Jessie: In New Hampshire, beginning to tire of winter…
Every year about this time I am ready for spring. I have a great deal of patience with the weather as a rule and adore making my home in an area of the planet with four distinct seasons. That being said, March is tough. There are a few days that make one hope for fine spring days to come and then those hopes are dashed by a cold snap, cloud cover or a snowstorm that dumps severeal inches on my village.
It is in March that I find I turn to indulgences. I must admit to be a bit inclined to allow myself to partake in treats of all sorts throughout the year, but in March the desire to do so is particularly acute. I have noticed that I give such leeway to my characters as well. Edwina loves to sit in her favorite chair to work on a knitting project whilst listening to a favorite program on the wireless. On a chilly, bleak weekend day I love nothing more than casting a new project on the needles as I binge-watch a mystery series like Shetland or Wild Bill.
Like Beryl, I love a dry martini. She partakes in them far more often than do I but, I find myself more easily convinced to mix one up in the last days of this month when something spirited seems in order. I love to have a good gorge on the plant catalogues that both Edwina and Simpkins would peruse and allow myself to imagine that I will be better at weeding than is truly likely.
I also find myself whipping up meals that Simpkins would not be ashamed to have concocted; things with lots of sauce and meats left to simmer for hours on the stove or in the slow cooker. He and I completely agree that the depths of March is no time for salad or any cold veg, come to think of it.
As far as I am concerned, the last days of discouraging weather are often the best for staying inside to work on a new novel. Edwina is of a similar turn of mind and spends the time she would devote to her garden in the growing season to pounding out another page of her story set in the wild west , creating greater and greater difficulties for her cowboy hero, Bart Dalton. Invariably, in March I indulge in long working sessions on the next Beryl and Edwina mystery. After all, the warm weather will be here, even in New Hampshire, before long. When it comes I will want to indulge in that too and and my next deadline will be looming! So, in the end, I suppose, March is really a sort of indulgence in and of itself!
Readers, do you find yourself indulging at various times of the year? Is March still winter where you are or has spring arrived?
Daffodils are blooming but the nights are still near freezing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
How fortunate you are to have your daffodils up and brightening the days! Pleasant nights cannot be far behind!
It’s spring in Lancaster, PA,and I’m indulging in spring cleaning my yard. Raking is done, yard ornaments that don’t live outside all year are in place, air conditioner is uncovered, and flower beds are cleaned out. The crocus are blooming and the daffodils are peeking out. I’m indulging in fresh air and dirty hands. 😁
What lovely indulgences! We pulled out some lawn furniture to put on the deck last week but there the raking is still some time away as the ground is still frozen solid!
We had a taste of spring (lunch on the deck!) but are now back in the deep freeze. I don’t knit any more, but I’m happy to stay in and write until things warm up again!
Lunch on the deck is such a lovely indulgence!
Crocus and daffodils are blooming and the tree pollen has reared its head. I think February is the month here where I want to have meals in the slow cooker or pastas with a heavier sauce.
You are at least a month ahead of me! I envy your blooms but would rather skip the pollen!
It’s trying to be spring here in Pittsburgh. The snow is gone and we had temps in the mid 60s last week, but it’s back to overnight 20s and crisp mornings. Like you, I’m ready for spring to get here.
I am dreaming of 20s at night! This morning when I walked my dog, Sam, the real feel was -7!
No spring here in the crown of Maine – although the trees have newborn buds. I am eagerly awaiting the first signs of spring bulbs, but first the snow has to melt! Right now, I’m content to have words pop up on the page, continue the afghan I began in October, and have begun what we in the St. John Valley call the grand menage – spring cleaning elsewhere in the country.
We have some baby buds swelling here a bit too! The thing about those wooly projects this far north is that even if you finish them just as the warm weather arrives you can be sure it won’t be too many weeks before you will want to use them!
