Spring has sprung where I live near Atlanta, GA. Temps are warming, trees and plants are blooming, and pollen is making its mark. Literally. A yellow coating of pine tree pollen covers everything that spends more than 0.02 seconds outside. We have to constantly wipe down, shake off, and otherwise clean car windshields, patio furniture, porch steps, garbage can lids, and everything else coated with the powdery deposit. For at least 3 or 4 weeks. After that, all the yellow mess calms down.
Daylight enjoys hanging out during Spring. Instead of running off before dinnertime, daylight lingers until long after the evening meal. I, myself, tend to think that Daylight Savings Time, setting our clocks forward an hour in the spring, has outlived its usefulness, being that it was an adjustment suited for yesteryear’s agricultural purposes. But, I can't argue with the pleasant result-- extended daylight hours makes for very cheery people. (Yes, I know that the sun's gonna do what the sun's gonna do, tilt of the Earth and all. We don’t actually ADD any daylight hours via our artificial time stamp on the day. But, it feels like we are helping the sun along when we reset our clocks. It’s complicated, I know.)
Spring, Ah, Spring. As a season, Spring holds so many promises of things to come. It shares the ultimate feel-good message: Hope Springs Eternal.
I have discovered a drink that captures the essence of Spring. I know that most people fawn over the arrival of Fall's Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Not everyone—I see you dissenters. But, based on its popularity, one could say that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is synonymous with Fall. It ushers in the cool crisp season of Autumn. But now, in the warming environment of Spring, I have become obsessed--obsessed, I tell you-- with the lovely Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha. Yes, obsessed. I am one of the handful of people who really likes Matcha Tea.(*) While I sometimes customize my Starbucks ILCOM order, I would recommend the straight-off-the-menu drink to anyone who wants to get a taste of Spring. That touch of sweet lavender cream on top makes for a dandy-tasting beverage. Mmmm-Mmmm.
*Hey, Grammer Police: I queried my computer to verify if I should type “I am one of the handful of people who like” or “I am one of the handful of people who likes.” I got mixed results. While “I” is the subject of the sentence, “one” was touted, and “handful of people” was mentioned in the overview of answers. I think AI was confused. I didn’t feel like exploring further, so I tossed a coin and picked “likes”. Don’t really care. Please forgive me for my indifference.
As I currently sip my ILCOM, I am also tackling a tried and true Spring tradition. The Yard Sale. Scroll back over the last 30 years of my life, and I have sworn numerous times that I will NEVER HAVE ANOTHER YARD SALE AS LONG AS I LIVE. Exclamation point. Exclamation point. Experience has taught me that yard sales are SO much work, for SO little reward. My few random yard sales have always been great big duds. Working myself to the bone, slaving for days, all to be left with an enormous pile of junk that I need to haul away. With little to show for it. Yuck, just yuck.
But, against my better judgement, the time has come for me to have a yard sale again. We have a big event on the horizon which dictates that I must clean out, remove, purge, declutter, lighten the load, and otherwise get rid of stuff that has been collecting in our house for the past 30 years. Our neighborhood organizes a big conglomerate of yard sales on one Saturday in Spring. Each participating house is decorated with balloons, advertised, and marked on a map for potential shoppers to peruse. I realized that I should take advantage of the orchestrated traffic of deal-seekers that will be descending on the neighborhood, because I have a lot of stuff to get rid of.
I have convinced myself that THIS time, it will all be worth it. Not only will I weed out the clutter by removing unwanted and unneeded possessions, but I will also pad the wallet with all my profits. And, I feel certain that there will be no objects left for me to deal with after the sale ends.
Hope Springs Eternal, right?
I am optimistically preparing for the yard sale --dusting things off and evaluating their worth. Spring Fever has taken over. I work steadily to empty closets, unload drawers, move furniture, and unpack boxes that have been stored away for ages. I try not to overthink. I discern frequency of use. I know that I could use this thing, but have I used it in the last 10 years? I am relentless in my work. A woman on a mission. I am shooting for a Spring of Success. I think I have all my ducks in a row.
Yes, I DO have all my ducks in a row. But, hands off! I decided not to sell them. Cute little guys.
I've just about finished checking for hidden treasures in every nook and cranny of my house. This is my last day of prep. I'm feeling pretty good about the yard sale. Game day weather forecast looks good.
Shlurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp. Mmmmmm. Ahhhhhhhh.
That Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha is some good stuff. It really hits the spot.
OK, now I’m ready to Spring into action and do this thing! Wish me luck.
We tried the ILCOM, I couldn't get more than 3 sips down. Not for me, but I do have a new local coffee shop for us to try before your big life changing event. It's Beatles themed! Good luck with the sale!
Kayla - yes! I'll go! If I can recover from the torture I'm putting myself through with this dang sale.
I believe you are correct in choosing "likes." You're ONE person who LIKES...
Speaking of likes, Mark really likes the taste of oatmilk the few times he has tried it in a coffee drink. Starbucks makes a shaken iced oat latte that's really good.
I'd only ever bother with a yard sale at this point if I were moving again. Otherwise, selling piecemeal over FB Marketplace is much easier.
Mark, I might have to do the marketplace too, for some other stuff that I need to weed out. Never done it before, but I'm a grown-up. I guess I can figure it out. I knew that somebody would know the rules on grammar. thanks!
Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha! I see that advertised on a sign whenever I go into Kroger that has a Star$ inside. I've wondered if I'd like it, now you've given me the nudge I need to try it. If I don't like it, no big deal, right?
We had ONE garage [aka yard sale] and it was hugely successful. That being said I've never tried again, not wanting to risk disappointment. I'm more inclined now to give things away either to Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul. Or to friends/neighbors who want something.
Ally, turns out, many people have told me they don't like my dream drink. Oh well. Different strokes for different folks. Regarding our declutter-- in retrospect we realize what a good idea it would have been to periodically refresh and clean out all the hiding places in our house--all those places we ignored. It's not like we decided to hold onto a bunch of stuff--we just never looked at it or remembered it was there. Thirty years later it is astounding to see how much old crap we haven't dealt with. But I agree, donate & share is a great way to go.
Now I'm no expert, but in that sentence "like/likes" is supposed to agree with "one." "Of the handful" just modifies "one" and "of the people" just modifies "of the handful." Both of those phrases could be left out and you'd be left with the less detailed but perfectly grammatical sentence: "I am one ... who likes..." So I think you were right to write "likes." As a grammar lover, I don't believe you when you say you don't care. If you didn't care you wouldn't have looked it up or mentioned it in the post. Admit it - you're a grammar lover, too! 🙂
Oh my gosh. We have identical experiences with and feelings about garage sales. Exactly the same!! And I, too, have been thinking about ignoring what I know about my unsuccessful past and all the work and having one this summer, too. Our neighborhood has something very similar to yours (minus the balloons), but as a teacher, spring is a really tough time to pull off a garage sale, so in the past I've always done it in summer. Doesn't matter. Same boatload of work, same measly profit. Same pile of junk - uh, I mean treasure - to donate. I will tell you something, though. We had a now-moved neighbor who had a garage sale every year during that special neighborhood garage sale weekend, and he always made a killing. And here's the thing, he never put prices on anything. He just told people to make an offer! I haven't attempted a garage sale since I discovered this time-saving secret, but once I heard about it, I vowed that - God as my witness - I would never price and sticker anything at a garage sale again!
T/A, you called me out, and you might have a point! I'll need ponder my relationship with grammar. Very interesting about the no-price garage sale. People do like to bargain for deals, so that might be a good approach. But, then again, I kinda hate talking to people.