I'm beginning to believe . . .

that spring is really coming. My favorite time of year is starting to tease us.

The temperature almost hit 50 yesterday and again today and that means that a lot of snow has melted. Not enough, but a lot. You can see grass again, at least on the south sides of buildings.

My sisters were here this weekend and we were out and about quite a bit yesterday, after spending a rainy Friday night inside by a fire that challenged all of my and Greg's keep-the-fire-going skills. Today, with the time change, the morning and early afternoon went very quickly before they headed home.

Allie then asked if she could play outside and I went out with her because Julia didn't want to. And by shoveling until my wrists ached, I reclaimed my side of the driveway. Yes, the driveway that was so narrow because of our blizzard weekend is back to it's normal width. There's something very satisfying about chopping and clearing ice on the driveway. I even took a stab at the huge banks leading up to our mailbox, trying to clear things out better for our mail carrier, but I didn't get very far.

Meanwhile, Allie had a blast playing in the gutter with the girls across the street. Yep, my child in the gutter, playing with the melting water and snow. I don't know exactly what they were up to, but it involved making stews for fairies with snowmelt, leaves, and grass.

The neighbor girls were just wearing sweatshirts, while Allie had on her snowpants and coat and mittens. Her mittens were soon soaked and they haven't begun to dry out yet. The house warmed up because of the sun outside so the furnace hasn't run for several hours. At night, we have an electronic thermostat which turns down automatically, so again the furnace doesn't run. I hope her mittens are dried by morning.

We had a very nice weekend and I hope it's a smooth week for us, and for you too.