Heavy Winds, Threatening Clouds, Perhaps Some Thunderstorms Later

6:45

7:00

It's 7:10 and I have been up for forty five minutes, watching a gray dawn.  The lake is still frozen in some places but thawing quickly, as we have fifty yards of open water in front of our house.  Finally, all the snow in our yard has melted, living the detritus of winter, mostly small twigs and branches from our trees.  Time to get out the rakes.  It's 51º but the temperature will drop precipitously during the day, to 32º, with southerly winds up to sixty miles an hour.  Spring has sprung. with vengeance.

A Couple Of Noisy Neighbors

Yesterday ended our two weeks of painting, as everything was painted, twice by 2:00 and we could start the task of putting our upstairs back together.  The rooms look great, the colors a matter of taste I suppose, as our opinions change as the light changes.  The best part of the process was getting to know Barb Johnson, our painter.  She and Evie have become soul sisters during the process, finding that they have lots in common.  And to celebrate the end, we are going over to Barb and her husband's home today for a cocktail, then on to Steener's Pub for dinner.  We will miss her.

As for my day, it was similar to the rest of the week, starting with a very crowded yoga class, which was fun.  Seventeen of us had to crowd together, which is unusual.  Afterwards, I met Evie at Keystone Garage and dropped my Honda Pilot off for new shocks and stabilizers.  It should make the car ready for summer, our trip to Top Sail, North Carolina in July, where we will celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary with our kids.  Looking forward to the sun and warm waters.

Tom's Point at 6:35

When I got home, the hallways were done and our mattress was already back from Jamestown Mattress, where they replaced the plush pillow top.  They picked it up at 7:30, brought it back by 11:00, and we were impressed with their efficiency.  It's better, at least I slept well and Evie's still in bed at 7:30, a good sign.  Lunch was leftover pot roast with cheesy tater tots, of course, and we watched Jon Stewart before going back upstairs to start the clean up.  We were, however, getting in Barb's way, so we waited until she had finished before getting serious.  We spent at least an hour, rearranging, then rearranging, beds, dressers, desks, tables, and trying to decide which comforters went well with what color room.  I am sure we will continue to experiment with the arrangements. And we will wait to put up pictures and hangings until we are sure what we want...it will take a couple of weeks, I am sure.  But for now, the rooms are painted, have made beds and dressers, and are ready for guests if any one wants to drop by.  The Davis lake hotel is back in business.

Late Afternoon Rain On An Icy Lake

Although we did not do a lot, we were both worn out by 5:00 and were more than ready to settle down on our couch, with wine, horseradish cheese and crackers, listen to the rain,  and just do nothing but listen to POTUS, talk about what else we want to do to the bedrooms, and browse on the Web. Around 6:30, our mojo returned, and we made dinner, salmon with a glaze of balsamic vinegar, mustard, orange marmalade, and hot sauce,  (thanks Ellen) along with garlic spinach and rice, our usual combination. We ate dinner and watched two more episodes of Rita, a Danish series set in a private school.  Our daughter Beth we just found out, loved it.  I like it but Evie's a bit less taken with it than me.  We went up to sleep on our new mattress around 10:30.  So far, so good.