Deja Vu

Good morning,

48 degrees here this morning and tons of stars twinkling in the sky as the sun prepares to rise in another hour or so.  Isn't this string of weather just fantastic???  Do you know that LAST year when the first day of spring arrived, one hundred and fifty-four inches of snow had fallen on the prairie?  This year, a total of a mere fifty-two inches of fluff has been tabulated.  It appears as if we are done, gone, kaput with snow for the season. 

These eighty+ degree days have everything and everybody just bustin' out all over.  Spirits are raised and smiles abound.  Joy is in the air, along with pollen and mosquitoes.  I not only turned off the heat in the house but I have been sleeping for the past three nights with the window in the bedroom cranked open.  Hubby has discovered that he will not freeze to death as long as he (a) wears his thermal long johns and (b) pulls his flannel sheet and his three blankies up over his head and points beyond.  He also has my menopausal body laying next to him, generating enough heat to spark a forest fire.  He will survive.

Speaking of the husband, I forgot to tell you- he went to the doctors.  I didn't have to cajole him or make idle threats or offer up my body.  He went willingly, all by himself.  This is a landmark event.  He has been diagnosed with a bad sinus infection and is now on an antibiotic.  It's not getting him down, though, and he says he sounds far worse than he feels.  He's been busy during this beautiful stretch of weather, getting some walls up on the pole barn.  It looks great; he does amazingly good work.  

So yesterday morning was quite a busy one.  I ended up doing a mish-mash of chores.  I started off on the porch, which is where I wanted to be.  I could jaw with the hubby, commune with nature, swat bugs, watch Moses the Snow Goose and sand away on my birdhouse gourd.  Alas, my shoulder started to bark almost immediately, telling me it needed a break, what with the weekend's kayaking and sanding.  Instead, I was driven inside, forced into slave labor, mopping the kitchen floor and doing up the laundry along with this and that.  And all the while that I was toiling away, the stock pot was brewing away on the stove.  We finally were home for a long enough stretch that I could get around to making our corned beef and cabbage.  It was super-duper delicious, probably one of the best chunks o' beast that I have had in quite a few years.

Off I trotted to art class.  I guess my rainbow trout that I painted wasn't as bad as I thought, although I still wasn't thrilled with the thing.  It shall be tucked away upstairs in this big folder that I keep for my spiritual rejects.  I started a picture of a sunset, but that too wasn't speaking my language.  It was just way too nice outside for me to focus on painting.  My heart tried; really, it did.  But it longed to be out on the other side of the paned glass window.

I also want it to be noted that I nor anyone else in the room suffered any ill effects from me eating cabbage immediately before attending art class.  I thought of that AFTER Hubby and I had eaten our dinner.  You'll have to take me at my word, as no matches were lit during art class.

Speaking of art, if you have a chance, our entire class is involved in an art show for the next couple or three weeks.  Five watercolors of mine are on display at the Sherrill Public Library, along with many wonderful pieces of artwork from other members of the class. Go grab a look if you have the chance.  I am amazed at the watercolors and pen & ink produced by the gang.  They constantly raise my bar and I find myself wanting to aspire to their level.  Check it out.

So today I shall start out at the pool, where hopefully I won't suffer hypothermia while trying to get in some exercise.  And this afternoon, I reluctantly will shuffle off to play bridge with the girls.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy playing the game and I enjoy my mates.  But it will be a repeat of yesterday, deja vu.  Just like Groundhog's Day on television.  I can tell you right now that the sun and beautiful day will scream my name loudly as I sit indoors, sipping my coffee and staring at a bunch of cards. 

Have a BEAUTIFUL day.  I hope you have an opportunity to be outside and enjoy at least a shred of it.