The day I returned home from Ojai, I texted my group chat, “It’s all I can do to keep myself from falling into a deep depression at the fact that I no longer live in California.” I was, of course, mostly kidding… but the abrupt transition from 75° and sunny to 50° and rainy hit me hard. Granted, vacation isn’t real life, but my weekend in the idyllic small town, nestled in a valley in the hills above Santa Barbara, felt like a dream. Each day included morning walks (in shorts and a sunhat!) on windy, oak-lined streets to grab an iced matcha from Three Birds and citrus, plucked straight from the tree.

Since moving to Portland six years ago, there hasn’t been a March where I haven’t seriously considered running home to California. Sure, the rain gets to me, but what really does me in is the wall of clouds that covers the sun from November until June. While I actually welcome the initial change in weather—fall brings golden leaves and the rain over the holidays feels cozy—I really begin to struggle in February and March, when summer is still a faraway blip on the calendar. (I promise it’s worth it; summer in Portland is, in my opinion, as close to heaven as it gets.)

I’m currently in the midst of planning another adventure in the van, but until then, I have a few rituals to get me through the final stretch of winter. Read on for tiny practices I’m implementing to make the grey days feel a little brighter, including:

A $34 home addition and $5 farmers market purchase that signal spring
My Sunday reset ritual for winter
A two-week windowsill project that makes February feel like April
Why I've started taking dance breaks (and a collaborative playlist to do it with)

Issue #237: What I Do When the Grey Gets to…

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