the big melt

i can see grass! i can see grass! the weather is absolutely beautiful here today. it's an amazing 52* out and i was actually able to drive around on my lunch break with my sunroof open. it's enough to put me in a very good mood! all the snow is slowly melting away to brown muddy grass - but at least it's grass! i woke up this morning and the first thing i did was peek out our bedroom window the check the rosebush.

bryan and i have a rosebush awkwardly placed near the middle of the backyard and i gauge whether or not we're going to continue to live in madison based on if we can see the rosebush. i compromised that if we could still see the rosebush throughout winter - we wouldn't have to move. but, as soon as that rosebush is fully submerged in snow to the point it's completely hidden we are SO out of here! getting him to agree to my compromise is a whole other story. still, i stick by my rosebush.

with such beautiful weather i wish i was a more outdoorsy person. with my bum knee and lack of enthusiasm however, i make for a poor outdoor-activity sport. i guess pulling a chair outside into the sun to sit and read still counts, right? i could probably even take my knitting out! i'll have to remember that this summer as it's still too cold to be really enjoyable right now. we have a nice patio deck in the back that bryans parents bought us last year and it sits right beneath a big tree that provides lots of shade. i really look forward to taking advantage of madisons beautiful summer weather this year. i'm starting to appreciate it more now that i've had two very cold winters that seem to last forever here.

i do a lot of grumbling throughout the winter but the truth is - madison is a beautiful place to live once summer hits. it never gets incredibly hot or humid, which i'll admit is one thing i'd change about st. louis. the one thing the humidity of st. louis provides however are some massively cool thunderstorms. and boy do i love thunderstorms. so nevermind, i guess i really would choose the thunderstorms and humidity over the mild summers of madison.

the up side of the terribly cold winters though is a greater appreciation for warmer weather when you get it. when we have a beautifully warm day i always say to myself "man, i wish everyday was like this..." truthfully, if every day had the same warm weather it would be more likely that i wouldn't take advantage of it as often. i guess you have to have a freeze-out in order to appreciate what you get in the summer.

summer always makes me think of my dad. bbq'ing in the backyard, waiting on him to get home from working on the river... he used to stop at the A&W rootbeer place and bring home 2 cold jugs full of fresh rootbeer. we'd sit on the black wire patio furniture in the backyard and sip on the rootbeer while we waited for the burgers to finish cooking on the grill. when it got darker outside i can remember running around in the yard catching lightning bugs. when i think about all the really good memories i have of being young it really makes me want to have kids... lol. i look forward to when i can pass some of the same feelings on to a new generation. someday!