A day in spring...

As I write this morning, the temperatures are in the 20's!  Brrrr... looking forward to a real warm up.

Miss M. came to dinner last night.  I made macaroni and cheese early in the afternoon so most of the dishes could be washed and put away before she arrived.  All I had to do was pop the casserole dish in the oven along with smoked sausage (which baked in a separate dish) and add a couple side veggies.  Wallah!  It took me all of five minutes to do the dishes while she and Christopher drove to the gas station at the end of the county road to rent a Redbox movie.  :)

I also explored our back yard yesterday afternoon, hoping the early daffodils were in bloom even though they hadn't in the front yard.  Sure enough... there was a nice handful of blooms growing close to the house beside the deck.  I think they get a little more warmth from the morning sunshine there and reward us with earlier blossoms.  It was nice to have some pretty flowers to look at while cooking and doing dishes.

I'm also doing some spring cleaning "a little at a time".  Yesterday I gave the pine dining table a good scrubbing and then when it dried, a nice massage of wood paste.  It will receive a second massage in a few days.   Each day I will anoint one or to pieces of our good furniture with lemon oil or wood paste... an often overlooked household duty these days.  However, I'm married to a man with a graduate degree in wood science and furniture engineering so it has been drilled into me over the years to make this a regular part of my spring and fall cleaning.  I leave any gluing and repairs to him. 

The display on the buffet (above) was tweaked to make it look more spring-like.  The teapot and teacups provide a pretty indoor garden, don't they?  There is a reason I adore "tea things".  How can you not smile when you look at them?

Just one or two more days on Cipro!  Poor Stephanie... after Faith was diagnosed with strep throat, her entire family is on antibiotics.  Her doctor told her if they had a dog, he'd put it on antibiotics as a precaution.  They are all ready for this harsh New England winter to be in the rear view mirror but I noticed this morning the forecast is for snow in that part of the country (we even have a little in our forecast).  At least we know real spring weather will be here soon.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying pictures of green grass and blooms on southern blogs.  :)