Last summer I grew some basil on my patio.  I get only a little bit of afternoon sun, so most anything I’d like to grow (like tomatoes) just won’t work.  Today, I finally got down to Coleman’s and got some more basil for this year.  They always have so many varieties that I have a hard time choosing.  Last year it was Lime Basil.  This time I’ve got African Blue Basil.  Should be delicious!

On the advice of my mom, I also picked up some Fuscia.  They are shady loving, so they should do good.  They’re the red ones below.  While I was getting some potting soil and pots, I decided to get some white impatiens as well.

I still have a bunch of potting soil, so I might need to go back and pick up some more plants.  Anyone have any ideas of what I should get?

But the springtime transitions are always kind of awkward.  How do you know when its time to stop wearing your winter coat, and just bring a jacket?  I’ve actually put a lot of thought into this one over the past few years… There is a point, sometime after spring has begun, where you can trust it enough to actually stop wearing a coat, where there may be some more jacket days ahead, but the coat days are behind us.  I think I overcalled it this year for Michigan, but I understand that day hasn’t come yet in Utah and Wyoming. (And quit your bellyachin’, it’s the moisture you’re always praying for. )

Image: Enchanted Stairs, by abekleinfel

I have identified several other transitions that mark my spring:

1- The transition back to short sleeve shirts. I really, really like wearing sweaters, and do so for most of the winter.  Unfortunately, that means an awkward (for me) transition back to just short sleeves.  My arms have been covered for most of the last four months, and they just feel… well… naked. Add to that that all of my work shirts are long sleeve, and the transition to T-shirts makes for plenty of goosebumps. The transition back to shorts won’t be for another month or two.

2- The transition of waking up in the night to Thunderstorms. Got that groove on this morning.  It’s been awhile, Mother Nature, since you’ve woken me up.  Thanks a lot.  Now I have to worry about my upstairs neighbors and thunder waking me up at 3:30 in the morning.

3- The transition back to sunglasses. During the winter, I rarely need my sunglasses. I drive to work in the dark, I drive home in the dark. Ergo, I have no idea where I stashed my shades last fall. Until I find them, my eyes are burning.

4- The transition back to green. My favorite part of spring!  Suddenly one day you wake up, and BAM! Everything is green.  The grass, the trees, the sidewalk where the geese hang out.  It’s a beautiful thing!  And then the flowers start to pop out!

5- The transition back to mosquitoes. I’ve been grilling for weeks.  Ever since before that last snowstorm.  Or maybe right after, I don’t remember.  On Monday, I forgot to close the screen door to my patio, only to be tormented by the mosquitoes I’d let in for the next few hours.  Fortunately, they’re still pretty slow, so their eradication was quick and at zero loss of blood (to me).  Now I’ll just have to remember to take my bug spray with me when I go hiking.

I’m sure I’m forgetting some important spring transitions.  I only usually remember after they’ve backfired on me at least once.  So, now the question… What am I forgetting?

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Cool blog update notes:
1) I think I’ve fixed the feed issues that were plaguing me over the last few weeks.  You didn’t know that I was having them, because your feeds weren’t updating.   They should now.
2) I updated the header with pictures that I actually took.  It rotates, so keep looking for something new.  I’ll try to add new ones occasionally, and remove some of the awful ones.
3) I added the Google Friend Connect box.  I think it’s kind of like following, so you can, you know, follow me if you wants.

I love my alarm clock. It’s a Timex travel alarm clock with an Indiglo backlight.   I have owned it for longer than just about everything else that I have owned. I think I was given it as a graduation present during high school. It’s possible that I have had it longer than that. I just don’t remember. I took it with me to on my mission, that’s for certain. It’s followed me from Wyoming to Utah to Michigan. Most everything else has been discarded or acquired somewhere along the line.

My alarm clock looks kind of like this one, but it doesn't have that extension at the back.

I am perfectly attenuated to it. I know exactly when it will go off after a snooze and can usually drag myself out of bed a few moments before it sounds.  If for some reason I’m not around to silence it, or I’m already in the shower, I know that it will ring for exactly one minute and then stop. I even love the short high pitched sound it makes when I hit the snooze button.

It’s more than 10 years old by now, and with age, my alarm clock has developed some quirks.   Among others, it resets itself and loses the set alarm if it falls off my nightstand (or, as usually happens, when it gets forcibly knocked off my nightstand during the night terrors).  This can be problematic, as you might imagine.  It used to take a huge drop, but even gentle bumps will reset it these days.

