Spring may be on its way, but we’re only in mid-February: plenty of time for winter’s last icy gasp. To help you out, we’ve assembled a few wintry things you can do in your own backyard. These may take some work, but think of the neighborhood bragging rights!

How to Build Your Own Backyard Luge
Popular Mechanics
A detailed guide picturing every step of the luge-building process. You’ll be ready for the Olympics in no time.

How to Make a Backyard Ice Skating Rink
eHow.com
Ready to play some hockey but don’t want to pay for ice time? Play under the stars in your own backyard! This guide covers materials needed as well as the how-to.

How to build an igloo
Boy’s Life
Who needs a treehouse when you have an igloo (Marvin window optional)?

In one of the 30 states hard hit by the monster storm? We hope you are safe, warm and at home! With Punxsutawney Phil failing to see his shadow yesterday on Groundhog Day, we are supposedly due for an early (and much-needed) spring! If you’re going stir crazy, we’ve gathered up some links around the blogosphere to warm you up.

Remove Snow (Without The Backache) With The Wovel
Charles  and Hudson
“The Wovel has been independently tested by the University of Massachusetts and shown to perform at equal or better than your standard snowblower. Also, the Wovel has been shown to need no more force than you would normally exert walking, which is great for those of us unable to chuck that heavy wet stuff about like powdered sugar.”

Hunt, Gather and Host: Winter Picnic
Design*Sponge
If you feel like some ambitious winter entertaining, this beautifully photographed post will give you some ideas!

All About Gas Fireplaces
This Old House
“There’s only one thing better than a roaring fire on a wintry night: a roaring fire that needs no tending, requires minimal cleanup, and doesn’t leave the rest of the house freezing cold. That’s what you get with today’s gas fireplaces.”

10 Things to Do Around the House When You’re Snowed In
Apartment Therapy
Stay busy around the house with these tips from Apartment Therapy.

Snow and winter weather seem to be in the news a lot this week! We at MLuxe care about your health, safety and happiness, so here’s some information about how to stay safe and sane in the Snowpocalypse!

Charles and Hudson makes a good point in a recent posting: there’s a lot you can get done around the house during a snowstorm. Keep your pipes from freezing and check for drafts around the doors. You might be going stir-crazy around the house, so do some fun stuff like creating a patina on a mirror.

Of course, you’ll need to keep your driveway and sidewalks clear, so get prepared for some shoveling! Those of us from northern climates know the special exhaustion that comes after shoveling. CNN has a good run-through of the problems that come from shoveling and what to do to prevent injuries.

Stay safe and keep warm!

Photo courtesy of letmeFLYAWAY on Flickr.

Our blogging friends at the home-improvement site Charles & Hudson offer a constant stream of great advice for home owners. For example, take the pile of tips you’ll find in the “build it yourself” category. Or, to be more direct, just check out the archive of tips.

Considering the time of year and the nationwide cold snap we’re collectively facing, we thought it’d be good to revisit a rather timely post: one full of tips on how to melt snow and ice without damaging your walkways. And of course, by melting snow and ice, you’re also avoiding damaging your head, knees, wrists, elbows and rears.

The tips include:

• installing a somewhat textured walkway,
• installing thermal heat elements underneath the path
• using a thermal heated walkway such as HeatTrak, or
• simply focus on reducing the slip danger

“Use sand or kitty litter,” C&H writes. “It won’t melt the ice but it will increase the coefficient of friction” — and increasing the safety of your family and your guests.

On the same topic, you can find more tips here.

Photo courtesy of LisaW123 via Flickr

In honor of the winter storm that has hit us here in Marvin country, let’s take a look at a beautiful hotel in another snowy place.

The Old Faithful Snow Lodge, at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, houses millions of visitors every year in its 90,000-square-foot space. At 7,300 feet above sea level, the Snow Lodge offers amazing views and lots of options for exploring and skiing. Without television and internet access, the Old Faithful Snow Lodge is an oasis of relaxation.

But that same remoteness can make renovating difficult. Marvin supplied the windows for the lodge and worked on a tight schedule to ensure that the delivery was coordinated with the Snow Lodge’s accessibility.

To make sure that the windows provided adequate ventilation (air conditioning is not available), tilt turns and hoppers were used. The tilt turn is a dual-functioning window: it opens at the side like a door or tilts in at the top. Hopper windows are a great companion for the tilt turn and open at the top. Additionally, awnings were used. The Old Faithful Snow Lodge made use of authentic and simulated divided lites for a traditional look and Low E II glass for modern energy efficiency.

From cold Warroad to snowy Yellowstone, Marvin windows look beautiful and perform in winter weather!

Top photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park Lodges