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THIS WAS ON MARCH 24, A FEW DAYS INTO OUR "SPRING," OUTSIDE MY OFFICE.
And from inside the foyer at my office building...
AND THIS IS OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT, ON SUNDAY, APRIL 13, ON A DAY WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET IN TO THE DOUBLE DIGITS CENTIGRADE...
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You can see the remnants of winter everywhere, still covering the brown grass, the leafless bushes...but the sun is shining, the thaw is under way, the warmth is winning the annual tug-of-war...This constant and intense change is what we endure, being the stationary nomads that we are.
We don't move, but everything around us changes so dramatically that we might as well have traversed 1,000 miles.
What's that old saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I see you've met my friend Eroswings. He's a Texan and knows nothing of cold weather.
ReplyDeleteYou're supposed to be here at our potluck dinner.
Get your arse over here now.
And what's with all the fake Tudor?
ReplyDeleteMJ:
ReplyDeleteYour potluck dinner is an excellent idea, a true and obviously successful way to get all your fans socializing.
As for the Tudor, you don't miss much, do you? I live in a development called Tudor Estates.
Go figure.
Now, if I could just figure out why Blogger won't let me put spaces between my paragraphs.
It's that HTML thing. Might as well be in Greek for all I understand about it.
MJ:
ReplyDeleteActually, it's not Tudor Estates, which made me sound like some snob anyway.
It's Tudor Village. But you get the point. Now I feel more like the villager I am...
Do you have potlucks in Tudor Village?
ReplyDeleteWith you dressed as King Henry and all the women in serving wench outfits?
No, haven't tried that yet. Some men have all the (pot)luck.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of those wench costumes, though. Maybe you could co-ordinate it, you social butterfly?
I have enough on my plate!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see you at a big Medieval banquet.
Donnnn would make some snide remark and you'd lob a chicken drumstick at his head.
Spring Glorious Spring!
ReplyDeleteI put out all of the lawn furniture today, scattered poison for the field mice, insecticide for the bugs, and a new batch of ExLax chocolates for the bloody Raccoons.
MJ:
ReplyDeleteI think we should put on a medieval banquet, then, so I could see you in a wench costume!
You plan it. There or here?
And look who just showed up, with only two n's to his name!!!
We'll need a court jester anyway, and a deejay. So he can be the CJ and the DJ, and you can be the MJ.
Me, I'll be in charge of the wenches.
Donn (the blogger formerly known as...oh, never mind).
I admit to seeing a ladybug a few weeks ago, but it has to be dead now. Aren't you being a little premature with the insecticide?
No doubt you've lathered Ridz with sunscreen and mosquito spray too, then? Is the pond up and running?
Fertilized the lawn yet? Is the tree dead yet?
I don’t have a serving wench costume but somewhere I have a photo of me in a dirndl.
ReplyDeleteWill that do?
MJ:
ReplyDeleteA dirndl looks like it would foot the bill, or boot the fill. But how would I know? I don't see you in that link!
Where is this "picture" of you somewhere?
Ooh I love the way that the drndl hoists the brüste des jungen mädchens right into your face..
ReplyDeletethat's why they sell more beer wearing them.
Why the hell aren't you two outside?
Gently put the mouse down..slowly...push Log Off and quietly get up from the puter..ah ah ah don't even think it..now..head towards the light.
Donn:
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why I'd be buyin' more of 'em...
Personally, I'm not outside because my kids are inside...and because I don't have a yard.
Apparently you're not outside either.
If it makes a difference, I have a window open. I may go out to the schoolgrounds and shoot a few hoops.
This bright blue sky, the birds chirpin', very little wind, IS glorious.
I'm in the middle of hosting a potluck dinner. I can't get up and leave just like that!
ReplyDeleteBesides, my houseboy has the day off so I'm forced to do the cleaning myself.
MJ:
ReplyDeleteI'm a good cleaner-upper. I'll be the houseboy, for today. Just go find that pic.
And start planning that medieval dinner. In the meantime, I'm waiting for seconds on your potluck today.
Seconds? You'll be lucky to get sloppy seconds.
ReplyDeleteYou? A good cleaner-upper? Don't make me laugh. I've seen the state of your kitchen.
What the hell is that on your head?
MJ:
ReplyDeleteHey, I thought you were hosting a big party there! Aren't you the hostess with the mostest? Get back to it!
I don't do the sloppy seconds thing. So don't waste any more time, send us that pic of you in a dirndl or whatever!
The fact is, when it matters, I AM a good cleaner-upper, although I always defer in this regard to the other gender, who always consider themselves the ultimate in that regard.
On my head in that pic is my daughter's swim cap, plus a snorkel and a beard, which are not my daughter's.
