Wonderland Burlesque's
Spring Into Spring Quiz
So, let's all spring into spring... and take a little quiz while we're at it.
Who knows... maybe there's some yummy jelly beans in your future?
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1/ What's outside your window that you're watching for signs of spring?
I have been watching the ground. The grass. Lawns. We recently had two days of rain, so things are greening up. I love to see it. It gives me hope.
Sadly, it also means my sinuses are having a terrible time coping. As my heart leaps up at the sight of all this potential new growth, I feel like I have a lead weight sitting on the bridge of my nose. It will remain so until such time as the sun burns off all the mold and the pollen stills.
I also look for robins. I have spotted one so far.
I love those damn birds.
2/ Do you plant any flowers? From seed? Veggies? A garden? Do you have a lawn you have to rake?
I have three lawns to rake. Again, hell on my sinuses, but it has to get done. Other than paying for it the next day, I do enjoy it. I love being outside, doing just about anything.
2/ Do you plant any flowers? From seed? Veggies? A garden? Do you have a lawn you have to rake?
I have three lawns to rake. Again, hell on my sinuses, but it has to get done. Other than paying for it the next day, I do enjoy it. I love being outside, doing just about anything.
This year I am going to spend some money and buy starter plants. My luck with seeds has been so hit and miss and I rather dislike waiting all those weeks only to be disappointed with the results. My approach to landscaping is very rudimentary; if it looks like a Ramada Inn? Then I am happy.
I wish I was one of those people who knew how to stack a garden, but I am not. When I have tried, something always hangs over something else, or chokes everything else out. So now I keep it simple.
I like mums, too. If I had my druthers I would have hostas everywhere. I love their low-maintenance nature. And day lilies. Not the prettiest, but man... you can not kill them. And moving them around? A breeze. You can do no wrong.
I have a small garden to the right of the back steps that I get to plant at The Boyfriend's. And I have the front yard at his place, too. Where I live? The Ex is in charge and I have learned to stay out of his way.
I have no luck with veggies. Zero. I've tried many times and have never gotten out of them what I put into them.
3/ Do you have a patio? Deck? Pool? Lawn furniture?
We have a patio in the back at The Boyfriend's. I clean it all up and place furniture and then... we sit at it for one evening in early summer and that's it. Why? He doesn't like the heat. I could sit out there alone, but I get bored quickly.
I don't BBQ. Although we have a nice gas grill installed at my house. I put Beyond Beef brats on there once in a blue moon. Oh, they are SOOOO good. Like out of this world. You would never know that they were plant-based.
I wish I had a pool. The maintenance would drive me crazy, and we have a limited amount of time one can be used here, in Minnesota. Still... in July? There's nothing like it.
4/ Walks in the park? A nice hike? Where do you go to immerse yourself in the season?
For spring? I do go to the prairie, but it's all about prepping for summer. I clear paths and clip things that block the paths. Fallen trees. I have also started seeking out certain invasive plants early in the season and yanking them out. Some of them have terrible picklers or emit some kind of histamine or acetylcholine that raise havoc with one's skin. Those plants? They are the enemy of a good time.
4/ Walks in the park? A nice hike? Where do you go to immerse yourself in the season?
For spring? I do go to the prairie, but it's all about prepping for summer. I clear paths and clip things that block the paths. Fallen trees. I have also started seeking out certain invasive plants early in the season and yanking them out. Some of them have terrible picklers or emit some kind of histamine or acetylcholine that raise havoc with one's skin. Those plants? They are the enemy of a good time.
Otherwise, I simply walk around the neighborhood. On my daily dog walk I notice all sorts of minor changes. It's exciting to see and always brings a smile to my face and makes me feel better.
I go to Wirth Park, too. Once a week? The lake looks so lovely and it's fun to be out there, people watching. And the trees. They change so quickly this year. Not like fall. In fall, it's one long, sad good-bye.
5/ Spring sports are big. Participate in any? Have you? Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Golf, Tennis, Fencing?
Not since I was a teen. Used to be into tennis. Used to play baseball. Have always ran and biked.
5/ Spring sports are big. Participate in any? Have you? Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Golf, Tennis, Fencing?
