Spring fever

I love and hate this time of year.

I hate daylight savings. I don't mind having it be lighter later, but it is a real bugger for trying to get up and go in the morning. And I hate it when the weather people (who were right about the big storms on March 1-2) predict 1-3" of snow in the next 24 hours.

I want green grass, not more snow.

I love it when the 3+ feet of snow that we had in the yard manages to disappear in a matter of a couple of days. I love walking around the neighborhood through puddles. It brings back great memories of stomping around in the rain with goulashes on. And ending up sopping wet and muddy. The adult in me holds off the stomping until I get closer to home... and by then all the really deep, fun puddles are passed.

I love the smell of spring... the wet, earthy smell that permeates the air. I love all of the sunshine that finally appears after 3 months of gray. And I really love being able to run around without a jacket on. There is something very liberating about leaving the jacket at home.

I love the planning, the hope of spring. Last weekend when the snow was wasting away, John and I couldn't help but to start planning our spring/summer/fall projects. Spring gives us the energy to tackle the house projects again. It feels important to sit in the sunshine, sketching the detailed posts on my porch, sketch a general outline of the house, and color them in strategically with how I hope to paint them this summer.

I love seeing my neighbors again, and especially their kids who seem to have learned 20 new tricks in the few months they were stuck inside. We're already hoping for the day when the snow is completely melted from our backyards so that we can have the first bonfire.

Okay, so I mostly love spring. :-)

Snow Days

Hello all! Sorry for the interim in postings. I really do not know where February went. I have had a student (only 3 weeks left!), and traveled out to Boston in the midst of their snowstorm for a national PT conference. The conference was great, but the weather was cruddy. I did get to see updates on the Big Dig... which I think most of you know is the Boston project to put a major highway underground. It has had its issues, but the frosting on the cake sure looks nice!

This is the view from the Haymarket subway station. When I left Boston, there was still remnants of the green overhead highway, and the walkway between downtown (where I am) and the North End (what the picture is of) was concrete and industrial. Now the walkway is clear, even has a street, and the garden is almost done!


This is of the new bridge and the North End from the downtown side.













Part of the park - pots of plants waiting in the snow to be planted!














John has been busy taking over 5th grade. His school re-structured his job a little so that he is now mostly (2/3) a 5th grade teacher! Hurray! We are still waiting to hear whether there will be a job for him at his school next year, but this job shift will hopefully be a foot in the door!

As all of you in Minnesota know, we got a heaping amount of snow in the last week. Two major snowstorms have come through, so we finally look like the winter wasteland that we are advertised as. :-) I personally really love the snow, just not shoveling it all. The car only got stuck once in the whole experience, and that was trying to get me to work last Sunday before the plows had been out.

John got a snow day off of school yesterday... I was bitter because hospitals never close. Maybe I should become a school PT... naw. Then I'd be sick as a dog like John is at the moment. :-)

Tonight, a night at a B&B - a chance to clear our heads of crazy work stuff. Stay warm, everyone!