It's Spring! Wooohooo..... Sort of. Yesterday it was 85 degrees in DC. A record-setter. The cherry blossoms are in bloom (gorgeous!) and it was a day for ice cream, short sleeves, and in some cases shorts. They're brave souls, I think, and optomists.
Today? OMGosh. It's 47 degrees. It's raining, windy, chilly-cold that goes to the bone, and grey. All I want to do is hibernate and go back to bed. I love spring, I really do. It's full of possibilities and delicious smells - daffodils smell like spring to me, and hyacinths smell like Easter - as well as gorgeous sights as the trees bloom, the tulips rise, the saucer magnolias blossom in a riot of pink. In a week or so, we'll see azaleas start to bud and bloom, and it WILL get warmer. But not today. Today is for keeping your coat buttoned, running through the raindrops because the wind won't tolerate an open umbrella. I've already seen two turned inside out and I'm just home from dropping carpool.
So what do you do on a raw, rainy day, if you've the day off? Read? Clean? (Really?) Write? Or do you light a fire, curl up and do nuthin at all? Me? I'm going to brew a good cup of Earl Gray, get out the stash of shortbread Girl Scout Cookies I've been hiding from my boys (they who are the devourers of cookies), and contemplate new beginnings. New books. New contracts. New ideas. I figure that's a lovely way to remember that Spring really IS here...it's just taking today off to decide how big a show to put on this year.
Tell me about YOUR day....
what are you up to on this fine spring, or in Aus, NZ, etc, fall day? Oh, and by the way? IT'S BASEBALL SEASON!!! Go Braves! Go Cubs! (As long as you're not playing the Braves!) Let's Play BALL!!!
It's Spring! Wooohooo..... Sort of. Yesterday it was 85 degrees in DC. A record-setter. The cherry blossoms are in bloom (gorgeous!) and it was a day for ice cream, short sleeves, and in some cases shorts. They're brave souls, I think, and optomists. 
Today? OMGosh. It's 47 degrees. It's raining, windy, chilly-cold that goes to the bone, and grey. All I want to do is hibernate and go back to bed. I love spring, I really do. It's full of possibilities and delicious smells - daffodils smell like spring to me, and hyacinths smell like Easter - as well as gorgeous sights as the trees bloom, the tulips rise, the saucer magnolias blossom in a riot of pink. In a week or so, we'll see azaleas start to bud and bloom, and it WILL get warmer. But not today. Today is for keeping your coat buttoned, running through the raindrops because the wind won't tolerate an open umbrella. I've already seen two turned inside out and I'm just home from dropping carpool. 
So what do you do on a raw, rainy day, if you've the day off? Read? Clean? (Really?) Write? Or do you light a fire, curl up and do nuthin at all? Me? I'm going to brew a good cup of Earl Gray, get out the stash of shortbread Girl Scout Cookies I've been hiding from my boys (they who are the devourers of cookies), and contemplate new beginnings. New books. New contracts. New ideas. I figure that's a lovely way to remember that Spring really IS here...it's just taking today off to decide how big a show to put on this year. Tell me about YOUR day....
what are you up to on this fine spring, or in Aus, NZ, etc, fall day? Oh, and by the way? IT'S BASEBALL SEASON!!! Go Braves! Go Cubs! (As long as you're not playing the Braves!) Let's Play BALL!!!
57 comments:
I'm about to head out for my whirligig day, Jeanne, but just hearing about your tea & cookies makes me want to get off the merry go round. :-)
Do some good thinking today. Maybe do some for me while you're at it?
Oh, dear lord, did I get the rooster?? I don't think I've ever had the pleasure.
Hey Susan! You DID get His Goldenness! Wow!
You've never had the pleasure? Really? OMGoodness!
'Bout time, I'd say. You'll give him a run for his money. (so to speak...)
And I'll be glad to do some thinking for you today, Susan. Just leave me the "thinking list" - kinda like a grocery list - about what you'd like me to think on for you and I'll tell you my thoughts later.
Grins.
For only .02 cents. It's a bargain!
