Sunday, March 7, 2010

By Leslie Linsley Special to The Citizen

At this time of year I hear the words "March Madness," read it in newspaper headlines, see it on the cover of magazines and hear it on the television.

This morning I went to my favorite source, Wikipedia to see if anything new or original or even old and trite came up. I got nothing more than "create a page for March Madness." I am sure this phrase was first coined by someone in the Northeast who, having holed up inside a warm home to avoid day after day of winter gloom, went quite literally mad. Now I read about March Madness contests. Newspapers all over the country latch on to this bandwagon in an effort, I guess, to take people's minds off of the weather.

When I brought up the subject at my exercise class one person said she thought it came from Shakespeare, another from the Mad Hatter and another said it was a basketball tournament.

Here in Key West, we are not supposed to have March Madness. March is usually one of the loveliest months of the year. I have experienced 22 years' worth of the best March days of my life -- even this year, despite it being the worst winter in all that time.

But madness? I don't think having to don a sweater for part of every day and evening is hardly call for complaint, let alone "madness." But taking advantage of this idea I decided to check out what it is that people do in March to avoid going "mad."

Cool-weather energizes us, and there are lots of activities that are more fun to do at this time than when it gets hotter. Letting the weather dictate our lives is something we take for granted.

Several years ago, the Craft & Hobby Association embraced the whole March Madness thing and dubbed March National Craft Month. I'm sure there are other trade associations that have done likewise. At any rate, March seems to bring up the promise of better times if only we can wrap our brains around a project whether it's making a scrapbook album or buying a new outfit.

The Craft & Hobby Association's slogan is "Crafts. Discover Life's Little Pleasures." Its goal is a lofty one -- to inspire millions of occasional crafters to craft more often and to convince non-crafty people that if you do a craft in March, all of life's problems will be solved and you will not go mad. However, even if you are not on the brink of madness and are just feeling a little bit bored, check out the following:

The other night while having dinner with friends, one of the guests was telling us how he plants tomato seeds from these marvelous tomatoes he brought home from a European trip. You might start a pot of tomatoes in your house while the weather is cool.

His directions: Remove the seeds. (Preferably from female tomatoes -- I had no idea that tomatoes were gender related.) Put the seeds on a paper towel and cover with a piece of toweling to dry. Put another towel on top to enhance this process. When dry, rinse the seeds in a sieve and dry once more. Put dried seeds in an airtight container until ready to plant. Do so by filling a plant starter container (those brown, hard, paper cups sold in plant departments) with potting soil and plant just under the top layer. Keep moist.

Now that's my kind of project -- short, easy to do, no equipment necessary and once done you let the things do all the work. Hopefully in due time tomatoes will emerge. I didn't find out how long the process takes, but I suspect I will be very old by the time I can fix a salad.

But jumping into the crafting pool, you might like to know that The Seam Shoppe on Truman Avenue has started its March quilt classes. Most are one-day classes, and you can learn to make a variety of quilted affordable projects. Stop by to check out their fabrics for inspiration. There's nothing more cheerful than a store full of tropical prints.

Also, a visit to Knit Wits on Whitehead Street is a fun, chilly day activity. They have drop-in classes for knitters, and even if you are a beginner, the wide array of textured knitting supplies will make you yearn to learn. I'll bet you never thought you'd need a scarf in Key West!

Antidote for March Madness: If you take up a craft it will relieve some of the stress in your life. It will add to the quality of the time you spend at home. It will promote quality time with your kids, and it will give your home a personal touch. So give it a try and discover that crafts are truly one of life's little pleasures.

Leslie Linsley has written more than 50 books on crafts, decorating and home style. She resides on Nantucket with her husband, photographer Jon Aron, and has a store on the island that specializes in her one-of-a-kind creations. Her latest book is "Key West: A Tropical Lifestyle" (Monacelli Press), with photos by Terry Pommett.