Second day of Spring! Fittingly, I happened to look outside yesterday afternoon and four robins landed in the yard. Two pairs. Hurrah! It seemed like they’d just arrived from somewhere else, but I might be reading into that. We watched them, entranced, as they looked for food, right on the very first day of Spring.
This morning is sunny. My mood, as of yesterday, is so much lighter. I’m sure some of that is due to the knowledge that Spring has arrived. It’s also warmer and sunnier and I know it isn’t a mid-winter fluke, but the harbinger of what’s to come. I was talking to a friend yesterday – it happened to be her birthday – and she said the same thing. She felt a lift in her spirits and her mood.
We moved the sheet music cabinet upstairs to the office yesterday. As impossible as it might seem, we managed to cram yet another item into that space. We switched it out with a table that was next to the overstuffed chair. The table went to the wall at the top of the stairs. While playing with that space, we moved the big framed poster that was on that wall downstairs to the gallery wall and hung the beautiful watercolor that had previously hung above the music cabinet in its place.
Eventually, we want to fill this whole wall with art and take advantage of those high, skylight-lit spaces.
Pippa urging Mei to go outside with her because it’s Spring.
Both girls had been wearing sweaters, so they needed a change of clothing. Mei is rocking her Crocs.
Egg cups, part 4:
1. An adorable pig holding up an egg cup. Made in Japan.
2. A goose pulling an egg cup. This one is beautifully painted. Made in Japan.
3. Another Fanny Farmer egg cup. I have two of these – I believe they were a gift from a reader. You can sort of see the words Fanny Farmer on the base (in brown.)
4. And another favorite, this little girl in a bunny costume holding a polka dot egg. I am always smitten by this cup.
I’m off to start in on some more research.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
congratulations on safely getting that beautiful music cabinet up a flight of stairs … they are heavy, i know! glad you found a place for it. the art switch sounds good … i like the two travel posters together.
glad you saw some robins and feel better with spring at hand.
glad the job is going well, too.
thanks for taking the time to post anytime and especially when you have a job like this one (researching eight dialects, etc)!
i think egg cup number three is my favorite of today’s group. hard choices as they’re all sweet.
it was 61 degrees here yesterday and sunny with a bit of a breeze. today might reach 45. definitely spring here, too. ready for it and the ease of not having to watch for ice when out walking/driving.
hope you, don and everyone else have a good day and stay safe.
kathy
Yes, it’s 60 degrees here today. Really enjoying the sun and the warmer temperatures
Thanks so much, Kathy.
Stay safe.
I can see how you’d be smitten with that egg cup with the little girl in the bunny costume….darling!
How nice, and apropos, to see the robins on the first day of Spring!
We are having lots and lots of rain…glad I don’t have to drive anywhere today.
Good luck with your research…and enjoy the sunshine…
Stay cozy, Barrie. Don’t go out in the rain!
Stay safe.
dear Claudia/Don — glad for your sunshine, semi cloudy here w/rain already in WKy coming tonite/tomorrow but not cold, yeah!! really like all of the egg cups but my favorite has always been that little girl in the bunny suit, so cute!! thanks to you for sharing them w/all of us AND knowing their history. hope you all stay safe/healthy. p.s. good luck w/dialect work — good to “restart” your brain, haha!!
Thanks so much, Linda. I’m not sure how well my brain has restarted, though!
Stay safe.
You did some rearranging of things, always fun. Spring certainly lifts our spirits. We visited a conservatory near us and the daffodils, tulips and hyacinths were stunning. And the fragrance! Mei sure does look cute in her crocs and Pippa’s little yellow shoes are so sweet. Hugs, Elaine
Thanks so much, Elaine.
I loved seeing them both in their yellow shoes.
Stay safe.
I brought out my Easter lovelies this morning and looked at my egg cups with new eyes, thanks to you. They hold my two precious Ukrainian pysanky eggs and hand-painted eggs from my artist/MIL.
I might have done some yardwork in celebration of Spring and fifty degree sunshine. Spring gardener syndrome today, aka did -a-truck-run-over-me muscles! It’s all worth it…
I move art around depending on the holiday or season. It becomes so fresh and new!
Carpe diem!
I love Ukrainian eggs. So beautiful.
No yard work for me yet. It’s too soon to uncover the garden. But I might rake all the gravel that got tossed onto the grass when Don was using the snow blower!
Stay safe, Roxie.
I am so glad you finally have seen some Robins. We have a heated bird bath under our kitchen window and we always have 8 or 9 of them every morning. Being so close to the river, I think quite a few stay here for the Winter as the dam is right here and there is open water all year.
You know how I love to visit your egg cups during the season. I bet moving that cabinet was a feat. Always fun to rearrange things and get a new perspective and view!! Sounds like you have some busy weeks ahead. Will you have to stay in the city or commute more for this job? You sound happy!! Take care!
