Dare I?

Here is the pretty lovely weather report for my area:

( I don't even mind the Thursday storm cause just look at that temp--no snow!)

So the question is, dare I believe it? Dare I believe that Spring has actually arrived--I mean, sure, it is June and all, but this year that just doesn't mean a thing. I took the last "winter" blanket off my bed last night so that must mean I believe. Let's hope that Mother Nature doesn't crush my tender little beliefs.

RAIN

Don't you just love the rain?

I do.

It is my favorite.

And it looks like I may get 2 more days of it (unheared of in my desert).

But only 2 because then I have a trip to the zoo

and an outdoor wedding.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS...

...only on April 30th I'm just really not in the mood:

Remains of a Snowman

Could this possibly mean the actual arrival of Spring?

Pumpkin Patch

I went up the canyon to breath some Fall air and look at some Fall colors (sadly sans camera) which got me thinking about my Fall to-do list which then got me thinking about what I have done and how that could be a post which would be great because I am short on posts lately. So here it is, our short trip to a pumpkin patch that included a hay ride, a pumpkin patch, and cold apple cider (sadly they were out of the donuts):

The hay ride (it took some time for the boys to get used to the idea):

Picking out the right pumpkin: 

Posing in front of the tractor that pulled our hay wagon: 

I Love Fall!

Autumn To-Do List

It is finally my favoritest time of the year! And so it is time to get serious about what I want to accomplish over the next couple of months:

1. Drink apple cider (hot and cold).

2. Eat apple cider donuts (preferably hot).

3. Go on a hay ride.

4. Visit a pumpkin patch.

5. Bake a pie.

6. Breath in some of that gorgeous Fall air.

7. Head up into the mountains for the viewing of the Fall leaves.

8. Knit/crochet some new scarves--cause you can never have enough scarves.

9. Teach my nieces and nephews the joy of the leaf pile.

10. Wear lots and lots of sweaters (starting today even if it is 80 degrees outside because it is Fall!!!)

What is on your Fall to-do list?

Spring Perfume

I am wearing my Springiest perfume today because I woke up to snow on the ground. SNOW!

I also had cake for lunch and am considering cake for and afternoon snack.

This is April Were I Live:

Just thought I would pull out that camera I charged up last week and show you what I am dealing with this morning. Tomorrow is supposed to be better--although it really has been such an easy winter that I really shouldn't be complaining.

New Attitude

I woke up this morning (several times thanks to a nasty head cold) with a renewed sense of blogging and a determination to blog something, if not of importance, of interest today. Then I looked outside, saw the snow and the grey and the wind, and promptly turned around in an attempt to ignore the day.

I mean, is it April or not? This is one cruel April Fool's Day trick Mother Nature is playing on me right now (fortunately the only trick so far today).

However, I promised a post and a post you shall have.

Yesterday I attended my local book group and had a perfectly lovely discussion with some perfectly lovely women about a book that I liked but didn't love. As part of the evening, our lovely hostess offered to lend out her copy of this lovely book:

I read it in 15 minutes and found it uplifting, enlightening, and lovely--one of its main themes being live in and enjoy the moment. As an added bonus, about half of the 50 pages are the loveliest black and white pictures that you could want to peruse in 15 minutes. So get yourself to your local library or book shop (but beware that should you read this book in a place you could purchase you might leave your local shop with about $10 less than you came in with) and spend a few minutes reading this little gem of a book.

Fall Time

Fall is my Favorite.

Here are a few things that I must make time to do:

1. See the leaves. The mountains are just now showing off a bit of red!

2. Pick some apples.

3. Have some apple cider

4. Eat this:

Or if unable to travel to Illinois (the location of the apple pie), find a suitable apple pie recipe and indulge.

Happy Fall

photo stolen from Janssen here.

Walking in the Rain

So last week ended off with a bit more rain but now appears to have disappeared completely. Before it did disappear, though, I took one final walk in the rain with my iPod and discovered a few new songs. Is your iPod like mine? Meaning, do you have hundreds of songs that you may not have ever listened to or that you might have listened to once, then downloaded, and then forgot about it completely? That is my iPod. Well while I was out walking in the rain I thought I would rediscover some of my Jazz titles (rain and jazz just seem to go together) and came across this beauty:

The voice, the piano, the violin! So hauntingly beautiful.

