Recently, it has still been cold here in New England even though it is technically spring on the calendar. Just last Wednesday, we even had a surprise snow storm and I had to actually break out an ice scraper to clean off my car before going to work. Talk about being so depressing. But, today is so warm and it really does feel like spring has finally arrived here in Massachusetts. In fact, in my neighborhood, people are out jogging, walking their dogs, playing soccer in their yards, hiking the trails, etc.
My mother, Josh and I even took a walk along the dirt road by my house which is actually part of Hadley, Massachusetts. I live in Sunderland, Massachusetts but my house is right on the Hadley and Sunderland town lines. This 1,000 foot length of dirt road is still not paved even to this day because the people who live on it in Hadley do not want to pay to have it paved. Talk about being cheap, but anyhow, we walked down the dirt road and then down through a neighborhood off of it which has a paved road and a number of somewhat expensive homes. These homes have just been built within the last year and cost $750,000 USD and upwards. It actually was a fun time and a great opportunity for us to get some exercise in, especially since all winter I have been confined to the gym to do cardio. It is just far too cold out to be outside for an extended period of time in the winter, in my opinion; although, I do have a few friends who are crazy enough to go out snowboarding and the like. That's all them though. Getting wet and cold is so not my idea of fun. :)
This urgent feeling to start what we call "spring cleaning" in American English can be felt in the air today too. That is, every spring, people clean the inside of their homes. You need to tidy up your home because you have accumulated a lot of stuff during the fridged winter or just let things slip. You also need to pop out your storm glass windows and put in your screen windows especially with the hot weather that will be coming soon. Often times, a lot of yard work gets done at this time too. For instance, your yard definitely needs to be raked again to get up any leaves which had fallen right before the snow fall or which had blown into your yard from one of your neighbors' yards back in September and October. So today, I am going to be working on some of that. The most pressing thing I have to get under control here is all the foreign language books, both grammar books and comic books for reading practice, that I have bought from nearby used bookstores and off of Ebay. I have so many now and I really think I am going to need to get another bookcase. Hehehe.
I am hoping that tomorrow morning is going to be as warm as it is today so I can walk some along the bike trail before work. You watch it be rainy though. It seems like it is always warm and sunny as all hell whenever I have to work but the minute I have any time off from work, it begins to rain. Ugh. Never fails! Hehehehe Wish me luck, guys! :)
By the way, I created a Tumblr feed to post photos and example sentences using words in my discussions on. You can see some of the photos of our walk today and some ways to use the word "spring cleaning" at the following Tumblr link: http://italkilessons.tumblr.com/post/83336730335/spring-cleaning-a-thorough-cleaning-of-a-house
What is everyone else doing for Easter today?
Hey there, thank you for sharing it.
Yes, spring is in the air, not only in U.S but also in Russia and in my country.
It is the time when we can throw our windows open and embrace fresh air nears.
Spring clean isn't only a American tradition, in all over the world, they do it too. Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal; why not make that go for your house as well?
We are cleaning our house, garden, garage and our mind. It is time to get rid of all the extra junk we've been keeping and it is the most challenge for me :D Wow, talking about this time makes me miss my home already.
I'm now here in Russia, my room is only about 200 square feet in a student dormitory, the only think I will do is just opening my window : ))
Oh yeah, Jmat. That's right. Your spring is our autumn and vice versa. lol I love how snow looks but I am definitely not a fan of the cold either. During the winter, I pretty much just go to work, hit the gym, visit my horse at the stable for 5 to 10 minutes and then get indoors for the rest of the night. I'd rather be inside watching TV or a movie and sipping hot chocolate and tea than outdoors snowboarding and the like. Several of my friends tried to get me into it but yeah.... Not wanting to be cold and wet. Hahaha During the spring and summer, I am very active outdoors. I got hiking almost every weekend and on a number of camping trips, plus walk the bike trails, etc.
We don't have Spring Cleaning here. Actually right now it's' autumn here. We had a cold snap about two weeks and ever since it's been freezing! I'm originally from the Gold Coast, and there the only difference between summer and winter is the air temperature. I recently moved to Canberra, and here the trees drop their leaves in winter like they do in the US - it's really wierd for me. Canberra's the coldest major city in Australia (well, Hobart's colder in summer but Canberra's colder in winter). It doesn't snow here, but it gets freezing. I despise the cold.
Yeah, I figured other countries must do it as well. lol :)
It has the same meaning in Russian: Весенняя уборка
