spring has sprung. the bright light on the pancakes, coming sideways through the window, tells me so. the syrup tastes better too, warmed in its jar by the windowsill while we wait for the coffee to brew.

i'm neck deep in reading about things completely new. quasars and pulsars and what comet tails are made of. clear days mean clear nights and clear viewings of worlds far away.

worlds back in time.

when dear friends visit you're reminded of your own world back in time. like looking through a telescope and seeing that same smile, weathered only in the way smiles are when they're compounded.

these flowers are everywhere, dressed in their easter finest. i can't wait to hide chocolate eggs around the house sunday morning and act surprised when i'm the quickest to find them.

when bugs leave these swirly texts under the bark of fallen trees i think of hieroglyphics and the importance of leaving your message behind, whether you have two legs or six.

in the book jeremy bought me about ancient civilizations who've been lost i'm thankful that some of them thought to write things down so now we can know what was important to those people who have gone.

what mattered to them.

steph matters to me.

also sandwiches.

there's a program on the computer where you plug in your postal code and it shows you the night sky from your location. tonight we'll see saturn.

maybe saturn will see us too.

and while you're at it, go to see that king tut exhibit too. make a day of it! stars in the morning and ancient egypt in the afternoon!

this was a pretty incredible exhibition just the age of it and the beauty of it and how you're looking at something that's both ancient and other worldly. like back in time and forward in time at once. maybe i've watched stargate too many times but the history of our civilizations and the future of our universe seem intrinsically linked. like cosmically we're all connected. like all of us are made from the same stuffs.

egypt has some pretty amazing stuffs.

just go and see.

this movie will BLOW. YOUR. MIND.

if you don't already think space is amazing, you will afterwards. and if you DO already think space is amazing, maybe wear a hat to keep your blown mind from exiting through your ears.

there's so much to say about the things you get to see but it's more important that you see them for yourself. then we can start a club and talk about it.

i have important news! i'm an astronomer!

i joined the royal astronomical society of canada! i've enjoyed stargazing for as long as i can remember but beyond picking out a constellation or two, i'm only really skilled at looking up with my mouth open in awe of the night sky.

my new membership includes a local astronomy guide, a subscription to a bi-monthly astronomy magazine, access to telescope rentals and members-only viewings of exciting astronomical happenings at the local observatory. like meteor showers! and asteroids!

once a year there's a convention for members to learn about top secret astronomer-only information. my welcome package says 'members are invited to participate in a weekend of sharing astronomical ideas, projects, and, especially, good times'.

PERFECT! i love good times.

jeremy is an associate member which means he gets some of my full membership privileges but not all. like he doesn't get a vote in national society affairs . this really changes the whole power dynamic in our house.

to infinity and beyond!

x

i thought it was going to take way longer for things to start growing since i only planted seeds last weekend but seeds sure like to prove me wrong or knock my socks off or both things at once, those little rascals.

i don't really understand what the trigger is for them to turn from seed to seedling, i've been told it has to do with the seed feeling energy in the soil and just knowing that it's time to go.

whatever it is, it's amazing and when i saw the first green bits of plant busting through the soil in my peat pot nursery, it was a moment my downstairs neighbours will always remember.

on a small scale it's the study of plants, on a large scale it's the study of all life created from a single seed. some of these sprouts are actually edible as is but i'm just too anxious to watch them grow to end it now.

GROW MY PRETTIES! GROW!

if i wake up with a beanstalk leading up and out the window, i'm totally climbing it.

hang dry the linens! fluff the feather bed! estephie gherkins is coming to toronto!

she sent me this lion photo a while back and i saved it in my email to look at when i needed a dandy lion lift. monday's are good for those.

steph arrives sunday and leaves the following monday and any large gifts of welcome can be sent here, attention me. i'll be sure she gets them after they are tested for quality control.

what do people who love each other send in the mail besides flowers? giant cookies with icing sugar happy faces, of course! and don't forget the sunglasses!

i wonder what the cookiegram person thought after receiving this order. maybe that i was 10 and in love with someone inappropriately aged.

today we're going to jenn cairns house to visit her new kitchen. she just got her whole first floor done on a tv show so she's famous now but still quite humble as she managed to squeeze us in for lunch. i'm going to take her a plant to give those tiles something living to aspire to. or remember. do tiles come from living stuffs?

i had a thought last night about babies and how much plastic things babies are surrounded with in the form of toys and bottles and vibrating chair type devices. i wonder what consequences there are for so much plastic so early on in life.

when i look at pictures from my childhood and i'm indoors in the picture but there's a window in the background and i can see the outside with the trees and the pond, i physically ache for returning to that kind of simplicity. that honest beauty that nature does better than anyone.

we're lucky where we are, living in the city but so close to trails and ravines and a sky less interrupted by light, but i still see more buildings than trees. and i still long to get back to where that isn't so.

my mom's garden is starting to bloom. in bc the spring comes sooner cause even the seasons are a sucker for the sea.

jeremy just came in to find me in the nest chair in the reading room. he stuck his head in the door and made a beeping sound and i replied with more beeping and we laughed at how strange we both are. and how lucky.

i'll go make us some coffee and we'll enjoy it together on the couch before the day slowly chugs into motion.

as a welcome weekend gift i'd like to give you this treat.

warm up the oven!

xx

boy! how time just wizzy wing dizzles right by! you're a mom now and your lawn is landscaped!

remember this picture? lucy wasn't yet a west coaster, i still wore prescription lenses and sophie was busy creating herself inside of you. we all had ice cream and walked along the lakeshore and took a series of photos under this tree not realizing your shirt was the same perfect colour as the fallen petals.

you're always the girl that sort of thing happens to.

happy birthday giraffe! here's to decades more of spring coloured photo ops.

a nursery is delicate work. each seed has a different shape to consider direction, each type has a different instruction to dictate how far down. in the end you sow the seeds and wish them individual luck and hold your breath until something green pokes through the peat pellet.

this is our first year growing a garden! in nesting preparations i made sticks with labels and pictures in case reading is ever too laborious. the seeds start inside before the last frost and we encourage them with care and the vibrations from the train and the theme song from buffy.

i run over to see them if we've been out for more than an hour in case they're the sorts who like to do things in private.

there's chamomile and lavender and purple coneflower, verbana and gaillardia and sunflowers. sea holly, moonflower, snapdragons and a big bag of wild flowers for all the in-betweens.

some are annuals and some are perennials and some bloom at night and emit a sweet scent. some can be cut for a vase on the table and some can be dried to bring sweet dreams.

some bring butterflies.

come out, come out and see the world! in all its splendid cycles! we can't wait for summer picnics in the garden, i have just the hat.

jeremy thought it would be a fun idea to take pictures of me with all the snowmen we encountered while out for our sunday stroll. i thought he was a genius to have ever come up with such a plan.

this guy lost his nose and his eyes, (but none of his personality).

look who's all ready for the gold medal game! he shoots, he scores! he drinks hot chocolate and melts all over the place!

on the way home jer suggested we go a different route so as not to miss any snowmen. that i found and married this man is proof of perfection in matches.