By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings

Last week I witnessed a fabulous snowball fight in Portsmouth, the joy and the giggles, the aims and the hits have stayed with me all week. I laughed harder than I have in a while. And today, dear musers, are ways you too might enjoy mid-winter pick me ups that carry you through ice storms, Covid, winter blahs.

• Find a teenager and bring them to Prominence Boutique in Newmarket next Saturday or Sunday in Newmarket.  This is a venue which provides FREE prom attire for all genders. In its 11th year, Kat Murphy has collected hundreds and hundreds of prom gowns and suits.  She will put them on display next weekend (Saturday, February 12th and Sunday, February 13th) for anyone, anywhere to come and get prepped for glamor and glitz.  Maybe YOU even need a gown for the Oscars? Or maybe you just need a reprieve from pajama bottoms and fleece. More info?  On Facebook @THEPROMINENCEBOUTIQUE.  This is not to be missed.

• Buy yourself some flowers. Currently, tulips are less than ten bucks at Market Basket and not only provide some much-needed color against all of this white on the ground, they provide a hint of spring. 
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• Go ice skating at Strawbery Bank in Portsmouth.  It’s free on Saturday mornings; I arrive with my own ice skates, throw on a podcast and skate around and around and around. Parking is easy, the ice is pristine, it’s a beautiful way to begin a weekend.

• Head to the cosmetics’ clearance at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx and invest in some oils, some 70% off beauty care pick me ups. I just bought some Vitamin C Glow Day serum for a buck; my skin drank it up like a parched desert traveler.  Moisture and hydration are never a bad idea- and today you can do it for less than the price of a coffee.

Plan something fun.  Are you going anywhere? If not, get started. Unless you are reading this from prison, you can create an escape – for a day, an overnight, an hour.  Get out of Dodge, it’ll do you good. And, well, even if you ARE in prison, maybe even dream of an escape, ideally you’ll be out soon.

Finally, be spontaneous and find your joy. Last November, a friend and I found out on a Tuesday that we could score cheap Hamilton tickets for the next day’s matinee. On Broadway. Stellar Seats. We had gas and a car. We left NH at 4 a.m., were in our seats by 2; we looked at each other, basked in our great fortune and remarked, “We really ARE in the room where it happened.”  We drove back and were home by midnight.

My friend and I shared a fantastic day and stellar performance. Spontaneity can be glorious.

So, dear musers, if you are down and tired, filled with blah, go find your joy, your bliss.  This is not a dress rehearsal, celebrate you and your beautiful life.

Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.