Frozen in time

poliphilo puts it well: "This white weather makes everything a little unreal - a little dreamlike - as if time itself had been frozen.".

Small tasks become large and complicated; yesterday's expedition to the pool (something we accomplish in summer before a late breakfast) occupied the whole afternoon. Not going out ought to give me plenty of extra time to get things done, but I don't seem to focus...

An article in yesterday's Guardian attributes to Vilhjalmur Stefansson the description of the Inuit strategy for dealing with a blizzard: find what shelter and comfort you can, whether by building an igloo or simply sitting with your back to the wind; move only as much as is necessary to keep from freezing, sleep if you can, wait it out. "A European, by contrast, will instinctively thrash on, building up a sweat with his exertions. As he exhausts himself, the sweat generated will turn to ice, which in all likelihood will kill him."

This ought to make me feel better about my current suspended animation; and it does, a little...