Sweet Spring!

Hooray!!!!!!  Spring has finally opened her eyes and is stretching into the dawn of a beautiful season!  I'm sure some of you have daffodils that have already bloomed, trees that have beautiful, plump buds on them, and grass beginning to green up.  Here in Central Virginia, we have daffodils that have budded - I can see yellow on the outer petals so I know they'll soon open.  I love spring time.  It's my favorite time of year.  I love the freshness, the beginning, the promise of life to come.  The singing birds take me back to my early days of childhood and early days of marriage.  I see so many babies that have been born over the winter and are now becoming alert to their worlds. The days are now longer and warmer.   I see restaurants prepping their outside spaces, making room for tables, sun umbrellas, and chairs.  We're so lucky in this town that we have so many wonderful outdoor eateries.  So many food choices!!  We have excellent restaurants.   We also have multiple bakeries, two cupcake bakeries, and now a pie shop has opened.  Lawdy!!!!  Just what I need - another vice to fight.  And they make a daily assortment of scrumptious, mouth watering savory and sweet pies.  My favorite pie?  Chocolate.  This pie shop makes dark chocolate and chocolate hazelnut.  They make apple southern comfort, bourbon pecan, lemon chess, peanut butter, banana rum, whiskey chocolate chip, citrus, and many others!!!  Their savories include sausage, gravy and egg, sausage, goat cheese, and honey, fresh salsa, white cheddar, and scrambled egg, baby spinach, feta and egg.  And they also have pot pies - chicken, bacon, and roasted garlic, pork and pepper, porcini mushroom, leek, and gruyere, and broccoli and pimento cheese.  Geez Louise, this was just yesterday's menu.  It changes every day!!!!!  I've spent many a dime at Sweethaus, my favorite cupcake shop in the world, but I have to get myself to the Pie Chest.  I just looove a good pie, although I must confess to being quite the snob.  I make a damned good pie myself.  I'll have to taste test the Pie Chest pie to see if they can best me.  It will no doubt take many testings.  If I were you, I would go down there and get myself a slice of pie.  They sell out by around 2:00 every day.  And while you're indulging yourself in a slice of springtime, buy one for me.  I done told you what I like.  I'll even reimburse you if you drive it over.  Or I might even bake a pie for you and you can tell me which pie is your favorite.  Go on.  Get that pie.  Don't even start in about the calories.  Life is short.  It's good for your soul. 

Making Stuff

Totally ignoring the fact that it's sleeting/turning to snow outside my window.  Honestly, this has been the grayest, coldest winter I can remember.  And I grew up in a cold, snowy climate.  I reckon it's the old lady I've become.  Ugh.  Remember, I'm the one worried about freezing in the assisted living facility.  I'm still worried about those socks and sweats I'll need.  And I also want to be able to amuse myself.  Amusements are very important to me.  I've never understood people who say they can't stand to stay home because there's nothing to do.  HA!  Look around you.  There's plenty you may not WANT to do, but there's plenty to do.  And that's not even digging up the amusements. Amusements are part of my reason for living. My amusements include knitting and painting and drawing.  When we travel, amusements are the first things packed.  I take more amusements than clothing.  Sometimes I make the huzbin crazy on driving trips because I take so many amusements.  Flights are fairly safe because of the bag restrictions.  Driving trips, not so much.  I began amusements years and years and years ago when I was about 6.  I was making paper dolls.  And I looooooved coloring and working puzzles.  And making "stuff."  Any kind of stuff.  I would make designs out of twigs or rocks. I would make doll clothes.  I would get into the cabinets at home (without my mother's knowledge, of course) and make "potions" in the bathroom sink.  Santa Claus brought a chemistry set to me one year.  Jackpot!  I could make all kinds of interesting combinations - until I burned a hole in a table.  Hey, why follow the directions when you can "make something fabulous?"  By the time I got to 7th grade, sewing was a school requirement.  I loved it.  We made triangular scarves and skirts - using no pattern!!!  Wow!  I don't remember the skirt, but I remember the scarf I made was turquoise with white pompoms around the edges. I was soooo cool - in my head.  I don't remember actually wearing the scarf.  Then I moved on to dresses and robes and prom dresses and embroidery.  After I got married, I made my clothes and most of the daughter's clothes.  Not the jeans, but almost everything else - even tees and coats.  I was sooo good at sewing, I was sewing for friends and neighbors.  I loved it.  It was relaxing.  Roaming through fabric stores and sorting through patterns was like a drug for me.  I would just about space out touching exquisite cottons and choosing fantastic buttons.  Looking at trims would take another half hour of time.  Sooo many choices.  It was intoxicating.  I would finally bring home the goods and set to work.  I was one of those freak sewers who would stay up all hours of the night working until the project was at the finish line.  I could hold off on the hand sewing until the next day.  Those were the good old days.  My sewing skills now are mainly repairing this and that because I think I may have fried myself on so much sewing. These days, knitting is very calming for me.  As is painting and drawing.  And as I sit in this sleet globe, I find myself wanting to be in this painting.  It looks warm there.  Better weather days are ahead.  That's a promise.