It's that time of year again

It's that time of year again where spring teases us with her possibilities. The snowdrops are blooming despite the frost and everywhere you look there are little bits of green poking up through the leaf litter and winter wastes.

I can't believe I haven't posted since New Year's Eve. I know it's no fun reading a blog that only complains about never having the time to update it properly, but the truth is that with my new job, I haven't had hardly a second to myself. I haven't even been making anything to show you lately.

I love teaching on the degree program more than I could have ever imagined. It's challenging and I'm stretched to my absolute limit for the first time (probably) ever. Certainly more than I have been in my flitting about hither and yon of the past few years and it feels really good to exercise my mind for once. It's great to read up on the current issues in conservation especially, since I've been out of the scene for so many years now.

I took a wildlife rehabilitation course here for the first three weekends in January. Effectively, that meant that not only was I working until 9 or 10 every night, I didn't have a weekend to unwind in. The course was really great and I'd recommend it to anybody interested in working with wildlife in Britain. They're sensible. My experience with wildlife rehabers in the past has been mixed - so many of them refuse to put anything down regardless of its chances of being ultimately re-released. Owls with amputated wings, for example, have no quality of life and it's good to see that this particular organization emphasizes this very basic but pivotal tenet.

So what did I do with my first weekend of 2009? Well, I went shopping of course! We've got a cold snap in the forecast and a down comforter was definitely on the agenda. Today, I spent most of the day in a coffee shop, marking essays on Livelihoods vs Wildlife Conservation and preparing for my Anatomy & Physiology class first thing tomorrow morning.

So, with so little of interest to report and nothing to show off or brag about in the domestic arts arena, I'll be signing off now. I don't think I'll be updating often over the coming weeks, I hope to have more time for fun stuff once I get my head around what I'm doing in my new post. No one else stays at work till 9:00 so it must get easier as time goes on!

What's new with you?

Ice Ice Baby

(He has snow on his head) We woke up at 4 am. I had a tummy ache, but couldn't get back to sleep because there was 6 inches on snow on the ground! Exciting! We went for an early morning walk when everything is still so quiet and the snow has dampened all sound. We wrote secret messages in the snow, we threw snowballs and trees, road signs and each other, we followed animal tracks and imagined ourselves antarctic explorers. We got back to the house by 7:30, G watched match of the day and we promptly fell asleep in front of the tv until noon. Afterall, that's what Sundays are made for.

Rainy Day Weekends Are For....

Fantasizing about going back to the Lake District someday soon.

Curling up on the sofa with a lap cat, a steaming cup of green tea, and a whole season of Gilmore Girls DVD's.

Finally finishing the Pippa bag! (and also finding it a just a little bit ironic that one of my newest friends is called Pippa and secretly planning a whole series of items named after all the women I'd like to be friends with)

Making Easter bunny carrot cake cupcakes (get it, carrot cake, easter bunnies...) for my co-workers. Mostly because I love cream cheese frosting and the cute little cakes make the perfect frosting delivery devices.

Working on my very first embroidery project with inspiration and direction from this neato burrito book. If you haven't seen this already, I urge you to pick it up.

Discovering this website. And then getting completely lost in this one.

Secretly loving it when my neighbor calls me 'virtuous' for answering the door in workout clothes and I'm sure it's only a transliteration and means something completely different than intended in my American ears and then swelling just a little bit with pride. (Another trans-literation --- I've lost a stone since January! That's 12 pounds to you and me!)

Speaking of swelling, have you seen the size of my belly today? Ow.

Watching the raindrops collect on the windowpane and longing for that Arizona sunshine that is only a month away now.... that's right, I'm coming home!

Speaking of Easter, I'm resurrecting Sufjan's Illinois, Gillian's Soul Journey and My Morning Jacket's The Tennessee Fire.

Snuggling into the sofa with the man I love.

Long distance phone calls.

Saying 'hey baby wanna lick my spoon?'

Hope springs...

The first signs of spring!

First signs of winter

We had the first big frost of the year overnight and a bright, but chilly day to follow. I have to admit that I'm a little tremulous about it getting really, really cold as the past few nights our house has been miserably cold. It's a rented house, so there's really not a whole lot we can do about it. I've been in touch with our letting agent and I'm optimistic that they may supply us with some sort of supplemental heating soon. I explained how we spend the evening in coats and hats and scarves and mittens and she shivered along sympathetically on the other end of the line. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

You can see here where the bullfinches and waxwings have already cleared most of the berries in a feverish binge before winter sets in and means it.