Get Down

One of the items on our 25 for 25 list is to dance every day. To be honest, daily dancing? Has been a stretch. Sometimes Heidi will turn on the tunes, and I'm just not feeling it. Even so, if I make myself get up and boogie, I always feel better. So that's what I'm going to do today. 

Psst: for a couple of fresh, new, fun-to-dance-to songs, check out APT by Bruno Mars and Rose and End of the World by Miley Cyrus.

Making the Call

I have been meaning to call my aunt for weeks, maybe even months, and today, before I sat down to review the material for my debut science classes tomorrow, I took a deep breath and stretched my arm out to reach for my phone. As I tapped on her contact, I knew she wouldn't be mad-- she hasn't called me either-- but I missed our connection and regretted not reaching out sooner.

She didn't answer her cell, so I left a message and then dialed the number I knew by heart, the one she has had my entire life, and she picked up on the first ring. Oh! What a pleasure it was to hear her voice and spend time catching up. When I told her about my sub gig, she made me promise to send updates. "Kids are so different today!" the long-time middle school secretary lamented.

"I don't think they're that much different than last year when I was teaching!" I answered, and we laughed, acknowledging that at least that much hasn't been radically altered in the last few months.

Before we hung up, we promised to do a better job of keeping in touch in the future, and when I set my phone down, I breathed easy, because that promise didn't feel like a stretch at all.

Shopping for the Rainbow

I wasn't sure if the grocery store would be closed on Easter, but in this diverse area, of course, they were open for business when I ran up there for some last-minute additions to my menu. Since it's Sunday, the produce department was pretty picked over, and they were sold out of the microgreens and fennel I wanted to garnish my crudo with, so as I shopped, I pivoted, considering instead some of the ingredients I had on hand. 

I added radishes and a jalapeno to my hand basket, certain they would complement the snapper, along with the apples, chives, and redbud blossoms at home. With white balsamic, a little lime, and some meyer lemon olive oil, I'm confident the dish will be just great!
 

Saturday Shopping

Several fun birthday-related errands to prepare for my brother's dinner tomorrow night had me up and running today. I wasn't sure whether stores would be busy or not, but I found that most people were spending their Saturday in other ways, which was fine by me. 

Even so, every place I went, I ran into someone I knew, or rather, they ran into me. Since I was so absorbed in selecting the perfect ingredients for the meal, I never saw them until they came to say hello. Seeing my neighbors out and about gave me a warm, small-town kind of feeling, which was a nice welcome back after spending a week away.

Free Space

This challenge was pretty much a non-starter on this travel day, and try as I might, I couldn't think of a twist or a spin to make it work. So I'll take a mulligan and offer in my defense how I embraced earlier challenges. For example, once back at home, I nurtured my plants. I also noticed new things on the now familiar 400-mile journey from Buffalo, like all those cops in Pennsylvania. And I sang, too, holding that note in Lovely Day almost every time. All in all? It was a pretty active day, even if it was spent sitting on my butt. Oh, and I will definitely go to bed in good time.

Grow, Babies, Grow!

We have been watching the weather all week to find the best day to do the outside chores Heidi's mom requested, and when the sun returned today, and after a cold morning, we enjoyed a mild afternoon, so today was the day. We made quick work of hanging the swing, rolling out the grill, and placing the picnic table in its summer spot. Then, after we connected the garden hose and cut some forsythia branches for an early spring arrangement, it seemed like a natural next step to head over to the garden center. Their selection was still a bit sparse, but we came back with some thyme for the garden here, and a few little tomato plants, some leeks, and snap peas for our garden at home. 

They have been freshly watered and gently packed, ready to make the trip south tomorrow. I can't wait to get them in the ground!

April Flowers, Not So Much

The day was frigid and blustery. Snow flurries and ice pellets fell from the iron sky, but the dogs still needed walking, so we bundled up and headed out. 

Here in Buffalo, we are 4 degrees further north than DC, which translates to a much later spring. At home, the lilacs are blooming; the daffodils and red bud are nearly done, and the trees are leafy. Not so here. Only the earliest daffodils and sprays of forsythia lent color to the leaden day. This far north, the hours of sunlight are impressive, though, and spring will be here in glorious blossom before too long. They have so much to look forward to, if only they can last another cold week or three. 

But of course they can! It’s Buffalo.