Glory be! It’s the last weekend of the ski season! Rudi will be home by midday on Monday! It’s supposed to be dry!

In my final few days holding down the home front, I have already started the weekend off right by heading across town for a book reading (Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken, about an early 20th-century woman who builds a candlepin bowling alley in a Massachusetts town), followed by a Korean mushroom bun eaten while walking to the grocery store (for whipped cream).

Tomorrow, there’s an early afternoon alumni gathering that I might attend. Then I’m going to head back to the bookstore for another reading (Giraffes on Horseback Salad by Josh Frank, Manuela Pertega, and Tim Heidecker, a graphic novel version of the film script written by Salvador Dalí for the Marx Brothers lost until the late 1990s amongst Groucho’s papers) and then possibly on to a second bookstore, where they’re holding a standup show based on failed attempts to follow Marie Kondo’s uncluttering advice. I’m not usually a standup fan, but I’m hopeful that this one will work for me. Otherwise, I’ll just head home to Netflix (or read) and chill.

Sunday, I’ll head to the farmers market (I suspect it’s still too early for ramps, but maybe I’ll find some spring onions or spring garlic) and then it’s off to a friend’s house for the afternoon to divvy up our baseball season tickets. I’ll probably bike home via the Tidal Basin. Peak bloom season isn’t slated to arrive for another week or two, but the early trees supposedly have some flowers, if they didn’t all drop during today’s afternoon thunderstorm. The UConn women play in the evening, so I might try to stream some of the radio broadcast of their game while I attempt to put the living room back to rights after yesterday’s excitement.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Today was the final full day of winter.

The Old Man held onto his domain until the last: although today was beautifully blue and sunny, there was a brisk north breeze to make those of us who went without coats rue our headiness.

But he cannot keep us in his clutches. Even now, his grasp loosens as the earth warms and brave leaflings burst forth and robins hold court both in the yards during the day and in the trees in the evening.

His final evening was quiet, with the sun setting nearly 20 minutes past seven. His final sunrise will be roughly that same time in the morning. He will need to cede to the new season before tomorrow evening rolls around. He’s been a mild Old Man this year here in the mid-Atlantic (particularly given what many of you have had to deal with), and we’ve been grateful, but we’re ready for him to head south. Bon voyage and see you next December!

I’ve got another full week of living a single life. Sadly, right now, the single life means that I have to deal with bugs on my own, cook something besides carbs, and remember to move the car for street sweeping.

Of course, it also means that I can be as loud as I want (within reason) all night long with all the lights on, if I so desire. No one will eat the last bread product and not leave me anything to toast for breakfast. And I will not have to watch that Nathan Fillion cop show and instead can binge on Acorn tv shows that Rudi has not yet laid claim to being interested in (although probably only because I didn’t ask him).

This week, I’m going to send out some resumes, take a first pass at the taxes, and do some spring cleaning. I’m also going to play volleyball, look for spring flowers (I spotted my first hyacinths this weekend), and spend as much time outside as I can. I may to the movies, catch a concert, or see a friend, but none of those are carved in stone.

I hope you have a great week, too!

I can tell spring has pretty much arrived in D.C. because of the burning of my eyes, the tickle in my throat, and the snuffliness of my head.

May spring soon arrive where you are, but may the allergies pass you by.

It’s a shorter weekend than usual with Daylight Savings Time subtracting an hour in favor of evening light. I know some of you have trouble with it, but I am always in favor of this change.

This weekend is a change from usual in that not only do we get less of it, but that Rudi is actually home at night! He hasn’t been here for a Saturday night since early January — and he’ll be gone starting next Friday for ten days coaching the post-season in upstate New York. He is excited for both races — and to see where the Lake Placid Olympics were held, so I’m pleased for him. And I’m pleased for me that that will be the last road trip for the ski season.

We’ve got the dvd of The Hate U Give penciled in for tomorrow night, although friends may be in from out of town, in which case seeing them will obviously take priority and the dvd can get bumped to Sunday night.

The rain picked up this afternoon just as I was going to run some errands, so I decided to put them off until tomorrow. Tomorrow looks to be dry and Sunday’s forecast is for highs nearing 70, so I think it was an okay tradeoff. Plus, one of them is over at the Navy Yard, so I can take a stroll through Eastern Market’s weekend stalls while I’m over there.

I may stop by the garden to plant some more peas and see if anything is sprouting yet. I wonder if I should wait before planting some seeds for greens — chard and kale and spinach — or if I feel optimistic about my odds now that it’s March.

I’m nearly done listening to Geekerella, so I’ll definitely be spending some time finishing it up while knitting my socks. I’d like to make a little time to paint my nails, too, so that’s some additional time I probably shouldn’t spend using my fingers…

And then there’s the usual farmers market and laundry and tidying.

But mostly I’m just looking forward to seeing Rudi tomorrow evening.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

The weekend included:

• New books and music, courtesy of my brother and his partner and our 2018 member rewards
• Pizza from my favorite local pizzeria, thanks to my folks
• Phone calls with my parents and both Karen and Grey Kitten
• Chores — laundry and vacuuming and floor mopping and kitchen tidying and sheet changing and shopping at the farmers market
• Sitting outside next to a happy baby
• Lots of hot chocolate
• Cookies left over from my birthday
• Hearing that my volleyball league got enough players to move forward this week
• A trip to the library to pick up The Hate U Give dvd
• Listening to my new cds — loudly
• Knitting while watching tv
• Reading — both on paper and on audio

My nails remain their same chippy selves, so I’ll probably just leave them until next weekend, when it’s closer to St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t start my Sock Madness sock, although I’ve narrowed down my yarn choices to two skeins. I also didn’t block the shawl. (Both of those things are on tap for tomorrow, as is some baking, since Rudi is back home now. And I pretty much know where the tax forms are, so mostly now it’s just a matter of filling out the forms.

How was your weekend?