Springy

My attitude toward the early-melting snow (hurray!) has made me very unpopular among the winterophiles around here (and there are a surprising number), but Saturday, when I saw some tiny, tiny green plants poking through the gravel at my ex-step-mother-in-law's I almost jumped up and down for joy. And yesterday? Sixty-one-point-two degrees. Woo-hoo. Granted, I spent that lovely warm weather driving M to an eye doctor appointment and sitting in a completely windowless room, but still, it was out there, all warm and stuff. Want to know why I'm so excited. Look at last year's Spring Equinox here, and the year before? Seven degrees on March 11 (with photos of the previous year's Easter snow bunny). Explains why a little unseasonable warmth can make one giddy. I know I should totally shut up right now or it will rain for the next three months solid, but I'm just too spring fevery. Hurray!

I haven't done much to prepare for the season. Our Valentine's decorations still hang limp and dusty (and in some cases broken), but I did manage to refresh a corner of the Nature Table for St. Patrick's Day.

(See that oval object that, to the untrained eye appears to be a rock? It's a Leprechaun egg. Bet you didn't know they reproduce oviparously, didja?)

M was all excited with his idea for a Leprechaun trap over the weekend (he was going to bait it with fake pearl earrings), but ran out of time/enthusiasm before carrying it off. A couple of years ago, I made a little green elf shoe (I ran out of time before making the second one) and left it in a corner St. Patrick's day morning. M was so thrilled. He really wanted to believe it was from a real leprechaun. But being Mr. Logic Brain, had his doubts. He kept asking me if I sewed it (to which I prevaricated). I thought about making the other one this year, but I guess I ran out of time/enthusiasm too. Maybe next year, for the twins to find (guess I'll need to make two so they don't fight over it).

On Sunday the boys (the little boys, that is, M preferring to play games at the US Mint website--the closest thing he'll ever have to a video game machine, I hope) and I made some felted Easter Eggs, following the directions in the Spring issue of Rhythm of the Home.

It was fun spending a rainy afternoon getting all wet and soapy and using every color in the wool bag (they both wanted to make their eggs "rainbow."

I always seem to have trouble with weird lumpy masses when I wet-felt. I'm hoping I can repair them with the felting needle after I take the wooden egg out.