Things I Hate About Winter Playlist

It looked hopeful and balmy on Sunday. 40 degrees. As I was walking out the door to run an errand I bumped into two neighbors. We chatted and then they quickly said, "Oh ok, we'll let you leave for your walk."

Curiously, I had not been planning on talking a walk. I had my car keys in my pocket, I had been turning them over in my gloved hand as I conversed. But a walk suddenly seemed like such a beautiful idea. Why not enjoy a day where the sun was making a cameo appearance in February? A grand idea, I thought, and strutted out of the parking lot, leaving my car sitting there.

About two blocks into my walk a clap of thunder struck across the sky. It's nothing, I told myself. The sky above was just the dishwater gray it's been for weeks, no more menacing than any other day. A block later it was raining. Another half block and I was walking through a torrent of rain. Sloshing through puddles in my not-waterproof boots. Pulling the hood of my only water-resistant coat down across my face, against the blowing rain. The temperature dropped about ten degrees. Rain turned to hail.
And the worst was this was still just the walk there... I still had my half mile walk home after my errand.
I hate winter.

Tonight it's 9 degrees. The report: "Blustery and very cold. Lows 2 below to 2 above zero. Wind chills as low as 10 below to 15 below zero. West winds 15 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph." The newsmen are warning of black ice for tomorrow's commute. Chicago ER's report a steep increase in injuries due to slips and falls on ice.

Why does winter taunt me like this??!

I am making my I Hate Winter Playlist. Here's what I've got so far:

Hockey Skates - Kathleen Edwards
Pictures of You - The Cure
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
The Greatest - Cat Power
New Soul - Yael Naim
Half Acre - Hem (from those Liberty Mutual Ads, I love the lyrics, "Think of every town you've lived in. Every room you lay your head. And what is it that you remember? Do you carry every sadness with you?" Oh, woeful winter.)
Bubbly - Colbie Caillat
Secret Heart - Feist
The World at Large - Modest Mouse

There has to be a good Elliot Smith song to add to the melancholy mix.

And I made cupcakes that look like snowballs. (The attempt to find some joy in winter.) I had one for dinner tonight. No good can come of 16 cupcakes sitting on the kitchen counter of a home with just two people.
So much for that gym plan.