Archives - Weekly Update

My younger son came home a couple of months ago and informed me he had been invited to spend his spring break in Florida with one of his two best friends (the one we call Son 2A); last year, Josh had gone to the Outer Banks with us. I decided that I still needed Spring Break with or without a prerequisite child to justify it, so my husband and I are headed to Coral Gables, Florida, tomorrow morning. I am tired of waiting for spring to come, have a stack of books that I want to read, and I crave the chance to swim outdoors. My husband is frustrated that he has not played enough golf, especially since his Christmas playing plans were snowed out, so we both have a plan for the week. The hotel we are staying at has an amazing 200-foot pool. I have stayed here before but always for just a night or two on business trips, and it’s been a place I want to enjoy more.

On Wednesday night, when the snow was flying, I was really happy that I had been talked out of setting up the new furniture on the patio. Of course, someone in our house --- not me, as it involved a screwdriver and a wrench --- could not resist seeing how the furniture looked, so now a patio furniture chair and ottoman sit in my living room. Luckily the colors match the rest of the room, but let’s just remember this was not MY idea! With winter still looming no matter what the calendar says this weekend, I am going to tackle some knitting project that involves a bright color to spike my mood.

Spring arrives Sunday, and I cannot wait; we are having a tease of it today, and everyone seems a lot more upbeat than usual as a result. I peeked ahead at next week’s weather forecast and saw S _ _ W (I cannot bear to write the word) showers predicted for next Thursday. I think this is only happening because we bought new patio furniture last weekend that I am dying to set up. Right now it’s neatly stacked in the garage as I have been advised by other powers at our house that it WILL snow again. Of course, we all know the best work of fiction one can read is the weather report, so I remain optimistic for robins and crocuses.

I am all for Daylight Saving Time, but I am not sure who thinks this is a great idea for the second week in March! DST used to fall somewhere around the end of April, then crept up to the beginning of April, and now it’s mid-March. I am going to have to buck up to the concept of one less hour of shuteye, reading time, etc. over this weekend and at least a few weeks where it’s so dark in the morning I feel like Cory needs a flashlight and reflective clothing to head to the bus stop at 7AM.

I cheated last week when making a fire. Instead of trudging out to the woodpile to carry in logs, I bought a case of those insta-light logs from the supermarket. Sadly they did not have my favorite style, which have the color crystals built right in, enabling me to play techno-pyro at the flick of a match. Instead, I lit the pressure-treated log and then tossed some crystals on top as the flames started to rage to make them colorful. Then, to ensure I was not completely cheating in my firemaking technique, I hauled in some of the twigs that had littered the front lawn from the blowing winds so I would not have to totally abandon my pioneer spirit. Somehow the flick of a match on a Friday night (I never have time for a fire during the week) is my version of turning on the weekend.