WHAT'S YOUR SIMPLE WINTER THING?

I buy The Simple Things at my local Barnes and Noble.  You can also visit www.ICEBERGPRESS.CO.UK to buy yours. It's a lovely magazine for UK aficionados like myself.  So far I love everything British except Brexit.  That does not seem British at all.  I've mentioned before that people write in what their "Simple Thing" is.  Ordinary things like "cold toast with a thick slathering of butter."  Nothing's more British than cold toast.  Brits even use a cooling rack to make sure not one bit of warmth is left after toasting.  Perverse, isn't it?  My simple thing corollary to that would be "A fried egg on hot buttered toast."  Yes, much more American.  

Winter is such a wonderful time.  When it's not too frigid outside, a lovely simple thing is the outdoor fire pit and a woolly blanket as darkness falls.  Or if the temperature is 20º, like it is today, and we're off school and work for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, then a raging fire indoors is the best simple winter thing.  Toasting marshmallows, or watching a movie with the kids.  Or maybe even better, watching something that only I want to see.  My Netflix list. 


Remember when Dumbledore said, "One can never have enough socks.  Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair.  People will insist on giving me books." Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling. New socks is a simple winter thing. Or old favorites. I got a pair in my Christmas stocking, and sent out a bunch.  My sweet New Jersey nieces said, "Some people think they are corny but we like them," then sent me this fuzzy polka dot pair by return mail: 

Still, books may be the best winter simple thing. Transporting us to another age or country or emotional state.  Challenging us, absorbing us, every sentence a pause, leading us to thoughts we may never have had before.  Reading the classics does this, Shakespeare, Dickens, Salinger, Flaubert, Kate Chopin. . . .  Just choosing one to read or reread will transform the whole winter on its own.  What shall I pick? Maybe The Awakening (1899) set in New Orleans where Chopin's heroine struggles against turn-of-the-century attitudes about femininity and motherhood.  I can't forget that book. 

Of course we can combine a plethora of simple winter things into a glorious day or afternoon or evening--cozy socks, in front of the fire, with our book, under a woolly throw, tea and hot buttered toast at our side, dog at our feet. . . . 
What are your simple winter things?   Outdoors or in?  Active or sedentary?  Planned or spontaneous?  Relaxing or invigorating?  There's not a bad choice, is there?  It's a wonderful season!