Now that the holidays are over, there is no getting around the fact that there is still a long winter to get through. Even in a pandemic, planning for holidays was a distraction from the fact that we are mostly still stuck at home, missing close contact with family and friends.

Now, though, I fear that even for those of us who are more naturally optimistic and flexible, the winter might get long. So, here are nine ideas for managing hard days to prevent hard weeks.

Take Time for Yourself

Even if you are holed up together with someone(s) you love, at times you need to be alone. Don’t feel guilty if you need some space.

Even if you are in a small space, you can lock the bathroom door and indulge in a warm, soak-y bath. Or put headphones on to drown out the family noise for a bit. Or take a walk around the block unattended.

Read a Great Book

Reread a classic, maybe? Or download a recent title that you are interested in. I inadvertently signed up for an audio book service and before I canceled it, I downloaded a few books.

I wasn’t sure I would enjoy listening to a book, being a page turner. As it turns out, listening to a good book is better than trying to find something edifying on the radio when I am driving!

Watch a Funny Movie

I usually tend towards drama and action, but laughter is good for the soul. In our house, what is funny to one is not always humorous to another, but the three of us (husband, Joel, adult son who has Down Syndrome, and myself) found ourselves laughing out loud while watching the Christmas Chronicles.

It was fun and lightened the mood. Joel very much has enjoyed the Andy Griffith Show and even though it is definitely not PC by today’s standards, we find ourselves laughing at Barney’s antics or Opie’s comments.

Send a Letter to Someone You Appreciate

Instead of feeling isolated, reach out. I have had a practice that if someone comes to mind in a special memory, I reach out to tell them.

Sometimes, I write a letter and snail mail it, or I might just send an email. A phone call works, too. Telling someone else how they have been special to you will make their day… and just might make yours, as well.

Seek Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration just happens. An idea comes out of the blue or a memory spurs action that has wonderful results. Other times, most, maybe, inspiration is the result of a search or research.

Google is such a grand source of information that can lead to inspiration. Give yourself some time to follow your curiosity on the Internet and see where it leads. Find a new recipe. Try a new hobby. Take a course online.

Listen to a Happy Song (and Sing Along)

It doesn’t matter how well you sing. It matters that you join in and that you enjoy making a joyful sound. Childhood favorites? Teen idol oldies? Silly camp songs? Find some songs that will make you smile.

Plan Something for the New Year

We were gifted a box of oyster mushrooms. Well, we’d never had them, so we had to search for what to do with them. But we loved them! Inspired by our taste buds, we researched how to grow them and found that it is possible on a small scale. Now we have four logs inoculated with mushrooms – shitake and oyster.

They take a looong time to “bloom,” so we can look forward to the fruit of our labor next summer/fall and that gives us hope on several levels. We also were just given some interesting root vegetables that were locally grown. We will try them and see about planting our favorites this year.

Write About How You Feel

I have been a journal keeper for the past 40 years. I have always written in my journal about major life lessons so I could return to them to remember accurately. They were super helpful in writing my first book, Which Old Woman Will You Be?,and so are they now, as I work on my second book.

I have less to record now as my life has slowed and evened out, but I make myself continue to make time to write in my journal. I know that I will return to what I record to remember accurately what we are now experiencing. Writing how I feel during this challenging pandemic helps me now and will help in the future as I recall.

Remember That Seasons Change (and So Will You)

We didn’t know in March 2020 that we would still be restricted 10 months later. But we made it through spring when the birds returned and the garden got planted and the trees leafed out.

Then, we enjoyed summer when the garden grew and the trees gave shade and birds had baby birds learning to fly.

Fall came and we saw birds leave on their migratory routes and we harvested the last of the tomatoes and watched the trees’ leaves change to vibrant reds and yellows and oranges.

Now, winter is here. The trees are bare. The birds that stayed visit our feeders, especially on snowy days. The garden sits dormant.

But the solstice has passed, so the days are slowly getting longer. We have plenty of split wood for the fireplace that is cozy and warm. We know that spring will come and the bare trees will leaf out, and the seeds we’ve ordered will arrive and be planted. Soon, we will clean out the bird houses to be ready for the next generation.

We’ll make it through this just as we have made it through the past 10 months. With intention and purpose, even if tempted to succumb to the dark and dreary cold of winter, we can make it through with grace and hope and be stronger as a result.

