Between seasons

It's the tail end of March now, technically spring, but if you drive around in the right places and see a hidden shady spot, you might still see icicles, or at least remnants of them. We saw some dripping from a rocky ledge along an exit ramp of Route 9 the other day in Haddam. Snow has passed. Grass isn't growing yet. We're between seasons in New England.

It's nice just to be through with winter, something that New Englanders just endure, and people are greatly anticipating warmer temperatures for purposes of better mental health. The weather guy mentions "60 degrees" and people get downright giddy. Kids start coming to school in shorts and shortsleeves these days, even though it's been in the 40s and 50s. They say they're not cold. They'd wear sandals and tank tops if they could. In their mind, it's beach season.

The transition of seasons is a good thing for lazy property owners like me because it means that no yard maintenance needs to be done. No snow to blow, no grass to mow. Of course, people are already raking debris from their yards into neat little piles (they must be bored) and some are spreading grass seed, fertilizer, and trimming bushes.

I, meanwhile, am making every effort to watch college basketball. UConn, amazingly, is still in the NCAA tournament, making it to the Final Four.

The good thing about this time of year - after having been cooped up for way too long for the winter - is that days are longer and warmer temperatures means outdoor sports and recreation are once again possible. Biking, tennis, basketball. We can walk to the baseball field down the street to watch a game. The world opens up again.

Of course, the downside is allergy season. I have severe spring allergies, sneezing profusely at pollen and mold, and 'tis the season for that. Last year, I started taking Nettles, an all-natural pill containing an herblike weed or something - I must REALLY trust the woman at Whole Foods - and so far it's worked wonders, better than prescriptions. Last year was not terrible allergy-wise, knock on wood.

So I plan to pop Nettles pills again this year with great enthusiasm and see where it takes me. As long as it enables me to taste my food and not sneeze emphatically so as to snap my neck, I'll be satisfied.

Walking to School in Italy

In 1969, 40 percent of students in the United States walked to school; in 2001, the most recent year data was collected, 13 percent did, according to the federal government’s National Household Travel Survey.

What the reason for the steep decline? According to the article:

"a rise in car ownership; one-child families, often leery of sending students off to school on their own; cuts in school-bus service or charges for it as a result of school-budget cutbacks and fuel-price gyrations; and the decline of neighborhood schools and the rise of school choice, meaning that students often live farther from where they learn."

Worse still, said Roger L. Mackett, professor at the Center for Transport Studies at University College in London, there is growing evidence that children whose parents drive a lot will become car-dependent adults. “You’re getting children into a lifelong habit,” he said.

What an unfortunate thing for an already car-dominent society. I don't see it getting any better in the U.S.

But at least one town in Italy has it right.

Whole Foods Junkie

A while back I wrote about Stew Leonard's, the three-store supermarket chain that features its own dairy products, singing cows and a giraffe and monkey, I believe, and a zigzag maze that winds through the store in a throughly market-researched design that ends in the piping hot prepared foods section that you can't walk by without buying something, like their awesome storemade meatballs.

Today, we turn to Whole Foods, the hip, organic, ecofriendly market. There is a store in Glastonbury, the next town over, where I work, and where we do most of our shopping. The store is powered by a fuel cell, and they donate 5 % of their profits to some cause that I don't quite remember.

I am a sucker for Whole Foods. I pretty much like everything there. That's an exaggeration, but it is a truth that you can't go there without spending at least $50 (my friend Jeremy maintains the figure is $100 for him.)

From their Italian rustic pizza (I ate it tonight) to their milk (not glamorous, but organic and relatively cheap) to cajun shrimp (great in pasta) to cereal bars (good when you're running out the door in the morning), the salad and hot foods bar, cookies, bread, olives, the place features aisle after aisle of good food. Their beer selection is also impressive. Their store brand dark chocolate bars are the best I've eaten.

The quality of course comes at a price. We spent $78 tonight and essentially got dinner, two chocolate bars, some frozen foods, and a bunch of the aforementioned products. But the thing is, we didn't buy much, only two shopping bags of food.

It is a weakness of ours, definitely, and we have no business shopping there, living on one salary. However, the food is so good that it's hard to turn the car from there at times (not for full blown groceries, but once every few weeks for special dinners/lunches) and go to Stop and Shop, or worse, Shaw's. Can't do Shaw's.

We're grocery store snobs. We know it. We'll go broke in the process. At least we'll go broke with good food in our stomach.

United We Overconsume

Here's a new theory about why we're in a recession - because we're a nation of overconsumers. Makes good sense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08friedman.html?em

Why Craigslist Rocks

I hate to contribute to the demise of print journalism, which Craigslist does not help to stop, but, after using Craigslist yet again to do business, I have to think that the notion of relying on a newspaper advertisement to sell or buy things is becoming as outdated as rabbit ears.

Yesterday, I made a post on the western Mass. Craiglist site, hoping that someone would trade their Aug. 29 James Taylor tickets at Tanglewood (a sold-out show) for Aug. 28 tickets (not sold out) , a show in which we would bought six extra lawn tickets. I was hopeful, but not counting on this actually happening. Today, someone responded saying that they would be happy to make the trade.

Here is a list of the things that I can remember selling and buying using Craigslist:

1. Sold my car last summer, asking price

2. Sold an old mtn bike a few summers back, asking price

3. Sold a pullup, dip exercise station last fall, asking price

4. Sold tons of baby stuff that my wife would know more about

5. Sold an old bookcase and couch that we no longer wanted

6. Bought JT tickets at Tanglewood

7. Bought baby stuff that my wife would know more about

I think that, unless newspapers switch to free advertising, many could be done. This is, after all, how many make their money. (Subscriptions are barely a part of their revenue, I once learned.)

Fortunately, newspapers are still a main source for Help Wanted, car, cellphone and furniture store advertisements. But if the recession truly becomes a depression, papers will literally earn no income.

CAKE's coming to Hartford

When: Thurs., May 28

Where: Webster Theatre

Price: $37.50

Link to buy tickets presale:
http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?pid=6466302&agency=WEBSTER_THEATER

Tickets officially go on sale March 6, and the show will be sold out. They're limiting 4 tickets per customer.

Can't wait!!

To hear a sampling of CAKE'a music, click here:

http://www.cakemusic.com/

(This band is WAY better than their biggest single, "The Distance.")

Listen to:

"Let Me Go"
"Love You Madly"
"Sheep Go To Heaven"
"Guitar"
"The Guitar Man"
"Stickshifts and Safetybelts"
"Palm of Your Hand"
"Wheels"
"Ruby Sees All"
"Opera Singer"
"You Turn the Screws"
"Mexico"
"It's Coming Down"
"Italian Leather Sofa"

Ice cream for lunch

My family leaves for Florida for five days, and I look for some bread today to make a sandwich, and there isn't any.

What else can I eat?

Frozen chicken nuggets? Sick of them.

Tuna? Don't feel like it.

Pasta? Too labor intensive.

So I'm on my second bowl of chocolate chip ice cream. When I finish this, I plan to go to the gym for an hour to burn off (some of) the calories. It will end up being a wash.