A Cold Monday Morning.

Naturally following a cave like Sunday.

The bears do know how to overcome a cold winter...hibernation. Yesterday saw us do just that. Winter means skiing, eh, not by us but the experts that we can vicariously live through on the telly. There were two extremely exciting races and the first one kicked off at just after ten.

To early for me to go for a walk and that set the tone for the rest of this divinely lazy Sunday. A warm cozy blanket, breakfast done and dusted, cat on lap and TV set on the right channel. Just knowing that there were hours more ahead made it special. There were the odd moments of industrious activities punctuating the bubble of ultra laziness...making tea, lunch and the must staple of a day at home, snacks. Yes, in our household that meant numerous games of rock paper, scissors.

Not doing much of anything is a good way to unwind and recharge for the week ahead. Along the way of extreme consumerism, the use of Sundays has been changed to one of stuffing everything you didn't have time to do and buy during the week into that one day.

The Austrian way of closing shops on Saturday afternoon until Monday morning ( yes, there are exceptions of course ) is great and changes one's constant belief that shopping is as necessary as breathing. Not at all. You'd be surprised how easy it is to not shop on a weekend. Not to mention the fact that you save oodles of dosh.

In the past, Sunday was a day to go to a mega shopping center firstly in the guise of a good fry-up breakfast ( which was nice as we spent it with family ) but then, replete with an English breakfast, the shops were visited. Somehow, the maze of mega shopping centers makes it jolly difficult to resist the breadcrumbs of window displays along the way to the exit. It used to be that Las Vegas casinos held the monopoly of confusing one in finding the exit, but now shopping centers have followed suit.

If you've never tried a Sunday of nothings ( not merely because you are still suffering the aftereffects of a night out ), put it into your calendar. Get enough snacks, books or movies lined up and be surprised at how good it feels to not put this ubiquitous consumer tainted straight jacket on...

Biggi