Season of Isolation

The light fades, routines slow, and the quiet gets loud. We name the winter blues without sugarcoating them, then share what actually helps: sunlight rituals, happy lights you’ll remember to use, and small anchors that turn long dark days into something gentler and more human.

We compare notes from different climates—rain-soaked Pacific Northwest, high-desert cold, and Midwest grit—to show how environment shapes mood and energy. From opening the blinds wide and soaking up a fifteen‑minute sun patch to keeping a happy light on your desk, these simple actions add up. We talk about the drag of lost outdoor time, the mental toll of feeling left behind, and the permission to choose steadiness over hustle when your body and brain want warmth and rest.

Connection takes center stage. We make the case for an accountability circle designed for winter: friends who check in, spark belly laughs, and pull you back when turtling becomes a habit. You’ll hear practical prompts for asking for help, plus easy ways to give it—Cards for Warriors, quick voice notes, and tiny acts that make isolation softer for everyone. Creativity and comfort round things out with low‑stakes projects like watercolors and journaling, alongside freezer‑friendly cooking, soups, stews, fresh bread, and the kind of kitchen rituals that make the house smell like home.

If you’re bracing for the dark months, this conversation offers tools you can use today and a reminder that you don’t have to power through alone. Listen, save your favorite tips, and share this episode with someone who needs a brighter winter. If it helped, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us your go‑to winter reset.

Support Group: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/83rig1o/MySpoonieSisters

Andi’s book: https://amzn.to/3LrPl1t

Linnea’s book: https://amzn.to/47K9o2H

Jen’s book: https://amzn.to/4qRbB5e

Happy Light: https://amzn.to/3Xfqrol

Keep your spoons close and support system closer.

Chapters

• 0:00 Framing The Winter Struggle
• 1:16 Personal Winter Challenges
• 2:56 Happy Lights And Light Therapy
• 5:18 Coping With Darkness And Idleness
• 7:44 Activities For Connection And Caregiving
• 10:49 Laughter, Language, And Friendship
• 14:11 Solo Winter Busy Box Ideas
• 17:36 Food, Freezer Prep, And Comfort Rituals
• 22:08 Closing Encouragement And Self‑Care

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:08

Welcome back to another episode. So if we're being honest, winters can be tough. I know that winters are tough for me. The days get shorter. Everything seems to drag in the winter when things get dark. So today we're going to talk about what that looks like, the season of isolation unintentionally, and things to do to keep you from spiraling in season depress seasonal depression. Winter takes a lot out of me mentally. Today we have Lanea and Jen, and of course myself. And we're going to talk about some things that we do to kind of keep us in good spirits when it's kind of gloomy outside for the six months that it's gloomy outside, depending on where you live. So with that being said, let's get into it. Hey ladies.

SPEAKER_01: 0:52

Good morning. Hello. So tell me about your winters. What are winters like for you?

SPEAKER_03: 0:56

Rough. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 0:57

Yeah?

SPEAKER_03: 0:58

Yeah. I would agree they can be very rough sometimes.

SPEAKER_02: 1:01

Is it mentally, emotionally, physically? Is it all of the above? Is there one that outweighs the rest?

SPEAKER_03: 1:08

You know, for me, emotionally, it can be harder because even though I live in Arizona where there's sunshine most of the year, but it's cold where I live. I don't live in the desert. I live higher desert, but it's also close to the woods where it's colder. Um I still have those cold airs where I don't want to get outside because it's cold. It's sunny. I want to be outside. So I go through this roller coaster of wanting to be outside, but the second I go outside, I can't stay out there long because I get too cold. So it's really trying to find that balance of getting my vitamin D outside and that fresh air. So I you have to find the right times of day to do that. What about you, Jim?

SPEAKER_00: 1:49

I think for me, it's, you know, it's it's all of the above. Winters for me over here, I live in the Pacific Northwest. And so it's a rainy season. I I don't typically get snow, but I get fog and rain and sometimes ice from late September, early October until sometimes June. And so it's kind of a balancing act of okay, let's try some red light therapy, or I even have a happy light here uh at home in my office slash guest room. But it's it's not being able to do the things that we normally can do. And that's draining, not getting outside in nature, not getting to hike, all the things that I love to do. I love to be outside and and enjoy the beauty around me, but it's not fun in the winter. I don't like being out in the cold. I don't like the runny nose that comes with it. I don't like feeling like I'm left behind all the time because I can't keep up. So it's just kind of it's a mental, emotional, and physical drain altogether.

