Spring Break in the Frozen North
by chuckofish
This week was my Spring Break. One colleague went to Hawaii; another to Europe. And of course, my dual personality is vacating in Maryland with her wonderful daughter. I worked, shoveled snow, mopped up from the leaking family room ceiling, and dreamed wistfully of Spring. I don’t mean to complain, but this is the view out my dining room window this morning.
another 3″ expected today
We haven’t seen the ground for months, let alone a green growing thing; no crocus shoots, no buds, just grey and white, ferocious wind and plunging temperatures. It’s getting old (oh, wait, I guess I am complaining). Still, a friend gave me some beautiful, red tulips
and I binge-watched one of my favorite TV shows, Wonderfalls, which struck just the right chord.
It’s equal parts quirky, laugh out loud funny, and romantic. You should see it whether or not you are experiencing an existential crisis.
In typical Chamberlin fashion I put off doing the things I least wanted to do (i.e. grading) and spent a huge amount of time on things that shouldn’t have taken as long as they did. Oh, well.
A high spot of the week was my husband’s Friday afternoon lecture for the SLU Faculty Cafe series. The event was very civilized with wine and canapes followed by Duncan’s stimulating discourse on Joshua Kirby.
Gainsborough’s portrait of Kirby
No kidding. I’m quite taken with Mr. Kirby. He was a stand-up guy among the 18th century’s rakes and ne’er-do-wells, some of whom were his friends (I’m talking about you, Mr. Gainsborough!). Kirby was a sober, devoted Church of England, middle class family man, who parlayed his natural affability and a talent for architectural drawing into a secure life among the day’s elite. And he had a really nice face. You can read all about it here.
Well, that’s about it for my week. I went no farther afield than the office, but I did get to sleep in a couple of times and I did get some reading and writing done. All in all, it’s been a pleasant spring break, but I sure am looking forward to hearing about my dual personality’s adventures, aren’t you?
dual personalities 
I’lll be heading home soon to my flyover state and I’ll start working on my Monday blogpost avec toute vitesse. Glad your spring break was (somewhat) enjoyable! 🙂
OOOPS–that’s from me, your dual personality using daughter #2’s computer!
Can’t wait to talk to you! And please give my love to Susie and thank her for the lovely email (to which I intend to respond some day).
Thanks for the nice comments about Kirby. I’m glad you enjoyed the talk. I think everyone is getting tired of the ice and snow.
My Senior lacrosse players took their trip to Mexico to spring break this year and STAYED AT THE SAME RESORT I DID IN 2005!! That made me feel old. During the break we had lacrosse practice with the guys who were still in town but there weren’t enough players so I had to suit up and play with them. That REALLY made me feel old!!
Spring Break is Spring Break no matter where you are. Lauren and I got some nice yard work done this week. I constructed a small retaining wall while she cleaned out the flower beds in anticipation of the coming spring. It may be still on it’s way for you all in upstate New York but we in middle america are still working on being ready too!
And the fact that YOU are feeling old makes me feel ancient! C’est la vie!
I feel both old and decrepit, but I’m glad to hear that somewhere people are doing yard work that doesn’t involve a snow shovel.
At least yesterday was in the high 40s.