And yes, it is *April*. But this is the god-forsaken Great Lake State. I’m not sure there is even one month out of the year that snow hasn’t been documented somewhere in our state. Maaayyybeeee July? But we have had some frickin’ cold Julys up on the moominbeach. I particularly remember encountering Radical Betty on the beach one chilly July day wearing GLOVES and bitching vociferously: “We just get a little BOX of summer!” Indeed.

I wish I could [easily] find the photooo I took of Mouse on the day she turned 18. An inch or maybe a bit more ON THE GROUND here on The Planet Ann Arbor! She was heading out to drive The Indefatigable down to Commie High (and emancipate herself at long last from my supervision). The snow didn’t stick today but that white stuff was coming down outta the sky most of the day. But hey, the forsythia is finally getting ready to go. And you get this photooo instead. It was one of The Commander’s faves.

I didn’t post a photo of my grandma yesterday by accident. Yesterday would’ve been grandma’s 125th birthday. I didn’t mention it in yesterday’s post because I was of two minds about what to blahg about yesterday and I just started in and, since it was a particularly awful day for edumacation in the Great Lake State, edumacation won. But I was able to tie grandma in at the end! Yay me?

Anyway, when my grandma was still alive and I was in high school, we would celebrate her birthday with a family dinner at the Robin’s Nest, a once popular, now defunct restaurant out on the business strip in Sault Ste. Siberia. We would always arrange for a separate room and everybody would always (that I remember) order the same thing: steak sandwich, medium rare. Salad bar (I think?), fries, and cokes for the kids and teetotalers, prob’ly beer for my old coot.

My grandma died during my freshman year at college. 99 years and one day after her birth, my Mouse was born. I’ll spare you the details but Mouse was a few weeks early (get me outta here already) and so, when Radical Betty, My Dear Uncle Harry, and Bubs returned from a junket across the pond, we had fun surprising them by arriving at Chez RegenFin with our new baby (and our toddler and their grandparents and NpJane). It’s a small thing but as long as I live, I’ll remember Harry whispering, “Girl or boy?” as he opened the door.

Alas, our gift to Mouse will have to wait a couple days longer. It’s a load of planting mix soil so she can make a garden in my back yard. I am ecstatically happy about this and cautiously optimistic that we won’t have 100-degree temperatures and no rain for weeks on end this summer. I am diligent about watering gardens but man oh man did it get old during last summer’s drought! But it is a trick getting planting mix soil this spring. Nobody had it for ages (too cold, or whatever) and finally Lodi said they would have it this week and they did. But by the time the GG hitched up the hillbilly trailer to the Frog Hopper and got over there, Lodi was sold out. Friday morning, knock on wood… Oh yeah, but there was that one loverly trip to Haberman’s Fabrics a while back… [huge grin]

My parents used to always call me on my birthday and sing happy birthday. I haven’t talked to Mouse or even texted or facebooked her today. Should I call and embarrass her by singing to her when she’s at work or wherever she is? I may just do that. Not that Mouse would necessarily be embarrassed… But I may just text anyway.

P.S. I long ago stopped mentioning every person in the family’s birthday here. Too much, not to mention that I will guess that some folks might not WANT their birthday mentioned on my random blahg. I certainly have mixed feelings about having *my* birthday broadcast on the internet. But yesterday was also Jack C’s birthday. An older brother (but not by much) of the Twinz of Terror. This birthday ends in a zero. HB to Jack!

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