SPEAKER_02: 2:53

You mentioned your happy light. Let's talk more about your happy light. Okay. Why'd you get it? What do you love about it?

SPEAKER_00: 2:59

I got it when we first moved here and I need to pull it out of my garage because I sometimes forget that I have it. I'm gonna throw myself into the bus and say I need to use it more often. But it's bigger than a s a softball, but not as big as a football. And it's like a little round thing that you can set on your desk, and it has different amounts of brightness that you can turn it on, and it's supposed to help with that seasonal depression.

SPEAKER_02: 3:22

I have a happy light. I love my happy light. I have one in my bedroom, I have one in my office, I have one in my living room, my three common spaces. So there's one by my chase, there's one in my office, there's one by my bedside in case I'm flaring and I can't, I really don't have the energy to do all the stuff and things. Winters, I think it's more mental for me than than physical. I'm from Chicago, so the cold doesn't actually bother me. I don't prefer being cold, but the cold doesn't necessarily bother me either. Um, it's more of a mental aspect of it's dark. And my schedule kind of slows down a lot in the winter, so it's it's a a lot more idle time. And so it's for me not occupying the idle time with busy work so that I can't actually recharge. It's the recharge sometimes that I struggle with in the winter months. I can tell the things that I miss for me in the winter is the sunlight. And so because I can't necessarily always go outside because I don't prefer cold again. Like, who prefers cold? I don't my joints don't like it, but I do make it a point every single day. I open up my blinds, fully open them, and I sit in the window in sunlight for 15 minutes. If I cannot go outside, I bring outside to me the biggest, brightest way I know how to do so I could still absorb the vitamin D and not be in the elements. I take a nap on my couch with that window fully blinds open, and I just absorb the vitamin D while I take a nap and do other things that keep me out of spiraling isolation or loneliness. What kind of activities do you do to keep you occupied in the winter months?

SPEAKER_03: 4:59

I'm really big on we play a lot of board games at our house, like my husband and I. But like with my parents, I did the same thing. I would play board games, I would try and find ways to liven up their mood because I was a former caretaker of my parents. And I know the winter months was were some of the toughest months for them because they physically couldn't get outside. It was icy in Kansas. It was, you know, very cold. So I think finding ways to help those people, and I think those happy lights would have been wonderful for anybody that's caregiving for an adult or for a parent at home stuck inside that can't get out, those happy lights would be wonderful for senior citizens that can't get out in the wintertime. I wish I would have had that because I know my mom probably suffered from a little sad during those times. But yeah, like those are the kind of things I did. I tried to, I mean, I guess if I'm speaking of a caregiver, I always wanted to find happy moments for them and joy, even when it was cold outside. So I think I think that's important for us is finding that joy, even if it's a funny story I tell them three or four times because they have forgotten about what the kids do. But they laughed. And I felt like sometimes they just needed a good laugh. And I think at winter time it's hard.

SPEAKER_02: 6:23

Let me just say, for those of you that will see the video clips, I just love how I don't know that you know that you're doing it. You unintentionally hug yourself every time you talk about your parents. Do I it is the most beautiful thing? You just hugged yourself the whole time you talked about caretaking for your parents, and it made my heart smile. I just total sidebar, guys, but it was a genuine, like awe kind of moment. And so, anywho, how about you, Jen?

SPEAKER_03: 6:51

You know, grief does that. Going through grief and coming out on the other side has made me find the joys in my caregiving with my parents. So that's where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_00: 7:00

So, what about you, Jen? To be honest, I forgot the question. I'm so focused on your answer that I forgot what we were being asked.

SPEAKER_02: 7:08

The question was, what do you do to keep yourself occupied?

SPEAKER_00: 7:12

So during those months when I feel the most isolated to keep myself occupied, I do things like I I signed up for Cards to Warriors because doing things for other people is always what fills my cup and makes me feel better. And so getting to write cards or even paint cards, creating, trying to think up things to say to people that I don't even know. That's hard, by the way. But those are the kind of things that I like to do. It makes me feel accomplished and like I'm doing some good in the world. And that's what makes me feel better when I'm isolated.