Well, I’m happy it’s spring. I’ll have to commute to the city, Chris. And then to New Jersey.
How are you feeling?
Stay safe.
I love the polka dot egg cup; darling; I saw some repros of little elfin glossy-ceramic figures that look similar with the polka-dots although they’re Christmas-themed. But you’ve got the real deal.
Unstable weather here in Southern Calif; fierce rain today and a lot of wind; soaked. Raining now for 14 hours mostly continuously; only the briefest periods where we can even try to let out the dog to relieve himself (he’s got a good raincoat; he looks so cute in his yellow slicker; he’s weighing up to 75 lbs right now and it was tough to get one that would still cover his big head AND his back/tail; what we really need are some rainboots for him!).
Some 150 miles north (Central Valley of CA/San Joaquin Valley) is an area in real trouble; thousands of farmed land under two feet of water with need to shift several thousands more dairy cows to dry land outside of the area. I feel so sorry for these rural areas with their farm animals and small towns just inundated with problems. But even my larger county south has had its problems. I know we lost a lot of this year’s strawberry crop. They weren’t ready to be picked; the rain comes and molds them. The farmer has to abandon it, dig it under, start again later. And the workers have to be able to get in between the rows to pick when the crop IS ready and has survived, but they can’t do that if they’re sinking down in mud like quicksand.
I’ve also watched ranchers wait for the right time to get in there and pick the lemons off the trees; but, again, a worker’s ladder will sink down and be unsafe in this mud. I’ve seen lemons so heavily laden on a tree, knowing the fruit needs to be picked and can’t stay much longer on the tree, but they just can’t in there to the orchards. It’s flooded with water and mud. We are the muddiest mess here you can imagine.
I’m under a flood watch (better than a warning!) til tomorrow night but I’m not too worried about it for where our house sits (hope I don’t end up eating my words; we carry expensive flood insurance; it’s mandatory with FEMA and required by my mortgage company); it’s just a reminder to stay off the roads although I’ve got an appointment tomorrow morning when it’s still to be raining hard; however, it’s nearby, so we’re lucky. Temperatures plunged this morning to high 40s in the later morning; the weather service sys that right now, although we’re 50 degrees, it feels like 47 degrees at 2:30pm PST and I agree. I’m glad the wind watch expires later today; the wind has been blowing the heavy downpours sideways again. We’re to have no let-up in the rain til tomorrow night. My poor Calif is no longer parched; instead, we’re ‘drowning’. It’s no joke.
I continue to despair at the loss of trees. The old ones are falling right and left; they have weaker roots (apparently), the ground is saturated with water, the wind is too harsh, the rain is too much; the trees go down; hurts my heart. I’m a tree-hugger. Just have to hope they don’t cause big property damage or hurt something living like a human or pets. The downed power lines from falling trees is enough of a big job right now for the power-company workers. Hard to be out in all this rain, trying to do that kind of work.
My soft water delivery guy was three hours late this morning; he was drenched, saying the morning had been brutal with the rain and sog and flooded roads although his big, heavy truck could get thru some areas which other vehicles had to avoid. It is absolutely POURING rain right now at 2:30-3pm PST and my husband is out in it as he has preops to accomplish today for his surgery next week; couldn’t get out of it. I will be so glad when he gets home! I’m hearing ‘way too many sirens. We probably have some flooded intersections with the traffic lights out; I can’t believe we haven’t had a power outage recently as one would expect. This is right about the time the elementary schools get out for the day and I hope to God there are no children out there having to walk home in this kind of rain, even if they’re suited up with rain gear, poor kids. Not all take the bus; not all have parents at home who can come pick them up.
Glad your mood was lighter today, Claudia. Mine will be soon!
OMG, couldn’t believe it; the minute I hit ‘send’ we got pummeled by a hailstorm. I just went out there and there are icy, half-inch pellets like marbles all over the ground. I could really hear it, like rocks being thrown against my metal garage door (attached garage to the house). The teen next door is out there in her raincoat and rain hat and galoshes picking it up off the ground; it’s nothing we see much here as a rule; maybe she’s never seen hail before that she remembers; but I wanted to yell at her that she’d be safer if she’d go back indoors!
Hail is always exciting! You should see it when the hail stones are even bigger than that. Although you don’t want them too much bigger because they can do damage at that point.
xo
Not that I wish it on the kids, but I grew up walking a mile to school and there were plenty of times I was drenched because of the rain. My mom didn’t drive, so I had no choice. They’ll be fine.
You really are having to deal with extreme weather. It’s insane, isn’t it? I hope all remain safe. The damage to agriculture/crops breaks my heart. I’ve been reading about it.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Wow, Vicki! Wild for sure. I hope you get some boring plain SoCal weather soon!
Happy researching! Fun to see the girls in their spring outfits and the darling egg cups. You’re so fortunate to have that terrific light — a perfect spot for art.
It is!
Thanks, Jeanie.
Stay safe.