The Passion of Winter

Winter time where I live is a pretty horrible thing. It is dark most of the time, it's painfully cold (not unusual to see temps -30 degrees Fahrenheit), the snow is filthy and drab from the passing cars, and the roads become icy and deadly. In SL, however, winter is a thing of beauty.
Putting on a comfy sweater and fluffy boots and walking into a sim with gently falling snow fills me with the feeling of comfort I used to get at the first snow fall of the season, before I became a jaded and cranky adult. Grey skies in SL are an art form and a thing of beauty, where as the constant grey skies up north here in RL winters have literally driven people to madness and worse.
Second Life really does help people get through many issues in their real lives. Some people suffer from crippling anxiety in RL, yet are able to have fulfilling social lives in SL. People with very little pocket money for clothing in RL can have massive wardrobes in SL. Things of extreme winter-themed beauty in SL really do help me get past the growing cabin fever I experience in RL winters. Comfy sweaters like the one from Aqua I am wearing and the boots from Duh! bring a bit of my RL self into my avatar; the amazing 12 Days of Christmas themed branch accessory from ~La Petite Morte~ bring that extra aspect of wonder and fantasy to my avatar that allows me to escape the gloominess of the weather for a short period of time.
Whether you are a gloomy Gus like me, or a total polar bear, I think you can appreciate the wonderful craft work that goes into each and every decent part of SL. This winter while it blizzards outside in the grey day, I will appreciate them all the more.

Two Turtle Doves branch: ~La Petite Morte~
Boots: Duh!, Down the Chimney Hunt prize (starts tomorrow, I got an advance copy)
Jeans: Ingenue
Hair: Exile (new release!!)
Belt: Puddles, 1L
Chair: Elisa Poses
Sweater: Aqua, preview copy (not released in this style yet, but will be soon!)
Skin: Imagen