SPEAKER_02: 7:51

Welcome back to another episode. So if we're being honest, winters can be tough. I know that winters are tough for me. The days get shorter, everything seems to drag in the winter when things get dark. So today we're gonna talk about what that looks like, the season of isolation unintentionally, and things to do to keep you from spiraling in season depress seasonal depression. Winter takes a lot out of me mentally. Today we have Lanea and Jen, and of course myself, and we're gonna talk about some things that we do to kind of keep us in good spirits when it's kind of gloomy outside for the six months that it's gloomy outside, depending on where you live. So, with that being said, let's get into it. Hey ladies.

SPEAKER_01: 8:34

Good morning. Hello. So tell me about your winters.

SPEAKER_02: 8:37

What are winters like for you?

SPEAKER_03: 8:39

Rough. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 8:40

Yeah? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 8:40

I would agree they can be very rough sometimes. Is it mentally, emotionally, physically? Is it all of the above? Is there one that outweighs the rest?

SPEAKER_03: 8:50

You know, for me, emotionally, it can be harder because even though I live in Arizona where there's sunshine most of the year, but it's cold where I live. I don't live in the desert. I live I live higher desert, but it's also close to the woods where it's colder. Um I still have those cold airs where I don't want to get outside because it's cold. It's sunny. I want to be outside. So I go through this roller coaster of wanting to be outside, but the second I go outside, I can't stay out there long because I get too cold. So it's really trying to find that balance of getting my vitamin D outside and that fresh air. So I you have to find the right times of day to do that. What about you, Jim?

SPEAKER_00: 9:31

I think for me, it's, you know, it's it's all of the above. Winters for me over here, I live in the Pacific Northwest, and so it's a rainy season. I I don't typically get snow, but I get fog and rain and sometimes ice from late September, early October until sometimes June. It's kind of a balancing act of okay, let's try some red light therapy, or I even have a happy light here uh at home in my office slash guest room. But it's it's not being able to do the things that we normally can do. And that's draining, not getting outside in nature, not getting to hike, all the things that I love to do. I love to be outside and and enjoy the beauty around me, but it's not fun in the winter. I don't like being out in the cold. I don't like the runny nose that comes with it. I don't like feeling like I'm left behind all the time because I can't keep up. So it's just kind of it's a mental, emotional, and physical drain altogether.

SPEAKER_02: 10:34

You mentioned your happy light. Let's talk more about your happy light. Why'd you get it? What do you love about it?

SPEAKER_00: 10:40

I got it when we first moved here, and I need to pull it out of my garage because I sometimes forget that I have it. And I so I'm gonna throw myself into the bus and say I need to use it more often. But it's bigger than a softball, but not as big as a football. And it's like a little round thing that you can set on your desk, and it has different amounts of brightness that you can turn it on, and it's supposed to help with that seasonal depression.

SPEAKER_02: 11:03

I have a happy light. I love my happy light. I have one in my bedroom, I have one in my office, I have one in my living room, my three common spaces. So there's one by my chase, there's one in my office, there's one by my bedside in case I'm flaring and I can't, I really don't have the energy to do all the stuff and things. Winters, I think it's more mental for me than than physical. I'm from Chicago, so the cold doesn't actually bother me. I don't prefer being cold, but the cold doesn't necessarily bother me either. Um, it's more of a mental aspect of it's dark. And my schedule kind of slows down a lot in the winter, so it's it's a a lot more idle time. And so it's for me not occupying the idle time with busy work so that I can't actually recharge. It's the recharge sometimes that I struggle with in the winter months. I can tell the things that I miss for me in the winter is the sunlight. And so because I can't necessarily always go outside because I don't prefer cold again. Like, who prefers cold? I don't my joints don't like it, but I do make it a point every single day I open up my blinds, fully open them, and I sit in the window in sunlight for 15 minutes. If I cannot go outside, I bring outside to me the biggest, brightest way I know how to do so I could still absorb the vitamin D and not be in the elements. I take a nap on my couch with that window fully blinds open, and I just absorb the vitamin D while I take a nap and do other things that keep me out of spiraling isolation or loneliness. What kind of activities do you do to keep you occupied in the winter months?

