$120 burger was worth every penny

I love spring, almost as much as I love a cool, refreshing fall. By April -- actually, by February -- I'm dying to be thawed out from winter.

Spring is the time when I can comfortably sit outside and enjoy my coffee, as well as the forsythias and Redbuds in my yard.

I always know it's time to get out there and enjoy spring, and stop procrastinating on my yard work and ignoring my husband's invitations to fish, when the forsythia blooms start to fall, as they already have begun to do.

Time goes by so fast.

Those blooms are such a tease, with their primary purpose being a reminder to appreciate God's blessings.

I even like Bradford Pears, their stinkiness and all. I like to think they help with my running pace, because as soon as I approach one my pace moves down from about a 12-minute mile to 10.

Daffodils, tulips, crappie, fresh cut grass, Robins, steaks on the grill, rainbows, thunderstorms -- I love it, all (except the mud) and the feeling of renewal it brings.

My husband and I didn't quite make it out fishing this weekend, but we're ready.

In fact, we probably would have wet a hook Saturday -- except the hail got in the way.

We did manage to sit under the porch to watch the tiny balls of ice bounce onto the green grass, finding humor in the finicky spring weather and the fully arched rainbow that followed the storm.

We took some time to start preparing for the season.

Thanks to Dish Network and a DVR that doesn't work properly, we were forced to get off our usual positions on the couch Sunday and do something productive.

We made a trip to Lowe's to scope out a few items, followed by a trip to Wal-Mart.

This was perhaps the best part of the weekend, besides perhaps our spur-of-the-moment bowling tournament with friends.

It's not often I can even get Jack to shop with me, but it's always a nice reality check for him when he goes.

Upon our return to the house, Jack decided he was really going to spoil me and cook me lunch.

"We'll call these the $120 burgers," he said, sarcastically.

You might wonder what's the secret ingredient in a $120 burger. I'll tell you!

It's ground beef, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo, fresh buns ... and all the other little things I managed to sneak in the cart while Jack was too busy looking toward the electronics section.

All in all, falling forsythia blooms, storms under the tin roof, a trip to the hardward store, burgers at home ... it was worth every penny.

Happy Spring!

-- Sadie Fowler is lifestyles editor at the Times-Gazette. Her column, Sadie Says, runs every Sunday. She may be reached at sfowler@t-g.com or 684-1200 ext. 214.