Spring is here

As always, I can hardly believe almost five months have gone by since my last post.  Winter has gone and already some of the bulbs we planted in autumn have come up and some even have produced flowers.  Two weeks ago, I showed our 4,5 year old granddaughter round the garden to admire the many purple crocuses and some white ones that she  helped plant.  And as ever, she was very enthusiastic and excited.  Since then, more daffodils and some tulips have come up.  I’m very excited about the tulips myself, as I don’t really remember which colours they are. 

The garden is still looking good, although I will have to remove a bit of weed as soon as it is a bit warmer during the day on a weekend.  I mowed the lawn for the first time this year after work last week and washed my car the following day (also for the first time this year I’m a bit ashamed to admit).  It is the Easter holiday and it is sunny and getting warmer, although we had some very cold nights with some frost even.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so nice last Saturday (it rained !) and on Sunday we went to one of our grandson’s birthday party, very nice to see all of them, but that meant there was no time left for gardening.

We have had a rather mild winter.  We had a couple of nights and days with some frost, but no snow.  A lot of rain though, but we are used to that.  Of course we live under the influence of the sea that makes our climate, in winter but also during the summer, milder than inland, and we are hardly ever without at least a slight breeze making the warmer summer days more agreeable. Some weekends in March were sunny but quite windy.  A couple of weeks ago, I took a Friday off to do some thorough cleaning.  I guess I suffered from a bout of spring cleaning fever.  I used to laugh at my mom when she did what we call 'big cleaning' (grote kuis in Flemish literally translated).  I scrubbed the kitchen floor......on my knees no less.  My husband said it reminded him of episodes of 'Upstairs, downstairs' where the maids would scrub and polish floors on hands and knees. 

With the weekend gone, the weather is improving again.  Just my luck ! I have to work of course. I’ll have to take care of the weeding after work tomorrow I guess.  I didn’t feel up to it today as I’m not feeling very fit.  I didn’t get much sleep last night, but I’m sure I’ll make up for the lost hours tonight.  Our holiday is coming nearer.  We’re going to Jamaica with our friends from Antwerp.  I’m hoping to get a little bit of a tan before we go (and lose some weight again).  Still have some time left for that, but the older I get, the more difficult it is (the weight that is).  I should exercise a bit more.  I still go to the pool every week with the granddaughter, but as I said before, I can’t really swim with her.  We just play around in the kids pool.  She can’t swim yet but she’s like a little mermaid.  She’s not afraid to have her head under water. 

Less happy things have also been part of my life the last few months.  I visited a former colleague, friend really,  that is seriously ill.  She seemed to enjoy the visits, so I'll certainely go see her again.  I also found out that two others have serious health problems.  Kind of confronts you with your own mortality.   All the more reason to do the things you enjoy most.  Easier said than done I know, but I'll sure give it a try.

So you can see why I don’t spend much time writing and there still is so much to do around the house.  Hope summer will be good (for you too).  Keep our fingers crossed.