sinking in... to the monotony of winter

ok, first? i was trying to write 'monotony' in the subject line of this blog entry when i could not remember, for the life of me, how to spell that word. i opened up word- which one would think would serve as a useful tool in this scenario, given its name- but every attempt failed, underlined in a squiggly red line... as if it were taunting me... you've lost the ability to spell! and probably also your mind!

i thought maybe i had forgotten the word itself, and tried monotomy. which, isn't a word (i tend to make them up these days). then i went to dictionary.com where i found a long list of variations on the word, and the first one i clicked on was this:

Mo*not"o*mous, a. [Mono- + Gr. ? cutting, fr. ? to cut.] (Min.) Having a distinct cleavage in a single direction only.

clearly this wasn't it. but it did make me laugh.

so. back to the subject: sinking in to the mOnOtONy of winter. this is what ben and i have been doing lately, i feel. every day since getting back to ankara we have ventured out into the gray, dull, cold-but-not-cold-enough-for-snow weather to fulfill our daily duties of work, lessons, physical therapy, familial obligations (eeek), and errand running (double eek), amongst others.

and it's not even winter yet!

every morning it is a struggle to leave the apartment. i drag my feet to the elevator and out to the car, thinking all the while how i would rather spend my days at home, pajama-clad, hot cup of tea in hand, huddled over a good book. or my laptop. or baking. or watching trashy daytime tv. or.... instead, the days go by without much variation.

does anyone else experience this during these cold, dark months? i swear i was a hermit in another life.

but... there is hope! we are leaving for australia in ONE week. and every time i pass that pile of summer clothes i've set aside in the corner of my bedroom, i think about how warm the aussie sun will be. and how, for a while, i can escape from the monotony of a winter that's not yet begun.