The May Long Weekend

After a visit 'down south' the previous weekend, I decided to spend part of my Saturday searching for signs of spring here in 'The North'.  Well, that's not exactly true ... my mission for the day was a trip to the health food store to buy some essential oils (more on this later), and I had my trusty little digital camera along and took some pix of the evidence of spring during my travels.  (There ... I feel much better for having 'fessed up!)

There has been quite a change in The State of Blooming Things in a very short time ...

Flowering bulbs ... finally!
Pretty pink tulips.

More bulbs!

Apple blossoms!

Soon-to-be lilacs!

A tree dripping with pretty catkins.
This nameless tree has white bark ... I know fruit trees,
not ALL trees!

 All that evidence of spring ... and the fact that the world as we know it didn't end at 6:00 pm on Saturday night! ... was enough to send me home and out onto my balcony, which I have to admit never got cleaned up last fall and was looking pretty disgusting.  Here's the BEFORE pix:

Looking to the left ...

Looking to the right ...

 A bit of digging, sweeping and re-arranging, and here's the AFTER pix:

Looking to the left ...
Yes, I moved my chair to the other end.
That way I can sit in the sun with my morning cuppa tea!

Looking to the right ...

 Most of last year's Balcony Inhabitants survived the winter ...

Humper and Thumper appeared quite glad to be back outside.
They weren't too fussy about wintering beside the bookcase ...
especially when Mizz Bootz played her rambunctious hockey games around the bookcase!

Rhonda and Rhoda the Whirling Flamingo Sisters
seemed a little doubtful about returning from their winter vacation
before the 1st of June ...

As the clouds grew, Larry the Lounging Lizard
appeared to worry that his heat rock was seriously malfunctioning!
I'm sure I heard a little lizardly plea for a little lizardly scarf and toque ...

The Little Rosemary Angel lost her head and one wing over the winter ...
She has been relegated to a safe corner while her neck and wing "heals"!
Let's hope that glue holds ...

 The May Long Weekend really is too early to get serious about planting anything outdoors here just yet.  We could have another snow storm!  Or at least another frost or two!  However, I couldn't resist adding SOME greenery to the balcony ...

L. & E. brought me over some parsley plants.
They enjoyed their own very first yard and garden last year,
and are thrilled to find some things reappearing this year ...
including parsley ...

They also brought me some mint.
I think it's peppermint.
Smells yummy!

I bought a half dozen little seedling geraniums.
They only cost $1.20 each, so if they get frozen,
no big deal!
However, I hope they don't ...

 After all that hard work, I baked bread.  Well, that's not exactly true ... my trusty bread machine baked bread while I was busy digging, sweeping and re-arranging, and it was finished just in time for me to relax out on the balcony in my (re-positioned and freshly cleaned) chair with my book, a cuppa green tea, and a slice of hot home-made bread with honey! 

Yummy for my tummy!

Mizz Bootz, the self-appointed Defender Of The Balcony,
kept a close eye on all those nasty helicopters
(AKA hummingbirds)
that kept invading Our Air Space!

 Had to deal with a bit of Long Weekend Company (nice to have guests, but nice to have them leave, too!), but did manage to get a bit of "thinking pink" knitting done ...

Cables and ribs ...
Little Person Cardigan worked from the neck down.

Armholes divided from the body ...
sleeves get picked up and knitted later.

Body knitted THIS FAR from where the armholes are divided off.

I know!  I know!  The date stamp on my pix STILL says 2154 instead of 2011!  I WILL change it ... eventually!

So you are probably wondering why my mission for Saturday was a trip to the health food store to buy some essential oil?  Bear with me ... it's a bit of a long-winded story ...

I'm part way through a graduate degree, and have been feeling a little uninspired academically speaking.  For the past year, I've been fighting an urge to take a course or DO SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT just for me, just for the joy of it, just to nourish ME.  But for the life of me, I couldn't imagine what that something was.  Music lessons?  Nope.  Language lessons?  Nope.  Belly dancing?  Definately not.  Finally, I asked "The Universe / The Great Ha-Ha / The Powers That Be" to give me a hint already 'cuz I knew I wanted to do something but couldn't figure out what.  The very next thing that floated into my world was an article about the health benefits of aromatherapy.  So I said "cute, Universe, but that can't possibly be IT!"  After six or seven articles / conversations / hints about aromatherapy ... and me stupidly responding "cute, Universe, but seriously now, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR ME ALREADY?!?!?!?" ... I finally GOT THE MESSAGE (duh!) and enrolled in an aromatherapy course.  That's why my mission for Saturday was a trip to the health food store to buy some essential oil!

Have you ever asked for guidance in making a decision like that?  Or tried to ignore provided guidance when it was provided?  And what did YOU do over the Long May Weekend???