We're having crazy weather here in the mountains. Yesterday it was in the mid-70's---sunny and absolutely gorgeous. Now the wind is howling and it's snowing! What?????
Of course, tomorrow it will be back in the 60's and sunny. I think I may get whiplash trying to keep up with these changes. LOL
It's another sunny day in CA. I'm not wearing shorts (yet), but feel ok in capris.
I read on rainy days. I read laying by the pool on a sunny day too!
Well, yesterday when we had the wet, nasty weather and no electricity, I read and did a bit of cleaning (culling papers from the office). Then when it got dark, I read by candlelight.
And I hear you on the temperature drop. We had a 40-degree drop yesterday as the thunderstorms and tornadoes rolled through. That's what seems like spring -- lots of storms. :)
Gannon, snow again? Ugh.
Spring! Oh, glorious Spring! It's my favorite time of year.
Today it's sunny. There was frost on the windows this morning, but it's fine. I'm still in sandals. It's going to be in the 60s today.
To enjoy this day, I'm at work with the blinds drawn and the windows closed. After work, if I'm good, I'll go to the gym and work INSIDE. If I'm "bad", I'll go to the library, pick up my holds, and then head home.
If it's a rainy day--and I do love me a rainy day--I usually curl up in bed and sleep. Then when I can't sleep no more (it takes a while), I read. Fix some comfort food. Watch some British DVDs. Nap on the couch instead.
Now I'm really wishing this were a rainy day I could sleep in. *LOL*
Gannon said: Now the wind is howling and it's snowing! What?????
Of course, tomorrow it will be back in the 60's and sunny. I think I may get whiplash trying to keep up with these changes. LOL
Ahhh, the mountains in Spring. Gotta love it. My Sis and brother and SIL live near you, Gannon and they were saying the same thing. :> At least you have the 60's to look forward to. We'll stay in the 40s or 50s with rain for a couple of days. urg. So tough after that gorgeous 85-degree-er yesterday.
Hey Jen3128! Reading is an "anywhere, anytime" sport amongst us avid readers and writers, isn't it? Sunny day? Great! I'll read by the pool (if it's summer!) Grey day? Great! I'll light the fire and read by it. Carpool? Sure! I've got a book! Boring meeting...oh, I guess I still have to pay attention there, but I can at least be making up stories. Grins.
Hey Trish! So glad you're okay! And Joanie too. We need to hear from Cassondra...
You said: That's what seems like spring -- lots of storms. :)
Yep. *humming Stormy Weather* It's spring! Here in DC we usually look to late July and August for the big storms, and the patterns have shifted so we have to be more aware of hurricanes too. Used to be, growing up, you almost never got hurrincanes in NC. Then when I hit college, BLAMMO! CHANGE-O! Hurricane alley. Things are shifting again. Didn't used to have hurricanes hit the Chesapeake bay - though they did mightily, a 100 years ago. So, looks like we've got to keep a weather-eye that way. :>
Weird, eh?
Hey Hellion! You said: Now I'm really wishing this were a rainy day I could sleep in. *LOL*
Oooh, I like your rainy day routine! Sounds delish. I love to sleep too, I get such great ideas from dreams. :> Bizarre sometimes, but really cool. Heehee.
60's sounds good too, though, given that it's still 46, raining, and windy-cold outside. :> No sandals here. Not yet.
On a rainy day, I love to curl up with a good book. But I usually end up taking a nap instead. LOL
Unfortunately, spring has taken the day off from here too. It is very cool and still wet from the storms yesterday.
We had 80s here yesterday before last night's storms, but it's a sunny, chilly 46 today with a wind advisory still in effect. We should see sunshine and 70s for the rest of the week. With the azaleas and dogwood already in riotous bloom, that's my kind of weather.
But thunderstorms and tornado watches are as much a part of spring as the flowers here. I have two nephews who are medical firefighters, and it seems that the bigger the storm, the greater the number of calls they have to respond to. Too many of the calls are the consequences of choices made by people who don't have the sense God gave a billy goat. So worry is part of my spring too.
Hi June M!
