That time of year, dark at 5PM.. what do you do?

[digitalgraffiti]

This time of year is absolutely brutal, dark at 5PM and not light until 7:30ish in the morning. What do you guys do to keep yourselves occupied and not get into the winter blue funk? Enjoyable when football is on, but those days its not... yikes

 

[begreen]

I paint, read, and do crossword & jigsaw puzzles. If the weather is tolerable, I am outside going for a hike or at least a walk. This is also when I try to catch up on indoor chores. December is for parties, gift buying, package assembly, and shipping. By January I am outside pruning and getting beds ready for planting. February is in the greenhouse starting plants.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Huge college basketball fan.

 

[tlc1976]

Many times I’m working late this time of year anyway. Customers trying to get equipment in this year’s budget. I’ve got 9 jobs on my desk right now.

If I got things to do outside I can work in the garage or shop. Went for so many years without a workspace at the old house. Still working on my Jeep, but I’ll be driving my Tracker when it starts snowing (they say this weekend).

In the house I like messing around with my basses and keyboards. Haven’t been in a band since the 90s, I just like playing at home, jamming with old tunes.

And I’ve got a 10 ft c band dish, so I like looking around to see what I can find. I couldn’t care less about “must-see” TV or movies or sports. I like all the free oddball stuff out there, old time shows or informative shows, or weird foreign stuff, or old music videos. Between that and the Roku, there’s more good free stuff than I could ever watch. Sometimes even zone out to NASA on a tired evening after work.

 

[stoveliker]

If work doesn't keep me occupied at night read with an adult beverage, fixing/improving things in and around the home from the list compiled during the year, some hobbying with wood.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I don't mind the darkness, but I hate the winter! Spring, Summer and Fall I just about live outside working on my property, especially in my Food Forest or at a new project. In the winter, I get cabin fever real fast! In the winter, I usually get back to my fiddling which gets neglected when it is nice out. I also grow veggies indoors, do some woodworking projects in my shop, plan out new things for my gardens or prep new projects by researching online and attending the University of YouTube.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Not in any particular order... Making sure my employees have supplies to do jobs, winterizing equipment, kids sports, wife, clean house, sleep... then ski and ice fishing season starts...

 

[Northern NH Mike]

Many of my evenings are spent tuning skis during the winter. Some music and a beer or two help keep things moving smoothly.

 

[peakbagger]

I end up going to bed earlier and waking up far earlier than I want to. As long as I get out on weekends outdoors I can survive. I have a mountain to the east of my place. for about 2 months I can see the horizon lighting up and then before it rises it goes behind the mountain for a couple of hours, it sneaks up on me in the fall but I watch it very closely when the sun breaks over the mountain in January. I consider winter on its last legs by then.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Many of my evenings are spent tuning skis during the winter. Some music and a beer or two help keep things moving smoothly.

Racewax just threw out another sale. I just restocked on the wax I used up last winter.

The little one and I will be getting new skis this year. I think we’ll be putting some miles under them!

 

[Gearhead660]

Set up a light and process firewood! I am a junkie!

 

[marty319]

I spend some evenings hugging my boosted viper waiting to hit the trails

 

[ispinwool]

Let me count the ways!...reading, knitting, spinning, baking, cooking...we watch our granddaughter
twice a week...then there's the regular household chores...and I enjoy tinkering with antique
sewing machines. They're workhorses and will still sew beautifully when cleaned up and
oiled a bit.

 

[RomanW]

5pm? I'm usually driving home looking at the very moon coming up that I saw going down on my way to work...

It's surreal sometimes..

 

[spuldup]

5pm? I'm usually driving home looking at the very moon coming up that I saw going down on my way to work...

It's surreal sometimes..

Hang in there buddy!

 

[stoveliker]

That sucks having 12 hr work+commute days that shift one hour later each day...

 

[blades]

Go to shop 0 dark thirty, go home 0 dark thirty. depressing. yep that time of year when things get stacked up in shop from customers trying get it done for tax purposes. When I do get home just more customer stuff to do their as well.