Only ten more days…
Spring is just a few days away! I have to admit it’s not my favorite time of year. If you live in the Midwest as I do, Spring is very fickle. She shows up flirting and flouncing and then leaves you just as quickly! The other thing I dislike about Spring is how ugly everything is in the beginning. The yard is brown; the trees are bare; and, it’s still so chilly!
But, here’s to 10 on the 10th!
In case you’re new to my blog, I’ve teamed up with Leslie for 10 on the 10th. We are taking turns coming up with the lists, questions, prompts…you just never know what we will come up with! This month was Leslie’s turn! Leslie lives where it’s a bit warmer than me so she picked Spring as her springboard (bad pun intended). Please join along, visit Leslie’s blog, and comment! There is also a link up at the end of the post. Please feel free to link up and link back to your hostesses! We’d love to see your answers to the questions and other posts as well.
And, my answers:
- List your favorite thing about spring. Which season do you like best? My favorite thing about spring is the lower heat bills! No, well, sort of! But, my next favorite would be watching all of the bulbs and hostas popping through the ground. I’m always surprised by how many more bulbs there are! Next is the return of the birds singing. I love waking up and hearing them singing their little hearts out! But, my favorite season of all is fall! I just love everything about it!
- What puts spring in your step? What does your favorite pair of shoes look like? When do you wear them? Hmmm…right now, there isn’t much spring in my step. I learned back in October I’ve got arthritis behind my knee cap. Apparently, this is tough to treat without going the medication route. And, that medication has some serious side effects. So, my steps are less than springy right now. My favorite shoes…oh, this is a tough one. I love my L’Artiste boots! But, I’m not sure that works for a spring post. Oh, well, here goes! I think my favorite pair of boots are the L’Artiste Rodeha boots in black. I’ve always wanted a pair of cowboy boots, and these are the closest I will probably come. I wear them with everything, but they will probably go into hibernation during the summer.
- Around St. Patrick’s Day, we see invitations to ‘kiss me, I’m Irish’ on graphic tees and images everywhere. Are you Irish? If not, what would your graphic tee read? ‘Kiss me, I’m …’ I am not Irish. My graphic tee would read, “Kuss mich, Ich bin Deutscher” That u should have an umlaut over it, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that!
- What flowers would make up your perfect spring bouquet? What is your favorite floral fragrance? I love almost all flowers, including dandelions! My perfect spring bouquet would have lilacs, peonies, and hyacinths with some daffodils for pops of color! My favorite floral fragrance is definitely roses (that’s my maiden name).
- Spring cleaning? A necessary evil or overrated? What’s your favorite cleaning tip? Cleaning product? Spring cleaning…what’s that? I used to be a deep cleaner once a week. Now, it’s a little cleaning here, a little cleaning there, you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around! I think spring cleaning is overrated. Clean when you need to do it! My favorite cleaning tip is to not get it dirty in the first place…oh, and don’t have a hairy white dog! My favorite cleaning products are the miracle window cloths from Norwex. They probably have some other name, but I’m too lazy to fetch it!
- Slinkies are coiled spring toys. Did you ever have a Slinky? Silly Putty? What was your favorite toy as a child? I’m sure I had a Slinky. Did I have a Slinky? Maybe I had a Slinky? We always kid our youngest because he got a Slinky for Christmas. His older brother took it from him and ruined it before he could even get it to “walk” down the stairs! I bought him Slinkies for several Christmases after! I loved Silly Putty! I know I had that. My favorite thing to do with it was to mash it out over the funny papers (did you call them that) and then peel it back to see the comic reversed on the Silly Putty! My favorite toy…hmmm…that would have to be our swing set! Ours was from a school that burned down so it was pretty doggone awesome!
- When we ‘spring forward’ on March 13, what do you hope to do in that extra daylight? Nothing for a few more weeks! Then, we will spend many more hours outside on the deck enjoying the sounds of the birds and the frogs!
- The following colors will be trending for spring: soft lilac, canary yellow, hot pink, salted caramel, scarlet, sky blue. Will you be styling any of these? Is there a color you will avoid? I will definitely be styling soft lilac, one of my absolute favorite colors. Maybe toss in some sky blue and scarlet. I’ll be wearing more of my Lilly Pulitzer clothing which has lots of hot pink. Canary yellow won’t be a primary color in anything except maybe as an accent in a scarf.