Not since I was a teen. Used to be into tennis. Used to play baseball. Have always ran and biked.
Organized sports, like organized religion? Not my thing. Never developed the skill sets necessary and never found any of it very interesting. Though I did like getting a free t-shirt. I liked being outside. But I did not like the game or the people I had to play with.
We used to play baseball in the backyard of one of my best friends. Plastic bats and balls. Our family and theirs. We had a good time. And we played a lot. This was also the family that we went caroling with at Xmas time. Both our families? They struggled financially. That family? They were so nice to us.
6/ Do you get into the whole spring cleaning thing? How intensely?
I used to. No more. I believe in constant maintenance as opposed to a one-time intense clean.
Floors and windows? Okay. But everything else should be good to go already.
I do love opening up the windows and airing the place out. Fresh air is the best air. That's why I dislike air conditioning.
7/ Do you celebrate Easter? In a religious way or in a bunny way? Where do you stand on Peeps?
I dislike Easter. As a holiday it makes zero sense, unless brooding and feeling bad about things is your cup of tea.
Lent? Silly. Magical thinking.
Stations of the cross? Gruesome. Why would you expose a child to that?
And loading up on candy for no reason? Unless your goal is early onset diabetes and obesity, I don't understand it.
That whole Easter bunny thing? What is that all about? He's a stop-gap Santa Claus.
And the traditional food. Blech. Ham? Eek. Not everything needs a sequel.
Do we really need Thanksgiving II?
The marketing of both, simultaneously, is weird.
And the marketing for both is so weird.
8/ Have you ever (even as a kid) decorated/dyed eggs? Do you still do it? Participated or arranged an Easter egg hunt?
We did those little kits. PAAS. So much fun. I liked it most at the very end when all the eggs were dipped so much they turned black.
We did those little kits. PAAS. So much fun. I liked it most at the very end when all the eggs were dipped so much they turned black.
All those little decals and stuff that came with those kits? Remember the little outfits you could cut out for your eggs? Yeah. Just weird stuff. And none of it worked.
Everything about this holiday. I mean... you... go ahead. Try and explain it to someone from another planet.
The kid becomes an adult really fast. I mean... one moment you're celebrating his birth and four months later he's 33 years old. The rest of year? It's the same old reruns... the kid's greatest hits. See, he's a magician, doing tricks all the time (water into wine, loaves and fishes) and everybody's like... oooh, this kid's good, like Houdini good, not Criss Angel good.
Anyway, by the time the kid's 33, he has this posse he hangs with. The kid is always showing off and all the politicians get jealous and want him to go away because everybody likes him and they feel threatened. They infiltrate the kid's posse and pay one of them to betray him... how? Well, that's not clear. I guess he leads him somewhere and they kiss and in swoop the cops - you know, the way it used to be in the days before Stonewall?
Well, the politicians all want to make an example out of the kid, except Pontius Pilot, who sings this great song about apathy while washing his hands and then disappears for the rest of the show. Then there's this whole ordeal with whips and chains... you know, like the way it was after Stonewall, and the kid ends up dying like Matthew Shepard, which is really sad. Because Elton John wasn't around to write a song for him.
And then they seal the kid's body up in this cave with a rock rolled over the front. And when the rock is rolled away, out pops a bunny who sees his shadow or something and then Irving Berlin writes him a song and the bunny is so happy he starts giving everybody candy, and everybody loves candy... so that's how the politicians are able to control the common folk by keeping everybody poor and obese. And then... diabetes. And insulin.
Then everybody went home and ate a ham.
And they had so much fun, they decided to do it every year because... Hallmark?
Yeah. Hallmark.
And the cathartic church really, really got into that part with the whips and chains, know what I'm saying? So they keep re-enacting it to this day... you know, like those guys from the south with that flag where they lost but keep pretending they didn't?
But, no... they lost, ya know.
The end."
And we wonder why those aliens all look at us so weird, wanting to stick things our people holes.
9/ Do you look good in pastels? Ever wear them? When, what and why?
No.
JUST. SAY. NO. TO. PASTELS.
