This year's melt is the first time in my memory that I've been able to leave without a coat in January. Usually, it's freezing, and there's so much snow that I can barely open the door.
When there's that much snow, I'd rather stay inside than sludge through in my clunky boots.
The problem with that is that I have to find something to do inside. I can't walk around. I can't see my friends. I can't do anything but sit in my dorm.
Except that's not true. There are many ways to have fun when you're stuck inside.
Painting, drawing and making art are fun ways to spend time indoors.
I love to paint, but it can be difficult outside in the elements. My paper would blow away, or the lighting would change and my painting would look different. I would start over so many times. But this isn't an issue when painting indoors.
This holiday season, I decided to paint gifts for my aunts and uncles. It was a horrible idea.
Finals season is not the time to be doing a six-painting project with a hard deadline. I spent three days with my painting supplies sprawled across the floor.
But I will say, it did keep me out of the cold.
While Edmonton became an icy, ill-shoveled snow globe, I was able to stay cozy and paint bears in bright green forests.
Anything can be a reference. You can paint anything in your home, or you can even paint the freezing landscape from the safety of your window.
Apparently, indoor gardening is also an option.
If you're anything like my friends, you might love your plants and miss your garden in the winter.
We all know indoor plants exist, but taking care of them is the tricky part. I kill even the simplest of succulents, but one of my closest friends can grow anything with a clipping.
Indoor gardens can be a single plant on your windowsill, or they can be a whole herb garden in your kitchen to have fresh basil, chives and more all year long.
You can have a taste of summer by micro-managing flowers, multiplying mother-of-thousands or motivating carnivorous plants to stay alive through an Alberta winter (it's possible).
Sewing your summer outfits can also be a fun way to avoid the cold.
Winter can seem to last forever. The sun is gone, and spring is so far away. A way to avoid the winter blues is by making your future warm-weather outfits.
You can start from scratch with a pattern, or you can alter your current clothes. Growing up, my grandmother and I would always turn my jeans into jorts. This is super easy and is a great way to get started with sewing.
You can also add patches or embroider your shirts. My plant-loving friend will embroider little flowers or vines into their jean jacket. Online, you can find embroidery patterns for all sorts of things.
There's also a free embroidery machine at the Elko Engineering Garage. After completing the simple training that you can find on their website, you can use the Elko Engineering Garage for free as a student. They have embroidery machines, 3D printers, pin-making machines and more!
Reading books is another classic indoor activity.
Public libraries are free to use. They even have apps for all your devices so you can virtually take out books, audiobooks, music and movies.
Reading doesn't have to mean reading your textbook for class or an eight-book series where each book is 600 pages.
Reading can mean opening a comic book, starting and never finishing a short novella or even looking at recipes online.
Cooking or baking is an indoor hobby with the most delicious results.
Cooking is something I do just to survive. I don't really experiment with my meals, but there are so many recipes online. You can make crazy casseroles and horrible hybrids like the Turducken.
While I'm not much of a cook, I like to bake. My brother and I used to watch cooking shows and make a cake while watching. Of course, it took us four or five episodes to finish our candy-decorated, chocolate concoction, but it was so much fun.
Brownies are my favourite to make. They're so easy and make my whole dorm smell like chocolate.
When my dorm smells like chocolate, I forget I ever wanted to go outside.
