Signs of Spring

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, how I love spring! For north Texas, this winter has seemed remarkably long, dark, and cold. Maybe this was because I was shut in my upstairs office writing madly for what seemed like endless days and weeks. Maybe it was because we didn't have our usual little spikes of warm days (usually we have at least one winter day when we can bathe the dogs outside, but not this year.) And last week we had our hardest freeze yet, down in the teens, and the plants on my front porch that I had been babying all winter succumbed, even covered with three layers of blankets.

Debs' Japanese maple

At any rate, I am so glad to see the sun. There are delicate little pink buds on our Japanese maples, pale green leaves are unfurling at the base of the hydrangeas, the birds are waking me at dawn, and the last few days I've been hearing a migratory warbler. Yesterday I put out the hummingbird feeders, and a few days ago I bought the spring Boston ferns for the sun porch, hoping they will inspire me to clean my downstairs desk, abandoned for the winter. This week it may be warm enough to think about buying the ferns for the deck and the porch. And maybe, just maybe, uncovering the grill!

And as this year spring is coinciding with the finishing of one book and the starting of another, I'm feeling an almost unmanageable urge to SPRING CLEAN! Things get so neglected when I'm writing. Every cabinet and shelf and closet and dusty corner needs a proper clean and sort. And there are outside projects, too. The flowerbeds need mulching, the pots on porch and deck and patio need replanting. The house needs power washing (not my job!), the windows need cleaning (ditto.)

Debs' hydrangea

So where to start on all these things? Or maybe it would be nice just to sit in the sun and read a book...

What about you, dear REDS? Are you bursting with spring energy (even if you can't quite see spring yet?)

RHYS BOWEN: Here in Arizona it has been unnaturally cold and wet (for us. If it drops to 50 degrees we freeze. I know. We are wimps). But it has meant I haven't been able to swim as much as I like. Also I have been so incredibly busy that the months here have just flown by. I had to finish a new stand-alone, do the promo for The Victory Garden when it came out at the end of February--oh, and we bought a new house and MOVED. The new house looked perfect in every way--new counters, cabinets, bathrooms, paint, windows, floors etc etc.  So why is it that I asked John whether we had now subscribed to the handyman of the week club? The plumber/electrician/garage door man/other electrician for outdoor lights/landscaper to remove tree/man to deliver rocks for garden/other handyman to put in towel rails and hang drapes. So please don't talk to me about spring cleaning! We are unpacked, the house looks perfect, we had a housewarming party and that's all the cleaning I am prepared to do. Of course we drive back to California at the end of the month and the house there will have been untouched for 3 months and need a good clean. Our garden will need a good weeding. Luckily there are Miriam and Francisco to do those!   But Debs, in preparation for moving I did weed out and donate an awful lot of stuff! Does that count?


DEBS: Absolutely, Rhys! I think we should all move at least every ten years, just to get rid of stuff. And we've been in our house, gulp, almost twenty-five...

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm not complaining you understand, but it's been HOT in Key West this winter. So that means something different about spring--it's going to get hotter! That said, the trees and tropical flowers are in full bloom and beautiful. And I've discovered new allergies, including one to the flowering of mango trees. Who knew? I'd love to spring clean Debs--it's the most satisfying endeavor. However, I am in a madly writing phase, so contenting myself with using up what's in the freezer!

HALLIE EPHRON: On my way home from the supermarket yesterday I saw the FIRST sign of spring: flowering witch hazel. Though I've seen a few snow drops poking their wary heads up before they got buried in the last blizzard. It really is starting to feel like spring.

Here in New England, we had the weirdest winter. NO SNOW until practically March, and then 2 feet. We should have a spectacular though late spring with all the pent up energy in plants ready to burst as soon as it's warmer. Which should be tomorrow. Or the next day. Or maybe the day after that. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Yeah, I got nothin'. It's mud season up here in Maine, that special time of the year when the ice and snow melt under the strong March sun and then refreeze when it drops down to 10 degrees a night. My unpaved driveway is full of ruts and puddles and potholes big enough to swim in appear daily on the surrounding roads.  I heard a weird creaking sound outside my window Saturday morning. Turns out it was bird song! It's been so long I had forgotten when our little feathered friends sound like.

Debs' forsythia

JENN McKINLAY: I'm in AZ with Rhys and this winter has been unreasonably dreary. That being said, the past few days have been marvelous! I've spent most of my time outside, hiding from my people who all seem to have come down with some flu bug that I am determined to miss out on. No FOMO, here, I assure you. I have house projects bursting out of my head, so yes, I am go go go on spring cleaning, painting, gardening, tiling, roofing, you name it! Hurrah, spring has sprung!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am on a huge throw-stuff-away kick. I gave Jonathan two big green bags and said--fill these up for Goodwill.  I am wondering what the best way to get rid of two sets of dishes is. I am going to open the upstairs closet, close my eyes, and donate every single thing.  If I don't even know what's there, I won't know what's gone.
I am also going to do away with every towel and washcloth and sheet that's not perfect.
And I took nine boxes of books to the library.
In other news: our snowdrops are flourishing! And it's almost time for the ducks.
And. I hope I'm right on this. I took my winter coat to the cleaners.