I think Sky God was so mad the people of earth killed his kid that, to punish them, he invented pastels.
And FOX News.
And Peeps.
10/ Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Laine, Bette Midler, and Carly Simon, among many others, have proclaimed that Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. Has it? Ever? How so?
Confession.
I am going through my seasonal depression as I write this.
It sucks so much.
All I want to do is whine. It's weird. I am plucky as hell all through terrible January and boring February... but as we get close to spring, my body refuses to accept the sun's gentle rays. Instead, I am sad. All I want to do is stay in bed. Or be in bed. Or eat. Starch.
When I walk outside, I do not feel the warmth of the sun. I am freezing. I have to walk around wearing the exact number of layers and the exact winter clothing I wear when it is 40 below.
My body does not acclimate to new temperatures quickly. In some ways, I feel the cold more when it is 40 or 50 degrees than I do when it is 40 below. When it's 40 below, I am invigorated. I feel the fight. When the temps are mild and wet? I have a tendency to catch a shiver or a chill that is hard for me to shake. Add on top of that my seasonal allergies and I end up having low energy and am miserable.
So, yes, spring really does hang me up the most. It is my least favorite season. The only other time I have this issue is during the fall season when we move from 70 plus temps to those 50 and below. Again, my body doesn't acclimate and I tend to feel as if I am about to start quivering in my boots.
Thankfully, it passes. It always does. But for two weeks each spring and fall? I am a sad little monkey.
Because of my change in demeanor, The Ex freaks out. My Mom freaks out. They kind of yell at me, what's wrong with you? I try to explain, but my words fall on deaf ears. They are all full of advice, none of which will actually help me. This is something I go through every year.
Only The Boyfriend gets it. He grows concerned when I suddenly go all silent... but he, more than anyone else, understands what I am going through. He doesn't experience it anymore... his doctor put him on medication. But me? No thank you. Tried it. Hated it.
Someone has suggested acupuncture. My insurance covers it. If you have had any experience with acupuncture - good or bad, please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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Well, that's all for me this time.
Your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section or post it on your blog and leave a link here.
Thank you for listening to me whine.
Thanks for reading.
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most - Ella Fitzgerald
It Might As Well Be Spring/Come Back To Me - Cleo Laine
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10 comments:
1/ What's outside your window that you're watching for signs of spring?
Trees blooming. Crepe Myrtles, Dogwoods, Cherry trees; the azaleas; the Popcorn Ball tree …and after a day lo lawn mowing, even the grass is Springing to life!
2/ Do you plant any flowers? From seed? Veggies? A garden? Do you have a lawn you have to rake?
We bought some bulbs to plant this Spring for a wildflower garden in the front yard; and we do containers pots of tomatoes and peppers; herbs and such. We have raked and raked and raked and mowed and mowed. We are about an acre here at Casa Bob y Carlos so there’s always work to be down.
3/ Do you have a patio? Deck? Pool? Lawn furniture?
We have a deck along the back of the house, and a lower deck toward one side. We have a table, with umbrella, and often eat outside, especially in Spring. Or, we take Tuxedo out and let him command the yard from the tabletop.
4/ Walks in the park? A nice hike? Where do you go to immerse yourself in the season?
There are several trails we can do: Sesquicentennial Park; Congaree National Park; Goodall State Park; or we just take a stroll through the Historic District and house watch.
5/ Spring sports are big. Participate in any? Have you? Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Golf, Tennis, Fencing?
Um … no.
6/ Do you get into the whole spring cleaning thing? How intensely?
I clean the windows and screens; and power wash the exterior of the house; I pressure wash the driveway and walkways. But those are just to wash away winter grime. Inside the house, not so much.
7/ Do you celebrate Easter? In a religious way or in a bunny way? Where do you stand on Peeps?
We do not.
8/ Have you ever (even as a kid) decorated/dyed eggs? Do you still do it? Participated or arranged an Easter egg hunt?
I did as a kid; we decorated eggs and our parents hid them in the house or yard.
9/ Do you look good in pastels? Ever wear them? When, what and why?
No. Never. Nada. Nunca. Zip. Zilch.
