Things We Learned Over Break

1. An early spring means early spring detritus. Moose likes to take pictures of all kinds of detritus, but she's especially fond of photos of spring detritus because she thinks they evoke the poignance of the season's sublime yet fleeting beauty. Wevs, Moose. They're pretty.

Those are the remnants of this year's bloom on our neighbor's tulip magnolia tree. The shot was taken on March 17, which has to be some kind of record. Yes, kids, global warming has come to Roxie's World.

And that's a blossom off some pretty bush in our ridiculously large backyard that squirrels or deer or other marauding critters have been systematically deflowering. Moose snapped that this morning when she and Ruby were having a little romp in the yard. No, we do not know the name of the pretty bush, though our research assistant Wik I. Pedia suggests it might be a camellia. There are no botanists in Roxie's World.

2. The old version of Quicken does not work on Lion, so you can spend your entire spring break upgrading and updating and when you are finally, proudly finished discover that the past several years of your financial history are suddenly, entirely inaccessible. Oops! Truthfully? No biggie. Moose has always hated Quicken and is old-fashioned enough to still get paper bank statements. Quicken has just released a compatible version, but the CFO of RW Enterprises, LLC is thinking we might take our data elsewhere. Suggestions? We imagine nicoleandmaggie might have some good advice on this question, but you are all welcome to weigh in.

3. There are lots and lots of people trolling the Interwebs looking for information on vaginas. And surprisingly few of them know how to spell the word. (One more reason to be grateful Google is tracking our every move and is so much smarter than we are, yes?) Our vagina-related posts are here and here, though I doubt seriously you will find them very useful or, uh, exciting. Nonetheless, to the searcher who wants to know how to tell if your vagina is loose, we cannot resist replying: If you see it running across the yard?

4. You can win pretty or you can win ugly, but a win, as they say, is still a win. Yes, our Lady Terps prevailed Monday evening in their grudge match against the Cardinals of Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was a close, hard-fought game that could have gone either way. The atmosphere inside the Comcastle was electric, and the audience was very different from the sort of subdued, family-friendly crowds one typically sees at women's games. Fans lustily booed Louisville Coach Jeff Walz when he was introduced, loudly protested the officiating all night long, and spent most of the game's last few minutes on their feet trying to will the Terps to victory. The Moms were so amped up by the effort that they stayed up way past their bedtime wishing that middle-aged broads could roam the streets drinking beer and setting bonfires after a big win. Next up for the Terps? Oh, just defending national champs Texas A&M on Sunday in Raleigh. The Moms can't be there, but they are planning to catch the game on a big teevee in a sports bar. Go, Terps!

So, that's some of what we learned over break, though Moose's proudest accomplishment is getting all of her gadgets to play happily together in the iCloud. Thanks to all the geeky, patient hand-holders who helped to make that possible. You know who you are, and we are grateful to you. Stay tuned, kids, for dog knows what kind of 21st-century blogalicious developments might result from my typist's move into this brave new world of mobility and hyperconnectivity. Meanwhile, here's hoping the early spring is lovely in your neck of the woods. Peace out.