SPEAKER_03: 12:40

I'm really big on we play a lot of board games at our house, my husband and I. But with my parents, I did the same thing. I would play board games, I would try and find ways to liven up their mood because I was a former caretaker of my parents. And I know the winter months was were some of the toughest months for them because they physically couldn't get outside. It was icy in Kansas. It was, you know, very cold. So I think finding ways to help those people, and I think those happy lights would have been wonderful for anybody that's caregiving for an adult or for a parent at home stuck inside that can't get out, those happy lights would be wonderful for senior citizens that can't get out in the wintertime. I wish I would have had that because I know my mom probably suffered from a little sad during those times. But yeah, like those are the kind of things I did. I tried to I mean, I guess if I'm speaking of a caregiver, I always wanted to find happy moments for them and joy, even when it was cold outside. So I think I think that's important for us is finding that joy, even if it's a funny story I tell them three or four times because they have forgotten about what the kids do. But they laughed. And I felt like sometimes they just needed a good laugh. And I think at winter time it's hard.

SPEAKER_02: 14:03

Let me just say, for those of you that will see the video clips, I just love how I don't know that you know that you're doing it. You unintentionally hug yourself every time you talk about your parents. Do I? It is the most beautiful thing. You just hugged yourself the whole time you talk about caretaking for your parents, and it made my heart smile. I just total sidebar, guys, but it was a genuine, like awe kind of moment. And so, anywho, how about you, Jen?

SPEAKER_03: 14:31

You know, grief does that. Going through grief and coming out on the other side has made me find the joys in my caregiving with my parents. So that's where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_00: 14:40

So, what about you, Jen? So during those months when I feel the most isolated to keep myself occupied, I do things like I I signed up for cards to warriors because doing things for other people is always what fills my cup and makes me feel better. And so getting to write cards or even paint cards, creating, trying to think up things to say to people that I don't even know. That's hard, by the way. But those are the kind of things that that I like to do. It makes me feel accomplished and like I'm doing some good in the world. And that's what makes me feel better when I'm isolated. I love talking to my people. I love talking to all of you. Andy and Lania, I talk to you multiple times a week. Uh, there's several others out there that I talk to throughout the week too. Hearing people's voices makes me feel less alone, makes me feel understood and like I can get through it. Because, you know, sometimes we all like to turtle. We're all guilty of it. And sometimes we need those people that are gonna pull us back out of that shell and realize that, you know, the winter months suck, the weather might suck, having the sunlight gone might suck, but there's still some beauty out there and we can still be in community and find things that make us feel good.

SPEAKER_02: 16:00

That's a great segue. Can we just park it there for a second and talk about the importance of your accountability circle? If you know that in the winter months you get a little bit sadder, now's the time to tell your accountability circle, hey, I may need you to check in on me a little bit more. Tap into your support this season. For anybody that knows that they struggle with seasonal depression, tap into your support this season. Make this be the year that you choose you, that you choose happy, healthy, thriving, that you choose the break, make this the year that you choose you. But it starts with you saying, Hey, I need a little bit of extra support around the holidays, or once winter comes, I struggle a little bit more because I can't be as active or as mobile. But it starts with you acknowledging I need extra support. How often do you tap into your accountability circle in your winter time to keep you just busy, not necessarily to vent? Do you utilize your accountability circle to keep yourself active?

SPEAKER_03: 17:01

I I think sometimes I just need FaceTime or text of just funny things. I like to have those conversations where it's lively because sometimes being stuck in our little isolation, we don't laugh enough. Yeah, we might watch a show that we laugh at, but sometimes the good belly laughs that we get, the really deep belly laughs, are from your girlfriends, are from your friends, are from your family. So sometimes I just need a good laugh and I know who to call for those. Like I have those people that I know that can give me something to roll about that's just off the wall, like, oh my gosh, that's gonna make me laugh for days when I think about it. Are they by chance the Ghostbusters?

SPEAKER_02: 17:44

Are those the people you're calling? Exactly. Are those the people you were calling?

SPEAKER_03: 17:50

How about you, Jen? That audience is why one of those people that I call is because of those comments right there.

