Posts from — April 2009

Spring is upon us, bringing a sense of brooding excitement and steady change. For the last couple weeks, cold– both the temperature and the illness– has played havoc with our gardening plans. A snow storm, a snow day, lots of rain, and each of us suffering from 10 day plus worth of cold symptoms has meant little time outside.

Even so, change happens. Just observe.

Backyard in Spring

The unexpected, late season snow storm that rewarded us with a Snow Day-off from school had a less generous effect on our 100 year old lilac (seen here in bloom).
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Ah, Michigan! Land of lakes and surprises! Just when we thought it was safe to start thinking about of digging and planting, whammo!

Snow Day April 6, 2008

The upside is that we got a Snow Day from school. We spent the day resting and recharging, and that felt very good. The gift of a day off is always something for which to be thankful.

The last snow of the season seems to catch everyone by surprise, but we know it’s coming. When our son Will was just a baby, a friend with the same birthday told us that it always snows at least once after their birthday, which is April 4. It seemed impossible, yet 23 years have proven her statement: In Michigan at least, it always does snow at least once after April 4. The snow doesn’t always stick and very rarely does it merit a snow day, but snow is snow. And it’s here for just a little longer.

To repair or replace?

That is the question we have to deal with when faced with a broken or worn-out appliance. In the age of planned obsolescence, it’s usually less expensive to replace an appliance rather than repair it. But what is the best thing to do?

We recently had to make decisions when two of our appliances went out of commission.
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