trying to leave winter behind

Where I live, April is supposed to be when spring begins to show itself. And it does; there are spring-flowering bulbs, shrubs and beautiful trees which bloom. But the warmer temperatures are what everybody is longing for, and this year we are still waiting. Today, it was very lovely and relatively warm, but that's just one day. I've heard the weatherman say more than once lately that the temperatures have been twenty degrees colder than they're supposed to be! So I'm saving my high hopes for May.

My brother's seedlings are still in the kitchen, struggling for the sunlight, but it feels too cold and is too cloudy to set up the greenhouse outdoors. It just doesn't feel right.

we've actually had flurries a couple of times lately!

I've been taking it easy for a few days, since I had a painful foot on Tuesday and actually had to go to the ER. It improved the next day but I've been keeping it propped up a lot to prevent a recurrence. This morning, Dolly surprised me by coming into my room - she poked around in the closet and then went behind my day bed, walking along the baseboard heater, behind my nightstand, around and out. She then sped out of the room, presumably excited at doing something she hasn't done in years. Boring stuff I suppose, but this was a Big Deal - she hasn't been coming into my bedroom since Sweetie came here, which I feel very badly about. But, our Dolly had a birthday this week - 17! - and maybe she's changing things up. I hope it continues!

The last couple of knitting projects I began ended up in nothing, but I tried another one yesterday. I have a large ball of wool, bulky weight, and decided to use it up for a bag. It's called the Aspen Bag, and I like it. My yarn is sort of a purply berry color and I'm supposed to use size 15 needles. I knitted eight rows but found the result to be looser than the photo. If I continued on that way, the bag wouldn't be suitable for anything heavier than holding pieces of paper. The directions don't mention any gauge and I always seem to knit the proper gauge except when using the large needles like 13 and 15 - I have a harder time keeping my tension with those sizes. So, I ripped it out and will try it with size 11s. If it looks right, I'll take a picture. It's not a felted bag, nor is it lined, so it's got to be snugly made or it'll stretch and sag. 

In a recent podcast of Speaking with Joy, Joy Clarkson said something that I thought was delightful:   "Snow is kind of the reward for how cold it is."  At least, I'm sure I would find it delightful in December, January, February - maybe even March! But April - no.