Lets have a picnic!

Just why is it we only have picnic foods during the summer when it's warm outdoors and we have a picnic?

Why not enjoy those foods while it's snowing and blowing around outdoors and the thermometer is hovering around zero, right there in the warmth of our living rooms or dens?

The days are short and our minds and bodies are craving bright light. That leaves many of us feeling depressed and always tired. Maybe we can't have the natural sunlight, but maybe we can fool the mind...

Make up your favorite picnic foods. Like potato salad, macaroni salad, three bean salad. Hot dogs, hamburgers or cold sandwiches. You can even pick up a sub while out at the store on a shopping trip. Make fried chicken or ribs. Whatever your or you families favorites are. Don't forget desert!

Set up some extra lamps in your room of choice. I have some of the really bright halogen work lights I use outdoors when there is a need to work on equipment after dark. I use them during the winter to fool my mind when it's been dark and dreary for too long. Five hundred watts of light from each light and there are two mounted side by side on the stand! If that doesn't trick the mind I doubt anything will.

Spread your favorite picnic blanket on the floor, turn the heat up temporarily, put some happy tunes on the stereo and your ready to have some fun on a bitter cold winters day. It's not that hard to move some furniture around and out of the way if you have to.

You can even play some picnic type games or play with some beach toys if you have children. That will keep them entertained for a while and should keep them from driving you up the walls.

Just be a bit careful though. My son and I decided one day to play some volleyball with a balloon some years ago. Believe it or not, a darned balloon can and will break the chimney of an oil lamp hanging on the wall...

That happened many years ago and I still to this day can't find a matching replacement chimney. I had to replace both with chimney's that worked but weren't quite as ornate.

Having an indoor winter picnic breaks the monotony of winter, fills the belly full of fun foods and helps a bit to warm the soul.

An added benefit I found when my children were young was it kept them from driving me insane for a while!

Also this weekend, tomorrow in fact, February second comes. That means that once again it's Groundhog Day!

Will that rodent see his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter or will he not see his shadow and spring will be right around the corner?

I vote that if he sees his shadow we make groundhog stew from the furry little guy. Winter came early and has been here long enough already!

You can check out my old blog from February 2, 2011 or you can just skip my boring blog and go to http://www.groundhog.org and check out the website of Punxsutawney Phil for yourself.

Punxsutawney is the place not far from here where people who are tired of winter go to see Phil and get his prediction and break the monotony of winter.