So, reluctantly, last winter, I decided it was time to start auditioning new alarm clocks before it became terribly critical.  I had only a few requirements: #1 Battery operated #2 Easy to read in the dark without my contacts in.  Actually, #1 is a function of #2, because I usually have to hold it pretty close to my face, and if it were one of those big ones with a power cord, I’d smash my face frequently.

The first trial has ended unsuccessfully. Instead of replacing my alarm clock, I’ve just had two sitting on my nightstand in case one fails. The only things that I like about the new one was that it automatically reset itself for Daylight Savings Time.  It was insufficient in all other aspects of alarm-clockery.  The backlight is terrible. It rings for too long and at the wrong intervals.  For some reason, it has a thermometer which is consistently overly optimistic about how warm my bedroom is. In another oddly designed “feature”, if I hit the backlight, it shows me what time the alarm is set for, rather than what time it is, which has led to a few panicked moments.

So, on to round two, I guess.  Anyone know where I can find a brand new Timex Indiglo Travel Alarm clock, vintage 1998, perchance? Or have an awesome alarm clock that snoozes for exactly 8 minutes?

Anyhow, I’ve updated to a WordPress blog. I’ve managed to import most of my posts and (sadly, only a part of) the comments from the last few years.  I’m hoping for minimal disturbances.

I still have some updates to make to make my blog pretty.  But that’s not difficult.  And then maybe I should add a post or two of my recent doings.  All in good time.

I do have a favor to ask, Dear Readers.

I’m not sure that my feeds are working correctly.  Can you leave a comment to let me know how you get to my blog normally (GReader, website search, link, bookmark, etc) and if that method is still working for you?

Thanks!

What should I do? Those overlapping diamond squares are taking over my life!

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• 10Ks: 1 (plus 1 5.7mile almost 10K)
• 5Ks: 5
• Blog Posts: 150 on three different blogs
• Books purchased about Writing: 6 (two of which were Stephen King’s On Writing. Oops)
• Complete Television Series watched: 3 (Jericho, Battlestar Gallactica, Pushing Daisies)
• Devices purchased which contain GPS devices: 4
• Emails forwarded to the Hill Street Ward List: 249 (Interesting fact: First and last email forwarded this year had to do with Chapel Cleanup)
• Favorite Books read this year: The Book Thief, The Shadow Gate Series, The Alchemist, The World Without Us
• Favorite New Games: Dominion, Bohnanza
• Favorite New Music Groups: Jack’s Mannequin, Blind Pilot
• Games I play on Facebook: 3 (Mousehunt, MythMonger, Mafia Wars)
• Geocaches found this year: 58
• GPS devices left underwater within one week of purchasing: 1
• Great Lakes which I skipped rocks into: 3 (Huron, Michigan, Superior)
• Half-Marathons: 1
• Least Favorite Books read this year: Little Brother, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
• Maximum Consecutive Days Skipping Rocks into Great Lakes: 5
• Miles run: 245 (Per Nike+ iPod) Stopped using in July
• Miles run: 342 (Per Garmin GPS) Started using in April
• Months in which I ran a race: April, May, June, August, September, October, November, December
• Movies I actively hated: The Seeker
• Movies which I unexpectedly liked: Hoop Dreams, East of Eden
• New Year’s Resolutions that I actually completed: 1 (Run a Half-Marathon)
• New Year’s Resolutions that I can still remember: 3 (Run a Half-Marathon, Write Something Every Day, Do 100 Pushups)
• Number of Pages that constitute my Grad and Undergrad degrees, once scanned: 3,796
• Pairs of Black Shoes I bought: 3 (and still haven’t really found one I like after the first few weeks)
• Places visited for the first time that I’ve been meaning to get to: 5 (Kirtland, The UP, Charlevoix, Mackinac Island, Michigan Renaissance Festival)
• Songs with highest play count on my iPod: Good Christian Men Rejoice (Traditional) – 28; The Black Hawk War, or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You’re Going To Have To Leave Now, or, “I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue to Fight… (Sufjan Stevens) – 13; A short reprise for Mary Todd, who went insane, but for very good reasons (Sufjan Stevens) – 13; Go On, Say It (Blind Pilot) – 12;
• Text Messages (Sent and Received): 863
• Weight of Thanksgiving Turkey: 23 lbs
• Woot! T-shirts purchased: 2
• Writing Classes: 2