Sure Signs of Spring!!!

Ah, Spring!! Can't be long now until it's really here. I know the calendar says Spring but not the Michigan calendar!! All the signs are starting to show themselves. Pansies are on sale at Bordine's and I'm planting them!! Howard is out vacuuming his car and getting it all cleaned up. The ducks and geese woke me up on Saturday and Sunday morning with all their noise out on the pond. And I have seen the first little Crocus pushing through the leaves from last Fall! But the real sign for me that Spring has officially arrived is when I hear the frogs peeping on the pond and last night, for the first time, I heard them. It's such sweet music to go to sleep by. I open the window, even just a crack, so I can hear them. They will keep up their "night music" until sometime in May and then stay quiet until next Spring.


We had a pretty decent weekend here. A little rain both days but it didn't last long and the sun was out which makes up for everything. Howard had a nasty head cold this past week and missed a few days of work but he's back at it now. Scott is dealing with a dilemma. He blew his engine last week, unfortunately. He's trying to decide which option is best, fixing the car he has which will be very expensive (i.e., a new engine) or trying to save up and buy something new (new to him at least). Thankfully his very generous Grandma has loaned him her car until he can figure things out. Tyler is enjoying Spring Break in Hawaii this coming week. He's hoping to get in lots of snorkeling and maybe a trip to the Big Island. Amber is meeting with Photographers and soon Caterers to keep up with the wedding planning. I seem to be flitting from thing to thing, trying to get a few things done. This weekend I added some new fish to my aquarium. I had to remove some old ones first. They were getting a little aggressive toward all the peaceful fish in the tank and it took me an hour and a half to catch 4 stupid fish! Hopefully with them gone peace will return to the fish kingdom. Also Zoe and I managed to get in a couple walks this weekend. It's nice to be able to get out and not worry about slipping on the ice!

Happy Birthday Tyler!!

Today is Tyler's 22nd Birthday!! In all those 22 years he's always been home for his birthday but this year he is far away in Hawaii. He's so busy with school he doesn't really plan to do much but I'm sure some of his friends will at least treat him to a night out, though not a late night since he has school tomorrow! He says school is going well and he's studying hard and has lots of homework. Next week is Spring Break at HPU and he was lamenting how he has no money to do anything. I pointed out that most people would love to spend Spring Break in Hawaii! Even with no money to spend (like Ty) he could just hang out at the beach all week! That's what I would be doing. We miss you Ty and wish you a very happy 22nd birthday!! Have a bite of cake for us! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Winter is Leaving, Slowly but Surely

So, this is how it begins. The ice on the pond slowly begins to melt. You have a few "tease" days like last Tuesday when the thermometer soared to 70 degrees and melted all the snow, followed by a day in the 60's, followed by snow (which thankfully didn't stick to the roads and most of which has melted again) and then back to the 30's and 40's.





However, the ducks have returned to the pond and the tulips I planted last fall are starting to peek their little heads through the mud so I know Spring can't really be too far away though I know it won't arrive next Wednesday like the calendar says. It will come though, eventually. There have been years though when it seemed like we jumped right over Spring and into Summer.

Everyone gets antsy about this time of year. All people talk about is the weather; how they wish it were warm; where they are planning to go for Spring Break (almost always some place warm if they are going anywhere) and when we can start planting flowers. Nurseries suggest you don't start until Memorial Day but rarely can we die-hard gardeners wait for that day. Around the first of May I usually can't wait any longer and at least put a few things in the ground. Sure, I might have to cover them if it's too cold, but it's worth it. They won't even really grow for another month but who cares? They are green and they are flowers and we have waited 6 months to see them!!! So, I will try to be patient and enjoy those few warm days that come our way in the Spring, but really I just want summer to hurry up and get here!

Back from Virginia

Friday night we met Andrew in D.C. for dinner. His office is within walking distance of the White House. I had never seen the White House at night but here it is! We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner, great food but the entertainment was really spectacular, two belly dancers! They were good and people from the crowd would come onto the dance floor and throw dollar bills on them. I suggested this place for the rehearsal dinner but Amber and Andrew decided they wanted to think about that.

These are a few of the pictures taken on Saturday of the venue for the wedding. It's called Cabell's Mill. It has lots of possibilities for the wedding/reception; outside on the lawn, on the terrace, inside in case of bad weather. Right now it looks bare in winter but they had pictures of the property in summer and it's gorgeous. The rest of the day was spent looking for dresses. Amber has several in mind but we made great progress in narrowing the choices down. Sunday we bought the "save the date" card materials and spent the rest of the day designing them and putting them together. We also spent a little time working on table centerpiece designs. So much to do and think about that I never realized. Now that the site is definite we can start working on the other details like invitations, etc. At least we have a couple months before we have to start worrying about those. It's going to be a beautiful wedding!

Pictures for Tyler and Amber

These are some pictures I thought Tyler and Amber would enjoy since they miss little Zoe so much. Notice the one with the pig, Ty. She still loves it and drags it around everywhere and to bed every night to use as a pillow!! She's totally bored these days and it's hard to get her out for a walk with all this crappy weather. Can't wait for spring and our trips to the Bark Park. I'm leaving soon for the airport but right now there's a white-out outside!! Sure hope that stops soon!! We are supposed to have "snow showers" but right now it's way more than a "shower"!! Amber has a full weekend planned with lots of shopping and planning!! Keep your fingers crossed that we will find the perfect dress this weekend! I know no matter what dress she gets she will look absolutely gorgeous. I'll take lots of pictures to post when I get back, but not the dress!! That will have to remain a surprise! Have a great weekend and call me sometime Tyler!! I miss you!! :-*