You said: On a rainy day, I love to curl up with a good book. But I usually end up taking a nap instead. LOL
Hahah! Yes, me too. But that's good as well. We so often runrunrun in our lives, being busy, it's hard to remember to slow down and nap now and again. :> Good for the body and the soul!
Hey Janga!
Had to LOL at this: the greater the number of calls they have to respond to. Too many of the calls are the consequences of choices made by people who don't have the sense God gave a billy goat. So worry is part of my spring too.
Snork! You are so right. My mama used to vary it between a snake - since she thought goats were quite sensible most of the time, having raised them - and a pea. "They haven't got the sense God gave a pea!" she'd say. Grins.
And choices, yes. Everytime I think about the hurricanes, I think about the idiots who think it would be "fun" to ride one out. Can you say death wish?
*eye roll*
Glad your nephews are there to help the peas and the goats and the plain old idiots, bless their hearts. Grins. Tell them the rest of us goats are grateful.
Girl Scout cookies - yum! I've fought the tempation to break into a box thus far...but you've got me thinking...
Sounds like you're a day behind us weather wise. We had a gorgeous weekend and then yesterday it rained all day - and not a gentle rain - a hard-driving, "is it sleeting?" kind of rain. The temperature dropped enough to merit closing windows and turning the heat back on. While it's clear and sunny now, the temps are still cold and the weather forecastors say this is the coldest day we'll have for at least a week.
However, until April 18th it doesn't matter if it's sunny or rainy, my day is the same. I'm here in my office processing tax returns and looking through the window to the blossoming of the world - and planning my celebration party for April 19th.
Hey Donna!
You said: However, until April 18th it doesn't matter if it's sunny or rainy, my day is the same. I'm here in my office processing tax returns and looking through the window to the blossoming of the world - and planning my celebration party for April 19th.
Oooh, you NEED some Girl Scout Cookies for that. :>
The DH had his Freedom Day Celebartion(corporate CFO) on April 1, which is appropriate since it's actually a joke. He's now so behind on all the stuff he had to put on hold whilst doing all the Labor Dept. and Corporate Returns that he's swamped yet again.
Sigh.
We'll celebrate your return to freedom on April 18! Glad your computer's back.
I wanna see the cherry blossoms! I've missed them each time I've gone to DC. But the pictures are so pretty. Thanks for posting them, Jeanne!
The weather out here is tumultuous if you call plunging from a sunny 75 to a cloudy 62 tumultuous. Hey, we do! ;-)
I'm working today, trying to meet a couple of deadlines, so it's back to the cave for me.
Ooh, Smoov, hope the GR enjoys the whirligig with you!
Hi Kate! You said: I wanna see the cherry blossoms! I've missed them each time I've gone to DC. But the pictures are so pretty. Thanks for posting them, Jeanne!
They really are gorgeous. They put on a magnificent show every year. My neighbor's tree is blooming and my weeping cherry is blooming, but my cherry is a double blossom Yoshino - dark, dark pink - and it'll bloom in 2 weeks. My plum tree is juuuuust about to go...
Grins.
Oh, and if we hadn't just had a 40 degree drop from yesterday to today, I'd call yours a plunge as well, but given that...yeah, you know.
Nothing but blue sky and sun here in NorCal, Jeanne. Come on out! Of course this is to make up for last week when we had that driving rain, horrid wind and even TWO tornado sightings! ACK!!!
Hey, if I want to see tornadoes, I'll move to the mid-west with my sister!
Keep the GR in line, Smoov. It will be a chore, but I know you are up for the task. ;-)
AC
Today it's nasty out here in Orlando. Thunderstorms all day. I plan to stay in and read in bed all day.
Not sure this is 'fine spring day' here as it just finished snowing. Again. It's the winter that will...not...end :-P
Today I'm busy working on my proposal and am about to head out into the cold to take older daughter to an appointment.
Tomorrow younger daughter has her first track meet of the season but I've already told both girls there will be no repeats for me of last year when I sat under two blankets, wore my winter hat, gloves and coat and froze because it was so stinking cold out. And yes, we've had track meets in the snow. This year they'll have to run and jump without me unless it's warm and sunny!