10/ Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Laine, Bette Midler, and Carly Simon, among many others, have proclaimed that Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. Has it? Ever? How so?
What you said: SAD. I don’t suffer from it, but I get the idea that the changes of seasons really affect some people.
Ohhh yay quizzes!
Let's see: I love it when everything starts to get green and bloom. Alas, like you I have terrible allergies and the prettiest part of Spring is hell sometimes. I sneeze and cough and my eyes look like a bunny's. But I love the big and little flowers and all the birds. I do plant some flowers now. Mainly bulbs. I've created my own little garden patch in the backyard and I'm looking forward to see what's coming back this spring. It's my first try. I only do flowers and try to plant for the bees and the butterflies. I would love to have only plants indigenous to the region.
There's a patio and a deck. I don't use them. The Whyphe is the one who cooks in the grill. I would probably hurt myself.
I love walks in the parks and the Botanical garden and Arboretum. I also visit conservatories and I hope I can do some flower shows this summer.
No sports, honey. I'm not that kind of boy.
I don't celebrate Easter. I'm Jewish by contact, so there's Passover. Also, Huntley sometimes bakes something for me during Easter and adds tons of jelly beans. He knows mei. And I love pastels! Just got a pink hoodie and a soft green one that I plan to wear all throughout the year!
Spring gives me wings. I only get grumpy in the winter when the days are super short and it rains and snows all day. I like the sun and the flowers.
XOXO
1. I view and watch my Plumeria (Frangi Panny). It is deep red and intense fragrance.
2. I have a lawn man (Joseph) who takes care of everything. There is not a true dormant season here so it is a never ending job.
3.A deck, which I ruined when the guy who built it told me I could stain it myself. So simple he said....as soon as it rots I'm switching over to trex.
4. I cruise around in my convertible.....sometime I walk The Drive.
5. Tennis! Clay court. The French Open is my favorite.
6. With my husband home, my house is trashed! I'm dreading his retirement. I'm getting a housekeeper as soon as he returns to the office.
7. I've been known to eat a whole box of peeps while in the grocery store before getting to the check out counter.
8. yes
9. NA
1.NA
1. The sage...then in a few weeks they'll explode with purple flowers.
2. Sometimes potted flowers. I like the pop of color they bring - though it's tough to keep them alive with the intense heat of Summer.
3. Patio (covered), pool, of course, small patch of lawn (drought, you know).
4. Used to hike. The Muscular Dystrophy impedes that now.
5. What is this thing, "Sports"?
6. Spring cleaning? Not since I was a kid and my mother's family would go from house to house - washing walls and the whole enchilada.
7. No Easter stuff. I like Peeps, in moderation and only after they get a little stale.
8.Egg dying was a "thing" when I was a kid. Haven't done it in years and years.
9. I do look good in pastels. Blues especially, but I do wear pink, too.
10. LOVE that song. Spring doesn't hang me up as much as Winter. Ugh! That's my tough season. I get cranky. Real cranky.
What's outside your window that you're watching for signs of spring? Sunny skies, the grass is green, tons of birds and wildlife, and most of the flowering bulbs and forsythia is striking right now.
Do you plant any flowers? From seed? Veggies? A garden? Do you have a lawn you have to rake? Dear that's what's houseboys are for! But at mothers I have some potters in the garden. She to has some men to do the lawn and such. I just do the beautifying.
Do you have a patio? Courtyard and walking trails
Walks in the park? A nice hike? I have three parks in which to go, and all three vert different from each other. I also have the huge lake, and woods in which to walk and hike, and often do.
Spring sports are big. Participate in any? You mean like actual sports, ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!! I only ever exceled at sport nookie.
Do you get into the whole spring cleaning thing? How intensely? No, I do that right after the Christmas decorations come down. Then I do a whole house top to bottom clean. No stone left unturned. With spring here now, it only means the windows get cleaned and windows will stay open to allow for fresh air.
Do you celebrate Easter? In a religious way or in a bunny way? Where do you stand on Peeps? Well, we have a nice traditional Easter dinner. And my mother still does me a small easter basket every year. She loves doing it. And it's a no peeps. I don't care for marshmallow.
