I have made a discovery…

I have made a discovery this past week, which is that it is rather pleasant, in the depths of Chicago winter, to go to my gym for a hot shower, then ten minutes of hot whirlpool, then twenty minutes of swimming, then ten minutes of super-hot eucalyptus sauna, then hot shower, then one hour of writing fiction in front of their toasty fireplace. Two hours of bliss.

I was actually a little too warm for that last bit, which, on a day like today, felt like a minor miracle. Now I'm home, and we have just hurriedly fed the children dinner and urged them upstairs (c'mon, c'mon, eat FASTER, it's COLD downstairs!). I have bundled myself under the covers with a hot cup of tea because it is the only way to feel properly warm again, and I'm thinking longingly of that sauna.

So that's how the Finns survived their winters. Must get some fresh eucalyptus to hang in our shower!