Good morning, sunshine!

After what seems like weeks of rainy, gloomy weather, we here in the Middle of Nowhere are suddenly experiencing spring. Glorious, sunny, beautiful spring, with wild dogwoods and redbuds in bloom and buzzing bees and lovely, lovely weather. Perfect for mowing.

Much of my life from April through October is spent cutting grass. Heh. We maintain three acres of it, so it takes quite a big chunk of time. I realize in most households mowing lawns is the boy’s job, but I kind of like doing it, and my husband wouldn’t know where to start.

Anyway, that’s on my agenda for this afternoon. The garden plot was tilled for the third and final time over the weekend, and is ready for planting. I’ll probably work on that tomorrow, since it’s supposed to rain – again – Wednesday and Thursday.

I’d hoped to post last Thursday, letting both of you who read this blog know that I was leaving town, but the dial-up connection was acting up and I couldn’t connect. I visited family in North Carolina (experiencing the icky green tree pollen that Marla fights with each spring), went to the NC Zoo (one of the prettiest zoos I’ve ever been to) and stopped in Carrboro on my way home.

I HEART Carrboro. I first visited there several years ago, falling in love with the laid-back vibe, the old-hippie atmosphere, the public art, the walkability, the funky little shops (we bought my wedding ring in one of them) and especially the Weaver Street Market.

I’ve spent the last couple of months looking locally for bulgar wheat (for taboulleh) and whole-wheat pastry flour (for homemade pasta), with no success whatsoever. The bulk-food bins at Weaver Street were well-stocked, and now, so am I. And I realize I could order this stuff on the internet, but somehow I just knew I’d be going back to Carrboro soon, and could buy it in person.

I had a great conversation with the guy behind the cheese counter (and bought a third of a pound of Roquefort at a very dear price, but since Roquefort will soon have an added tariff, I thought it prudent to buy while it was still only $24.99/pound). The checkout clerk was so nice and friendly, wishing me a safe trip home and telling me how much he liked living in the area. The market was crowded with families and friends, and no one was grumpy. No one!

Also? I’ve visited very few establishments where you could find three Priuses parked in a row, all sporting Obama bumper stickers. I belong in Carrboro. Can’t say that about the Middle of Nowhere, WV, where most of the cars are trucks and many of the front license plates sport Confederate flags.

Thanks for your comments on my last post. I was completely out of food control while I was gone, but got a great deal of walking done to make up for it. Truthfully, though, I didn’t think too much about it. I enjoyed myself, for four straight days, just like anyone else would if they were on a little weekend getaway. Now it’s back to normal, with sweet memories and renewed energy. Hope your weekend was as nice as mine.