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As a little girl, my grandmother would sometimes buy scallops to accompany our weekly Friday night dinners of fish, hushpuppies, cole slaw, and vegetables of my choosing. My grandmother casually put one on my dinner plate one night. The round disk had been pan-fried and was the same shape, size, and color of the hash browns we used to get at the Hardee's restaurant down the street. The crispy, golden outside encased a piping hot, farinaceous inside that was always a special morning treat. I was amazed that grandma had taken the time to make hash browns for our sea-fare. I popped the "hash brown" into my mouth and was greeted with the bitter, fishy taste of a scallop. I immediately cried foul, and my grandmother explained to me that it was a scallop. Seafood. I was mad at grandma. At the scallop. And my dinner.

Hardee's restaurants are far and few between these days. So are good hashbrowns. I just read a press release about how Hilshire Farms is now teaming up with Hardee's for a brand-new biscuit. I haven't stepped inside a Hardee's for years. I hope they still have those good hashbrowns.

While risking life and limb, I attempted to stop on the shoulder of Business I-40 to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. As trucks, cars, and trailers whizzed past me, lo and behold, LASIK did not fail me. A tree was indeed decorated off Business I-40 in ye olde Christmas fashion. I don't know how long the decorations have been up, but the tree looks pretty weather-worn.

This took time and dedication

I wonder if someone is going to come out and re-decorate it with pastel colored baubles for Easter.

Yesterday I drove to and from Cary, NC to attend a seminar for work. The last session let out a bit before 5 p.m. and all I could think about were horror stories of Triangle traffic and how it would take me 3 hours to get home. I put on a brave face, but I was secretly crying on the inside. It only took me an hour and a half to get to Greensboro, but I saw some of the most horrific driving of my life yesterday.

I lived in South Florida for a time, and Maseratis, Aston Martins and Porsches passed me on I-75 daily. Even though I'd be going the maximum speed limit of 70 MPH, they'd pass me by as if I weren't moving. That was nothing compared to yesterday's commute.

I saw a man driving with a cell phone to his ear, take his eyes off the road to look down into his floorboard. Not only did this man take his eyes off the road, he physically hunched down in his seat to apparently reach for something on the floorboard and switched lanes without signaling or looking up from his search in the floorboard. All while matching my speed. He didn't bat an eye.

I am still wondering whether I should be amazed or appalled.

"Has March has come in like a lion or a lamb?"
This query has brought me lots of consternation over the past few days. I am not sure why. I think I am ready for Spring, is all. I think I have seen enough snow and ice for one season. Or three.

I have been checking weather reports, peeling back the living room curtain to look outside and tapping on the barometer/thermometer combo suctioned to the window. Today I got the bright idea to go outside and enjoy the abundant sunshine advertised on the weather page.

Spring and its little lambs must be here because I found these crocuses in my front yard. Oh what wonders one can find right outside the front door when you actually open it!