Happy is the Return of Spring

Today is Ostara, the pagan holiday marking the return of Spring (it coincides with the Vernal Equinox and if you're noticing the similarity to the name of the Easter holiday, that isn't coincidental either.)

I find myself needing spring badly this year. I can't complain about the Winter weather (hello, San Diego, anyone?) but it's been a hard one nonetheless. We've moved, dealt with any number of unforeseen maintenance issues in our "ready to move in" apartment, put up with several ugly work messes that seemed destined to drive me nuts, and gone through several minor (but annoying) illnesses that come and go and come again. We're no closer to having a second child than we were when we started trying (though all of the situations above might have something to do with that :-P) We're all just sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we need the spring and the flowers that grow to remind us that life isn't all sick days and doctors visits.

Next week, we're going to start planting our garden---all we need is some soil, and some help from the resident green thumb (my husband LOL) and maybe soon, we can start some life growing, within and without. :)

Blessed is the return of spring. :)

Itchy Green Thumbs

A number of years ago, when my husband and I were first married, we had a garden on the back patio of our apartment. I remember looking out our back patio window and loving the slice of life he created back there and even though--as we discovered---corn doesn't really like being grown in containers, the leaves, the smell of earth and the colors of the vegetables made everything more alive.

But we moved when word came out that the apartments were going to be converted to condos (*eyeroll*) and for a few years, there wasn't space to garden (and once the neighborhood cats started using what land we did have as their litter box...ick. Why would you even try to garden then?) Since we've moved again and---once again---we have a patio with enough sun to get some plants growing, we're going to try a garden going, on a small scale. No corn, no eggplant (a plant we grew until we both realized we hate eggplant,) no zucchini or squash (for now.) Just some herbs, sunflowers, and tomatoes. Enough to give us some greenery and life in the middle of apartment central. They're all in seeds for now, but eventually...yeah. It'll be green again on our back patio.

I can tell spring is coming (no points for observation to me there LOL---Ostara, which falls on the vernal equinox--is just a couple of weeks away.) I'm getting that itchy need to go dig in the dirt and smell potting soil and see something we've planted grow. And I want to show my daughter how miraculous and beautiful things can come from the smallest of origins.

Spring is almost here. Whew. :-)