I'm a fair weather mother ;-)
The weather the past two days has been crazy, Jeanne. And did you get the 4am storms with the tornado warnings? I didn't know about the warning until I checked my email at 6:30.
I left the house at 8am for an appt in Towson. The temp was 60 degrees. When I returned home at 10, it was down to 47. I'm ready to put a fire in to warm the house up. Weird since I had turned on the AC last evening to cool the place down.
Hey AC!!
You said: Nothing but blue sky and sun here in NorCal, Jeanne. Come on out!
Ahhhh...sunshine. THat's in very short supply here today. We've now been offically rained out for the Eldest Son's baseball game for tonight. We were rained out on Sat as well, for the season opener, after he'd just pitched a beautiful first inning. Sigh. Seriously beautiful pitching. Then the lightning siren, rain, hail, clearing....out on the field...warm up....lightning siren. Yikes. So, tonight was to be the make-up.
Nope. Rain!
Danielle, what a lovely idea! Hope you have something faboo to read. Whatcha got?
I went to Nora Robert's bookstore for a signing on Saturday and got her latest Chasing Fire, which won't be available generally until April 12th.
(Eat your heart out, NR fans! I've read it and its FAB!)
Hope you have something equally good!
Beth said: Not sure this is 'fine spring day' here as it just finished snowing. Again. It's the winter that will...not...end :-P
OMGosh, Beth! Brrrr! And a track meet? I'm with you, love them as I do, I wouldn't be out there in the snow watching people run, turn left, run, turn left, etc. Grins.
That said, I did sit in the rain to watch #1 son pitch several times last year, but it tends to be a warmer rain in July, you know?
Hey, didn't your town get the #2 slot on Cities with the Worst Weather, behind Fargo, ND?
Hey Christie!
You said: And did you get the 4am storms with the tornado warnings? I didn't know about the warning until I checked my email at 6:30.
Ohhh, yeah. Didn't know about the tornado warnings either till well past the expiration of them. #2 son woke me up because the wind and thunder were rattling his window so hard he woke up. I had to go sleep with him. He was all hot and sweaty because the house was so warm when we went to bed. I think both of us sweated off a couple of pounds. Hahah. I could use that, he can't, the skinny little pup! :>
Oh, and the dog trying to get under the bed was the other "wake me up" that there were big storms. She's usually on her bed, but 90 lbs. of dog trying to worm her way under the bed tends to shake things up. (Not my DH of course, he slept through it all. Typical)
Well done Susan have fun with him
Jeanne
It is cloudy cool and we will be getting rain today here in Sydney and I am off work so I will be curling up with a good book LOL. I should really be getting in and doing some housework but nope I am going to read I need some me time.
Have Fun
Helen
Jeanne, I've sat through many rainy baseball games, myself. We were recently discussing the game where it snowed (yes, snowed) so hard we couldn't see the kids in the outfield. It finally ended up being called and rescheduled but for a few innings, it was miserable *g*
Hey, didn't your town get the #2 slot on Cities with the Worst Weather, behind Fargo, ND?
We did! The Weather Channel had some sort of playoffs and we ended up 2nd. It was decided by votes so I'm not sure how accurate it was
;-)
It's a little gloomy here in NY. I'm still waiting for the temps to hit the 60s and 70s.
Hi Helen! :>
You said: I should really be getting in and doing some housework but nope I am going to read I need some me time.
We all need some "me" time. Go you!
OMgosh, Beth, SNOWED for baseball? Yikes!!
Gorgeous, crisp weather here in Oz (at least it is this morning!) If it never got any colder than this I'd be happy. I know, I'm a wimp!
Gorgeous pics, Jeanne. It's so beautiful where you live.
Today, I'll be doing the school/kindy run, doing some exercise and then getting stuck into the new book.
BASEBALL!!
Yes, the boys of spring and summer are out on the field, pitching, catching, hitting, looking so nice in their uniforms! SIGH!
Oh wait, we're talking spring not baseball?
Well, the forsythia, tulips and daffodils have all heralded in spring down here in Texas, as well as the nasty storm that blew in Sunday night. Today it's 60, windy, but the blueset sky you've ever seen.
