Yesterday I began removing the winter mulch.  The iris had begun to show signs of growth.  By far the most welcome sight were the crocus. 

Yes, I am here and have been here all the time.   I was a little slow about posting and the longer the time became between posts, the easier it became to delay posting.  How is that for rationalizing?  The sad thing is that it is the truth. 

I took these pictures ten days ago.  The Dutch bulbs were just beginning to show in the garden and it looked like the snow might be making its farewell.  Unfortunately, I knew that new snow was on its way.  Winter just had to make one last hurrah.  Within a couple hours, everything in the pictures was recovered with snow. 

This morning we had some sunshine and it was beautiful; at noon it was warm.  Now it is gray, chilly, and drizzly.  I expect that the rain is washing away some of the snow.  There is still a lot to go and it acts like a huge refrigerator keeping the temperature down. 

I long for spring, gardens, and flowers.  This year, I plan to have an assortment of sunflowers, red Chianti, creamy Italian White, and rosy Strawberry Blonde.  I just found out that it is a good idea to give birds perches in the garden.  The sunflowers should do that but just in case, they are not adequate, I plan to get a couple shepherd's hook pot hangers for the birds. 

In Minnesota on the north end of the Mississippi, we do not celebrate Mardi Gras.  Although we have a strong German heritage, we hardly know about Fashing.  In our household, if it has to do with food, we will give it a try.  We have always used Fat Tuesday as a reason to have pancakes for dinner.  This year, it seemed like a fun idea to have a King Cake during the days just prior to Mardi Gras. 

I have taken a little time out to work on this project.  I long for warm temperatures, green grass, and spring.  Winter seems to be hanging on with a very tight grip.  This is spring break in the local schools.  My friends are visiting warm places with their friends.  I need a little spring;  the colors I selected shout spring to me.  They also echo Mardi Gras. 

During the cold, windy days of the past week, a pair of cardinals has been visiting our bird feeder.  The male does not appear as brilliant red as he was a couple weeks ago.  I wonder if the males have already declared their territory and claimed their mates and so no longer need the flashy color.  During the week, the female perched on one of the wire cages we use to support tomato plants.  The male appeared to bring her seeds from the feeder.  Yesterday it was so windy that both birds had trouble getting seeds from the feeder. 

King Cake and Mooch

Last week, this was the masterpiece, a king cake in Minnesota.  I honestly do not know how closely this matches up with a real New Orleans king cake.  I could not find coarse grained sugar to make my own sugar sprinkles.  I could not find purple sugar so I substituted lavender.  Unlike the New Orleans king cakes, mine does not have a charm or nut inside; it just did not seem to be necessary because if we have a king cake next year, I will still have to make it. 

What does Mooch have to do with Mardi Gras?  Truthfully, not much but Monday he amazed me.  I stayed home while Roger and Ben shoveled snow from the walks at church.  Our other son, Dan, declined my offer to drive him to work in favor of walking.  At the time he left, I was in the bedroom changing sheets.  When he raised the garage door to leave the house, Mooch raced down the hall, jumped on the bed and flew across the bed, landing on his hind feet standing on a box to look out the window.  I was curious about what he wanted to see; he trained his eyes on the street in front of the house.  There was Dan walking down the street.  Mooch continued to watch until Dan was out of sight.  So it seems that probably most mornings, Mooch is watching in the window saying good-by to Dan. 

This picture was taken a couple years ago in the summer.  It does show how Mooch looks out the window. 

Quaker Motif Box

It is a small finish but a finish nonetheless. 

 

For now, I am concentrating on the Quaker design.  I have finished the stitching and assembled the parts for the finishing.  At the moment, the glue is drying.  Everything is probably dry right now but I will wait until tomorrow to assemble everything.  As you can see, the Quaker design will become the top of the little box.  I have the pieces to line the inside of the cover and bottom ready to go into place. 

Winter refuses to give up its grip on us.  Today is a little colder than yesterday.  We saw a little new snow this morning.  It feels like the perfect day for soup. 

We have a kettle with short ribs and vegetables on the stove to make soup broth.  The scent is heavenly.