J. M. Levinton

Winter Carnival at Bryant Park, NYC

• January 29, 2018
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Here’s the entrance to the Winter Carnival. I arrived with a couple of friends. (Thankfully, one of them had a recharger since my phone decided to croak after I took this picture.)

 

There was already a big crowd around the rink watching the professional ice skaters.

 

I was happy to see the fountain running and not frozen.

 

After the performances, the rink opened to the public. My friends and I stayed warm in the bar and watched through the large windows.

And that’s how I like my Winter Carnival—toasty warm, sipping hot chocolate and hanging with friends.

 

5 Fun Facts You Don’t Know About Me

• January 22, 2018
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1. Got trapped inside the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center after watching an opera. The only way out was to walk onto the stage. So now I can say I’ve been on stage at Lincoln Center. 🙂

 

2. Went rock climbing one day to get over my fear of heights. Discovered it’s possible to be both terrified and bored at the same time.

 

3. The only foreign country I’ve been to is Canada. (Sad, isn’t it?)

 

4. I once taught high school—for 2½ months. All teachers deserve medals.

 

5. I drove a volunteer ambulance one summer. Favorite part? Going through all the red lights, although I was disappointed to find out I still had to stop at them first. Nothing like the movies!

 

5 Steps to Deal with the Winter Blues (Part 2)

• January 15, 2018
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One year ago I wrote “5 Steps to Deal with the Winter Blues.” The ideas work, but over the year it was sometimes difficult to do the things that would make me feel better. I thought about getting a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) lamp but didn’t know where to start.

Sometimes it’s as easy as a search online. I started reading Winter Blues, Fourth Edition: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder, by Norman E. Rosenthal. It gave me information that helped me purchase a SAD lamp.

The current thinking is to use the lamp for periods of 15 minutes or so (up to one hour). I turn mine on in the morning and read while eating breakfast. Fifteen minutes later my timer dings and I turn off the lamp. It’s that easy.

But does it work? For me, I’d say yes. It’s not that I’m suddenly euphoric, it’s that I’m able to continue throughout my day with better feelings. Is it a placebo? Frankly, I don’t care. Whatever works to get me through the dark and cold and keeps the negativity from bleeding into my thoughts and sapping my will (without compromising my health!) is fine with me.

In case anyone is wondering, this is the model I bought:

Verilux HappyLight Liberty 10,000 LUX Light Therapy Energy Lamp

 

A Cozy Place to Read

• January 08, 2018
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No, the window seat above is not my home. It’s a fantasy of mine, found online.

And yet…does it have to be only a fantasy? Why not create my own little nook?

I have a couch. It’s comfy. And my coffee table is a large black trunk from my college days.

In case the couch isn’t what I need as I dive deep into a story, I have a rocking chair, bought years ago in the Adirondacks. The first time I sat in one like this with its curved back, my spine sank into it with relief.

But I wanted more. So this year I bought an electric heater that looks like a wood burning stove. It’s positioned across from my couch, and curling up on the couch while the flames flicker makes reading something to be savored. The best part about the model is that I can have the “flames” flickering without the heater working.

This is obviously a wintertime thing, when the temps dive below zero and multiple cups of hot tea with honey rest on a nearby surface while I escape into pages of summer and wild blueberries. When the seasons come around again, there will be changes made to create cool, quiet moments as I read about characters in snowstorms.

What about you? Do you have a reading nook, a special corner where stories find you?

 

Happy New Year!!

• January 01, 2018
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May your year be happy, healthy, and prosperous!