I cannot believe we are almost at the one-year mark of the shutdown. While last February looked so different from this one, I still managed to enjoy the time mixed in with some intense cabin fever. I will admit that am impatiently awaiting Spring and the return of the sun. Hopefully this will be my last Northeast winter!

Despite the cold, I did manage to get out quite a bit, and embrace the Mainer life. This included heading out to the breweries and trying some of the local, cold beverages. I think drinking a cold beer with gloves on in February officially makes me a Mainer, no? We visited Goodfire Brewing Company for a couple of drafts before hopping to Maine Distillery for a couple of hot toddies and wassail, which was a lot more fitting for the chill.

In honor of Mardi Gras, we visited Oxbow Brewing Company where they were celebrating Mardi Gras by collaborating with Eaux–a local soul restaurant. Oxbow has sweet little a-frames scattered around the property and we were lucky enough to snag one to enjoy our meal! The picture might not look like much, but the food was delicious. We had pork shoulder with red beans + rice, alligator + chicken stew, and biscuits covered with honey.

Outside of chowing down and drinking outside. I also started doing something I never thought I would. Running outdoors. I know that seems dramatic, but I always thought that people running in winter were crazy. Why would you want to make your face hurt even more in the cold by running in it? What about the ice? The snow? For someone like me who is especially clumsy and honestly a baby when it comes to the cold, I never thought I would see myself joining those the “snow is the perfect texture for running.” You know the video.

Here I am though. I am now that person who runs in winter, and I like it. I do avoid it when it’s snowy or icy out, but if the paths are clear, then it’s game on. Getting outside in general during winter helps break up the monotony and ease the cabin fever. Since I have been nursing a knee injury, I am mostly trying to go on easy, slow runs. I am trying not to worry about my time or distance, which is hard for me because I am super competitive (even against myself).

If you are struggling getting through this pretty dull time of year, then I would highly suggest either heading out for a run or trying to walk outside at least once a day. As a remote worker, I am already stuck to my chair/couch for most of the day, so it is a great time for me to get fresh air and away from the treacherous screen.

The highlight of the month was definitely this little gal. Meet Tiggy.

We welcomed our first foster cat formally known as Tigger into our home. She is 14 years old, but runs, jumps, and attacks like a kitten. To be honest, most of my photo roll from February is of Tigger in various cute poses or videos of her playing. She looooves to sleep under the covers, which I find especially delightful and initially had a hard time stopping myself from waking her.

I pretty much spent any downtime I had this month playing with Tigger or trying to pet her. While she is pretty feisty, it has been awesome having a pet again.

I finished out the month and past weekend with cross country skiing! The season has been tricky so far. With all of the rain, there hasn’t been many opportunities to go. This weekend was beautiful. The sun was shining causing me to strip down to a long sleeved shirt and vest. It was our first time trying, and my first time on skis ever. Coordinating all of my limbs at once was definitely challenging. I tipped over and managed to do a dew splits in the begging, but eventually got the hang of it. I even managed to go down a small hill!

To sum it up, so far my cabin fever cure is 2 parts outdoors activities +1 part winter drinks +1 part good food and +1 part fostering fuzzy animals who make everything in the world a million times better.