- What will you be reading this spring? Do you have a favorite devotional or quiet time routine? Hmmm…I’m not sure what I’ll be reading. I’ve written and will be presenting a mini retreat at our church the first weekend in April so I’ll be reading and rereading that! As far as books, I don’t know. I used to be one of those read four or five books at a time people. Now, I’m lucky if I can sustain my attention on one book for more than half an hour! I do not have a devotional or quiet time routine. I’m allergic to the word routine!
- Share an inspirational thought or spring quote.Why does this speak to you? “Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.” I love flowers (you probably didn’t know that though). And, I love to plant seeds and anxiously await the seedlings! I’ve spent the last couple of years growing lots of weeds, and it’s time to start growing flowers!
A hint at April!
Life often intrudes on our lives so we don’t have a graphic for you. Here’s a hint…what is April known for? We’ll share more near the end of the month!
Not quite there yet, but…
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Wrap it up, Marsha!
Oh, some of these questions made me stop and think! One of the things I love about posts like 10 on the 10th is that you stop and think for a bit. You may discover, depending on the questions or prompts, things you’d never realized about yourself! What about you? Leave a comment or two, if you’d like, with your answers to the questions. Or, let me know if you agree or disagree with me on my answers! Let’s have a conversation! Thank you, as always, to my subscribers! I truly enjoy “talking” with you!
Where I frequently link up:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, My Bijou LIfe, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink and Mummabstylish. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs!
Oh I didn’t think of peonies in my spring bouquet; I LOVE them! But here in New England they don’t really show up until very late in the spring. We just got some snow yesterday and I am hoping it warms up nicely in the coming weeks… though I know we can spring right up through Mother’s day it doesn’t last.
Peonies are some of my favorite flowers, but I just can never get them to grow! My son and daughter both have beautiful plants at their homes. We are supposed to get snow tomorrow. And, we’ve had snow storms during April so who knows when Spring will make her way here!
I love the thought of lower heat bills in the spring :). I always really like the quote of growing flowers instead of weeds in our minds. What good imagery! Thanks for the linkup and have a good day!
Thanks for coming by, Marilyn! Yes, those lower heat bills will soon be replaced by higher AC bills! But, that’s the yin and yang of life, I suppose! But, do you consider dandelions flowers or weeds? I love dandelions…Nigel hates them!
I would love to receive your spring bouquet and loving that spring quote. Need to that file that one away. Can’t wait for spring to be here in Chicago!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
I would love to have it, too! Such wonderful scents! Spring is delayed a bit here near Indianapolis…supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow!
I wish it was spring…we’re having another snow day today!
We are supposed to get snow tomorrow. This weather is really something, isn’t it?
Thanks for coming by!
That was cute to read Marsha.
I laugh that I’ve changed my tune about cleaning. I say it’s overrated, haha. However, finally having a house guest again, got me finally cleaning more than just this and that. I think my husband wants to invite more people over now, haha.
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I used to be such a cleaner, but that was a few years ago and a much smaller house. I am so hoping we can downsize soon because I’m tired of cleaning spaces we don’t use! They still get dirty! I wonder, since Nigel’s had his cataracts done, if he’ll see better and actually notice the spiderwebs!!!
Thanks, Jodie!
I love to plant seeds too! I sow nigella (love in a mist) in September, and I’m starting to see the plants now. I sow a few more in May so that I get another burst before the end of summer. I’m not very keen on fall (autumn) – it seems a season of decay and too close to winter for my liking!
My grandma had a huge flower garden and always harvested her own seeds. I don’t have much room for a garden here…just in the landscaping around the house and several large containers. Last year, I planted my elephant ears too close to the house so there was a bit of elbow grease used to clean their residue from the house. I have three huge containers of marigold seeds I harvested as well as tubers from the sweet potato vines I planted last year. I’ve never planted those before, but google told me I could keep the tubers and replant them for this year. We shall see. Oh, I never thought of fall in that way. I’ve always been surrounded by maple trees which turn the most glorious colors. And, I absolutely adore winter!!! Summer is the only season I can’t get 100% behind!
