So What's New? (Besides Spring)

*The daffs bloomed the SAME DAY I noticed they were up and had buds. Weird.

*Everything else decided to join them -- crab apples, hyacinths, early tulips, forsythia...hey, when things decide to grow around here, they leap into action.

Even our backyard trees are delicately leafing out -- a sure sign that we've had our last snow. (Yeah, right. Forecast for Friday is for more of the white stuff -- after three days of 70-plus temps!)

What's new around here?

We're FINALLY starting to feel a bit better, though we run out of steam fast. We both slept away much of Saturday and Sunday -- but if that's what it takes to be doing better, I'll do it. (Preferably with a doggy snuggled up against one hip.)

We're starting to see the preparations for Brazil coming to fruition. I need to order 500 candy necklaces (to hand out to the kids -- one of the few candies that doesn't melt in the heat). And there's a good deal of cleaning-up-reordering-stuff to be done for the business. But it is definitely going to happen.

I signed a contract for a new book! The California Gold article for Quilter's Newsletter has led to a new pattern book for the Kansas City Star...it will be about 'golden' trends, CG -- and some on Western pioneering and gold rush-type subjects, too.

Daughter #1 finished another semester of college! I am so pleased to see her heading on toward the finish of school...it's hard, keeping on. But worth it. I'm proud of her perservering.

And CRAZY QUILTS continues to do very, very well. It continues to be reviewed -- I have a bunch of articles to finish up about it -- and it should be reprinting, as we speak. In this age of hard times, it's still selling -- unusual for a book, especially unusual for a craft-related book. I'm really grateful.

We had a uneasy discovery yesterday...Google has a new maps section, and it turns out they started with the cities around Denver. Pop in an address, and you'll see it right there. What this means is that every single house in our neighborhood is online -- including ours. Pictured in four different directions. In clear (and occasionally) unforgiving color. We figured out the photo was taken last fall, before the snow set in, but after we'd planted trees in the front yard. (Thank God they're not showing the back yards, too....ours has more than its share of dog bones and winter refuse right now.) Strange -- we even knew it was a Thursday, early in the morning, because two papers were in the driveway -- the only day of the week this happens! And Buck, our oldest Weimie, retrieves the papers by 9 a.m. or so.

We were lucky. Our place looks reasonably ok, though I have heard of people permanently pictured in their bathrobes, headed out to get the morning paper. It all seems a bit creepy. Does the rest of the world NEED to see every address?

My parents' house in Michigan isn't online yet. Neither is Little Brother's house in Grand Rapids. But no doubt, it's coming. Both daughters' places in Boulder are there, though. Guess this is a benefit of living in Colorado -- your lack of privacy is splashed across the Internet, in living color.