One Month Into Springtime Round Up

The snow has melted. Finally! Unfortunately, it has left behind some unpleasantness ::shakes fist at damage caused by ice dams:: but that is going to get fixed in the coming month or so. Hopefully before June because I would like to be able to use my guest bedroom and right now I can't because the carpet is all pulled up. (If you look at the photo to the left, that was the ice that was flowing down the exterior walls of my house like a glacier. I had no idea that was possible.)

The bulbs I planted this fall are in bloom and seeing the bright pinks, purples, and yellows when I pull into the driveway at the end of the day makes me ridiculously smiley. (It's also a surprise to see where everything ended up because I started late and by the time I was done, I was throwing bulbs hodgepodgedly into whatever holes I could make in the ground.) Ocean State Job Lot, FTW!

I am frustrated with my iPhone since the iOS update. I have a 4, and I really wish that I hadn't installed the new software. The phone hasn't been really right since. (I JUST WANT TO SYNC MY PLAYLISTS AND PODCASTS!!!)

Shakespeare's birthplace

Happy birthday to William Shakespeare, who was born 450 years ago today in this house in Stratford upon Avon, which I was lucky to visit 5 years ago! I love that people find value in saving the houses of famous writers. I really want to go visit Mark Twain's house in Hartford this summer; I haven't been to the house since junior high school!

The grass at my house may need to be mowed in the next few weeks, which I am not looking forward to because of my allergies, but there is something really satisfying about how the lawn looks when you finish.

I promised Sister B that I wouldn't post any photos of my nephew on the internet. So I won't. But trust me when I say he is really cute, like blonde with dimples cute. Which is a good thing (for him) because he is about to enter the Terrible Twos. On Easter, he pushed me and told me to "Go away, Amennie!" (which is how he says "Aunt Melanie".) Of course, he changed his tune when he realized I had chocolate. Two can play at that game, SweetPea.

And because it wouldn't be a post from me without a Brit telly roundup: lots of good programming on PBS recently. I am hooked on both "Call the Midwife" and "The Bletchley Circle". I don't think that it is possible to watch an episode of Call the Midwife without reaching for a Kleenex, and I love the smarts and camaraderie of the ladies of Bletchley Park. Not loving this series of "Mr. Selfridge" as much as I did last season; the characters are far less likeable. Even the charming Henri has lost his allure, and Agnes needs a boost to her confidence and creativity. I hope it will rally in coming weeks, but I am not watching it real time any longer, watching "Game of Thrones" instead.