It's Here!

is here!

"Winter is officially over!", at least in south Texas.  All it took was a couple lovely weeks of sunshine followed by four days of heavy rain, a few warm days and spring has sprung.  She also left a layer of dusty yellow pollen on every outdoor surface and some indoor surfaces of the negligent housekeepers like me.  Every tree and bush outside are showing off their brilliant brand new green foliage just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Except for the stubborn pecan trees!

Dressed for St. Patrick's Day

Sunday also marked one of my favorite days of the year.  The day daylight savings time begins! We gained an hour of patio time which will be enjoyed until the inevitable swarms of mosquitoes hatch and execute their evil plan to ruin our outdoor haven.  Our winter hibernation is over, the world is coming back to life!

We did not do our best planning Saturday night for springing ahead.  We went out with another couple to Provisions, one of the top 100 Houston restaurants.  We indulged like it was our last supper!  I've never had foie gras before, at least not the kind that isn't a pate' like substance.  This was the real deal and it was decadent!  Seared and seasoned to perfection!  It melted in our mouths.  It was also the most expensive thing I've ever witnessed anyone order in a restaurant.  We lingered over our foie gras, perfect wine and conversations.  Dinner ended right about the time we usually go to bed.  We said our goodbyes, poured our tipsy, happily satiated selves into our Uber car and made it home just before midnight.  It was then that I realized as I turned our clocks ahead to 1 a.m..... 9 o'clock Mass was going to come very early!

You call this foie gras?

This is foie gras!

We trudged through the next day missing our hour of sleep recovering from our indulgences of the night before.  We finally felt human by late afternoon and were able to fit in an entire round of golf before sunset!  I love daylight savings time!

 In no particular order, here are some top reasons daylight savings time makes me happy.

-Patio season
-More hours in the day for people like me who aren't morning people.
-The dark mornings have fooled the screeching bird outside my bedroom window and silenced it. Then again, maybe it has flown off to it's next migratory stop and is pestering someone else.
-TJ and I can play guilt free, late afternoon golf  after he's put in a full day in the home office.
-The beginning of daylight savings time means that until June 22nd the days will continue to get longer and longer!
-Daylight savings time is one step closer to summer and we all know what summer means....Nova Scotia time!
-We spend a lot less time watching TV and more time outside doing things like, walking the dog, playing golf, doing the outdoor chores we have put off all winter and drinking wine, or Fresca during Lent,  on the patio!
-I am sure we live a healthier life due to the extended and more active outside time, unless you count the wine on the patio.  Just anticipating post Lent indulgences.

I know there are some parents out there who are not loving daylight savings time though.  It's hard to get the kids to go to bed when it's still daylight and even harder to wake them up in the dark.  I remember being that kid who longingly looked out the window from my bed and watched the kids whose parents did not make them go to bed at the regular time during DST.  Once school was out, the longer daylight hours were spent running the neighborhood, playing hide and seek or chase until the dusk and mosquitoes chased us inside.  Those were the days my friends!

Enjoy that extra hour outside everyone!