But I don’t know why I’m surprised. Spring is always highly unpredictable in these parts. One of the biggest snows I remember came in April, and that was when I was younger and lived in the foothills. I’m sure they got much more up here in the mountains. And then there was the year that we had regular frosts throughout May.

The local weather website is calling for cold and rainy weather through the coming weekend. They’re saying that it should warm up next week, and I hope they’re right. I’m ready for warm weather to get here and stay here for a while.

It’s a bit annoying cuddling up with a nice warm electric blanket one night and then having to shed all but the sheets the next. But when you live where I do, you come to expect it. There is no gradual warming and cooling. It’s just the weather going balls to the wall crazy for a while until it finally settles into the pattern for the coming season.

I just have to keep reminding myself that even though the sunshine and higher temperatures make me giddy, I can’t let them fool me into packing in all of our winter needs. Because we will inevitably need them on several more occasions by the time it’s all said and done.

I’d like to take some pictures of the leaves in different stages of transition, but the the skies have been rather gloomy for the past several days. But it’s supposed to be sunny toward the weekend, so maybe I’ll get to take some good pics then.

I try to get pictures at various stages for a couple of reasons. First off, because it’s interesting to see the subtle (and not-so-subtle) changes that occur from week to week. And secondly, with the often unpredictable weather we have around here, the leaves may or may not stay on the trees long enough to achieve their full glory. One year we had so much wind and rain in the fall that the leaves fell off prematurely and there really wasn’t much to look at after the first few weeks.

When I get some photos, I’ll be sure to post them up. Fall in the mountains is just too beautiful to keep to oneself.

I woke back up a few hours later, and it was even colder than it had been when I got up the first time. I found myself wishing that I had a nice, cozy heated blanket to curl up under. I begrudgingly got up and checked the indoor temperature, saw that it wasn’t as low as it felt, and decided that I would just bear it for the time being.

But then Hubby decided that it was too cold, and built a fire. It warmed up quick, but then it got too warm. I ended up opening the front door off and on all day, because despite not adding any wood to the stove, it kept burning for hours.

It’s this time of year when I find myself wishing we had any kind of heat but wood heat. But then I think about how much money we save by not burning oil or using electric heat, and I get over it. Well, somewhat.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this gorgeous weather is going to last much longer. It’s supposed to cool back down and get rainy by the weekend, and they’re saying that it will stay that way at least through next Wednesday. I hope the sun pops back out by next weekend, though, because that’s when we’re having Pumpkin’s birthday party.

I know the summer can’t last forever. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Fall is beautiful around here, don’t get me wrong, but the drop in temperature gives me a sense of impending doom. By the time winter gets here, I find myself wishing I had the money to shop for Outer Banks foreclosures.

But I’m going to try to make the most of these few days of pretty weather we have left. Maybe tomorrow, if Hubby feels up to it, I can talk him into going ATV riding. That’s lots of fun on a hot day, not to mention a great way to cool off. And maybe I’ll take Pumpkin to the park after school. Sounds like a plan to me.

One of those disadvantages is how crazy the weather can be. Especially this time of year. Like yesterday, it was warm and sunny. Today it’s a little cooler, but still pretty. But tomorrow it’s supposed to turn much cooler, and for the next couple of nights it will be cold enough to frost. I like having all four seasons and all, but these wild swings in temperature are hard to get used to, not to mention rather rough on my sinuses.

But right now what’s really driving me nuts is the wind. We get some high winds around here off and on all year long. I’m talking gusts that are the equivalent of a minor hurricane. It’s not at all unusual to see stuff blowing around everywhere, even heavy stuff like metal buildings. I remember one time when we were driving down the road and saw that the wind had picked one of those up and put it in a field a good 50 to 75 yards away. And it had apparently rolled around quite a bit in the process, because it was all twisted up.

I know, I really shouldn’t complain. At least we don’t get actual hurricanes around here. The rain sometimes makes it this far inland from the coast, but we rarely get any serious winds from them. Still, the residents of the area are no strangers to the damage that the wind can do.

I hate the thought of snow at all, but if we have to have it, I wish I could push it back a few days so it would be on Christmas. I don’t really care if we have any snow on Christmas myself, but Hubby’s dying to have some then. And I’m sure Pumpkin wouldn’t mind it either. Of course, if I had my way, it would just miss us altogether. They’re giving a 100% chance, but I’ve seen snowstorms miss us with those kind of odds before. I can hope, anyway.

My mom’s gift is already taken care of. The only other adults on my list are Hubby and his parents and brothers. He said he was just going to buy everyone in his family cigarettes, because they’re always bumming for them. Now, I’ve got a free photo book offer that I need to redeem, and I can’t figure out who to give it to. Hubby wouldn’t appreciate it, and I doubt my siblings and I will be exchanging gifts. We quit doing that a couple of years ago, when they stopped taking frequent Orlando vacations due to budget concerns. So I’m thinking about just getting one made for myself.

It’s not like I haven’t done it before. The one year when Hubby and I did pretty well for ourselves, I bought myself a stereo for Christmas. I wanted one, and he wasn’t going to shell out for it, so I decided I might as well go for it. I think I at least deserve a photo book this year, especially if it’s free.

I’ve also got some gift certificates for photo canvases that I need to distribute. I think I might have found one taker, but there are still four more left. Hmm, maybe I’ll have a giveaway. Stay tuned if you’re interested!

Not much has changed. Well, I have been spending more time asleep, because I haven’t had much energy for a long time now. There for a while, I could go fall right asleep no matter what time I went to bed. But for the past couple of weeks, I’ve had trouble falling asleep before 2:00 am.

I know, because I got in bed at 11:00 a couple of nights ago, hoping to be able to stay up after Hubby left for work the next morning. And I lay there awake until nearly 3:00. If we had satellite TV, I might have gotten up and watched infomercials for weight loss supplements or something. But we don’t, and I didn’t feel like watching the same old DVDs or getting on the computer. So I just lay there trying to make myself sleep.

Last night, I stayed up and worked until 1:00 or so. It took me a while to go to sleep, but not nearly as long as it did the previous night. I guess I’m just going to have to quit trying to fight it. I hate trying to sneak in to bed without waking Hubby, but it looks like there’s no changing the fact that I’m a night owl.

We started celebrating on the 3rd, with a cookout and fireworks at my in-laws’ house. On the holiday itself, we went to a festival in a nearby town. They had lots of craft vendors, a Civil War reenactment (which we didn’t get around to watching), music and lots of food. We resisted temptation for the most part, though. Pumpkin bought a string puppet with the money she earned doing chores, and we bought her some popcorn. Hubby and I bought nothing but a bottle of water to share (which was actually free but we gave a donation). The food smelled awesome, but the prices were a bit outrageous. If I had to pay that much for food all the time, I wouldn’t need Phenphedrine to lose weight!

After we left the festival, we went to the park to play softball. That part dragged on way too long for my tastes. I couldn’t participate much because I was having trouble with my knee, and I ended up having to witness the horror that is my brother-in-law’s kids. They have a way of driving anyone in the general vicinity nuts. And their parents don’t take care of them or make them behave at all. But I’m just going to shut up about it all for now.

They set off fireworks at the park, and the show was very nice. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been all cramped up from sitting on a very uncomfortable metal bench during the whole softball thing, but it was still nice. Some friends came home with us and spent the night, and we stayed up until the wee hours playing Monopoly and talking.

All in all, it was a good holiday weekend. But we’ve already decided that next year we’re staying as far away from my brother-in-law and his family as possible.