Susan Says . . .

— We’ve seen this week just how fickle Mother Nature can be. It seems she got mixed up on the first day of spring and thought it was the first day of winter instead. The day began with rain, which was soon mixed with tiny crystals of ice, and before evening fluffy flakes of snow were falling. The warm temperatures we’d been enjoying were replaced with chilly ones and the next morning icicles were hanging from the porch roof. We’ve already had the six weeks of winter the groundhog foretold so it appears his forecast was wrong too. Now our cheery yellow daffodils are buried under several inches of snow, the birds have stopped singing (Sunday night) and again we wait for spring weather.

The week began on a happy note when I received a cute St. Patrick’s Day card and nice letter from my friend in Tulsa. I visited the pharmacy on my lunch hour Monday to pick up a prescription and buy some greeting cards and that evening wrote letters to cousins in Texas.

I received a call Wednesday morning saying Aunt Leta wasn’t feeling well and soon went over to visit her. It was a cloudy morning and another call came saying Jim’s job had gotten rained out and he was back home. I spent most of the day doing some business for Leta. It was St. Pat’s Day and the gals at the bank were all decked out in shades of green. I did some grocery shopping in late afternoon and learned that Leta had been taken to the hospital. Joe, Heather and the grandkids visited after supper and brought some items I’d ordered from a school fundraiser.

We had beautiful weather Thursday with warmer temperatures. Sister Nancy dropped by in early afternoon and brought some wrapping paper and other items I’d ordered from her grandson Austin.

I worked at the office a few hours Friday morning and stopped by the hospital on my way home. It was another lovely sunny day and Leta’s caregiver called to say she was enjoying a fishing trip to the lake. I stopped by the house where Jim was working and helped him a little, handing him tools and helping take some measurements. When he finished for theday I went to the library and then to Sonic to get fish sandwiches, tater tots and onion rings for our supper.

Rain began falling pretty early Saturday morning but I ventured out after breakfast to take our recyclables to the collection trailer and drive Mama to the beauty shop. While she was getting her hair cut and permed I went to the hospital, visited Aunt Leta and helped her with her lunch. By the time we returned home the temperature was falling and rain changing to sleet but Jim and I drove to Bella Vista to buy materials for one of his jobs. We returned safely and spent the evening watching NCAA tournament basketball games.

Several inches of snow covered the ground Sunday morning so we changed our plans to drive to Southwest City. After breakfast I had phone visits with Nancy and her daughter Laura and we did a couple of loads of laundry. Jim put a pot of beans on to cook and when they were almost done I baked a pan of Mexican cornbread. While the oven was warm I also baked some sweet rolls and a few peach turnovers. We watched more basketball games and Jim popped popcorn for a snack that evening.

March is National Reader’s Month and a good time to investigate the offerings at the Gravette Public Library. If you don’t already have a library membership sign up now and take home some books or movies to while away the hours. There’s a reference room where you can do research on family history, work on a term paper or just sit and read a magazine. Check out the sale room for bargain books to add to your own library. There’s storytime on Tuesday mornings for the preschool set and a summer reading program focusing on water is shaping up to be a real treat for the youngsters. If you have free time to fill, the library can always use good volunteers. Introduce yourself to the library manager, offer your services and embark on a rewarding experience.

-Susan Holland

Susan Holland, who works for The News Herald, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 03/24/2010