Dear Readers,

It is time to take down the tree, pack away the Christmas decorations and box up the New Year’s Eve noisemakers for another year.

The TV weather forecasters say we are in for a stretch of very chilly weather, followed by overcast cloudy skies.

What did they expect? It is winter in Maine. Of course it is cold and dark.

In a recent article in The New Yorker, they profiled one of these Internet whiz kids who built a company (and made a fortune) designing websites that attract lots of attention by aggregating stories and ideas “borrowed” from other websites.

He also advocates attracting visitors to his sites by crafting lists of things.

So, being a 21st century man in a 20th century body, I thought I would pass on a list of the most popular things to do during the cold and dark days of a Maine coastal winter. This will also give our summer folk, who I imagine are all lounging on a Caribbean beach, an idea of what their year-round neighbors do in the winter.

1. Get out the big kettle and make a warm and hearty soup. Toss in veggies, a bit of meat and break out crackers or, better yet, make a batch of corn bread. There is nothing that will warm your innards like a batch of homemade soup. Now, if someone would happen to have a bit of lobster sitting around, a chowder would hit the spot, too.

2. I'll bet many of us have a puzzle or two sitting behind some “stuff” in the back closet. Sit down with your mate, your siblings, or your parents and get ready for hours of enjoyment, or frustration. If you don't have a puzzle, I suggest you can find one at a store. At our house, we like to buy them at the local thrift shop. Then we donate them back when we are finished. Often, that means we will purchase another one and repeat the process.

3. Attend a high school basketball game. Both the boys and girls teams representing the Boothbay Region High School are ranked at or near the top of the polls. The players and their coaches have worked very hard to hone their skills. It wouldn't do any harm to let them see their friends and neighbors in the stands cheering them on. Go Seahawks.

4. Lace up your boots, bundle up and get outside. Drive over to Ocean Point and stroll around the shore. Or, if you are in the mood to do more than stroll, go to one of the Boothbay Region Land Trust's many preserves and take a hike. A brisk walk around the shore or through the woods is always good for the soul. Then come home and heat up the soup mentioned at the top of the list.

5. Turn off the TV, close down your computer and put your smartphone in the drawer. Then sit down with a good book. We all have a list of books we have meant to read. This is the time of the year to sit by the fire and pick up that book.

6. Go on a date with your special friend. We are lucky that you can get a nice dinner at a local restaurant and catch a flick at The Harbor Theatre without breaking the family bank. Besides, the TV channels are filled with reruns of episodes you have already seen.

7. I hate to say it, but this is a good time to organize the clutter in the basement, the garage or some other place in the house that seems to attract stuff. Admit it, we all have special places where we stash interesting objects we mean to use one day, but never seem to get around to using. Maybe it is time to donate those jeans with the 31-inch waist, or those that are size 6 to someone who might be able to fit into them.

Now, don't these suggestions sound more fun that watching TV as politicians begin to plan for a possible presidential run in 2016? Didn't we all have enough political bloviation last fall? How many times can you stand watching the same old faces say the same old things?

Don't these suggestions sound like more fun than hunching your shoulders over your smartphone and giggling at videos of cute kittens, or other some such drivel?

Last suggestion: Give your wife or husband, mother or father, brother or sister a big hug and tell him or her it is “just because.”

As the winter winds howl outside the back door, this may be the best suggestion of all.