A crocus awoke us

[jere7my]

The first patch of color has appeared in our yard: a few lightning-blue crocuses have pushed up through the ground, just beside the brick edging of our neighbors' garden. They are doomed, since the current 60-degree weather is due to be supplanted by snow tomorrow, but it's a reminder that spring is coming.

I discovered last night that maple cream soda tastes pretty much like carbonated syrup. Not in a bad way; this brand, at least, contains real maple syrup, and I like real maple syrup. I believe it was Sarah's Maple Cream Soda, and it was the first bottle I've encountered in a long time that required an opener.

Someone on Usenet recommended a pinky-strengthening exercise that seems to work well: fret the first string at the third fret with my index finger, and at the fourth fret with my pinky, then walk my fingers from string to string across the neck. After five minutes I felt the rubber-band-like muscles in my pinky start to burn, so I can only assume they're becoming stronger. I spent some time today working on that and other exercises, and made a concerted effort to learn the tricky bit of Dave Wiesler's Screech Owl Reel. (The tricky bit is the last two bars, which have a sort of interlaced arpeggio: A-C-A, B-D-B, C-E-C, D-F-D.)

Work is nearly over, hooray. Kendra came to watch Fog of War tonight, which was lovely, but I was too preoccupied with locating the $120 that had gone missing to give her much attention. Nevertheless, I'm glad she was here. And soon: homeward, with my contraband salt.

Comments

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Amazingly, coming as I do from a place where maple products are a major export, I don't think I've ever heard of maple cream soda. I'll have to find some, now.

It would be interesting to just try mixing maple syrup with carbonated water, and seeing how it came out. I may try this in the near future.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

I only buy real maple syrup. Grade A for waffles, Grade B for baking and making lamonade!

i couldn't help but notice this is one of a very few post since I've started reading you where you don't mention Swarthmore. Until i was in Junior High, I though Swarthmore was a made up school name because it sounded so pretentious.

Anyway, what's the dilly-yo with you and Swarthmore (it is fun to say, I grant you)

Swarthmore

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

The "dilly-yo", as you say, is that I'm a Swarthmore alum (1994), and most of my social circle (including my sweetie) comes from Swat as well. Nearly everyone in my Friends list was (or is) in SWIL, which is the Swarthmore science fiction-and-stuff club, and since I know most of my audience consists of Swatties I refer to it a lot. We tend to be pretty proud of our alma mater. :)=

Dunno if it sounds pretentious, but I guess it's called Swarthmore because that's the name of the town it lives in--I'm pretty sure the town came first. Swarthmore was founded by Quakers, so I doubt they were trying to be pretentious. :)= A few miles east, and it would've been called Chester.

Re: Swarthmore

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Dang pretentious Quakers!

The town came second

[wayman.livejournal.com]

Swarthmore College was originally in the southern part of Springfield; after a few decades, the professors decided they wanted a separate school system for their kids, to separate them from the hoi polloi of Springfield, so by some sort of referendum they succeeded and formed the borough of Swarthmore. It's a bit odd -- the professors were, I think, in large part Quakers, and yet were uppity class-conscious Quakers -- but then Swarthmore was school formed by the Hicksites during the schism.

I first heard that from Jenny Beer, though I think I've heard it independently a few times since.

Swarthmore was the name of some manor home in England where a famous early Quaker lived, I think. Google sez: According to QuakerInfo.com, Swarthmoor Hall was the manor home of the father-in-law-in-law (???) of George Fox. (Home's builder had son, who married; son's wife subsequently married George Fox.)