Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more.

RN: I know you're going to find this tiresomely Polyanna-ish of me, but here goes: Yes, this nonexistent spring bites, but it's not keeping me from being happy. Well, as happy as a 100 percent Scandinavian can be, anyway.

CP: Happiness is not very matchy-matchy with the March-April we just barely survived.

RN: Which is why I was grateful to make the Netflix rediscovery of the pleasure that is "Reckless," the fluffy but entertaining 1990s BBC miniseries.

CP: If you insist, I am glad we have a Room & Board Outlet here. Habitual weekend stop-ins there can bring a blessing of savings.

RN: My snow-bruised psyche says "thanks" to the mood-elevating musical choices of my spinning teacher Brad Wagner. His knack for selecting tunes-you-can-move-to rivals that of the master, Myron Johnson of Ballet of the Dolls.

CP: Elevating my mood is the Korean BBQ beef and other offerings at World Street Kitchen. That truck-turned-restaurant is close to where I live, is an inviting dine-alone spot and a great add-on to the scene.

RN: Agreed. Have you been through the rehabbed Union Depot in St. Paul? A Beaux Arts thriller. And kudos to the developers who are re-purposing faded but historic office buildings into apartments: the Pioneer-Endicott in St. Paul, the Soo Line and Plymouth in Minneapolis. So cool.

CP: The yellow-rumped warbler is back.

RN: As is "Mad Men." I'm pleased that food trucks are returning with the tulips. They're not all God's gift to street food, but the good ones approach greatness, and they certainly liven up our too-dull downtowns. Oh, and hello, patios. I can't wait to park my backside on the sidewalk in front of Lucia's.

CP: Just finished "Northern Slave, Black Dakota," Walt Bachman's absorbing, revelatory history of Joseph Godfrey, the born-in-Minnesota slave who got mixed up in the Dakota Conflict and the war tribunals afterward.

RN: I'm elated that a person can't throw a Grain Belt longneck in this town without hitting a microbrewery tap room.

CP: Hunh. Can't recall seeing you drink a beer since "Baywatch" made its network debut, but OK. I'm happy about plans to renovate shopworn Nicollet Mall, though I'm semi-afraid of what the redo will look like.

RN: If it's anything like the last one, we're in trouble. I'm also pleased that we live in a metro area where the airport boasts a number of genuinely decent restaurants. Who cares about two-hour delays when there's Surdyk's Flights?

CP: That wasn't so hard, after all.

E-mail: witheringglance@startribune.com

Twitter: @claudepeck and @RickNelsonStrib