Rainy Day Movies

It has been unusually cool (in the 70s) and rainy here (Utah) for the past several days and it has been absolutely wonderful. I miss the rain. I once lived in Northern Ireland and it would rain there nearly once a day (no exaggeration). I had to take my umbrella with me everywhere because it was likely to rain even on nice sunny-looking days. It rained so often that I would buy a new umbrella ever 2-3 months just because of wear and tear. I miss the rain. But for the past few days I've had the rain back in my life. In addition to prompting me to take long, enjoyable walks in the rain (lasts night's walk perhaps had a bit too much rain) it has prompted the watching of some of my favorite rainy day movies (cozy little movies that induce silly grinning while I am wrapped up in a blanket with hot chocolate).

Here are a few of my favorites:

One Fine Day--one of the ultimate rainy day movies because the movie begins and ends with a rainy day and George is so absolutely charming and cute. (Plus the size of the cell phones is hilarious)

Singing in the Rain--another natural pick for the list as it too involves rain. My favorite part (apart from Gene Kelly singing in the rain) is Donald O'Connor's 'Make them Laugh' routine. Love it!

The Mirror Has Two Faces--I love this love story and the opera music at the end gets me every time.

Crossing Delancey--lovely story set in lovely New York City. I haven't seen this one for years and years but it has been on my mind all week.

Return to Me--Every time I see this one (which admittedly is a lot cause I love me a good sappy love story) it makes me want to go out an find a family-run Irish-Italian restaurant that serves ravioli and cabbage on the same plate.

So what are some of your picks?

Rainy Day Blues

It is raining today. Typically I love the rain--I even loved it in Ireland where it rained nearly every day (not an exaggeration). Today, though, it is making me tired. Making me want to curl up in bed with a good book. Making me want to sip hot chocolate and eat chocolate cake. None of these are things that I should be doing today.

In an attempt to pull myself out of this rain induced funk I searched other blogs for inspiration (only made me want to be in Paris or New York right now), I searched YouTube for inspiration (I miss The Vicar of Dibley and The Muppet Show), I searched my brain for inspiration (I've got nothing). All to no avail

So I am wondering what you turn to when you shouldn't be reading in bed, drinking hot chocolate, and eating chocolate cake. What are your favorite blogs that I might not know about. What should I be looking at on YouTube?

Dear April,

That was some nasty April Fool's joke I woke up to this morning and I think perhaps you didn't actually think through this one very well. Snow? This is not helpful to me right now. You see, I'm in a bit of a funk. I've been reading the same book for a week now (it only has 200 pages and something like that usually only takes me 3 days), I've been working on the same baby blanket for a week now (just when I thought I was done an unnamed niece snipped away a couple strands of my crochet work at the beginning ruining the entire thing and causing me to start over), and just generally I've been feeling frustrated and useless this week. So you see, when I woke up to snow this morning (even though I knew it was going to snow because the local weather man was wearing is white suit jacket last night--it's what he does when snow is forecasted for the next day) it felt like a cruel, cruel joke that had just gone to far.

I realize, April, that that was probably not your intention so I don't want you to feel too badly about it and that is actually why I am writing this letter to you. I was thinking that perhaps if you knew how I was feeling you could find it in your heart not to make it snow for the next three days. And if you could find that in your heart then just maybe you could also find it in your heart to bring on Spring. I'll even put up with your April showers if you will show me glimpses of budding trees and flowers.

Pretty please,

Yankee Girl

Where Did My Spring Go?

Ummm, really I'd like to know. Cause Saturday it was 70 degrees outside and I was wearing shorts and planning BBQs and then this morning I wake up to snow. SNOW! I really don't know if I can handle this and so I am retreating behind a crochet hook, some hot chocolate (the last of the season, please), and some Spring music by Vivaldi. Then tonight I think I'll sequester myself in a very dark room, turn my back to any windows that might offer glimpses of snow, and watch Australia--pretty sure the Outback doesn't have these Spring snow shower problems. According to the weather report, such behavior may go on all week and possibly into next week.