rainy season

Rain on the veranda/gallery/loggi'al fresco, taken about an hour ago.

Several years ago, when I was preparing to move to London from Houston, several friends who'd lived in England before me were full of well-intended warnings. "London's great," they said. "Except it always rains. And during the winter, it gets dark. Dark and rainy. Do you get depressed with dark and rain? Because seriously, it's dark and rainy. Dark, rainy and ... damn, I'm getting sad just thinking about it."

The truth is, I don't mind dark and rainy at all (cold is another story. Dear Lord in heaven, how I hate the cold). I'm actually sort of comforted by the rain. Perhaps it's because I come from a country that instead of four seasons, has only two: six months of dry weather, and six months of rain. I find the rain soothing. When it rains, I think of hot cups of tea, reading good books curled up on comfy sofas, dinners with family members in warmly-lit kitchens full of laughter. Rain is good.

We're currently in the middle of rainy season right now in Trinidad, and about the same time every afternoon, the skies open up, the house goes all dark, and the rain starts pounding outside. And lately, Alex and I have been developing our rainy day rituals: sometimes we read books, sometimes we cuddle and listen to the rain hit her bedroom window. Right now, she's sitting at my feet, drawing page after page of crayon-filled pictures, while I work on my laptop. And although she's still too young for me to tell, I think she's learning to love the rain as well.

How about you guys -- do you have any favourite things you like to do when it rains?

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Comments

[Jessica]

Your rainy day rituals sound just perfect to me--and make me miss tropical rain (which is different from Southern California rain in some indescribable way--mine was Hawaii rain, but I imagine Trinidadian rain has the same quality). The parenthesis is officially longer than the comment. Ah well, back to desert living for me.

[Jennifer]

I'm always glad to find a fellow rain-lover. My husband and I both love the rain and feel soothed by the comforting sound and the calming grey of the sky. We live near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it rains a good bit here. I also lived in London for a year, and found it to be a fine place, rain and all. And I agree -- books and tea are perfect rainy day fare.

[chris]

No, too busy worry about all the flooding and pumping od the basement that happens here when it rains ;-)

Honestly, I think I would like that sort of rain where it was warm and it rained for a period every day and then cleared up. But here it rains non stop for days and all the flowers get washed away.

But I would trade rain for cold any day. I hate the cold. Today I had to light our first fire of the winter. I am already depressed.

[Girl con Queso]

I LOVE the rain. It was one of my favorite things about London. But now I'm in Houston. And. I'd trade the rain for the hot anyday. Perhaps I should move to Seattle. Or to Trinidad. Hmmmm.

[Beck's Mommy]

I love rain as long as I don't have to drive in it (living in Southern California where if it mists, suddenly no one can remember how to drive). If I have the luxury of being at home, I too would choose a good book. But I would have a cup of coco instead of tea.

[Jean1]

I love the rainy days, the overcast sky and mist in the air. I find that those days are so soothing...like you are getting permission to sit and read or write, wear what my daughter calls the "comfy clothes" and light candles around the house. ahhhhh!

[Amy]

I adore rain. I love sitting on a covered porch during a thunderstorm with heavy downpours. But do you know what I love even more? The way the air feels right before a big rainstorm. When I was a teenager growing up on Lake Erie, I woul rush to the beach when that pre-storm air hit so I could watch the lightning come in over the lake.

[Wanda]

Play games...sit by the fireplace...read books...drink hot tea...snuggle...nap.

[Kay]

I love curlingup in bed with hubby and drinking a hot cup of Milo while watching TV or listening to some soothing music.

[Christy]

We lived in London a few years, now we're back in Seattle. I love the rain, the smell and the sound. We do books and soup here. And coffee. It just feels cozy when it rains.

[nancy]

I think hot tea and a good book or blog, sound just right. But I just moved to LA and it hasn't rained yet.

[karen t]

I live just outside of Cambridge in the UK. Guess what? It's raining ! Lucky for me I love it too.

[birchsprite]

I'm over in the Westcountry (England) and it has been dry here for ages. I'm from Northern Ireland originally though and we do good rain there! I always used to love curling up on my beanbag with a cat in my lap, a cup of tea and a packet of dark chocolate digestive biscuits....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

We could do with some decent rain here in England now....still a bit of a water crisis.

[Lisa]

Rain in general and changes in season always make me want to cook. Think big pots of black bean soup, roasted chicken with herbs or mushroom risotto. Kids coming in, dropping coats and shoes, saying, "That smells good! What's for dinner?" That sort of thing.

[W. Lotus]

One thing I like to do is lay in bed listening to soft instrumental music or chanting music. I'll knit or read or write in my journals (paper and electronic).

I've recently discovered I love cycling in the rain. As long as my clothes keep me dry, there's nothing like being out in a quiet area briskly pedaling through the raindrops. Coming in from the rain worn out from a good workout feels marvelous.

[Anali]

I live right outside of Boston, so when it's rainy, it's not as cold as it could be, otherwise it would be snow! If if's raining very lightly in the summer or a warm spring day, it's kind of nice to go for a walk. If it's cold and windy, I like to stay in and snuggle up in a blanket and watch a good movie.

[Michelle]

My first time at your site and your pictures are beautiful. I'm in Alaska heading into winter but felt as if I was in the tropics watching the rain come down.

[Steff]

Believe it or not we have had two downpours in the last week here in Texas. My youngest son is afraid of the "under" so we have been snuggling and singing songs while it rains.

[Big Pumpkin]

I love the rain too! when I'm not outside :o)

When it rains, I love sleeping .................curled under a soft duvet with a great book prior.

I love sipping Earl grey Tea whilst watching the rain, observing the droplets of water and the direction of wind and daydreaming.....

[Buffy]

I can handle dark and grey but I hate the rain. I'm from four seasons country.....so I missed the snow when I first moved to the UK.

[Shannon]

I tend to want to snuggle into some soft comfty clothes and read or do needlework. Mainly I enjoy the serenity of the raindrops and take advantage of the quietly creative moments they inspire in me.

[KidKate]

What lovely pictures! I'm a former Houstonian living in New York and headed to London at the end of the month (when I moved to New York, the Houstonians simply said, "Why would you want to do that?"). I must confess, though, that the single biggest adjustment to living in New York after Texas was the gray skies. And it's the one thing I've sort of brooded over about moving to London, but that's sort of silly, isn't it? If I were smart, I'd spend my time brooding over the cost of living instead...

[The Wooden Porch]

I used to love to go out and play in the rain. Loved it! But now I have a three year old who would want to do it too, and frankly, that's just too much cleaning up to do when we get inside.

We don't watch TV or movies much, but on those rainy days we'll (daughter) snuggle in my bed and watch something fun together. We usually lay around in sweat pants and read lots of books too.

[samantha]

I adore great big crashing thunderstorms. We get a lot of those during the summer, and it's so wonderful. I spent a lot of childhood summer afternoons on the front porch, waiting for the storm to pass so I could continue playing.

Now I love to get in bed with a book and hot drink, and listen to the rain gurgle down the drain. It's heaven, I tell you!

[tracy]

Seeing we live in Vancouver BC, i have lots of rainy days to look forward to.

I love to relax and hear the rain on the windows.....or go for a run in the rain...or a swim in the rain!