46. Looking on the bright side.

There is a woman who takes the same bus as I do in the mornings at least a few times a week. She never fails to say, "What wonderful weather!" - regardless of whether it's sunny, rainy, -30 degrees Celcius or hailing rats.

What a wonderful way to live your life.

"Hollywood shows people panicking, but my research shows that 9.9 times out of 10, people don't turn into crazed individuals, but behave quite rationally. They tend to help each other, too. -- The knowledge that most people react in a humanist way helps me to get in up in the morning – I come to work knowing that people tend to behave in a supportive, helpful way in emergencies, so any way we can help inform intelligent building design and disaster strategies will help them to survive."

- Ed Galea, a researcher in disasters
Quoted from The Guardian

45. Curling up in bed.

Living as a single woman in a cold, cold climate, I have developed curling up under the blankets into something of an art form. While there is nothing better than sprawling starfish-style in the mornings when you don't have to get up, snuggling in to sleep in a freezing cold room is a necessary skill. Here are a couple of recipes for a good night's cocoon:

The caterpillar: a stout classic

Ingredients:
one blanket, minimum 3 by 6 foot
one human
optional: woolly socks

1. Lie on one side.
2. Grab the side of the blanket closest to you firmly.
3. Flop onto other side. Be careful to cling to the edge of the blanket!
4. Grab other side of blanket.
5. Flop onto stomach.
6. Use your toes and wiggle your bum to gather the rest of the blanket around your torso and legs.

For a delicious contrast of warm and chilly, stick out the toes of one foot.


The foetus: a more advanced variation of the above

Ingredients:
one blanket
one human
optional: another human, a stuffed toy

1. Repeat steps 1-6 above.
2. Turn onto one side.
3. Carefully(!) bend you knees towards your torso.

Be sure to create a tight and sturdy cocoon before bending your knees so the blanket stays in a cylinder shape even as you move. An assistant is highly recommended to pat the blanket securely around you, especially to make sure the blanket hugs the backs of your knees rather than billowing about. A skillful curler-up can, however, carefully reach out an arm to do this themselves. For an added illusion of cuddling up, place a pillow or a long-ish stuffed toy between your back and the wall.