One of the great pleasures of winter weather is comfort food. I’d almost lost track of that need – there being not much call for it in Austin – until last weekend, which my husband and I spent on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. The island hosts a celebration called Christmas Stroll, which I think is mostly a gimmick to lure north those of us who’ve sworn off snow and ice, but turns out to be a rather lovely gimmick just the same.
In a span of three short days, we encountered every type of weather available, from sunny and mild (for December in Massachusetts) on Friday, to howling wind and horizontal rain on Saturday, to frigid but clear on Sunday. And while I must admit that we didn’t participate in any of the island events, we nevertheless had a great time. I’m not sure how much more you need than a fire in the fireplace, a few good bottles of wine, and football on the television (even for non-fans like me, it’s amazingly enjoyable among friends). The experience is even more intensely satisfying when the weather outside is, well, frightful (apologies to Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne), as it was on Saturday, and you don’t have to go out in it. I don’t know why that is, but it’s clearly the case. Maybe we just need to be reminded of how bad conditions could be before we can fully appreciate where we are.
