March Madness

Okay, it's time for March Madness, but I'm not talking about basketball. I'm talking about everything else.

The weather has been wild. Two weeks ago we still had 6 inches of snow in the yard (see my last post). Then over the past 2 weeks it melted away. Last week it was great, in the mid 50's a couple of days! Yes, I said 50's! Then Friday night a cold front came through with some rain and on Saturday morning there was SNOW on the ground. Just a little bit that was melted by noon, but good grief! My poor crocuses can't decide if they really want to come out here or not. Today it looks beautiful; I was out at 7am with the dog, but haven't gone out again yet. Right now I can hear the cardinal singing his wonderful song.

Here's what I've been working on most of the day. This quilt is going to be for my nephew Evan, who is graduating from high school this Spring. It will be a twin size so it can go on his dorm room bed. I still have to sew the blocks together then add the borders. My goal is to have the top all done by next Saturday morning.

Earlier this week was St Patrick's Day. DD's 5th grade choir had a Celtic concert and toured the 3 elementary schools in town performing their concert. This picture was from the concert they gave for parents and family. Yes, I tried to take out all the red-eye, but it wouldn't all come out.

Another reason that I'm going through March Madness is that right after Easter I'm having double knee replacement surgery. My parents are coming here for two weeks (each and separately) to care for DD and the dog and when I get out of rehab, me. So this month I've been getting ready for that; everything from getting the house cleaned up enough for my parents to see, setting up appointments, taking the hospital's pre-surgery class, visiting the rehab center, changing dentist appointments, and just plain planning ahead.

In the meantime, it looks like Spring is finally here (even with its ups and downs), so that's the best part of March Madness (even if I think we might still get more snow).  Have a great week!

Spring Time in Wisconsin

I was really looking forward to a great weekend and getting alot of outdoor work done, but after only 30 minutes of raking the front yard, I had to come inside on Saturday and then it started to rain. It felt like the Great Flood -- 40 days and 40 nights right outside my door. It really didn't stop all weekend. My sump pump ran off and on for 2 days straight (I guess that's a good thing, if it didn't run I'd have water all over my basement, right?).








But Monday morning before we left the house for the day, I snapped these two pictures of the flowers struggling in my front flower bed. Spring is trying to get here!

So since it rained all weekend, what did I get done? I finally got my cutting table all set up. I got rid of the piano a month ago and then last week I bought a long (72") folding table from WalMart. I set it up Saturday morning when the rain started and decided how much more height I needed.

Then one of my many errands later on Saturday was to the local hardware store. I love that place. They are so friendly and eager to help. When I walked in and (on purpose) looked lost like I didn't know what to do, I was approached by the owner who asked how he could help. I told him I needed some PVC pipe. He asked if I needed just pipe or fitting, too. I told him just pipe. He walked me down the aisle to the PVC pipe and showed me the various sizes he had. I quickly picked out which one was the right size diameter and told him I needed 4 twelve inch pieces. He cut it for me (for free) and then only charged me for the 48 inches, not the entire 10 feet of pipe we started with. I expected to pay for the entire 10 feet (which would have been a whopping $3.48).

So here's a picture of my cutting table, raised to counter top height. I've got storage underneath (okay, so they're empty so far) and lots of room for cutting and for laying out. I love it so far (except that my sewing machine is in the other room, 40 feet away).

Foster Park in Ft Wayne

Now I know that some of you are running around in shorts and t-shirts, but those of us up north are wondering if it's finally time to put away the parka. Last weekend we were in Ft Wayne, Indiana visiting my best friend for Easter. On Sunday, it was so clear and beautiful outside I suggested that we go find some green and maybe some early flowers. We went to Foster Park and strolled around (the adults still had on their parkas) and did exactly that. DD slipped her coat off a few times so that we could take some pictures.

So okay, in Ft Wayne the daffodils were in bloom. No tulips yet. Here in Wisconsin, the daffodils are about 4 inches high. But the crocus are pretty. I have purple and yellow ones in my garden. Only the purple ones are blooming right now.

I can't wait for summer! Okay, I'll settle for spring, 'cause right now it feels like winter will never go away. I know this is typical Wisconsin spring (ie not much to show until May), but I'd like a little green, if you please. The lawn still looks brown/grey and the trees are still bare. Uhhhgggg! Come on Spring!