Thanks so much for coming by, Gail!
Lovely read…thanks for sharing dear 🙂
Beauty and Fashion/Rampdiary/Glamansion
Thanks so much!
Marsha, I had so much reading this! I will definitely try to join you for April’s post…if I can get my act together! We share many things in common, my friend! Fall is my absolute favorite season as well. I also get great joy when I start waking to the birds singing their hearts out. As far as spring cleaning goes, that is for the birds! I don’t do it. I clean when I can’t stand the dirt anymore regardless of the season. My favorite Silly Putty trick was to make funny paper imprints on it, but my favorite childhood toy was Fashion Plates. Go figure. Super fun post!
Shelbee
Fashion Plates were probably the modern equivalent of paper dolls, right? I used to make my own out of pipe cleaners, crayons and paper! And cleaning is soooo overrated! But, I don’t have to worry about two kiddos…just an old guy and a hairy white dog!
Oh, I hope you join us for April. We’ll post the April prompts soon, I promise!!
Peonies! I forgot about them! I love how giant they are! And so pretty!
I did that with Silly Putty too! I’d forgotten about it.
That is such a great quote. And so true!
I love peonies. My mom had several bushes as did her neighbors. They were all different colors and, like you said, so big!
Thanks, Erin, for coming by!
Well, yes, to lower heat bills!! The extra money will help pay for your gas!?! But glad for it….
Have a great weekend ahead!
So true. I do hope the prices come down for those who have to drive a lot. Luckily, we do not.
Thanks, Jennifer, for coming by!
Interesting read, I’m looking forward to many of these days. Jacqui x
Thanks, Jacqui! I’ll bet some of those days will include a certain new little one!!
Hahaha I didn’t even think about the lower heating bills but yes!!! We just received our bill in the mail and – oh my word – I don’t think we’ve had a bill this high in over a decade.
Your L’Artiste booties are the cutest. Spring Steps are so funky and can go with everything.
I don’t usually even pay any attention, but I do know I’ve been cranking up the thermostat. So, I wasn’t surprised when it was higher. The one that bugs me is the water bill. Nigel had an irrigation system put in a few years ago (he loves his lawn green), and that bills skyrockets during the summer! Plus, the idea of paying for water (we always had a well when I was growing up and at our last house of over 25 years) just seems wrong!
A couple of years ago, we went on a bus trip to Mackinac Island. One of the leaders had on the absolute cutest pair of Mary Janes…they were polka dotted! I asked if they were Spring Steps…they were! Does that make me a connoisseur?
Thanks, Daenel!
I love the idea of your spring bouquet! Roses are my favorite floral fragrance too!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thanks, Lovely! One of my favorite places is the rose garden at the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina! The smells are glorious!
Oh, the woes of pet ownership. And the joys. Our house is fur-covered. I try to de-fur once a month or so but there is just no getting caught up. And now my kitties are losing their winter ‘locks’. The fur is worse than ever.
I type the word jalapeno a lot…I guess we eat them quite a bit!! Can’t figure out how to do the tilde over the N so have started looking up the word, copying and pasting it into my text with the tilde already added. Kind of a way to get around not knowing how to do the symbols. German, eh? We are a bit German, too.
You have just the most beautiful coloring. Can’t wait to see you in all the lilac. Hope soon the snow in your photos will be gone for the year and we can start enjoying your lovely yard in photos. I remember seeing it last year. Green, green grass. Lovely.
Looking forward to April’s questions. You have come up with a fun theme!! Big hugs, friend.
Between Jack’s hair and mine, we have quite the fluffle of dust bunnies! But, he’s cute so I let him stick around!
I didn’t even think about cutting and pasting! I was kind of surprised I couldn’t find the umlaut anywhere. I’ll remember that for the future!
Thanks, my coloring has definitely changed over the last few years. I don’t know if that’s natural with aging or if it really hasn’t and it’s my hair that has just changed the appearance! Our snow is gone (for now) and the daffodils are about to burst open! I love it when the phlox blooms!
Thanks, friend!!!