Spring Ahead and Trip Over Stupid Ideas

I don't like daylight saving time. It annoys me. It irritates me. It ticks me off.

But nobody cares. Nobody cares that a lot of Hoosier hate DST. We have to endure it an extra month. Three extra weeks in the spring and one in the fall.

Politicians and their entourages claim that this is a good idea because of all the energy we'll save, but their decision was based on an old study that probably has little bearing on what we do today and some opponents claim it will increase energy expenditure. (I'm not making that up. The fact that it's just a stupid idea is enough for me.)

In a roundabout way it may be saving some energy: I'm fairly certain that the reason gas prices recently shot up has something to do with DST. That is my own theory. Not being privy to the conversations of the greedy guts that control the oil prices, I can neither prove nor disprove it. (But you know I'm right.)

This is the new picture on my dart board. We all know he had some really wacky ideas and was never quite right in the head after that ill-conceived kite flying in a thunderstorm incident.

In My Felt Fedora

I think I should change the name of this blog to "I still don't feel well." On top of the fatigue and malaise, my ears are still plugged from the plane trip a few weeks ago.

I realize that if I can't find a way to fly without the residual problems, I won't be able to do the research for the series of books I was planning, Midnight in Moscow, Midnight in Madrid, Midnight in Milan, etc. I will be stuck with writing about places I can drive to.

I have nothing against traveling to midwest cities, but honestly, does she look like someone you'd meet at Midnight in Muncie? What about Eight O'clock in Evansville or Four O'clock in Fort Wayne? Three O'Clock in Terre Haute?

Those name just don't have the same allure or conjure up images of sexy spies, whispered clues, mysterious shadows as remote, romantic European locales.

Hmmm. How do you look in an Indiana Jones fedora? Feel like taking a trip and staying up past your bedtime?

Supper time

I haven't fixed supper yet. I'm having leftovers, more or less. The baked penne pasta is left over and over and over. Last week I fixed spaghetti and meatballs. I had that two days in a row. Then I fixed penne pasta with meatballs. The next day I fixed Baked Penne with Meatballs. It made two small dishes so I ate one and put the other one in the freezer. That's what I'm having for supper.

I think it might be enough for two meals, but I can't tell. The dish is small but not real small and I'm having leftover broccoli and cauliflower with it. And Texas Toast. Then (because I'm still sick and I'm very self-indulgent when I'm sick) I'm having coconut cake and strawberry ice cream for dessert.

It's getting late though and if I don't get the leftovers warmed up soon, I'll only have time for cake and ice cream. Cake and ice cream. I can't remember the last time I had cake AND ice cream. I should get sick more often.

Patience is a virtue.

The temperature was over 50 degrees here in Indiana on Thursday. A hint of spring was in the air. You could catch a whiff of it every now and again on the rain and March winds. Much of the snow from the blizzard that hit here a couple of weeks ago had melted and the grass was greener than before. But ................

When I got up this morning and peeked out the window, I saw a blanket of snow covering the cars and the green grass. All signs of spring were gone.

Spring is like that here in the Midwest. A tantalizing tease. An alluring flirt. A hard-hearted Hannah. A deceitful little darling. Sun is mixed with snow; bone-biting winds with gentle, face warming breezes; sweet smelling rain with sparkling, but treacherous ice storms. This is spring in Indiana. Ice and blossoms at the same time.

As always, I want spring to come now.

Right now. I want to leave the cold and snow and gray skies of winter behind. If this is like years past (and with Indiana weather, nothing is predictable), I will search yearningly for small signs of spring. A robin, a crocus, a hint of green in a dogwood tree.

Patience is a virtue I lack. I will buy hothouse daffodils and bring them inside to remind me of what is to come. I will put away my winter coat, knowing it is too soon. I will venture south where spring comes a little earlier. Little things that make waiting for spring almost bearable, because this is springtime in Indiana.








Pictures courtesy of wilstar.com, a family-oriented website operated by an Indianapolis science teacher.

A Brief Note

I'm still sick. Are you tired of reading that? I sure am tired of feeling this way. I'm too sick to write much but I wanted to give you a cartoon about being sick to look at so I went to MSN search and put in "sick cartoons". Don't ever do that. Sick has more than one meaning, you know, and some of them are just sick.