I blogged about it a while ago. It was just before I leapt off the 10-metre tower at Pan Am Pool here in a swan dive and won $600 for the charity of my choice.
I bet even YOU can't boast of a similar feat. But then, maybe you can. I want to see those pix too.
By sloppy seconds, I meant "sloppy joes". Let's just get that straight right now.
ReplyDeleteI accidentally bellyflopped off a 10-metre diving board. I got up and pretended like I meant to do that.
G'day again, so we have been through summer, almost through our autumn and you guys are still snowed under/in. Heating costs for Canadians must be tough going, especially the lower socio economic areas.
ReplyDeleteWinnipeg (maybe that's where Donn got his two n's from?) basically has "fine" weather for late late spring and summer, maybe 4 months of the year of the year you don't have snow?
This is cruel. Almost incomprehensible feeling here, in the virtual desert like part of Oz.
Our Canadian work experience Park Rangers are loving being here working in the local Parks, they love the warm weather, (maybe not the 47 c weather lol)....
You would not have weeks of summer fun at beaches? Snorkelling, surfing, jetski riding, sailing?
We are so fortunate here with our country's weather and climate.
WIWO, did you know Oz airflights are becoming more competitive all the time, my friend in San Francisco just got her and her daughter $900 return flights each...Richard Branson and his virgins are setting up $1000 flights for Ozzies to USA and hopefully Europe. A lot of the Queensland Coast beach places have deals on accommodation all the time, especially non school hols, eg villas, cabins etc for really good deals...I hope you guys get to experience some warmth, some beautiful beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, tropical forest and quirky little Ozzy mammals. (4 legged)...most visitors seem to have lots of funn and enjoy the sunn. It really saddens me there is so much cold weather over there. People can go stir crazy holed in..(snow fever?) We are meant to run and laugh and frolic...and swim.
Pamnm
I think that's my cue to stop complaining about the heat over here. :D
ReplyDeleteGlad winter's (almost) over for you.
ALBATROSS!
ReplyDelete(that was just my way of saying hello :) ).
Oh, you fellas have hateful weather :).
I was just looking at the dirndl link that MJ provided. Is the blonde on the bench pinching the pretzel eater's tush?
ReplyDeleteGlad you're getting closer to summer weather. We had a high of 2C this weekend. It snowed almost all morning and afternoon Sunday and we even got some hail (about the size of unpopped popping corn). It was quite depressing. And we're only getting a high of 8C today. I want to cry.
MJ:
ReplyDeleteI FIGURED you meant Sloppy Joes. It seems you got quite a big turnout at your potluck.
If you had done a belly flop off the 10-metre, you would not have been able to stand up...
Sienna:
Wow, Pam. Haven't talked to you for a while and then here you are. Welcome back!
Actually, it's forecast to reach 19C today and about the same tomorrow, so all hints of snow should be gone, almost.
Heating costs me about $188 per month but if your place isn't insulated properly, bills can be horrendous.
Our weather is what it is. It's all about extremes. We usually complain it's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, while spring and fall are welcome transitions of tranquility.
I'll ask Donn about the two n's coming from Winnipeg.
I think he just does it to be different, because he does spring cleaning about once a month, cuts his hair and grows a beard then shaves it off, paints his house it seems every month too.
We have snow here (and it varies widely in Canada), on average, I'd say, between late November-late March.
The core winter months seem to be December, January, February and March, but November and April can be pretty lousy too.
It's those swing months that we often look back at -- the fall and the spring -- that help us determine whether we had a good year weather-wise or a bad one.
It really isn't that bad, as much as we whine about it.
Definitely 47C would be killer weather here and too much for everyone. I guess it's what you're used to.
We have beautiful lakes here in the middle of the country, where the prairie collides with the Canadian Shield.
Favourite summer pastimes here in our part of the country are swimming in all those lakes and going up to Lake Winnipeg, among the top 20 or so largest lakes in the world, particularly Grand Beach, a big sand beach that doesn't compare with Australia's shorelines but is still beautiful for sunbathing and girl- (or guy-) watching.
It's great to hear that prices to get to Oz are falling, and I'll be watching. Personally, I'd be more interested in the two-legged Ozzy mammals. :-)
Menchie:
Like I said to Sienna, I think it's all what we're used to and what our bodies are accustomed to.
I'd probably look so forward to visiting Manila or Sydney or whatever and then, getting off the plane to 40 or 47C heat, almost be knocked off my feet by the heat.
Lee:
Oh, so you ARE still alive! But why albatross? Just to get my attention, no doubt.
Nice to see you around.
Anna:
The blonde may very well be pinching. I was kinda looking elsewhere.
It's going up to 19C today, but with high winds. That'll dry out the place. Your weather does sound depressing...