SPEAKER_00: 17:57

For me, I don't necessarily need to call you about anything because we could be talking about anything, and somehow Lania and I say something that triggers Andy and and it's like gut roll city. It's because sometimes I'm just gonna say it. Linia and I, we sometimes struggle with our verbiage, our word choices make Andy just fall to pieces, which is hilarious to me.

SPEAKER_03: 18:23

If you're not watching this, Andy is shaking her head, agreeing with every word Jen say.

SPEAKER_00: 18:29

I wish I could think of a good example. I can't. I can't think of a good example.

SPEAKER_02: 18:33

I don't have have a podcast streaming appropriate example, okay, because it it happened again this morning, okay? And I I cannot in clear conscience repeat the sentence structure because of how it sounded. And I immediately was like, Nope, I hear exactly what you say for exactly how you said it. And then I go, hmm, I wonder if you know how that sounds.

SPEAKER_00: 19:02

I don't know about you, Nilenia, but sometimes the moment it comes out of my mouth, I'm like, oh my gosh, that sentence came out all kinds of sideways, backwards, wrong words.

SPEAKER_03: 19:10

Even when I'm not on the phone with Andy, I hear her in my voice going, poor choice. My family now says says things.

SPEAKER_02: 19:18

And I mean because I'm not the only person who hears it the way that I hear it. I'm not. Other people hear it and they go, hmm. And then they just you get the the tilt, like, you don't know how that sounds, and but they answer your question. They then go to you know their people and be like, so somebody said this today. And then their people go, hmm, word choice. It's a thing. Thanks for clearing that up.

SPEAKER_00: 19:43

We get to read it over and make sure we don't sound how we come across to our our friends and our family throughout the day. I think that's why I love writing, is because I can sit there and stare at it and make the effort to, I guess, sound a little more competent.

SPEAKER_02: 19:58

So, do you get a lot of that's what she said in your house? Because you you say a lot of things that literally are perfect endings of that's what she said in just about every conversation. And you don't do it intentionally, but it's it's hard for me to to just go, hmm, and we're talking about spoons, you know, we're talking about spoons, but you would never know. Boons, that's what she said. You would never know. It's just tons of giggles over here, guys. It's tons of giggles.

SPEAKER_00: 20:28

Yeah, I did think of an example. I've done this so many times with you girls where I've said something like, Well, I've got to get breakfast, I've got to write this thing down. And instead of saying maybe the word write, I've got to do this, I've got to do this, and then I end it with, and then I gotta do you, and then I gotta do this other thing. Linny is Linny and Andy are look at me like, oh, no, you're not doing me. No, stop, try again, try again. And so, yeah, it's about making those word choices. But sometimes they're just not there. And then other times it's like, why not let you laugh? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02: 21:02

Okay, so we're gonna reel it back in. So outside of the happy light and a little bit more extra movement and you know, sitting in front of a window, we've played games, we've journaled, we've done some writing. What other kind of tips before we close this out, can we can we offer people to prevent themselves from spiraling in isolation or also being super bored in the winter months? Because I the thing is, Andy doesn't craft for real because my attention span is real short. So I've been knitting the or crocheting the exact same blanket since the start of COVID. And just so you know, it's not done. I got a loom, I got a little knitting board, all the things. Andy likes instant gratification, so Andy prefers to sew because I can immediately have my thing, right? So crafting, that's not an Andy thing. Maybe quilting, sure. Crafting, crafting, not an Andy thing. What's your thing? What's in your winter busy box that's for you? Because I noticed that you guys mentioned playing games with families, and what is in your busy box for you? What do you do to keep you from spiraling when there's nobody else around?

SPEAKER_00: 22:10

Painting. And I I went down this rabbit trail on Timu. Found these, they're probably maybe two or three inch size, and they have round, heart, square, all kinds of different and the paper you paint it, and then after you paint it, it has this brush that you put the water inside and you get it wet, and everything you just painted bubbles up. Yes, love it, love it. It's so much fun. I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but it's fun, even if I end up throwing it away, it's a fun little project. I can't wait to try that out with my grandson, my nephew. I like fun little projects, even if it's just a little doodle. Um yeah, that's for me. I do like crafting. I I do like little projects.

SPEAKER_03: 22:53

See, I'm not a big crafter either, but I do like watercolors. Like I like water painting. Um, that's my preferred.

