January really is crap

Weirdly I sit on both sides of the fence. I mourn the loss of summer when it comes...autumn seems so short and winter sets in to stay. Boo. Problem is, winter is just a grey, wet, mild wash of crap these days...little by way of snow, ice, frost compared. Sad.
I'm loving the proper cold atm. Went crunching through the snow with a flask of coffee today. It's going to warm up tomorrow, so a thaw. Shame.

I'm actually quite enjoying January so far, even though it's very cold. It's nice to have a really nice, frosty, crisp winter for a change. I've been going for two to three mile walks every day, even though it's been a bit challenging with some slippy footpaths in some places.

I have taken the Christmas decorations down, and done a little bit of a spring clean (or is that winter clean?) Started my new 2025 diary off, and I'm actually really happy to have survived another year and be at the start of a new one. I will be glad to have a few warmer days next week, but have enjoyed this winter snap.

Somebody I know actually went missing yesterday, and they found them dead (frozen to death) after falling in the local woodland and knocking their head. It makes me absolutely grateful to be alive, and that I'm here to see the rest of January out. Unlike this poor tragic person.

Just brought it home how fortunate and blessed I am to be here. Still reeling from this person's death. 😢 Only middle aged too. Shocked.

Sorry to be all maudlin...

Thanks for that. Appreciated.

I’m not being aggressive. I just don’t like people having a go and suggesting I’ve chosen to be depressed.

I find January a very cold and grey month. We get paid a week early for Christmas which makes January seem to last forever. I’m always a few lbs heavier after Christmas excess. I find the grey, cold, wetness of January to be a bit yuck. I took a weeks annual leave and have done some
redecorating etc which has been good. My parents always go abroad for all of January and have some winter sun. They’ve definitely got the right idea.
however, trying to be positive. The days are definitely getting longer, it won’t be long before the spring bulbs are starting to appear. Roll on spring 🌱🌞

And I apologise that you thought I was referring to your depression. I was not, and I would never do that.

You need to get help of some sort, not be aggressive with other people on here. I mean that in the kindest possible way.

No. I’m out because it’s pointless.
We are talking about January, not your depression.
You’re choosing to take it as you have.

These are your words “You’ve made the decision to be miserable and hate it”.
I’vesaid several times it causes me to be depressed. I guess you are out because you are embarrassed at the inappropriateness of your comment 🤷‍♀️

Perhaps disregard the time of year and focus on your objectives.

That isn’t what I said. Stop putting words in my mouth.
I am out of this convo, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

It’s not a decision. Would you tell anyone with depression for any other reason that they’d made a decision to be depressed? What a vile thing to say.

And that’s not what I said. The sun was shining on me, and it was warm. That is a fact. I could feel the warmth.

@cardibach oh give it a fucking rest
You’ve made the decision to be miserable and hate it, good for you.
Allow those of us who enjoy it, to enjoy it.

I'm not trying to fix you. I couldn't give a toss.
I was responding to you saying, "I really can’t believe people actually enjoy -4."
I'm telling you that people do.

I’m not suggesting you weren’t warm. I walk rescue dogs 3 times a week. I understand walking makes you warmer. It want because the sun was shin8ng though. At this time of year a clear sky means it’s colder.

@cardibach whilst I agree -4C is blimmin' cold, if you do a walk at the pace I go, for about an hour and 15mins, in the crisp, clear weather, with the sun shining, it does make the extremities tingle and you get the circulation going,

I was wearing several thin layers eg a base layer, a long sleeve t shirt, plus a fleecy 'buff' to keep my neck warm and neoprene gloves.

I did get very warm after about 20 mins walking. Had I been doing that walk in grey damp drizzle at -4C I would have come back much colder and wouldn't have felt so uplifted as I did today, seeing the blue sky and the sun on my face.

ETA do you get SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) by any chance? My DH was prone to it, from about Oct to end Feb, but I drag him out in the sunlight (doesn't have to actually be sunny). He begrudgingly tells me he does feel a bit less miserable lot better for the daylight.

@pictoosh do you think telling me how much you live it will fix me?

"I think if you are seeing "signs of spring" in January, it is going to be a very long Feb/March. Probably April too."

Agree. There are no signs of spring. It is not spring, it is winter. There is simply the lengthening days and the knowledge that spring will come. Right now, everything still sleeps.

@cardibach I went for a run at 5.30am yesterday morning. It was -8. I had my headtorch on and everything was glittering, even the ice particles in the air. The sky was crystal clear and studded with stars. I really enjoyed it.

I like winter to be cold. These grey, mild, wet winters are so depressing.
-4 is grand.

It doesn’t bother me. What does is a lack of logic. It was -4. If the sun had been warm it would have warmed it up.
Edit: why am I more determined than you? You are trying to tell me -4 is warm! Repeatedly.

My goodness, you are so determined!
The sun was warm, I was there, standing in the sunlight. That was a fact. Stop dismissing what I say, it’s an incredibly unhealthy habit, to dismiss others.

Why does it bother you so much, that other people enjoy it, it’s not affecting you in the slightest. Such a waste of time and energy.

You may have been. It wasn’t because the sun was out. It was -4. That’s objective fact. The sun wasn’t warming anything.

But you know 20 is the recommended lower end (mine is at 18 incidentally)? And that lots of summer days don’t get over 17, despite people wanging on about sweating and fainting? Here are the averages.

Do you always try and force your opinion on others? It’s pretty tiresome.
I was dressed warmly, I was walking, the sun was shining. I was warm. Please stop telling me what I was or wasn’t, it’s really not on.

How did the sun sh8ning make you warm at -4. You understand that -4 is the temperature and it’s not warm? This is the sort of bollocks that winds me up. I get ypu might like it. But it’s not warm. At all.