed! Look, I know you promise yourself that you’ll do them in the morning and they need to “soak” but there’s nothing more glum than waking up to a dishwasher that needs unloading, a sink full of dishes, and a kitchen that still smells vaguely of Thai curry and yesterday’s espresso grounds. Ever since pushing to do all the dishes each night, my mornings have been much more pleasant.

12. Open the windows for an hour! It’s a little raw and damp out, but until fresh air is moving through your house you don’t notice that the same air has been recirculating since October! When I walk into my house and smell fresh air, and it’s so different from the apparently not-fresh-air swimming around, I feel fresh hope rising up. It won’t be January forever. Promise.

See? I am Mozzie. I have adhered to the corner of my couch this month for extensive reading and sundry small naps.

Because food always helps, here are four of my favorite snacks for the “can’t-help-its” mood of extensive January! (A mood which is in no way helped by anyone going hungry, and is much aided by everyone being well-fed with nourishing, delicious snack choices):

• buttered sourdough toast with ricotta cheese and raspberry preserves

• “cookie dough” yogurt: Greek yogurt mixed with vanilla, nut butter, a splash of maple syrup, and some shavings of dark chocolate. I sometimes eat this with tart apple slices.

• cottage cheese with Trader Joe’s peaches in white grape juice (I know the texture-averse friends will shiver at this)

• rainbow carrot sticks with olives and hummus

I hope that this list helps lift your spirits a little! January has been a good month for me, but I’m tired of it. Working hard to live in the moment has aided its general success, but I’m ready for a fresh picture on the calendar page, and the short, up-and-doing month that is February. I can’t wait for growing weather! I’m so fond of the lengthening daylight. I’m eagerly looking forward to the first meeting I can make of a volunteer pollinator gardening group. Hang in there, pals! It won’t be long before we’re sharing all sort of inspiring, exciting ideas and pinging around the globe again!