Have you stumbled into gloomy days? What do you do to get out of the blues? Are there activities specific for your climate that you particularly like? Please share in the comments below.

Usually, we look to Black Friday for a brand’s biggest sale of the year but Lush does things differently. On Black Friday, the retailer rolls out new products as part of the Green Friday campaign. The UK-based company’s big sale is on Boxing Day instead, which starts the day after Christmas. Lush’s Boxing Day sale for 2020 is its only big sale of the year and trust us—it’s worth the wait. 

Get 50 percent off on selected items (look for the items with the ’50 percent off’ tag online or in-store). As products fly off the shelves—and virtual shelves—Lush will continue to restock so you’ll want to check back. Holiday products and gift sets are included in the half-off sale, of course, as well as non-seasonal items like soap, shower goodies, fragrance, skincare and haircare.

Need some last-minute gifts? Here’s your chance to grab them at a discount. But don’t forget to pick up some self-care items for yourself, too. The holidays might look a little different this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own celebration.

The Lush Boxing Day sale starts on December 26. Check out a few must-haves, below.

Lush.

Show Showers Gift Set

Be set with shower gel for the year, with yummy Sleepy, Yog Nog and Roasting Chestnuts on an Open Fire scents.

Lush.

Veganese Conditioner

This lightweight vegan conditioner is perfect for anyone with fine hair, including curls.

Lush.

Clean & Calm Hand Care Kit

Get your dry hands in check with hydrating 13 Soap Unlucky For Dirt and Sleepy soap, Dream Cream lotion, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter and Tiny Hands Hands Serum.

Lush.

Jingle Bells Bath Bomb

This festive bath bomb has a gentle orange-patchouli scent.

Lush.

Once Upon a Time Body Lotion

Hydrate your body with murumuru butter and jojoba oil.

Usually, we look to Black Friday for a brand’s biggest sale of the year but Lush does things differently. On Black Friday, the retailer rolls out new products as part of the Green Friday campaign. The UK-based company’s big sale is on Boxing Day instead, which starts the day after Christmas. Lush’s Boxing Day sale for 2020 is its only big sale of the year and trust us—it’s worth the wait. 

Get 50 percent off on selected items (look for the items with the ’50 percent off’ tag online or in-store). As products fly off the shelves—and virtual shelves—Lush will continue to restock so you’ll want to check back. Holiday products and gift sets are included in the half-off sale, of course, as well as non-seasonal items like soap, shower goodies, fragrance, skincare and haircare.

Need some last-minute gifts? Here’s your chance to grab them at a discount. But don’t forget to pick up some self-care items for yourself, too. The holidays might look a little different this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own celebration.

The Lush Boxing Day sale starts on December 26. Check out a few must-haves, below.

Lush.

Show Showers Gift Set

Be set with shower gel for the year, with yummy Sleepy, Yog Nog and Roasting Chestnuts on an Open Fire scents.

Lush.

Veganese Conditioner

This lightweight vegan conditioner is perfect for anyone with fine hair, including curls.

Lush.

Clean & Calm Hand Care Kit

Get your dry hands in check with hydrating 13 Soap Unlucky For Dirt and Sleepy soap, Dream Cream lotion, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter and Tiny Hands Hands Serum.

Lush.

Jingle Bells Bath Bomb

This festive bath bomb has a gentle orange-patchouli scent.

Lush.

Once Upon a Time Body Lotion

Hydrate your body with murumuru butter and jojoba oil.

When we move from one home to another, we anticipate a learning curve. We expect that waking up those first few days will feel strange in that unfamiliar room, even if it’s in the same bed. We know we’ll have to set up yet one more kitchen.

If the relocation’s purpose is to be near children or grandchildren, we look forward to more active involvement in each other’s lives. If we’ve moved to improve our weather, we might have to swap out our wardrobe. We assume we’ll get to know our neighbors and make new friends.

Moving Home

When I recently migrated from the Midwest to Florida, I figured in all of that change. But there’s one thing I didn’t quite see coming after residing 36 years in the same house. With different living space, I had to rethink every ordinary habit.

Remember when masks first became a thing? You had to establish a place to keep them so you could get to one quickly before you left the house. Was that in a drawer or on a shelf? Did you stack the masks on a tray, hang them on hooks or throw them on a counter?

