A Walk About

or Looking for Signs of Spring

As the days grow longer, talk of spring is popular.  There have been reports of crocus, daffodil, and forsythia blooming already because of the warmer than usual winter we've been having in the east, I took a walk around the yard looking for some of these early bits of color. While I didn't find many of the things my friends have been talking about, I was not disappointed.

I found snowdrops in the ground cover bed. This is the first year I've seen them. Which means that I have missed seeing them before or they were with some of the daffodil bulbs from a friend I planted last fall.  Whatever is the case, they were a great surprise.

Miss Annie Laurie's hellebore is blooming. This poor plant has managed to survive through multiple transplants and injuries, but this is the first time it has bloomed in several years. Now I'm not sure if I should transplant it to the other location that I thought would be better for it. 

I didn't find any forsythia blooms, but I did find this bird's nest in a forsythia bush 

Several people have said that they have crocus blooming, but I only have the leaves starting to emerge. 

The nandina is giving a show with its bright, red berries. Birds don't like these berries, so they remain all winter.

And no walk around the yard would be complete without a porch update. The main structure is done. We are now waiting on warm enough weather for painting. After that is done, ceiling fans, gutters, drains, and lights will be installed. When it's warm enough for the porch to get painted, that will be a sure sign of spring.

This and That

I'm definitely not a morning person, especially if I don't get a good night's sleep, like last night. So everyone in my house has come to an understanding that I'm best left alone this morning as we go about getting ready for our day, a don't-poke-the-bear kind of self-preservation. I just need a little time. But I'm happy to use my waking up time to catch up with all of you and tell you about some of the this and that that has been filling my days.

Yesterday, we bought a new car. A new used car, that is. Ward's car is 10 years old, but has no major problems and we hadn't thought about replacing it. But a friend of Uncle Billy's was selling a newer car that had a lot more of the safety features that we were interested in, so we decided it would be a good thing. The process took all day yesterday. The workers at the DMV were doing their best to be efficient and friendly, but it just takes time to process thousands of people. We now have a shiny "new" car that will be safer for Ward to drive to work every day. I feel fortunate that we were able to do this.

The day before that was a fun day when I had a cookbook party here with friends from work. We all chose a different recipe from the same cookbook, cooked it, and brought it to the party to share. It was a great way to sample several different recipes to see what you thought about them. There was not a dud in the bunch. All delicious. But someone made a comment that I think is even more important. "How nice that you like the people you work with enough to socialize with them outside of work."  I am very fortunate.


Speaking of work, it is going well, however, I am definitely still in the adjusting and learning phase. A couple of people have told me that it will take about a year or longer until I will feel comfortable. I have a ways to go then. Among other things, I am learning about storytimes and am starting to take part in them. Learning and performing them are exhausting me at this point, but I am really enjoying interacting with the kids. Many have said that I am learning under the best children's librarian in our large library system. I am very fortunate in that way.

A couple of weeks ago, Ward and I went to Phil Wiggins concert. Who is that you may say (or not)? Phil is a renown harmonica player who helped develop the Piedmont Blues sound. I have only recently discovered him and am very happy that I did. It turns out that he is married to Jerri, someone I went to school with and recently connected with on Facebook. I was going to meet Jerri at the concert but unfortunately she got sick and couldn't come. But we were fortunate that she hadn't passed her illness to Phil and he did come and give a great concert of music and storytelling.

I am still tired, but I have to move onto other things. I think Ward and Theo have left for the day. How fortunate for them. :)

Until next time...

Thankful Monday

I am thankful for surprise connections.

I have a Facebook account but I am definitely not a frequent poster--maybe once a year or so. However, that does not stop others from reaching out to become FB friends with me. I made one of these friend connections recently with Sam.

Sam was with me throughout most of our school years. While we were together in many of our elementary school classes, we went different ways as time progressed. If truth be told, I remember more about Sam in fifth grade drawing elaborate pictures of army tanks and airplanes than I do about him in high school. We probably had classes together, but I don't remember them.

Sam recently became a new grandfather to twin girls that he posted about on his FB page. He was quite proud and sent me a picture through Messenger as I'm sure he did many others. I made an appropriate one line comment about the babies and he replied with the standard, "What have you been up to?"

Then we chatted a bit and tried to catch up on the last 40 years. He asked me if  I had ever been to a Grateful Dead concert or to a biker rally. I answered no to both of those.  He said he had led an unfocused life and was now in constant pain from showing off too much in his younger years. We had pretty much led totally opposite lives. But that didn't seem to matter. We were still the friends we had been in fifth grade.

Then Sam said something that took me by surprise. He said that he had been blessed to get to know my father in his later years and he was a fine gentleman. He added, "He was so proud of you." I said that my father had set a good example for me and my sisters. And Sam said, "Obviously." After a few sentimental tears, I spent the rest of the day smiling about the chat I had had with Sam.

Many of the connections I make on Facebook are not much more than a distraction from other things I should be doing. But sometimes, there is a special moment like the one with Sam recently and for that I am thankful.