Like Jessica, I live where we have the full 4 seasons, and then we have the fifth season, “silly season”, which is kind of a “state of mind season”. Before I retired it was my busiest time of year for work, meetings, conventions, and travel. Now that I am retired, I pull out clothing for spring and summer this time of year and try it on (oh, covid 19 you really did give 19 more reasons to diet, lol) . I make sure every solar light outside that has Christmas or winter themes is replaced with lanterns of a warm weather persuasion. I plant seedlings for my summer flower pots and place them in the sun room windows. And my flip flops, which stay in my closet 365 get worn a bit more even though my floors are usually pretty cold this time of year. March is the best of the “silly seasons”. Like I mentioned, it is really a state of mind. Hope, renewal, faith and plans for get togethers with friends on the back lawn or deck are in the planning stages. Being of a certain age, and retired, most of my friends are like me, fully vaccinated. So this spring I am looking forward to seeing people again, giving them hugs, exchanging greetings without a darn mask, and iced drinks on the back deck around the pool when summer comes. I thankfully embrace every day of every month, too many people have been lost in the past 12 months to the horrible pandemic. But hope springs eternal that when we celebrate Easter this year, we will do so with a renewed sense of wonder and appreciation for how wonderful life is no matter where we live and thankfulness that we are still here to enjoy every moment. Bless you all.
I love the notion of a state of mind season! Wonder and appreciation sound like a lovely state of mind to be in!
March is still definitely here in Ottawa. They just lifted another frostbite advisory this morning but it’s still pretty chilly. I am debating whether I have to go back to the winter parka, or will tough it out with my thinner winter jacket later today.
We were teased with record-breaking warm temperatures for 2 days last week, and I enjoyed a patio happy hour for the first time in over 6 months! This warmth substantially melted the huge snow piles on my street but I know that winter is not done here until April.
No special indulgences here, just dreaming about my spring balcony garden and starting more seeds indoors.
I totally understand! I am never sure about spring until well into April and some years, May!
Jessie: I am trying to be optimistic, but some years (like 2020), spring does not come here until May, too!
My indulgence is reading books and I made an exception last year and just bought willy-nilly everything I wanted. It was my way of getting through 2020 and I do not regret it. Now that we are vaccinated and hope that our COVID numbers won’t rise again, perhaps our library will open up full time and I will get to read “free” books. As for Spring, the bushes and trees are blooming their pink and white blossoms right now which is so lovely to see. And, plants we thought were dead from the “Deep Freeze” of February are showing a few brave green leaves. We are so thankful!
How lovely your trees must be! Fingers crossed for your library!
March is very much still winter in the Pacific Northwest. It’s not a difficult month for me. February is the month from Hell, as far as I am concerned. March brings St Patrick’s Day and Lent.
And Lent means Easter is on the horizon. So hope is there. This year is particularly hopeful, as my family have all gotten their vaccines. We are all in the old category (how did that happen!?!), in varying health conditions, so it is a true delight to have that small bit of relief. I’ve been so worried about everyone, especially my 98 year old father. Long, long year.
Do I indulge? Way to much and I’ll leave it at that.
Here’s to indulgences, revealed or left best concealed! Congrats on your vaccine and those of your loved ones!
I love peppermint, so I indulge in December. And, when I buy too much, I’m still indulging in March.
I love peppermint too! Tea, ice cream, even soaps!
March is usually among the busiest tourist months in Key West, a time when we avoid going downtown and don’t bother trying to get into many of our favorite restaurants. This year is different, of course. No cruise ships. No Canadians–or anyone else from around the world. Very few spring breakers. Since we’ve had our second vaccine shot, we’re venturing out a little more, dining outside, seeing a small circle of vaccinated friends. So it does feel like spring–an opening up. I can’t wait until everyone can experience it.
You give me hope for new adventures to come!
We are beginning to see a few spring flowers. The temperatures have been warmer, but we are getting freezing rain tonight. We are having typical March weather. God bless you.
Love to indulge in the bounty of the garden and eat all the veggies – raw and cooked – that my stomach will allow. 🙂 Winter is for indulging in things that just taste better when the weather is cold like hot cocoa with marshmallows or a big bowl of vegetable soup using all the veggies we put up. Spring I love to indulge in planting flowers to bring color to the yard and house after the drab months of winter. Fall is for roasting hot dogs and campfire goodies. Can you tell that my indulgences deal mostly with food! 🙂 Hubby and I both love to be in the kitchen. When I feel pampered is when he tells me to got put my feet up and read a good book while he does the clean up detail. 🙂
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It’s spring in Los Angeles! (We did have some rain sprinkles recently, but the weather is usually quite mild.) I like indulging in the winter months anyway, often with a nice mug of tea. (My recent fave is home-brewed chai with biscuits.) I also like cozy blankets. We have a family member who is into crocheting, but we also recently discovered a craft kit that showed us how to do punch needle.
Totally agree with you about March but it gives such promise. That’s why we read seed catalogs and treat ourselves!