SPRING !!!!

I was messing around in the yard today - removing mulch from the flowerbeds so the daffodils & tulips & hyacinths could enjoy the sunshine (like I was!) and turn green.  As I raked old leaves up from the front flowerbed, something orange and glowing caught my eye.....  A crocus !!!!  I had to run around the house into the garage and get Randy to show him!  He was happy to see it, too!

I have these planted all over the front yard.  I used to rent a house that had them in the lawn and I loved it!  

Another thing I found was this neon green sprout of something.  It was totally buried in mulched leaves, so I'm sure it'll green up in the sun.  Curious to see what it is!  I ordered some bulbs a couple years ago from a coworker's kid's school fundraiser and they sat in a drawer in the kitchen until last fall when I planted them in this general area.  I don't remember what they were so it'll be a surprise! 

Tulips!

The problem with getting a lot of snow is the gross mold in the lawn.  It'll go away once it warms up & dries up.  But there was a lot out there today! 

It's supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow!  WOOHOOOOOO!  It's been nice (as in above freezing) the last few days and the snow is melting like crazy.  We just have piles where the BIG piles used to be.  I knocked a couple down with a rake today so they'll melt faster.  

Yesterday was the St. Patrick's Girls Night Out.  We got to sister Laurie's around 2:30 and sister Linda arrived with her dog Baxter about an hour later.   Laurie had picked Mom up after work Friday and took her home with her.   Baxter almost got his butt kicked by Laurie's cat!  They were on the landing so we didn't see what happened, but we heard Charly hiss and Baxter was cowering in the corner.  So I had to rescue him and let him hug on me until he felt better.  That dog just loves people! 

Jack chose to wear his snazzy bowtie instead of his bandanna. 

We had a nice dinner The White Horse Inn that has been running continually since 1850.  A beautiful place & the food was really good, and its supposedly haunted, too!   Way too many people asked if we were celebrating a bit early.  WTF??  St. Patty's is Tuesday!  There were parties all over the place and you can find (yuck) corned beef & cabbage just about anywhere!  Sorry if you're a stick in the mud!   Then we went back to Laurie's afterward and played the most drawn out game of Yahtzee that ever existed!

 Even the margaritas didn't help! 

This morning we helped Laurie out with some chores.  Putting her Christmas stuff away into the garage loft, carrying a saddle out to the barn, cleaning stalls, and miscellaneous other odds & ends.  She's still healing from having a lump removed from her breast.  Luckily it wasn't anything serious, but they're going to keep a close eye on it.  So she still has to take it somewhat easy.  I'm thankful I'm able to do the heavy work for her.

I'm afraid I'm getting allergies in my old age.  As the horses ate, I brushed them down enough to get the sawdust off their coats and loved on them.  Not long after they went outside, I started sneezing.  Same with being up in the loft.  It was really dusty up there.  I have to make sure I wash my hands after touching the cats before I put my contacts in.  My eyes will turn all sorts of red and itchy and watery.  This sucks!

We didn't stay long at Laurie's today.  Miss Angela had a class at the studio at noon.  Coach Jon had a group at a competition, so he asked someone to sub for him.  She couldn't make it, so they danced with a school JV team that was using the studio at the time.  They're nothing if not flexible!

They are going to have to rework their Movement Project dances after all.  The girl who hurt her knee at Nationals is dropping out.  She's just having too much trouble with that knee and her mom wants her to cut back on some activities.  She also runs track.  At least she let everyone know and she's really sad about it.  It's a bummer.  She's a nice girl and a great dancer.   Flexible!

There's less than 2 weeks til the first studio competition, so there will be some extra classes added in and a 'dress' rehearsal.  So yay, craziness!  We still have 2 costumes that need to be taken in to fit Miss Angela and several that need rhinestoning.   I'm sure rhinestones will be acquired tomorrow and I'll call the lady who did alterations last year and request her awesomeness.  She did a great job and was very reasonably priced - a big plus in my book! 

I don't know why I can't ever sleep well at Laurie's.  My air mattress is plenty comfortable and both dogs were quiet all night.  But I'm ready to crawl into my own bed and snooze!

oh wait....It's March Madness time!   Let me check out my bracket.

Yup.  I'm good with that!