ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM Tommy Heinsohn had a Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics , but, like Jerry Remy, he is best known today as a color commentator on TV. For 25 years, Tommy has enlivened the telecasts of Celtics games with his brains, passion, and hoop savvy. At age 74, he still looks like he could bang the boards if Kevin Garnett needs a breather. And when he thinks the refs made a bad call against his beloved Celts? Well, let's just say that the Heat of a roaring winter fire is nothing compared to the Heat of a roaring Tommy Heinsohn.

DON AUCOIN

OUR FAVORITE COLOR For much of winter, Boston becomes a tundra, and the sky varies between white and gray. But white plus gray equals silver, and the silver lining here is that seasonal affective disorder (or SAD, as it is aptly called), is considered a normal, not pathological, state of mind in these parts. I mean, who isn't mental after the third "blizzard of the century" dumps yet another foot of snow before December is even out? So, if you're feeling blue, it's all about the white. Snow and sky, that is. And you're in good company. We Bostonians feel one another's pain this time of year. BELLA ENGLISH

COURTYARD OF QUIET There is only one occasion I can think of when I actually want snow. It is the soft stuff that falls gently into the courtyard of the Museum of Fine Arts, while you're eating at Bravo, the excellent second-story restaurant at the museum. The scene is best captured at night, amid the warmth and dim light of the place. There, you are free of traffic noise and the ugly vision of people staggering in sidewalk slush. This is an occasion to be savored. That said, it is the only restaurant I can think of where you have to consult The Weather Channel to capture its magic. SAM ALLIS

MRS. GARDNER'S GARDEN OF EDEN The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has an austere exterior but its central courtyard is an oasis, a calming respite from the snow and slush. Its Venetian-inspired garden can't help but shake you out of the winter doldrums. Where else, in January, can you enjoy a blossoming summer garden of yellow jasmine trees, flowering jades, fishtail palms, and multiple varieties of orchids? Where else can you be surrounded by the meditative sounds of a trickling fountain? Alas, you can't enter the courtyard (Mrs. Gardner would not have appreciated visitors tromping across her ancient Roman floor mosaic.) But it's visible from nearly every gallery. Take a break from the masterpieces, lean against a balustrade, look down, and enjoy. LINDA MATCHAN

THE END WILL COME I almost always despair in the early weeks of winter, having been traumatized by the season as a kid. I'm from Canada, where, when winter comes, it stays winter for six or seven months. But the beauty of winter in Boston is that we're not trapped in an eternal deep-freeze. The snow melts (sometimes), and I get to see my sedum plants poking out from the garden, and spot the buds on my rhododendrons. Occasionally there's even a 60-degree day between the snowy ones, offering the hope - and illusion - that spring is near. LINDA MATCHAN

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE In his later years as mayor, Kevin White liked to go on about Boston being a world-class city. Whatever that means. Still, there are four indisputably world-class things about this city: the BSO, the MFA, the hospitals, and Boston's situation on the Charles. The best view comes while crossing the Longfellow Bridge on the Red Line. (You're higher up than on foot or in a car.) And the view is never better than in winter. The light's more direct, the air clearer, and, if you're lucky, there's the added visual bonus of all that ice.

MARK FEENEY

BY THE SEA The ocean in summertime is of course sublime. But I especially love it this time of year because of the frozen still-life it offers, particularly the occasional boat in the water, some with white lights decorating its mast. Add the monochromatic gray dappled with white caps and an occasional seagull. "Even in the leafless winter, even in the ashy city," as poet Mary Oliver says, there is beauty. Resting one's eyes on the Atlantic in the winter is a revelation, both man-made and natural. BELLA ENGLISH

WISH YOU WERE THERE The cold (pun intended) truth is that I hate winter in Boston. The only way I survive this snowy hell is by fantasizing, Walter Mitty-style, about the New Me who would emerge if only I could escape to someplace warm. So I linger over the Globe weather map the way some guys linger over the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. (Hubba-hubba, would you get a load of those temperatures in Phoenix!) The Weather Channel suddenly becomes must-see TV. And next week, as the Red Sox equipment truck heads to spring training in Florida, that just might be me you see peeping out of a duffel bag.

DON AUCOIN

TOME AND TOME AGAIN Boston is full of famous museums, and most of them are crowded and in some cases pricey. But quiet little spaces, where you can see wonderful things for free, are to be found if you know where to look. My favorite is the Boston Public Library's Rare Book Room. It's on the third floor of the McKim building, facing Copley Square. It is small and intimate, with dim light to protect the collections. The display cases along the wall, and in mid-room, invariably have exhibits of manuscripts and book-related treasures you won't find elsewhere. Last fall there was an exhibit of priceless Shakespeariana, including a 1623 First Folio, and right now there's a show about photography on book covers. Seldom are more than one or two other visitors present at once, so you can savor, at leisure, beautiful and historic books. DAVID MEHEGAN

ALONG FOR THE RIDE It is hard to stay loyal to the T. Parking fees, the crawling Red Line, the cranky Charlie Card machines. It's enough to make you juice up the Hummer. But there is one stretch beyond reproach: The West Medford commuter stop leading to the TD Banknorth Garden. No need to face rush-hour traffic. No exhaust-filled, post-event wait in a downtown parking garage. The train offers plenty of free parking and a quick ride into the arena.GEOFF EDGERS