"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb

At this moment last year, I was driving to IAH with my husband and sister- and brother-in-law on our way to a week of Parisian adventure. We arrived early Sunday morning to Charles De Gaulle and immediately lost our credit card to a ravenous ATM in the name of "security"... Not a problem. We still had our debit card - which was declined the first time we tried to use it.

All of this.

On a Sunday.

In France.

I was so frustrated and upset. 12 hours later we were able to contact our bank that handles both our credit and debit cards only to discover that in both instances our actions had been labeled "fraudulent activity"... even though we had called the bank a week prior and told them we would be traveling abroad, specifically to Paris. After some time on the phone, our debit card was reinstated.

This had been one of the most irritable moments of my life to date. The idea of being in a foreign country without access to funds, 5 days of vacation to go, and all forthcoming excursions (not to mention the whole needing food thing) requiring money was horrifying. Roger was *way* too calm in my opinion. Our vacation was ruined, and all he could do was be calm and thoughtful! We could just borrow money from his sister and pay her back when we got home! Did he, or the rest of Paris, not fully grasp that we, for all practical purposes, were penniless despite having responsibly contacted our financial institution in advance?

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I tried to convince Roger we should take a trip somewhere this spring break, like Vegas or something equally ridiculous. Planning it was put off time and time again. It was this amorphous idea that never came to fruition, and now I'm at home on spring break for the first time in a long time with the doglets... not quite sure what to do... but the promise of gorgeous weather is beckoning me outside.

mexican honeysuckle rising from what
was a dead pile of twigs a week ago

I'm finding that as well as I seem to be handling this new reality to which I belong, I have waves of anger and frustration that no one seems to fully grasp that something horrible has happened! There are times that I am at a complete stand-still, but all around me the world is still moving forward.

My gardens are definitely proof of that.

I made coffee this morning. I'm relearning how to do that. I haven't made my own coffee in years now. (We sprinkle the used grounds throughout the yard to add some acidity to our horribly alkaline soil.) I took my coffee with me as I made the rounds in the back yard, inspecting each plant to see where in the cycle of life it is, as I do regularly. I make a point of only planting perennials. It's amazing each year to see that those which appeared to have not survived the winter somehow make a comeback with the promise of warmth. Annuals have always seemed like depressing plants... bright and showy and then they wither up with the change of seasons. Perennials though always seem to know when to take a break, store up their energy, and then awaken in a way that can't help but make life seem hopeful.

My gardens are hopeful right now.
And I think a new rose bush is in order.

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.  ~Margaret Atwood

redbud in the back yard