Weather

What would we do without the weather to talk about? I would have nothing to say to my parents in most cases. Thankfully I haven't reached the stage yet where my kids and I are stuck with that as a topic.

Early spring weather in New England is like this. Everything is totally bare. Stark. Dried up tree trunks with evergreen needles interspersed between. Brown leaves on the ground, and in my case covering the ground totally becauseInever raked last fall. So let's call that brown as a pervasive theme, brown or black. Then when the sun shines it's like you're in an X-ray. Or a sci-fi movie, trying to hide from the pod people or Sigourney Weaver. I've never actually seen a sci-fi movie.

Imperfections are spotlighted on your house and car.Wow. Look at the nails coming out of the clapboards. You can see them in stark relief. The roof looks flimsy and the back porch brittle. The car is filthy.

Ah, now the temperature, that can vary widely. You may look outside and see the X-ray sun and think yes! Short sleeves it is. And then you do a 180 back into the house for a jacket. Or you think it is pretty darn chilly and emerge in your winter coat only to sweat your way through the day.

Tiny little crocuses do sprout up in selected gardens (the elite few who remembered to plant them, I guess) and their owners wax poetic about the beauties of spring. Yeah, okay. I guess they do look beautiful right next to every other brown thing.

Still, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. Now that's agood book title. I am still in a quandary over mine. A friend whom I really respect has told me to keep VICTORY and for now I'm going to. I'm attending a writers' conference next weekend where they may attack it again, so I will have to see if I waver. I hit 48,000 words yesterday and may hit the big 50 this week. I'm at a very uncertain point in the story right now.

Laessez les bon temps rouler
becky