Random 5 for March 30, 2025 – Spring, changes, clothing, technology, ancestry

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The start of bloom for our star magnolia.

Spring is here – Sort of. We had a very warm day yesterday. The kind of day that made you forget it’s only March. Our star magnolia tree, which is the first tree to bloom in our yard, started its show. I am hopeful that it will have a good year. It blooms so early that the flowers often get destroyed in a frost and everything turns a dirty beige color.

People be weird – Spring brings it out. After being cooped up all winter, they have lost their inhibitions (and common sense!). Yesterday it was 81 degrees here (27C). Our first truly warm day. The ground and the buildings are still cold so it’s not like 81 in July but quite nice. This morning it was 42 degrees (5C) at 7 a.m. and people were in the coffee shop in shorts and tank tops. Yikes! I was in my fleece jacket! 😊It’s only March and we will swing back and forth, meaning I’ll always have the wrong clothes on.

Speaking of clothes – This is the time I try on my warm weather clothes and weed out whatever isn’t comfortable. I swear that clothes shrink or stretch in storage (or get so ugly I can’t believe I wore them). So far two pair of jeans are getting donated. They fit ok but just not as comfortable. My weight doesn’t change but it seems to move around.

Gotta love Dave Barry

Mission accomplished – After a few false starts, I can verbally order my coffee on my cell phone on the way to Starbucks. It took a few tries, but Siri and I are in rhythm now. BTW my Siri is an Irish lad. I really should change his name to something more Irish. Maybe Finn. We’ll see. One of my choices was an Australian gentleman. That was tempting too.

Sayonara baby! – When I was more active in ancestry research, I used 23andMe. Now it’s going belly-up. This week I went on-line to delete my information and account. I didn’t have any information worth stealing but you never know. Maybe someone could translate “likely to not have dimples” and “likely doesn’t like cilantro” to their own benefit. BTW both are correct.

So how was your week?

44 thoughts on “Random 5 for March 30, 2025 – Spring, changes, clothing, technology, ancestry”

  1. Prepping to roll out the warm weather clothes is always an adventure, though not necessarily a good one. I think I finally decided to donate those jeans I thought I’d like but actually despise every time I put them on. Now to look through the rest of it…

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    • I’ve gotten used to wearing athletic wear without zippers and with stretch that jeans have to be perfect for me to like. Either the waistband is too tight, too loose or cuts in.

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    • I did both but Ancestry offers more so I stayed with them. I can change the name for Siri too but I’m not sure how yet. The Irish lilt makes me giggle.

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  5. Hi, Kate – We have those same weird people out here. This week has been 9ish degrees Celcius for us with constant rain. Still, people were arriving in our coffee shops with shorts, tshirts and flipflops. They made me cold just looking at them!

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  6. Our weather is like a roller coaster too. I sit here on pins and needles waiting for our severe weather to hit – I hate this weather, plus another severe storm this Wednesday. This one is coming in the next hour and 70+ mph winds, maybe hail, not ruling out a tornado. We had a warm, but rainy day – tomorrow snow flurries. None of our trees have blossomed yet. I read recently that five states in the U.S. have experienced high winds almost every day since Fall and Michigan is one of them. Most walks start out at 10-15 mph and end up 25+ mph winds. Nothing is normal these days.

    I did hear that Starbucks is promising four minutes turnaround time for at-counter orders and a twelve-minute turnaround time for mobile orders.

    I wondered if you had ever dabbled with 23 and Me and I’m glad you went in and deleted your info as was suggested. I remember when they began and it was such a popular site. A fellow blogger who is big into ancestry and has written several books on it, did a post that her husband had ordered a DNA kit for their dog. 🙂

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    • I order on the way and it’s about a 3 to 4 minute turnaround for mobile orders. It’s very rare that I have to wait. 23andMe was never quite as popular as the others and I don’t know why.

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        • Yes, they got that info from a DNA sample. I looked at my info and it’s not really ID stealing data. I’m most likely to detect asparagus in urine, less likely to have a chin cleft, that sort of thing. Funny to read but not sure what to do with it (other than laugh).

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          • I never saw how a “readout” (for lack of a better terminology) would be for 123 And Me looked like. Marge and my friend Carol did our trees for my mom and me and my mom’s ancestors, so that is all that I ever saw as to ancestry. Well, it was fun while it lasted. 🙂

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  7. Eighty-one degrees! Wow! We’re excited here because it got up to sixty. I does wonders for the flowers and leaves.

    We did ancestry.com. They still seem to be going strong. No medical information, but lots second and third- cousins showing up.

    I know what you mean about your weight not changing but moving around.

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  8. We don’t have the temp swings here like you do but I am always amazed at how different people dress for the weather. When I have a coat on (and maybe still a bit chilly) others are seemingly completely comfortable in shorts and t-shirts.

    I’m now off to change Siri’s voice to something way sexier.

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  11. We have a Star Jasmine and it is blooming now despite Hurricane Milton tearing it half way out of the ground. Jerry tied it back upright and it’s still with us 🙂 I hope your Star Magnolia doesn’t get a frost.
    People do be weird!
    Our week was beautiful here… very little humidity and just the right kind of warm days. But our humidity is creeping up and I would call it hot today… not summer hot but hot.

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    • Yesterday was pleasant and warm but not sunny. That made it great for working in the yard. I didn’t get hot and sweaty! This has to be a great time of year for your area! Love jasmine. It’s not hardy here but people get it for house plants. Not sure how well it fares.

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  13. Same story here about people running around in shorts and tank tops when it’s in the 40’s. That’s nuts. I never did the 23andMe but can’t help to wonder if someone has gotten all the data they need from it and who that someone sold the data too. It all sounds hinky.

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  14. Those voice options on Siri are fun but when they have an accent, it requires more than just passive listening. I had to switch back to good ole ‘Murican so as not to crash the car. Handsfree is now a state law when driving and I worry of getting stopped even though I’m ‘plugged in to my nav app on the console. Siri can send messages to family regarding arrival times whenever traffic is heavy (it’s always heavy anymore) so I just ask her to send a message to [fill in the name}] Very helpful.

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    • The ordering goes through my car system which is connected to my phone. I didn’t get it at first and turned down the radio. Then I couldn’t hear. I turned up my cell. Didn’t help. Duh! I finally figured it out. The first couple times I pulled over to do it just because. Now I can talk to my steering wheel and it happens like magic. Yes, my guy pronounces mocha like matcha so the first time I wasn’t quite sure…

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  15. I had a posh British butler voice for Siri until Andy upgraded my phone. He was replaced by an American voice and it makes me sad. Scottish would be fun, but I definitely want a male voice assistant. Challenge the patriarchy any way you can. Women should not always be the default helper.

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  17. I know that temps will go up and down still, but it was glorious Saturday! Loved having the windows open in the house for a change.

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  18. Temperatures bouncing around here too, Kate. On Wednesday, temps approached 90 (with low humidity and a breeze). Thursday morning they dropped back into the mid 40’s before climbing during the day.

    Spring temps swing due to low humidity.

    Glad you and “Finn” are in synch!

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