It's here

Some people write messages in snow or mud, but here in Georgia, we get to write things in pollen (that is a brick on my front porch in the picture). The pollen hangs in the air like smoke and makes even the non-allergic feel crappy.

The upside: the blossoms! Everything is blooming; the dogwoods are drop-dead gorgeous (except for ours which gets too much shade).


I couldn't resist a little poetry (from Emily Dickinson):

1333
A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown—
Who ponders this tremendous scene—
This whole Experiment of Green—
As if it were his own!

Cheap Thrills

Lucy loves to pound on my laptop keyboard and I've given up trying to use the computer while she's in the room. But my friend Michelle gave me a brilliant idea the other day- get Lucy her own keyboard. So, tonight I got one at Goodwill for $1. I cut off the cord and it's perfect. I won't let her play with it by herself because she might be able to get one of the keys off (choking hazard), but now I might be able to use my own computer for a little bit while she's in the room!

Bonus: Mollie loves it too. She already has our old telephone (with the cord cut off). She definitely likes to play with toys that are realistic, so why not let her play with the real thing?

Congrats to Katie and Blake

They are the proud new owners of one of these:

Not this particular model... this is Lucy standing in.

A little girl, Claire.

Welcome to the world, little one!

Spring is near.

5 Years of Mollie

Happy Birthday Mollie!

You have grown into such a wonderful little girl. You are funny, sweet, thoughtful. You have your own sense of style. You are stronger than anyone else I know. You are my hero. Daddy, Lucy, and I love you so much!!

The Saga of the Toaster Oven

Our old, well-loved Toast-R-Oven died a few weeks ago. I did my best to try to find a suitable replacement. I wanted something basic to make toast, waffles, open faced sandwiches, garden burgers. I wanted something cheap. Nothing digital. No convection feature. Since the beloved Black and Decker worked so well for 8+ years, I decided to purchase the "new" version.

What I got was a real piece of crap. It burns everything and the heating element doesn't turn off, even when the timer goes off. The casing gets really hot. It is a cheap, dangerous fire hazard. So I'm in the market for a new, new toaster oven. Any suggestions?

Weather

My parents have been visiting (hence the blog absence) and are trying to leave... but their flight was canceled. So, they got on another flight. And now that flight is canceled! All of this due to ice, snow, and freezing temperatures. In Georgia!