April Showers Bring...

May showers. We're not there yet, but you just wait and see. Sure there are May flowers aplenty, but that doesn't do squat for squelching the nonstop flow of rain that makes up half of springtime. Now I'm not a rain-hater, I just don't care for Spring rain. It's clammy, pervasive, and constant. I much prefer the warm, grandiose rainstorms of Summer. The drops fall huge and warm amid the thunder and lightning, imbuing the air with the scent of spent blossoms and steaming blacktop with a hint of electricity. I love that smell... and the feel of the generous, warm drops kissing my hot skin... lovely.

I also like walking around barefoot through the grass and over the pavement when it's warm. The heat of the asphalt and the soothing coolness of the grass seeps into the soles of my feet and lifts my spirit like a benediction from Mother Earth. I think I need a new pair of flip-flops, though... last year's are irrevocably darkened with grass stains and sidewalk grit from traipsing about with my feet alternating between bare and flip-flopped according to my fleeting whims.

I recently finished knitting my first-ever pair of socks. It took just over three months because I took a leave of absence from knitting to engage in beadcraft halfway through the second sock. I guess that's what you call "second sock syndrome." Well, I'm happy to say that I finally overcame said syndrome and finished my fun little pair of faux-cabled socks in a lovely shade of Kermit. Here's some pics!















Aren't they fun? I'm so proud of myself for actually knitting a pair of socks! Thanks so much to my Monday night knitting buddies for all of your support and encouragement... especially to my vegan sock-knitting friend, who is such a master of the sock arts that she can even bust out a pair in a weekend. Amazing.

My all-time favorite wildflower is blooming in gorgeous little bunches lately.


Viola odorata, or "sweet violets" as they are commonly known, spring up in yards and parks everywhere. They are technically a weed I suppose, but I dearly love them. I wonder if you can buy seeds to plant them in your yard or home? I would really like that. Right now I have 2 1/2 African violets growing in my window (1/2 because one of them is still in infancy as I recently cloned it from a cutting) and their showy purple blooms are marvelous. I've finally mastered how to properly care for them, providing the correct balance of water, vitamins, and sunlight so that they flourish and bloom constantly. I've quite the collection of houseplants lately. Thirteen, I think. Not bad for a one-bedroom apartment, anyway. I give them water, vitamins, and rotate them regularly for even sun-coverage and they give me many smiles and feelings of accomplishment. An excellent exchange. I'll post more pics of my little green bretheren later. I'm gonna go do... something else. Don't know what yet. Toodles!