As we all know, the months of February and March – “Farch” – can be a particularly dreary time of year. Sunk in the trough between the excitement of the winter holiday season and the first rejuvenating signs of Spring, it is not uncommon to find oneself experiencing heavy duty doldrums whilst travelling through this bleak temporal landscape.
It needn’t be so, however. Put your mind to it, and you’ll soon see it’s possible to engage in a wide variety of fun and stimulating leisure activities that will contribute to a memorable first quarter of the year.
The following are just a few examples – I’m sure you can come up with many more of your own.
1. Take advantage of “indoors weather” to complete some of those nagging household projects that you’ve been putting off. Interior painting and decorating, kitchen renovations, and closet reorganizing are all good bets. For my part, I recently mail-ordered a Sea Monkeys growing kit, and am in the process of cleaning out a goldfish bowl to accommodate them.
2. How about having a group of friends over for a “games night”? For added interest, remember to think “outside the box” here. Parcheesi, Yahtzee and Twister are enjoyable possibilities – but with a few nails, a quart or two of shellac, and some two-by-fours you can easily convert that seldom-used basement storage room or workshop into a makeshift jai alai court.
3. Explore new outdoor winter activities. Have you ever, for instance, considered the exciting sport of biathlon? Simply bundle up the family, grab some skis and high-calibre firearms, and head out into the woods for a fun and memorable afternoon. Or how about ice fishing? Despite what many “experts” will tell you, this is a sport that requires very little in the way of specialized equipment, or even common sense. Attach a length of rope to a sturdy metal bucket, bring along a sledgehammer, head to the local slough in sub-zero weather, and you’ll soon be hauling in as many chunks of ice as you could possibly want.
4. Organize a “winter theme” getaway. A flat of beer, some spoiled bean dip, an unreliable means of transport, and a handful of friends, for instance, is all that it takes to enact your own version of the Franklin Expedition.
5. Romantic dinners at home. Nothing elaborate is required. Gather together a bottle of Creme-de-Menthe, a Grand Funk Railroad eight-track, some defrosted fugu, and that special someone to enjoy them with, and you’ll soon find yourself regretting that the nights are getting shorter.
Remember, all it takes is a little planning and imagination, and you’ll be Farching happily into Spring.