One thing I miss being this far from my parents in Ohio is the lilac bush in my mom's yard. I love the smell of fresh lilacs!
By the way Jeanne,
I adore rainy days. Especially if I worked the night before. The grey dreary sky and the sound of rain on the window...I sleep so good! AND Rocky-the-wonder-dog doesn't want to go out ONCE! yippee!
Hello, Ms. Christina! You said: If it never got any colder than this I'd be happy. I know, I'm a wimp!
I know what you mean. I'd love to live where I live, but have San Francisco weather. Temperate, but seldom above 85, sometimes hanging in the 60's even in July...yeah, I could do that. Grins. And crisp fall days...well, ya'll have heard me wax rhapsodic about that, ad nauseum every time it's October here in the States! Hahaha!
Hey Suz! You said: Yes, the boys of spring and summer are out on the field, pitching, catching, hitting, looking so nice in their uniforms! SIGH!
Oh wait, we're talking spring not baseball?
Hey, girlfriend, we can talk uniform fit...I mean Baseball, anytime you want. Grins. I've really come to lurve me some baseball.
Is Westbrook still with the INdians this year? I didn't keep up with the trades. Cubs lost thier opener but won against the D-backs, so my boys are happy. Bravos beat the Nats in THEIR openers, so I'm happy too. Ha!
Suz, I love those rainy days too. The dogs like to snooze on those days as much as I do. Grins. Book, tea, cookies, snoring dogs...yeah. I loike it.
Rain ~ I'd like that as I'm so tired of snow and more snow. I'm from Calgary Canada and we had a foot of wet heavy snow over the weekend but we have had above freezing temps in the daytime so a lot of it has melted away. Usually I have crocus and primrose flowers in my garden by now but there is still at least a foot of snow on them.
I love the pictures of the cherry blossoms. Thank you for the touch of spring Jeanne.
Hi Kaelee! Wow, a foot of snow on the crocuses? Yikes.
It's hard to imagine a foot of snow right now, altho we did have sleet over the weekend. *Shakes head, rolls eyes*
You said: I love the pictures of the cherry blossoms. Thank you for the touch of spring Jeanne.
I do too, Kaelee. They're lovely and they make DC a showplace for a few weeks. Grins.
My day has been spent mostly curled
up on my Big Comfy Couch under my
Dale Jr. throw with a supply of
books and Diet Coke close by. If it
gets just a teeny bit colder, I'll
be switching to a nice hot cup of
tea! (I'm in the process of getting
over, I hope, an upper respiratory
problem.) This is some mighty crazy weather we are all experiencing!
It's Spring? You wouldn't really be able to tell if you lived in New England. We had a nice week-end but maybe the cold and the rain came so we didn't mind that we had to go back to work. At least my boss can pay for the oil to keep warm instead of me! I wish the warm weather would finally get here so we could enjoy sitting outside (and reading a great book).
By the way Jeanne I love your name, oh I almost forgot it's my name too. My father wanted to name me Eugenia so I think Jeanne is a great name! Eugenia might be the perfect name if your a character in a Regency romance but not if you live in the 20's century.
Ask me again about the weather in July and I'll tell you how wonderful it is to be sitting at the beach.
Pat C said: My day has been spent mostly curled
up on my Big Comfy Couch under my
Dale Jr. throw with a supply of
books and Diet Coke close by
Oh, that sounds like a lovely way to spend the day! Sorry about the respiratory crud though. Feel better soon!
JeanneM said Spring?...Ask me again about the weather in July and I'll tell you how wonderful it is to be sitting at the beach.
Hey another Jeanne!! Hi Jeanne!
I love New England in summer - Cape Cod, Boston, the Adirondaks - but winter? Oh, heck no! DC is weird and woolly enough, thanks.
*wince* on the Eugenia. There's an aunt in the family named Beryl, and my brothers used to tease me that my folks were going to re-name me Beryl if I wasn't good. Eeek!
