Spring has Sprung
Matt Seinberg

The sure signs that spring has finally arrived are the multiple landscapers and sprinkler companies cleaning up the dead lawns and turning on the sprinkler systems. I had the landscapers do their thing, but I don't need the sprinklers turned on just yet.

Another sure sign of spring are the wonderful noises of hammers, saws and other power tools in use. Today at 7:30 pm, our contractor Rich and his buddy, Charlie showed up to replace our 25-year-old roof, with a crew of ten guys that climbed around like monkeys in a tree.

During Hurricane Irene, we lost a bunch of shingles and had a roof leak. When Superstorm Sandy hit, we lost a few shingles. Two months ago during a windstorm, we lost two shingles. It was at that point we decided to replace the roof, as I wrote a few weeks ago.

You know spring has arrived when you can finally keep some windows open during the day and not freeze to death. Daphne the cat likes to sit in one of our bedroom windows and watch what's going on. She especially likes the birds and rabbits.

You know spring is here when all the winter coats go to storage, along with the overcoats and raincoats. Now the lighter spring coats can come and play, after all winter in the closet or basement.

You know spring is here when the winter comforter finally comes off, and the lighter blanket can go on. In my case, that hasn't happened yet. Marcy still wants to use the winter comforter until every day is at least 80 degrees. I think it will stay on until sometime in May.

Another sure sign that spring is here is we can wash the cars in the driveway, not at the car wash. I cannot wait for a nice, sunny, warm, not hot, day to detail my car. I want to wash it, use rubbing and polishing compound and then a good wax to give it a brilliant shine.

I have an electric buffer, which makes it much easier to do that sort of detailing work. If I had to do it all by hand, I'd never get it done.

I'll also clean the inside, but on a different day. Even though it doesn't take as long, it's still a lot of work to vacuum, and then Armor All the plastic, and use a separate cleaner and conditioner for the leather seats. When I'm done, the inside will sparkle, as well.

I've given up on cleaning Marcy's 2001 Altima, since she doesn't bother to take care of it. I refuse to drive it since it's so dirty. I hope when Michelle uses that car on a regular basis; she'll take better care of it.

Should I be hesitant to lease a nice car or SUV for Marcy, knowing how much of a slob she is? I can only hope she'll take better care of it than she did the Altima.

When I used to work in malls, the true sign of spring were all the pretty and not so pretty girls finally wearing shorts and t-shirts. All the guys would stand by the front doors and just ogle the women as they strolled by.

I miss working in a mall.