SPEAKER_00: 23:01

You would love these then. I think it was$3.99 for Benny would have fun.

SPEAKER_03: 23:07

But I also I spend a lot of time journaling because I've started doing that this year, and I can see myself this winter journaling a lot more because of how I feel and how I do kind of sometimes get more down because I can't get out. We can't go for trail rides on the side by side as much because it's cold. And so I see myself journaling more, but also painting more this year.

SPEAKER_02: 23:32

I use the winter months to do all my freezer restocks, so that's when I do all my mass vegetable cutting because I know that I do a lot of things that I know I use a lot of garlic, onions, bell peppers, those things. I do all of my batch prep that is huge. So I always have my holy trinity always in the in different variations of the trinity already broken down in my freezer. So I stopped buying it because they so upcharge. It's crazy. But I do a majority of my freezer ready meal prep for the winter when I it's because this is when I do the most soups and stews, and I prepare myself for the end of the season or when people get sick and need something hearty. So my soups, stews, chilies, I start doing those in the winter months. My and I do all my baked stuff, the breads and and I do jams and preserves. If my house always smells like grandma's house, my grandma's house, I'm in a super good mood. So and I know that. So I keep my house smelling like grandma's house. It always smells like some type of canned preserve or like I have been cooking, but my house always smells like home.

SPEAKER_00: 24:37

Is this the time of year you make tea also?

SPEAKER_02: 24:40

No, I typically do tea in the spring. Um, I'll do some blends in the fall, but I mostly do teas in the spring. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 24:49

I love it. I didn't realize that I do bake a lot and I bake a lot of bread, banana bread for everybody making it. House smells like banana bread all winter.

SPEAKER_02: 25:00

Yes, I do a lot of baking in the winter.

SPEAKER_03: 25:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_00: 25:03

Because the oven heats up in the summer, so I don't your hubby make pepper jelly too.

SPEAKER_03: 25:08

Yes, we actually make prickly pear jelly and we add pepper. What does prickly pear taste like? It's a jelly. It's a good question. It's kind of it's not super sweet. It's strawberry jelly, some of your other fruit jellies, it can be super sweet. It's to me, it could be a savory also. So it's not.

SPEAKER_02: 25:31

If you had to pick a fruit that it was similar to, what would it be similar to?

SPEAKER_03: 25:36

I don't know because it's not a strawberry.

SPEAKER_02: 25:39

What's the flesh similar to?

SPEAKER_03: 25:41

The flesh is more like I would it's prickly, it's got thorns on it. So it's got stickers on it, like a cactus. But the flesh is more like I would say, like a mango type. So the insides are kind of like a texture of a mango. We roast them to burn off all the stickers, and then you take it all. There's a whole process. But we make it with jalapenos in it too.

SPEAKER_02: 26:03

That sounds like something. That sounds like something. The way you described it gave me nothing. You gave me nothing in that description.

SPEAKER_03: 26:12

I know. Because it's a prickly pear is it's not, it's so hard to describe.

SPEAKER_00: 26:20

I picture it kind of like dragon fruit in a way, but not as sweet. Okay. Okay. And then you put it on a cover with cream cheese, and it's delicious.

SPEAKER_03: 26:32

A jalapeno prickly pear cream cheese on crackers is yummy. Absolutely. I do not make it. That is not I watch him. I supervise the fire, making sure he doesn't catch anything on the patio on fire. But I don't cook it because maybe this year I'll try. Because I'm trying new things. So maybe this year.

SPEAKER_02: 26:52

All right, peoples, you heard it here first. Lindy is trying new things. She's gonna cook things and not set stuff on fire. We're gonna hold her to that. So next time you hear us chatting, we're gonna ask her what she cooked and if anything got caught on fire. It has been a great episode, ladies. We have been around the block. We've talked about a lot of things. We've talked about things that required adult supervision. We talked about things that keep us out of trouble or maybe get us in trouble. We're not quite sure at this point. You know, we're just some spoonies out doing things and trying to keep ourselves entertained. And with that, we hope that you found this entertaining but also helpful that you give yourself the time that you need to just take the needed pause, that you find the space to pour into you today, tomorrow, and every day after that. And without anything else, don't forget your spoons.