Like my non-relative Pat Croce used to say, “I feel great!” I really do. I don’t usually cop to feeling great, out of an excess of superstition, but awesome weather, having more energy lately, being outside, the start of a new month and a new budget… what’s not to love?

Today was 72 degrees and sunny. Simply gorgeous. I hung clothes on the clothesline for the first time this year! I took the kids to Philly on the train and we wandered around, ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe, climbed on statues in Rittenhouse Square, and made friends with many dogs and their owners. The kids, of course, loved the train ride more than anything else. I hope to do some kind of outing tomorrow too (it’s spring break). Then it is supposed to rain the rest of the week, I think.

After we got back from the city, I transplanted some of my lettuce seedlings to containers outside. I added some of my compost to potting soil and had fun just mixing it all up with my hands. I’m so happy to have a lot of usable compost this year, finally. It just seems so rich and good. Lots of ants and worms and centipedes crawling around (and up my arms). Now, I think I f’d up the transplantation. I was trying to both thin them out and transplant them, and I think that was a mistake. But we’ll see. I have more seedlings and seeds, at any rate. Tomorrow I’ll see what I can do with the onions, and it’s also apparently OK to sow the sunflower seeds now.

We had a lovely Easter, spending the afternoon at my sister-in-law’s house. She always puts on a great spread, and I ate so much of her pineapple stuffing that I couldn’t eat dessert. (Until later, when I ate the cream puffs and eclairs she sent home with us.) The only low point was on the drive home, when some a-hole came to a complete stop in the middle of Route 130 with lucky me at the wheel right behind him. Super dangerous moment. Yes, yes, I know the jughandles are so confusing, my out-of-state license plate friend, but the general rule of driving is that if you miss your turn you have to keep going and figure it out later. You don’t come to a dead stop in the middle of the lane, consult your map and then make the turn from that lane. I’m a not-so-hot driver and even I know that.

(“You don’t shoot cops. Even I know that. Eva knows it. The only one who DOESN’T seem to know is you.” Name that movie.)

Then when we got home, I saw that my daughter’s car seat was not buckled in, i.e., not attached to her seat. We had a little issue with this the other day, where my younger son thought it was funny to unbuckle it.

“N., did you unbuckle F’s seat?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“When we were leaving Aunt Kaffy’s house.”

So if we had gotten rear ended on Route 130, little F would have gone flying. I really lost my s— on N. I think I finally got through to him that this is not funny, but I’m going to be checking that buckle every time I get in the car for a while.

Anyway, I capped off Easter by watching the season premiere of Mad Men. I’m happy it’s back, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

My husband found someone to do the trim in my daughter’s room. The guys started it last week and should be finishing tomorrow. I ran out of paint with one wall left to do, so I will buy paint tomorrow and finish it this week. For the brass headboard, Benjamin Moore’s “True Blue” is looking like the winner. I need to finish this room before I get totally distracted by gardening and outdoors stuff.

I just saw that “The Queen of Versailles” is coming on CNBC, so it’s time for me to wrap this up and go find those eclairs. Some people really are “stupid rich.”

One more throwback