Within a few days, winter arrived early and in full force. We went from winter wonderland to snowed in. I built a cart to cover and mulch my beds, but then the snow came. We went for long walks in the winter wonderland before the snow storm snowed us in–and I couldn’t even get to class.

Why does this have to be so cold and so beautiful? It would be so much easier if it was either/or. But how can you not want to go outside when it looks like this? But let’s go back a few days to before the snow storm and start at the beginning.

My birthday is coming up, and my dad is giving me a garden cart. With full intention to mulch and cover my garden beds the next day, I set out to build it. I am very excited about this cart, but I’ll tell you all about it when I get to use it. It took more than an hour to get this thing together–not counting me having to run to the basement thrice.

I often get frustrated by packaging. This one was a pain to get the bolts out of. Literally. And gluing paper to plastic isn’t exactly good practice for recyclability, either. My tolerance for such nonsense is never very high, but even lower in winter.

My fingers were especially weak that day, so getting the little pins open for the wheels was a major struggle. Some of you have asked what’s “wrong” with me. I’ll answer that in detail next episode in a Q&A.

By the time, the cart was done, the snow had started to fall in thick flakes outside. A bit of snow wouldn’t stop me. I was intent to get those leaves and cardboard boxes onto the beds. A little snow turned into a thick cover of white on the world overnight.

The first day, the snow brought excitement. The sun was shining, and the world was hidden behind a layer of white. Both my husband and I immediately scheduled time over lunch to go outside. I ran circles with Pepper through the snow while my husband captured the winter wonderland.

Pepper is about as keen of cold as I am, so, um, not at all? I hate the cold. Seriously, I’d rather be sweating my behind off than put on a sweater.

But even I get tempted when the world is covered in glittering white. I even wore shoes, so I could stand around and watch the drone if needed. It was a beautiful walk. Even I had to admit that it was worth the cold–and the shoes.

The next morning, the first signs of what was to come were visible. A thick layer of white lay on the walkways, and no one had come to clear them yet. And then, the snow started to fall, fall, fall. And it just wouldn’t stop again.

It dawned on me that the cart might have to wait a while, maybe even a longer while… Instead, I decided to dust the apartment–a long overdue task. I have long given up on the idea of dusting the entire apartment at once, but I at least got my room done.

I should probably do this more often. But it’s fine. I have given up on “shoulds.” I don’t remember the book this was in, but the author recommended that whenever you think, “I should do that,” you should try rephrasing the sentence with “want” and “need” instead. Do I want to dust more often? No, definitely not. Do I need to? Nope. So it’s all good.

A friend has moved to Spain for the semester. She has given me her “bat cape” for safe-keeping in the meantime. I usually throw it on when stuck at my desk for long. Right now, it’s just in the way and cozy.

I bought this blanket for a yoga class in college in California. I haven’t used it for yoga in years. Now it is my carpet and part of my bed. It is technically a blanket. Labels…

While it continued to snow outside, I edited an episode. You might recogize it as #049.

The daylight lamp on my desk is keeping me sane through the darker months. I think. I hope.

One of the neighbors was building a snow man with her three little children. Okay, she was more building it for them. When was the last time I’ve done that? A decade ago? More? It’s been forever.

But I had work to do, so I put on my headphones, and kept on editing. I had forgotten the camera behind me, and it recorded more than an hour of me working. But in the end, the episode was done. I felt accomplished after a long day at my desk.

I tried to record the endless stream of birds outside for you, but they don’t trust the camera.

It snowed all day and all through the night. I had class that day, a seminar with mandatory attendance–and the first one to boot.

So, I dug my car out under a thick layer of snow. I made it to the next major road, and even that wasn’t plowed yet, so I was forced to turn around. I parked awkwardly at the side of the road to check on the garden on my way home.

It is amazing to me how even the remains of my trash piles don’t look bad when hidden under the snow. There is a lot of work hiding underneath, but for now, it all looks fine.

The garden house even looks magical. Though part of my brain was thinking about the roof and snow pushing sideways. I had to get back to my car, so I only did a quick check. Time will tell if the roof passes the final test. Doesn’t it all just look magical?

I emailed the teacher, attended class online. And all the while, the snow kept falling–and no one came to clear the roads. I missed two more classes the next day, but by the afternoon, the roads were clear, and the sun out.

I bundled up, and went for a walk through the forest with a dog who hates the snow as much as I. We even ran part of the way to stay warm. Pepper is a California dog, after all.

Why does this have to be so cold and so beautiful? It would be so much easier if it was either/or. But how can you not want to go outside when it looks like this?

Stay warm, you all! So long, and thanks for being here.