Did you don the mask before you left the house so you could check the mirror, or did you grab and go, waiting until you spied another human before fitting the straps from ear to ear? You probably had additional masks stashed in your car, purse, and coat pockets.

I’ve been facing those types of decisions for every single item I own, and let me tell you: it’s exhausting. And on top of choreographing movement within my indoor geography, there’s the entire outdoors. I’m taking not only a new route to the grocery store but becoming acquainted with a different grocery chain altogether.

Truly Starting Over

Since I was starting anew, why try to replicate what went where and in what order I did things? I wanted to determine what should go where and in what order I should do things.

The habits I formed and the way I navigated my spaces in my 30s and 40s may not work as well in my 60s. Bending and reaching aren’t quite as easy, and there are only two of us living in this house – no small children to consider or teens to give input.

So, I have reconsidered everything from what to keep in my desk drawers to where I, the night owl in my partnership, should watch low-volume TV in the wee hours.

Like many challenges, this one has its benefits once you get through it. New patterns exercise the brain, plus years of ingrained habits and resistance to change can keep you from exploring methods that turn out to be more pleasant or efficient.

The Two Drawers

For example, in my last house I dedicated the prime real estate of a kitchen drawer to nail polishes and other manicure necessities, which I probably began doing when the first of my three daughters entered her teens.

This drawer sat above a larger one that was home to wrapping paper, bows and ribbons – supplies I wanted to keep at easy reach for the constant stream of birthday parties the kids attended, along with various other occasions that required gifts.

By the time I moved, both drawers looked much the same as they had for 30 years, even though these needs could no longer justify a claim to such prominent space. In my new home, I’m stocking just a few shades of nail polish in the bathroom and storing a roll or two of wrapping paper in a back room closet.

New Layout

I’m discovering that much of the change is driven by the layout of my new space. So many large rugs, so few big rooms! And our current house lacks a linen closet.

My daughter pointed out that we don’t really need one anyway – we’re as much hotel as house now. Since the extra bedrooms are for visitors, even when they’re family members, she suggested that we keep each room’s linens in that room’s closet. Makes sense!

With a living room much smaller than our last one, the piano just didn’t fit. So, my office has become home to the piano, and the unexpected result is that now I actually sit down and play. In the living room in our other house, the piano seemed invisible and sat idle almost all the time.

New Beginnings, New Decisions

After I unload each box and determine where the objects should go, maybe my decisions will be permanent and maybe they won’t. Gradually, getting used to living in this house, I may find that I made mistakes.

I’m especially shaky on spots for books, mirrors, artwork, and framed photos. And if anyone has ideas for where to put four somewhat tacky and altogether creepy harlequin dolls we displayed in our previous foyer wall niche, I’m listening!

Have you recently moved to a new home? What were your reasons? What’s different in this new home from your old one? Are you arranging your things as you did before or in new ways? Please share your strategy!

Twice a year, Bath & Body Works pulls out all the stops and discounts holiday and everyday favorites up to 75 percent off, which new discounts throughout the week. The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale for holiday 2020 is no different—actually, it might be even better. We’ve got the details on all the goods so you can game-plan your shopping trip.

Of course, deals will be online as well as in-store so if you feel safer shopping from your couch, you can still stock up on Bath & Body Works favorites. Now’s the chance to score the beloved holiday fragrances before they’re gone (until next year), as well as throwbacks including Secret Wonderland, Honeysuckle and Sensual Amber brought back just for this sale. Christmas body care will be just $4.95 and select Christmas 3-Wick Candles will be $11.95.

Source: Instagram

For the best of the best deals, you’ll want to dig for those 75 percent off products. These include body care, candles, hand soaps and tons of non-holiday items you’ll want to use all-year round. You’ll even be able to find some best-selling fall body scare scents and ones you haven’t smelled for months. It’s basically like a rummage sale where you never know exactly what you’ll find.

The sale begins Saturday, December 26. If you’re shopping in store, don’t forget your face mask and hand sanitizer and maybe even consider going on off hours to avoid the crowds. Or, there’s always delivery! As much as we want to shop and treat ourselves this year (we deserve it), we also have to stay safe too. Set your iCal and get ready to get your haul on. Then, have big New Year zoom with friends to share exactly what you got.