Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my sassy snowballs! How are you? We received another blanket of snow to grace our homes and streets. Just lovely, isn’t it? On my personal calendar, winter starts December 1 and ends February 28 (or 29). Spring: March, April, and May. Summer: June, July, and August. Fall: September, October, and November. So this Saturday is January 15, which means winter will be half over. Huzzah! Huzzah! It will be downhill from then on. I don’t care what Mr. T.S. Eliot said about April being the cruelest month; February can be a b-i-t-c-h. At least it’s short. I know it snows in March, dears, just like it sometimes does in November, but green buds peak up through the snow in March and that’s all the encouragement I need.

Also encouraging, even intoxicating, was our exalted and majestic Green Bay Packers’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Our glorious Pack has been devastated and dilapidated by injuries this year, yet somehow they keep coming back to win. Now, on to the Divisional Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons this Saturday night! Please, most noble Packers, please pulverize your opponents so that they may know the might of cheese head power.

I know that we’re gaining a minute and a half of daylight with each day since the solstice, but the skies are still so glum this time of year. I think maybe I’m getting a case of the winter blahs, or blues. I noticed that a couple of other Irregulars mentioned that in their comments, too. As a public service, and in an effort to cheer myself up, I’ve “researched” the subject online (i.e., on YouTube). Here are my findings:



Or you could just take some antidepressants, which keep your serotonin levels high. Here are some suggestions for chasing away the winter blahs with Feng Shui:



Oh my, keep your doors clear so that when opportunity comes to knock, it doesn’t slip and fall, suing you for everything you’re worth. Finally, here’s a Today Show segment with Katie Couric on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):



Well, I hope that some of the above helps you if you have the winter blues. I have a special potion, Madame Zoltar’s® Blues-B-Gon™, but it has not yet been approved for sale in the United States (or anywhere else on the planet). I’m also considering marketing it as a gasoline additive.

Thank you my wonderful friends for visiting with me this week. I love spending time with you. How can we have the blues for long when we have each other? Our friendship warms us through the winter.

It’s tax time – contact me for “special handling” of your returns: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Hugs and kisses to you all. Keep warm, drive safe, take care of yourselves. Bullimong!

5 comments:

lizardmom said...

a super B max vitamin helps some, but the Feng Shui lady made me doze off a little, so I'm guessing that won't work for me, but a SAD light could be nice :)
Another Packer win would be a big boost too :)

Why Not? said...

I am diagnosed with SAD. I have always known that the winter was extra tough even since I was a teenager but since moving to Sweden it morphed into a whole new beast. Last year I went for light therapy at a clinic. Oh my that was wonderful I walked out of there on a cloud. It was gray and icky out but I couldn't have felt better. People around me saw a difference. I was a whole new person. Unfortunately this year our health care did not continue their contract with the people that offered it and I could not do it. I feel a difference, but I have been trying to stay more active. Although I haven't felt as good as I did last year it's definitely better than normal.

I would love one of those lights to have at home. Just cannot afford it. Sweden is terribly expensive on most things and that is just a luxury that I don't have the cash for.

I swear I'm moving down to you BeeJay.. this cold dark winter stuff is not for me. I always ask my husband why he couldn't have been from Greece or Spain or something.. If I was going to move away from my family it would have been nice to take me to somewhere warm and sunny.

SER said...

Can you buy Serotonin enhanced tequila or Miller High Life? Would that be great an alcoholic beverage that’s good for ya, like wine!

I still think they should run the outdoor theaters in the winter, it could be fun!

OrbsCorbs said...

SER, that's a fantastic idea! People would get really mellow really quick.

Why Not, my ex-shrink once said I had SAD, too. He said the computer monitor became my sun in the winter (I have to keep my face close to it because of my eyesight). I have a friend who makes a point of getting outside every winter day that there is sunlight and absorbing some of it. But, of course, it's nothing like the summer sun.

I'd be interested in trying out light therapy.

Why Not? said...

Orbs if you can find it, it was wonderful.. You sit in a very beautiful bright room for like 2 hours. I read a book or took some knitting with me and just took it easy. Some say it's a bit of a placebo effect because you get that time to yourself in a different environment. But I say placebo or not I felt better doing it. I'm very bummed that they didn't continue their contract with them. I cannot afford it on my own.

I try to get out when it's sunny, but it so rarely happens, and with as little sun hours we have here, if you are doing something during the day you don't have a chance to see it. Winters here are usually quite gray and it's pretty black by 3:30. On flip side of that though we have really long summer days.. ooo I love the summer.. looking forward to it.