Let's talk covid winter planning

[flexagon]

Here's a topic that's been coming up among my co-workers, here and in my discussion circles: winter is coming. Seriously though. Here in the Northeast that means months of cold and dark, in which the outdoors will be passable but far less inviting than it has been for the last span of the pandemic. People who count on outdoor exercise will suffer, as will everyone who was doing backyard hangouts, and there won't be the parties and gatherings we often have in the holiday season as a counterpoint. Covid is ticking up again, not down, where I live, and people forced indoors in drier air might not be a good scene in that regard.

So I've been asking people what their plan is... I know of folks buying electric blankets and fire pits and heated seats in an attempt to extend backyard-sitting season. norwoodbridge is one of these, and recently got a startlingly sleek-looking "fire pit" that looks like a coffee table.

For myself: I recently made repeating every-four-weeks plans with two different friends (apfelsingail and coraline) so that I can basically make ONE plan and have a bit of human contact all winter if it keeps working for everyone. I have another friend with whom I take a walk every two weeks, I see Norwood every two weeks (these alternate), and there's a monthly discussion circle that I attend every other time or so. This might shrink my social circle, but the exchange is that it's easy. This might be a good winter for "easy".

What's your plan, so far?

Comments

[triesticity]

I'm not really making plans but I figure whatever winter is, it will (I hope) feel better than mid-March through April of this year, when we did not go outside at all and I was pretty anxious. I did buy bubble bath and candles a while ago, so am ready for evening relaxing. And I started my daily stretching again recently and will probably continue that. We're trying to get in our outdoor socializing while the weather is still nice, and probably will switch back to Zoom socializing at some point, though C has been having Zoom-fatigue in a way that I haven't really.

Now that mask-wearing is more prevalent in NYC I'm far more comfortable going on walks than I was in the spring, though yeah, we have some neighborhoods here (though not in Manhattan at the moment) where numbers are rising alarmingly. I'm happy bundling up for cold weather walks and figure it might be less crowded on the greenway by the river when it's colder. I will miss kayaking though!