DEBS: Oh, Hank, that's what I want to do, too! But I have to take a deep breath and tell myself "One little thing at a time." 

READERS, is it SPRING yet where you are? Tell us what you most look forward to! (When it finally arrives.)

Does Anyone Spring Clean?

INGRID THOFT

Yesterday I got an email from my utilities provider asking me to volunteer as part of a spring cleaning project during which citizens pick up trash, paint over graffiti, and perform other tasks in an effort to beautify our urban neighborhood.  So clearly, the city of Seattle still does their own version of spring cleaning, but does anyone else?

The origins of spring cleaning are open to debate, but according to Wikipedia, the Persian New Year, known as Iranian Norouz, may be one of the earliest iterations.  On the first day of spring, Iranians would do a full house cleaning.

But like many widely-adopted practices, the origins are not quite clear.  Some claim that spring cleaning is a Jewish custom that is practiced in the run up to Passover.  The Chinese have also been cited as the founders of spring cleaning, to dispel bad luck from their homes.  Even the Catholic Church is in the running with the practice of thoroughly cleaning the altar on Maundy Thursday.

But perhaps the rationale isn’t grounded in history or religion, but rather, weather.  In climates that experience distinct seasons, spring offers the chance to throw open the doors and windows and let fresh air circulate through spaces that have been securely closed for months on end.  In decades past in the United States and other countries, women were raised to do a thorough spring cleaning of their homes.  This included shaking out rugs, taking down drapes and cleaning them, and washing the windows both inside and out.


As I look around my own home, there are some areas that could use a once-over: high shelves with decorative items that haven’t seen a dust cloth in quite some time; a mattress that should be rotated; a closet that could use a clean-out.  The place I should really focus my attention, however, is the rented storage unit my husband and I leased when we moved to Seattle almost ten years ago.  Just typing that makes me realize we probably don’t need the contents anymore.  After all, how often have we fetched things from it since we got to town? Infrequently, that's how often.

Maybe I’ll drag the hubby down there in the coming weeks or maybe I’ll adopt Amelia Bedelia’s approach to spring cleaning.  When asked to draw the drapes, she did just that, with her sketch pad and pencil.  She dusted the furniture with a light coating of powder and dressed the roast in a fetching outfit.  That sounds right to me.

What about you?  Do you spring clean like a 1950’s housewife or is Amelia’s approach more your speed?  Did your parents or religion teach you the virtue of a home cleaned top-to-bottom each spring?

On spring cleaning...

HALLIE: The weather has turned gorgeous in New England, and this morning my 80-year-old neighbor is up on a step ladder, washing the eight windows that surround her porch. After that, she vacuums her sidewalk, the cord snaked like an umbilicus up the steps and through the front door.

Then, as she does every year, she puts stuff out on the street--this year it's a tidy row of paint cans, pieces of lumber, and plumbing innards. Beside these, she plants a hand-lettered sign: “FREE.”

Just watching her inspires me. Suddenly I’m ready to tackle that walk-in clothes closet I haven’t been able to walk into for months.

I know my husband will be inspired as well – inspired to clean the gutters and rake the lawn so he'll be in position to grab off any of the neat stuff she throws out.

Every spring, he and I play this zero-sum game. I cheerfully make my way from room to room, measuring my progress by the heft in a black plastic garbage bag, while he just as cheerfully cruises the neighborhood looking for castoff treasures. While I’m sneaking away, carting stuff off to the dump or Goodwill, he’s sneaking his finds into the basement.

Just for example, last spring I got rid of an old television that only got channel 4, two tired kitchen chairs, and a floor lamp that sizzled and smelled like vomit when you turned it on. He dragged home a set of World Book Encyclopedia (every volume except one), most of the interior of an old piano, and a bench with an enormous mushroom growing out of it.

My husband, the scientist, claims this demonstrates some basic principle of conservation of mass.

Uh oh. A couple of local kids are carrying a washing machine out of my neighbor’s garage. She’s telling them to put it out on the street. It’s pale green and black with a clothes ringer attached -- the perfect addition to my husband’s collection of vintage appliances.

Sure enough, a little while later my husband hollers, “Gotta mow the lawn,” and heads outside.
I feel strangely exhilarated. Two bags full of stuff we don't need should more than offset what he's about to acquire.

It will be a challenge but I'm up to it. After all, it’s spring.

Are you the dragger-in or the dragger-out in your household, and is it a zero-sum game?