Bright citrus sunshine

January 25, 2010 at 11:20 pm 1 comment

People in Calgary often brag about the sunshine we get here during the winter. It is cloudy, snowy and cold outside today. I try to be an upbeat soul, but sometimes I wonder what they’re on about. It is cloudy, snowy and cold here A LOT. I’ve been trying to embrace the season by spending a lot of time curled up by a warm fire with the dog, a mug of hot tea and my project of reading through all of Virginia Woolf’s novels again. This has been enjoyable, peaceful, even restorative.

But I miss the sunshine. The real sunshine, not this feeble winter version. Hot summer days when you walk barefoot through the garden into the shade squeezing a wedge of lemon into a glass of iced tea and then rest yourself down with a sigh of contented relief.

My daily grapefruit is helping me escape to that memory of citrusy, summery bliss. So does eating bright red blood oranges, grating lemon peel into practically everything I bake these days and stirring fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro into avocado for Mexican food night. It’s not a cure, but it is helping me muddle along.

Thank you, California, for sending your beautiful gift of citrus fruit to help brighten up our cold Canadian winter days. I’ll keep closing my eyes, breathing in that delicious, refreshing, summery scent as I watch the winter go by.