Have you ever (even as a kid) decorated/dyed eggs? Do you still do it? Yes and still do! I love seeing colored eggs. The only egg hunt will be the one where the boys are trying to find my balls in my jeans.
I think I like Easter because to me it's all about celebrating the coming of the spring season, and new life, with all it's finery after a long winter. I enjoyed your answers.
I really liked your answers to questions 7&8. Let yourself feel what you feel; it will feel better soon enough.
1 - da boids is singin'! (said in a brooklyn accent) the trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, the grass is going green, and my allergies are through the roof!
2 - spouse usually plants 2 tomatoes and 1 cuke after may 15. I have a lawn guy that does the mowing/weeding/etc.
3 - I have a screened sunporch attached to the house
4 - I stay right at home
5 - phillies baseball starts this thursday!!!!!
6 - FUCK NO! waste of time!
7 - FUCK NO! love peeps; they are made 1 hour north of my location. local made chocolate eggs is as far as I go.
8 - dyed eggs as a kid
9 - I look good in blue, but my fave colors are red and purple.
10 - I have SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. winter is my depressing time; feb & march kicked my ass good this year. but with april, my mood starts to lighten up. I get it.
to tell the truth, I prefer autumn, because it has the most beautiful colors. You can feel the spring, in northern Italy, because the temperatures rise. As for Easter, I certainly don't care. Anyway, you will see on my blog, here , starting tomorrow, a series of posts about Easter.
I had to come back and steal several of these pix you collected. You'll notice a few this Sunday.
Ah,I can't pass up a Spring Quiz!
1/ What's outside your window that you're watching for signs of spring?
Flowering bulbs. Spring has truly sprung here, and I know it's Spring when the big daffodils (not the little "tete a tetes") come out. This year in the garden, the first ones started to open on 1st March. Now, joining the daffs (and the snowdrops & crocuses which were already out) are tulips and fritilleries.
2/ Do you plant any flowers? From seed? Veggies? A garden? Do you have a lawn you have to rake?
I do grow a few flowers from seed, but no vegetables - as you say, they're too much effort (and it's quicker & simpler to buy them). I love gardening, and spend ages pottering around, separating & propagating various plants and spreading them around to fill the garden up. I have a lawn at the front and one at the back, but they never get raked. I also have an allotment for fruit bushes and trees - and more flowers!
3/ Do you have a patio? Deck? Pool? Lawn furniture?
A paysho, yes (because "pat-ee-oh" sounds common ;) ). I'd love a pool, but have the same issues you do with maintenance and temperature. Fortunately, the sea is only five minutes away, so in the summer I can swim there.
4/ Walks in the park? A nice hike? Where do you go to immerse yourself in the season?
I do walk and cycle around the countryside here quite a bit, but the garden is where I really immerse myself in Spring.
5/ Spring sports are big. Participate in any? Have you? Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Golf, Tennis, Fencing?
Definitely not! I like doing my own thing, so team sports are out (plus I'm pretty hopeless at throwing and catching and running and suchlike). I like watching cricket, though.
6/ Do you get into the whole spring cleaning thing? How intensely?
No. Too lazy and procrastinatory.
7/ Do you celebrate Easter? In a religious way or in a bunny way? Where do you stand on Peeps?
Not really, and certainly not the hijacked version that Jesus's silly followers came up with to try and get more people to join their cult. I will eat the chocolate, though.
And if that Easter Bunny in the leading photo was to pay me a visit, I'll be sure to get more into it!
8/ Have you ever (even as a kid) decorated/dyed eggs? Do you still do it? Participated or arranged an Easter egg hunt?
Yep, I used to decorate eggs when I was very young - mainly at school, I think? And we're putting on an Easter egg hunt for my nephew and nieces on Sunday.
9/ Do you look good in pastels? Ever wear them? When, what and why?
Oh, gods, no!
10/ Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Laine, Bette Midler, and Carly Simon, among many others, have proclaimed that Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. Has it? Ever? How so?
No, never. Every year I look forward to Spring to get me out of the Winter doldrums, and even when it's cold and wet, new growth and green shoots lift me up.
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