Housewife, 54

 If memory serves, March came in like a lamb, but in the mean time, it has also been pretty much like a polar bear!  Our weather continues to fluctuate wildly - spring for a day or two, then back into a deep chill.  The weather forecasters are trying to tell us that as of today we are on a warming trend suitable for spring, but I doubt that forecast holds.... In any case, I vote for spring.  I have started a few seeds and most are coming up on schedule. Onions are up and growing for the past month, some herbs and flowers are already pricked out and potted up, and more seeds are planted and up.  And then my grow lights went on the fritz so everything has been carried upstairs to sit in the sunny window of the dining room.  Not ideal, but I hope that is temporary. Pansies, parsely, basil and celery potted up. Peppers are slow to germinate, brassicas are up and going, and                         ...

 It would seem that we have done everything possible to cheer up the month of February: Groundhog's Day, Valentines Day, President's Day.  But it doesn't usually work for me.  February almost always means 'flu.   This year, with a twist!   We had a plain old headcold at the beginning of the month - just enough to mess up making Valentine's Day cards and feeling too crummy to go out.  Here are the lovely papers that I had laid out to make my cards with... Stampin' Up designer series paper from at least a year ago. It is still laying on the table where I left it..... We thought that if this was the worst we got, then it was going to be an easy winter. Silly oldies to think such a thing! That little germ was nothing.... Just as we were both beginning to feel better we got hit with a NASTY 'flu virus!  Aches, coughing, headache!  My skin hurt so bad that I could neither move nor lay still....  And as I was coming out of day 2 of THAT me...

 Back in early October when my DiL suggested a sunny get-away vacation with them sometime in January or February, of course I said YES!  She started hunting for cheap flights to different locations and after finding out that friends of theirs were going to go down to the same city she was considering, the date was set for the week of January 10-17.  I thought that was a bit early, but it seems there is a slump in tourism just after Christmas and before the Spring Break holidays start later in February, so she found good prices.  And after the deep freeze temperatures we had had since Christmas, it felt really good! We had enough time to clean up and recover from the Holidays and get ourselves organized for take-off.   I had been concerned about my house/pet sitter situation, but then remembered that I had a young friend here in town that could be trusted to check in or take over in an emergency.  When I contacted her to ask if she could be emergency ba...

 Just for the record.... After all, this IS my "diary", such as I ever do a diary. Christmas was nice.  Nothing terribly fancy, just ourselves and the DS the Elder and family. I got the little sweater finished for Baby Girl.  Even though she is 2, the size is 12-18 mo.  We had Christmas Eve at our house, with soup for supper and cheese and snacks sent from DS the Younger from Wisconsin.  Oh, opening some gifts and Christmas Cookies, too. Christmas Day was at DS the Elder's house, so kids could play with new toys at home. A delicious dinner! DIL did a great job on the roast! Grandma (me) made the hot rolls. The next week we tried to get back to some kind of normal, but didn't quite make it.  No school, so we had DGS the Eldest full time, and one afternoon, I got the Littles from daycare early so they could have time at Grandma's House, too. The tree came down on the 26th, but not the rest of the decorations. They stayed up until the next weekend. Trying out ...