HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY

Hey Handsome! We hope you have a great birthday today!

A Spring Pictorial

This was our view 10 days ago.  Brrr.  

This was our view 8 days ago.  A little sunshine.

This is our tender aspen tree.  Fingers crossed that the deer leave it alone.

This is our view today...  Or maybe lack of a view--we're fogged in...

Spring in Utah.  You just never know...

Ahhhh Spring...

Each morning I see the sun crest over the mountains.  The jagged peaks are still snow covered, but the snow is no longer light and fluffy.  Instead, it looks smooth and shiny from being melted and refrozen.  

No longer am I greeted by the soulful gray skies of winter.  Now, the sky warms under the golden sun to a beautiful, rich blue...   Even the clouds are more buoyant--plump and soft, no longer heavy and damp-looking...

The foothills are morphing from muddy, brown splotches into gently rolling mounds comprised of increasing amounts of green.  Their inviting appearance compelling explorers of both the human and animal kind...

The trees outside my window are still sadly naked.  But the little buds are swelling...  Soon they will be bursting to unfurl their tender leaves.  Before long, there will be dappled light streaming through the window instead of unbroken shafts of sunlight.

The forsythia is exclaiming it's happiness with a show of flashy yellow blooms.  The bees and butterflies are proclaiming their joy as well.  The birds chirp cheerfully as they greet their little friends.  It's a happy and friendly time of year...

It's a truly beautiful time.  Days full of growth and rebirth and hopeful promises.   Springtime!  Ahhhhh, spring...

A-A-A-Achoo!  

Oh, yes... and let's not forget the pollen...  the swirling, infiltrating, scourge of spring...  Isn't it tragic that the beginning of allergy season coincides with this beautiful time of year...  yippee, spring...  I can hardly wait...

They call it Pewter...

I made an important discovery today.  It would seem that although I'm a reasonably savvy shopper, I'm not so well informed about fashion...  I know...  Shocking, isn't it?

Let me introduce you to my favorite color...  I like to call it gray.  It has also been called grey, charcoal, heather gray/grey, slate, graphite, silver, gunmetal, smoke, and other assorted names.

One of the things that I probably like most about fall and winter is that gray is the perfect color.  It's a classic neutral.  It matches the mood of the weather.  It seems solid and reliable.  It may be dull, but it goes with a punch of any color without complaint.

For years I have worn my many-acquired shades of gray during the cooler months.  And I quietly dreaded the warm days when I felt compelled to transition to a brighter, less ambiguous color...

But today I made a discovery.  In my new enlightened consciousness, I have become aware of a new title for my beloved drabness.  Today I learned that if you entitle my favorite color (yes, I know it's not really a color--it's a shade) with the descriptive name of pewter, it is immediately acceptable as a summer appropriate color...  Oh, the happiness I felt when this awareness dawned upon me! 

Pewter!  How I love Thee! Let me count the ways...  Can we start with some cute, new shoes?