Last week we had the mother of all crazy snow and ice storms. This week, the temp was in the 70s. Welcome to North Carolina. Ever since I moved here, there has always been a week in the middle of winter that looks like spring, feels like spring and provides a welcome break from winter. Back in my college days, the girls (including moi) would put on our bathing suits and go down to "Tucker Beach", a green square in the midst of the guys' dorms. We'd work on our tans, attract wolf whistles from the guys looking out their windows, and play volleyball. Yes, ManO was one of those looking. No, you aren't getting pictures.
The problem is that warm weather is just a tease. Trees blossom, daffodils appear and then comes the wicked winter again. This year, I decided if my Spring Break outside wasn't going to last, I would at least make Spring come a little early inside the house and, more importantly, inside my soul.
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| Before with "iced" branches and a snowman. After with my garden baskets and hydrangeas. |
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Someone on Facebook mentioned people need to stop singing "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen, that every time they do so, the weather turns winter stormy again. That is what got me thinking I needed to put away my winter decor. No snow men, no snow paintings (Man O and I are big aficionados of any painting with snow), no winter quilts. Let go of winter and bring on all things floral!
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| The frozen barnyard was put away and I am looking for a painting like this award winner from the State Fair. Lots of flowers AND wonderful characters! |
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My spring watercolors are out. Some vases are filled with forsythia and pussy willows, giving a nod to the earliest of Spring's pretties. (My mother was a floral arranger of the highest order but I think she would approve of my high quality silk flowers to brighten things.) Pinks, blues, yellows, lavenders are coming out of closets.
I visit Springtime, thanks to my trip to Monet's garden in Giverney in April years back. If you don't have your own pics, Google and visit, especially
Butchart Gardens in Canada.
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| It looks like Monet's painting because it is Monet's garden. One of the best trips I've had...Paris and Giverney in April! | | | | |
That gives me a boost to plan my own garden. Got to be inspired to think green with gray out there.
Notice I haven't led with food suggestions. When it comes to meals, this is the worst time of year for me. I am tired of winter stews. The farmers' market hasn't really started producing, still a few weeks to go. So I do what I refuse do the rest of the year. I buy "out of season," i.e. I get spring veggies from far away where the growing season is topsy turvy or there are no seasons, just growing season. I ignore the cost. I pretend it's already Easter. Asparagus, strawberries, new potatoes, and spinach salad appear on the table. I make deviled eggs. One meal and leftovers and I'm over the hump. I know I can survive til REAL Spring comes along.
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| Note: if you find these teeny tiny Simply potatoes in your grocer, get them. They're divine. |
So what about you? Do you have a meal that reminds you of spring or signifies it's finally arrived? Do you rearrange or change your decor ahead of seasons? What says Spring to you? Is it daffodils, the arrival of certain birds or the temperature finally being above freezing?
