Almost Summer

What a cold and dreary spring this is! We had winter storms all the way into May. Then the snow melted, but we’ve had very few warm days. And when we do, it’s POW! Everyone is outside and soaking up the sun.

And because of the cold spring, nature stuff is about a month behind. The lakes are very cold, so even if it was warmer this weekend, no one can really go swimming. And the cold lakes are screwing up the fishing. Usually fish have spawned and are active this time of year. Now they’re so cold, they’re barely moving.

My lilacs are blooming now. Usually by now, the lilac flowers are long gone. I’ve only mowed the grass twice so far this year.

So after such a long winter, it was difficult to get up and get going for spring. I had to force myself to get out in the yard and clean it up. I was so used to sitting in the house and watching it snow that I couldn’t imagine being outside and doing things besides shoveling.

But we got out the lawn furniture, raked up the last of the fall leaves, and I got my compost and soil worked into the garden beds. I bought millions of dollars’ worth of plants.

And finally, finally, about two weeks later than I usually put in my garden, I started planting.

I finished the garden this afternoon. It’s a cool and windy and very cloudy day, but actually that’s perfect gardening weather. The little plants’ dirt was saturated with water from all the rain we’ve having, so I’m sure they were glad to get into the soil and lose some of the moisture.

It’s supposed to warm up this week, after Memorial Day weekend, of course, and then I’ll move out my house plants that winter inside. They’ll love being out in the sun.

My desktop PC wasn’t being as efficient as I liked, but I wasn’t really thrilled about buying a PC with Windows 8. I’ve heard so many bad things about that operating system. I played around with it when I looked at desktops at Best Buy. I wasn’t very impressed.

I also looked at iMacs. Everyone I know who has a Mac swears by it. I have an iPhone and an iPod and I love both of them, so after much debate, I broke down and bought the 27” screen iMac.

And I hate it!

Well, I’m getting used to it. I’ve never used a Mac operating system before and it is different than Windows, so I was really frustrated for a while. “This is a piece of crap!” “Who thought of this?” “This is so stupid!” are some of the nicer things I said about the Mac.

But I forced myself to keep using it, Googling questions when I needed help, and doing trial and error to figure things out.

Now I’m used to it. I got most of my stuff transferred from PC to the Mac. The huge screen is beautiful. I don’t cuss at it quite so much. I rarely use my PC anymore, so soon I’ll put it on the desk in the basement and use it for scrapbook stuff.

My big Mac project today was transferring photos from the Mac to a USB which I use in a photo frame. Mission accomplished!

The rest of this Saturday was spent cleaning up the house a bit. Joe and I are going to get BBQ ribs this evening and then we’ll stop at the cemetery to leave our flowers and flags for our spouses.

Memorial Day is like Christmas at the cemetery. Flags are flying everywhere, flags are on graves, and it’s very patriotic. My heart is so sad when I see a grave for a young man or woman who has lost his/her life in Afghanistan or Iraq.

In this national cemetery, a lot of lives over the years have been cut short because of the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I’m glad we have a special day to remember them.