@Jeanne, I am actually in the middle of Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward. Normally I tare into her books and am done within a day. This time I'm trying to go at a more slow pace so I can savor it more.
Danielle said: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward. Normally I tear into her books and am done within a day. This time I'm trying to go at a more slow pace so I can savor it more.
Oooh, good one! I always try to do this and seldom manage it. I usually blow through a great book once, then read it a second time for the savor. :>
Just got Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts - it won't be out until April 12! - at her booksigning at her bookstore this weekend. It's FAB-U-Lous. Really great. And I'm now on the second read...
This post made me want more Girl Scout cookies. Ours are all gone. Actually, I think we have more cookies at my co-leader's house. No Thin Mints, but surely there is something there...
After snagging cookies, I would ignore the filthy floors and blinds (ack!) and watch Trailer Park Boys on Netflix. There are, like, eight seasons I missed!
Jeanne, I meant to say it's been crazy weather here, too. 89 degrees yesterday, then down in the 30s last night and only 68 today. It's supposed to be in the upper 80s again on the weekend. I'm not ready for that! Can't it stay in the 60s and 70s a while before we spend 5 months sweltering (and paying for the air conditioning to run)?
Hey Caren!
You know, I think they put something really addictive IN the Girl Scout cookies, then deprive everyone for 3/4 of the year so they will sell out.
You said: This post made me want more Girl Scout cookies. Ours are all gone. Actually, I think we have more cookies at my co-leader's house. No Thin Mints, but surely there is something there...
See? We all feel this way. I hid the Trefoils because I LOVE them with hot tea on this raw windy days - or any day - and my boys are just cookie ravegers. They will eat any kind of cookie with no discrimination whatsoever. Nor is there any savoring. Just gobbling. :>
I make these soft ginger cookies. The recipe makes 3 dozen and if you try to cut it down, it somehow doesn't come out right. So, I make 3 dozen. They last maybe 4 days. There are 4 of us. I'm trying to mind my calories...
You see my point.
Jeanne -
Don't tell anybody but Rhode Island beaches are much better than on Cape Cod! We try to keep it a secret. I live on a lake and we're only 2 miles from the ocean beaches! We have the best of all worlds - best clam chowder, best clam cakes, best lobster and we even have an oyster farm near by.
The best thing is you drive 40 miles your out of Rhode Island so everything is close by. We also have Newport and the mansions (a 15minute drive - with traffic - from our house and the capitol is 20 minutes away - unless you hit the traffic.
Come visit sometime but promise not to tell anything how wonderful it is here.
Caren said: Can't it stay in the 60s and 70s a while before we spend 5 months sweltering (and paying for the air conditioning to run)?
Yes, PLEASE!! I have the same plaint and would like it do to the same thing. I love it in the 60's and 70's...but the 90's and 100's can stay in the desert southwest, please, not in muggie-buggie DC.
Hey JeanneM! I promise, I promise. Actually, I have cousins in RI. They work for Brown U. Also, several friends in Providence. It's a great state and I adore Newport too. There's this great antiques store...ahhhh!
Jeanne -
I forgot to tell you I went to college for one semester in Washington, DC. One of my professors walked to school instead of driving his car because it snowed 2 inches!
If I ever move to get away from the snow I'd pick South Carolina or Arizona!
JeanneM, that walking w/ two inches of snow happens all the time here. So many transplants from other places who have NO idea what to do with snow. That said, I'd much rather he walked than drove like a nut case in DC if he didn't know how to navigate in snow. DC's bad enough, driver-wise, without that! Hahaha!
You said: If I ever move to get away from the snow I'd pick South Carolina or Arizona!
Now that would depend on whether you like wet and hot (SC) or dry and hot (AZ). Grins. SC is where my Daddy was from and is still home to a lot of kin. Talk about gorgeous beaches! And Greenville in the mountains is a great town. Charleston. Then everythign in the middle (other than the capitol) is hot, flat, and boring. Hahaha! AZ has no beaches, but it's got Scottsdale, Phoenix and a whole lot of sand. :>
Jeanne -
I totally agree about South Carolina but also because my grandchildren are there and I want to bake cookies for them!
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