Signs of Spring!

Spring is all around us now!

Today is Odyssey Day at the University – the day that all the accepted students and their parents come to visit to see if they’ll decide to go here or not. Like freshly hatched baby chicks, these future freshman scurry about campus full of excitement and wonder.

Each year, much like spring, it’s a reminder to me of new beginnings and fresh hope.

The signs are also evident to me each day as I leave my house. There are buds on the azalea bushes, blossoms falling from my giant pear tree, and finally this week, two yellow tulips blooming in my flower bed (two out of 12 bulbs planted, but at least there’s SOME color this year!)

Other fun things to prove it’s spring – I went to my sixth Nationals opening day game (I have yet to miss one). I love hometown baseball.

Charles and I had our first outdoor happy hour last week. It got a little chilly, but we couldn’t resist a bacon themed happy hour. We were willing to be a little cold in order to get a seat!

What are your favorite things about spring?

Stopping to Smell the Roses…Or view the blossoms.

I think one of the saddest things about living in a city (especially D.C.) is how often I simply live here. I don’t take the time I used to to appreciate my surroundings. For this reason, I love the occasional opportunity to host out of town guests.

My cousin (who got married last summer) came down last weekend with her husband, who had never seen the city. He’s not a city person, but even he admitted he loved DC. (not sure I can agree with him on the “clean” part of why he liked it…but I do have to agree it’s a rather “small town” like city).

I dropped them off in the middle of the city one day and let them explore on their own while I worked, but took a day off to spend more time being a “tourist.”

One day, we managed to see the cherry blossoms, FDR, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and all the major war memorials (WWII, Vietnam, Korea). I realized while we were at the memorials, it had been something like 10 years since I’d been to see any of them up close (not just watched them pass from I-395). How sad is that?

And of course, we hit Chick-fila (they don’t have it in Connecticut) for a banana pudding shake (they’re AMAZING!).

The following day, I wanted to stay away from D.C. First day of the cherry blossom festival, national marathon, etc… No thank you! We decided to stay in Va. and I suggested Mount Vernon. I swear, everytime I go there the house gets smaller, but the grounds are so fun! We even got to see the spring lambs. Baaaah.

Is it Spring Yet?

So, another joy of home ownership…who knows what’s growing my flower bed?

Last spring, bulbs sprouted green stuff…but (I think because of the Presidents’ Day snow) they never bloomed. So I STILL have no idea what’s planted there (other than my dahlias Mom planted, but because of the heat, they never bloomed either).

I still have hopes of walking out in the morning and, POW! Color coming out of my yin-yang!