Over the Backyard Fence

Yesterday’s snowstorm is but a memory. The snow is mostly melted and spring is back, at least for now. 

This weekend is our town’s Spring Cleanup. Along with most of our neighbors, we have a large pile of no-longer-wanted items in front of our house, that trash companies won’t pick up. First, the ‘pickers’ come around, salvaging things that can be reused, such as furniture, or metal that can be recycled. When the city trucks come ‘round, they sort out other recyclable materials such as wood or metal, before hauling away the rest. A charitable organization comes around, too, picking up boxes of donated usable items. Each year, we think we won’t have ‘much,’ but things do accumulate and it’s a great way to kickoff spring cleaning.

I’m going to visit the garden center this week to see what is there and most likely I’ll bring some flats home. I’ll be cleaning out flower beds and bird feeders, and setting out our lawn furniture.

There is spring cleaning to do on my blog as well. Every so often, I sort through my posts and create a book of my favorites. While I do, I’m going to take a break from writing new posts. 

And it’s my birthday week, next week, so it won’t be all work! Time to celebrate another trip around the sun. I’m blessed to have wonderful people in my life, so I’ve a lunch date, and a breakfast with friends planned. Already, a card arrived in the mail yesterday. 

Happy Spring to you all. 🌷

I missed out putting my favorites on my blog last week. I almost always keep a list going in my planner, but getting them on the blog is another matter. Whether I get a blog post up or not, I like to continue this practice that Susanne encourages us to do each week to view life through a lens of joy, to find the good that is always unfolding.

🌸 Signs of Spring ~ They just keep coming, reminding me of the possibilities of renewal and new life. The birds — of course — do that for me. The arrival of shore birds at our local lake — avocets, Wilson’s snipes, and yellow legs — seemed to migrate in all at once this week. A pair of sparrows have taken up residence in one of our birdhouses, and on a walk last Saturday our group spotted three active nests.

🌸 Shopping with the grandkids ~ After picking them up from school yesterday, we went to the grocery store. It’s been a while since I’ve shopped with little ones, and it was one of the busiest times of day. As we shopped for produce, I gave them assignments to pick out lemons, bags of carrots, bananas, peppers. At 10 and 11, they were good helpers.

🌸 My stepmom has been dealing with some health issues, and her care is a team effort. While it can be challenging, the result of working together is heartening. At a recent medical appointment, I accompanied her and my dad so that I could facilitate FaceTime with C’s daughter and the doctor. The doctor is a gem, and gives us all the time we need. 

🌸 Ice cream and BritBox ~ Watching English dramas on BritBox is one of my favorite pastimes. On Wednesday evening, I had the house to myself, so I broke open a carton of ice cream and spent two hours in 1840s London.

🌸 Coffee with a friend ~ My friend and I decided to have our coffee outdoors one morning and met at a local park. The sun gleamed off a nearby lake and skies were clear and blue. It was so good to catch up and the setting elevated our moods, in spite of the serious conversation.

Whew! Feels good to be caught up. If you've made it this far, thanks for indulging me:)

Happy Summer to all.

Oh, I think I shall wish everyone a happy Winds-day, and I shall begin with my very dear friend, Piglet. ~ Winnie the Pooh

The wind has been blowing nonstop all day. It looks like a perfectly beautiful day, looking out my window. But when I stepped outside to get the mail a little while ago, the wind was biting cold and angrily tried to rip the door out of my hand. I don't know anyone who likes windy weather. Rain, snow, even tornados -- there are those who find most any other kind of weather favorable over wind.. 

Still, signs of Spring abound on this windy Wednesday. Jonquils and hyacinths add pops of color to our front yard. I am slowly cleaning out the gardens in the backyard, filling raised beds with more dirt and making plans in my head for what to plant.

Seed packets are strewn across the dining room table, my gardening journal beside them. My notes from last year remind me to find a new spot for the tomato plants, to find more heat tolerant flowering plants for a few of the hanging baskets, and to not get so carried away with planting basil!

Indoors, we are working together to do a thorough spring cleaning. Feeling defeated before I even started, my gem of a husband stepped up and offered that we do this together. I made up a list, and while I am doing the lion's share of the organizing and decluttering, he is doing a good deal of the deep cleaning (tile, appliances). It's so motivating to know that I can get things in order and that he'll follow up with a deep clean. 

Yesterday, I sorted cupboards and washed the inside and outside of the kitchen cabinets. It's amazing how things accumulate, isn't it? When we moved here, we had pared down a lot. I thought. But somehow, things seem to multiply overnight. 

Speaking of rabbits ;), I don't decorate as much as I used to for holidays, but I've put out a few spring decorations as we've cleaned. 

I changed out the hutch with spring dishes and my favorite vases, to hold bouquets of flowers in the coming months.

A few of you were so nice to follow along on my photo blog for the #100daysproject. I know, I fell off the wagon around day 33. After going out of town for a few days, I came home and just headed off in another direction, and my good intentions flew out the window! I still like to post over there occasionally, though.

Happy Wednesday to all. Hope it's a calm, sunny day in your neck of the woods.

 I'm joining the Friday's Fave Five crowd today, where a group of bloggers find light in what has been a dark world of late. The news has been rough these past weeks, and my heart and prayers are unceasingly with the people of Ukraine. All the more reason to pause and reflect on some moments of gratitude from my week.

A Spring Concert ~ Last night, I attended my granddaughter's 1st Grade Spring Concert. Dan picked Brooklynn and Bentley up after school, brought them home and we fed them a light supper. Then the preparations began as she changed into her spring frock, I braided her hair and she chose a necklace to wear. She was pretty excited as she was one of just a handful of students chosen to "talk into the microphone!" to announce one of the songs. It's been a long time since I've been in a school auditorium with 120 first graders and their families. The songs were delightful -- Spring In My Step, Los Colores, The Bunny Boogie, to name just a few. The joy in the kids' faces when they spotted their families in the audience. Their exuberance as they bunny hopped together on stage, and their clear and practiced pronunciation of an entire song in Spanish. It was a wonderful performance. 

A Safe Trip ~ I wrote about our trip to New Mexico in my last post. There was a lot to see and do and looking back, I'm grateful for a safe trip and the joy I always feel when I return home again. It always feels so good to be home.

Geraniums ~ On the final day of our trip, we stopped for a light breakfast in a little town in the middle of seemingly nowhere (really, everywhere is somewhere though, right?).  The day was cold and gray, the landscape still in winter dress with mostly just shades of brown and the dull gray/green of  sagebrush. A small house had been converted into a coffee shop, the inside bright and cheerful. The thick walls allowed for deep set windows with clean white sills, and on each was a pot of bright red and pink geraniums. It got me to thinking about plans for the garden at home, feeling that pang of anticipation for spring.