Some things I like to do.

I like to read, which is actually putting it mildly. I read lots and lots of books and magazines. I like to make collages out of scraps of paper, then send them away to mail art shows or to my mail pals. AND I like learning Spanish. It's been my "passion" since I took the one hour a week for 15 weeks conversation class offered by the University, when I was still teaching there (spring 2007.) While doing the class, I started to listen to Coffee Break Spanish podcast, which was, and is, so helpful for beginners. The other site I'm finding so helpful is Spanish-Word-A-Day. Besides a new word 5 times a week, there is conjugation, a sentence, a joke, a quote, always something interesting...a photo, a book review. Here I am with a few of the many Spanish reference books, workbooks, magazines and novels that I use to help me. I've just ordered a gran diccionario, one of those BIG ones. I'm hoping that, eventually, I'll be somewhat fluent, but for now, I'm enjoying the process of learning.

Spring came and went.....

We had spring (meaning warmer temps) for a few days then a storm came through, not a torrential rain, but rather a light spring rain. However, it brought colder temperatures with it. I took a walk with my old dog around a few streets and alleyways. Flowering trees are flowering. Here are a few images from my walk. Plus, the tree in our back yard/garden is full of pink blossoms this year, many of which have fallen because of the wind, carpeting our yard with petals. This is lovely to see for awhile, then they become slippery and difficult to rake up. We think our neighbors aren't so enamored of our tree, since they, too, end up with a carpet of pink. During the snow and freezing temperatures, the cement of our bottom step turned to sand. We were able to have it repaired during one of our mild days. Right now it's drying under plastic wrap to keep the drizzle off of it. My honey took advantage of the warmer temps to water the front rock garden. Look how well the rocks are doing! And the plants, of course.
Happily, warm weather is on it's way again, in fact, very warm weather. Next weekend, when we gather to celebrate Passover and walk the local Easter promenade, it'll be 80F/28C. Bring out the sundresses and shorts and Easter bonnets!

Good Mail Day

Lucky me, when I returned from our trip to New York City (which I'll post about, too) there was some pretty wonderful mail waiting for me. There was a terrific 1959 sewn piece that came through the mail perfectly in it's vinyl envelope and in a paper envelope, a magnet (it's on the right on my refrigerator art "wall) by the same person (thanks SB.) More treasures arrived the next day all the way from the U.K. (thanks Treena) and from Missive Maven (thanks MM.) How lucky can a gal get? Now to write some letters in return.

New growth.

What a lovely thing to see, spring starting to appear in the front garden. My husband kept saying that there was the scent of gardenias out front. We didn't know what it was and then we discovered that a small bushy flowering plant was giving off an amazing scent like gardenia flowers. We don't even know what the plant is. Does anyone know? We have helibores coming up right on time. Notice the spores under these leaves. The leaves are starting to appear all rolled up in papery casings, ready to unroll. I hope they wait until next week. I'm off to the city known as The Big Apple for a few days. I'm going to see some performances and some art shows. Much to report on in a few days.

around town

I stopped by Spa310 after my Spanish class this morning and found another really nice card had been received. Even the stamps were nice. You can see the entries here. Consider sending in an entry, too.
The other day, the sun was out and, though it was a bit chilly, we decided to sit on the patio of a restaurant and have a coffee. This little bird stopped by to see if we had anything for it. Even though we didn't have treats, it stayed with us a long time. Sweet!

On Friday morning, it was sunny and not so chilly so I walked to the Science Museum to join with my Spanish Meet-up in the cafe there. On the way home, I snapped this photo of the Jefferson Davis monument on Monument Avenue. It seemed like a kind of tourist thing to do in my own neighborhood. Maybe one day, I'll walk the Avenue and snap pix of each of the monuments to share with you.

Shifting Sands

I am honored to have my collage used as the cover for the book: Shifting Sands,. The book will be published next month, which is very exciting. I look forward to seeing how my collage actually looks as a book cover, with title and all. You can read more about the book here and here. It can be pre-ordered here. Recommend this book to your reading group, to synagogue, mosque and church groups. The essays are very moving.

Halcyon

Last week I stopped by my local vintage shop, Halcyon, to visit Olive the pup, as well as the human folks there. Connie has such cool stuff in her shop. I got this faux ivory pin (1.5" x 2") there. If you're in my neighborhood, stop by Connie's place, see it here.