Beating the January blahs - Southwest style

It's that inevitable moment in early January when I realize the holidays are truly over. Grey skies mirror my mood, with no bright holiday decorations to dispel the gloom.  I take out a 2017 calendar and contemplate the blank spaces waiting to be filled in with life's new happenings.

Each year I order a calendar from the Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). I look forward to pictures of rescued cats and dogs and their heartwarming stories.  My own special pet, my cat Bitsy, is curled up beside the computer keyboard, wishing I would rub her head instead of type on the keyboard.

So what does a Southwesterner do to beat the winter blahs?  What can I write in those empty blocks on the January calendar?  Fortunately, because I live on the Texas-Mexico border in El Paso, I have an opportunity to extend the holiday season until after January 6th by celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos,Three Kings Day.  This year my husband, Wayne, and I splurged on a large rosca de reyes, a special cake offered by local bakeries for this occasion. Our cake was especially delicious because it was filled with cajeta, a thick caramel syrup.  We took half of the cake to a friend's house and devoured the rest over several days.

Rosca de Reyes

Bakers hide a small plastic Baby Jesus (or sometimes more than one) in the cake.  Whoever finds the figure is supposed to host a tamale party on February 2, Candlemas Day. I wish someone would host a Candelmas party and invite me, because by February I will probably to be desperate for entertainment.

Three and a half long weeks in January loom ahead.  Here are some things I may do to keep up my spirits:

*collaborate with Wayne to finish a mystery book we are writing - Forts, Farbs, and Phantoms;
*publish Seasons and Seasonings of the Southwest on Kindle;
*pay special attention to my 73 houseplants;
*catch up on language study on Duolingo;
*plan a May trip to Ireland to participate in a steam train tour;
*take classes at the local Osher Lifelong Learning Center;
*lose a few pounds added during the holidays and train vacation to Canada.

OR... I could curl up in front of the fireplace with a thick book and occasionally gaze out the window at the bare landscape.  My 2017 calendar is as bare as that landscape, ready for whatever the future may bring.