Farewell to March

It rained this morning.  The photo above is a rainy morning last summer, but it looks remarkably like this morning, even to the leaves on the trees.  It was as dark at 9am as it had been at 7am when light was just beginning to break and then the thunder and lightning and rain began.  I wasn't unhappy.  We needed the rain and I had planned to stay home today anyway.  What better than rain to make me feel quite happy with my choice?

It is the last day of March...Does it seem as though it's flown by to anyone else?  It most certainly has seemed so to me.  I won't bother to share my progress with March goals.  Truth told I accomplished very little, dismally little.  It wasn't a good month for my plans.  I did manage to keep apace of housework and of the deeper cleaning chores I'd meant to do.  One reason for that was I soon learned that windows of opportunity had to be taken advantage of, so the odd afternoon at home when I'd thought I wouldn't be meant I hopped to and did housework and reviewing my lists of tasks soon revealed lots of little jobs that could be done in fifteen or thirty minutes.  I did those while waiting for coffee to brew or when I was waiting for John to be ready to leave or I was ready earlier than expected for an appointment.

I learned to make one new thing this month:  molten lava cakes.  I shared the url earlier in the month and I confess that I am responsible for at least 8 others becoming addicted to them, lol.  I have made them on average about once every ten days this month.  Made them today, too. Any guesses as to why one of April's goals is to lose three pounds?  Not fretting today however. After all it's the last day of March and deserved it's own bit of fanfare in celebration.

Spring came quickly this month and has passed quickly as well.  The Pecan and Persimmon trees are leafing out now.  I saw Brown Thrashers on the lawn this morning.  And I've just noticed a lovely tall tree that has grown leaps and bounds over the past year is throwing a long shadow across the lawn to shade the back corner of the house in tandem with the Sweet Gum.  I'm curious to see how soon the shade of the Pecan tree hits the house this year. (That question just answered: 6pm the shadows touch the roof and cover the window.)

Reading this month was low on my list of things to do but I put a push on the last week to finish the only three books I'd juggled.  I lived with Mrs. Gaskell in Cranford all month long.  It isn't a long book nor is it a difficult read but it is one worthy of savoring by reading a chapter at a time. I especially wanted to read this book after watching the three DVDs.  I will tell you that the screenwriters took a few liberties with the characters but there's enough of the real Cranford in it to pass.  Reading Mrs. Gaskell is another thing altogether.  I absolutely love her dry humor and the little tidbits of information she imparts about characters that were only barely hinted at in the series.  

It was a Gaskell sort of month all around as my selections from Netflix these past three times have been "Wives and Daughters" DVDs.  If you haven't seen this I can't suggest it strongly enough.  Not quite as gentle perhaps as "Cranford", "Wives and Daughters" does have intrigue, scandal and drama.  I'll be curious to read this book now that I've seen the two DVDs and the bonus DVD which featured the screenwriters, actors, and a lovely history of Mrs. Gaskell herself. 

I plowed my way through the Bible study I started last month only because I found it uninspiring.  I did learn a number of things that stuck with me surprisingly well considering my middle aged memory.  The study: Seeing Christ in the Tabernacle by Ervin N. Hershberger goes through the Old Testament tabernacle built as God instructed. Hershberger starts from the inside of the tabernacle rather than the outer curtains around the courtyard as other studies do.  There are areas where I didn't understand how he came to the conclusions he did in his studies.  I'd have been curious to know his resources in those areas. I think this book would have been a bit more intriguing if I hadn't floundered over symbolism in certain objects/materials that he assumed every one knew.  There was a handy chart in the book for some of them but not all.

My third book and the one I've not read thoroughly, preferring to skip around in it,  is a decor book, Romantic English Homes by Robert O. Byrne.  I've long been a fan of English cottage/English country style.  It reminds me of Southern homes I grew up in with very fine antiques mixed with modern items and primitive handmade items and dollar store kitsch.  With the English style there's far more color on walls and bold patterns.  I really enjoyed the photography which included not just rooms but history of the house, photos of gardens and stories of restoration.

I watched a couple of movies with John that caught my attention on tv this month but can't remember either one.  I really must start jotting them down because I was completely absorbed in both which were older films in black and white. Another that I watched with him I do remember: "Taken", with Liam Neeson.  It was difficult at times, is an action type film, but engrossing all the same.  

The most interesting TV program seen this month has to be the one watched this evening:  Clean Freaks with Sabrina Soto on HGTV.  The listing on HGTV says it was a special.  I don't have any information about re-airing but they do tend to show these programs several times during the cycle they run because they want to maximize their investment.  This show is all about organization.  I loved some of the ideas I saw and confess that while I consider myself organized, I'm nothing compared to these folks!  Labels, containers, color coding, etc abounded, but there were some great ideas that were very do-able by the average person who simply wants to organize a single area. 

Well that about wraps up this post as well as March.  Shabat is over too, for that matter.  April is stretching and yawning and ready to start bright and early tomorrow.