So sorry that I’ve been late responding to comments the past couple of days. But I’m either outside all day or, as in the case of Friday, out and about with my husband all day, so I’m too pooped to respond.

It rained a LOT yesterday and certainly made our errands a bit harder to navigate. We took a little drive and ended up at Davenport Farms, a family-owned business in a neighboring town. I bought a flat of pansies and a lavender plant – the same things I purchased from them last year. Don got some vegetables for one of his crock pot creations. We really love that place.

They’ve been in business for decades and decades, as you can see by the original cooler with the art deco font. I have to take a picture of it every time I’m there.

What else? We drove around a bit, ended back in our neighboring college town where we had a late breakfast at our favorite breakfast place. We are being very frugal, so eating out, albeit very modestly, was an indulgence. Then we went to our local market to pick up some things. Oh, and we mailed the bills and stopped at our little library to pick up some books I had ordered.

Today, as seems to be the norm lately, the rain/storm is gone, but we have high winds. AGAIN. I’m so, so sick of them. The gusts are so strong (up to 40 mph) that I can’t really do any work outside. And it’s going to rain again on Sunday. And almost every day next week. I have a lot to do out there, but Mother Nature clearly doesn’t want me to do it. I’m frustrated.

All that being said, it’s nothing compared to what many of you are dealing with in the midwest today. Snow. And lots of it. I’m so, so sorry. I know I would be screaming if it were happening here. The only comfort is that it will melt quickly, but it’s a small comfort, I know.

We watched Mrs. Miniver  last night. We’ve been watching movies that we now realize we’ve never seen in their entirety. Bits and pieces, half the movie, but not the entire movie.

It was very moving.

I just had to take a break from writing this post to go rescue the pansies, lavender, and Boston fern from the porch where they were in danger of being knocked over by the wind gusts. Sigh.

I read more of the Donna Leon this morning. I found myself getting into it – I only have about 75 pages left in the book at this point. I always try to give a book a chance, unless I absolutely know from the early stages of reading that it’s a no-go. And that happens. But, in this case, it seemed worth the effort. If I gave up on every book I had some minor issues with at 20 or even 50 pages, I would have missed out on some of my now-favorite books. Plots take time to develop. The author may be slowly but surely weaving the initial threads of the plot and being patient will be worth my while. I only give up on something when it’s just plain badly written or if I find I don’t like or care about any of the characters. I love reading. But I also love the process of reading.

Anyway. I’m housebound today. Take care everyone, especially those of you dealing with snow at the end of April.

Happy Saturday.