Reading by the River (in Cold Weather)

Some people are a little worried I'll get cabin fever from being cooped up all winter, as if I might get depressed or go all "Here's Johnny," like Jack Torrance in The Shining. 

I am not worried. I don't expect to be cooped up any more than I want to be. I have my winter gear and snowshoes for trekking up the foothills out my backdoor, and I still have my reading chair by the river.

I've been experimenting with finding the right combination of clothes and gear to make reading outside comfortable on frigid days. A few days ago, when that arctic front blew through, the temperature was 35 degrees, but it was penetrating arctic air, whipped about by a biting wind.  I dressed in three layers, topped with my wind- and water-proof shell, hat and liner gloves, and went down to the river.  It was actually comfortable.

It is an acquired skill to turn a single page of a book while wearing liner gloves, as opposed to clumsily turning half a chapter at a time.

The only problem is it takes a lot of time to put all these clothes on. When you go inside, you're burning up, and have to take half of them off, only to pull them on again to go back outside. I've gotten to where I keep it fairly cool in the house so I won't feel as hot when I come in from outside. I'm still working on perfecting the system, but it's promising so far.