Slowly Spring Appears

At 40 degrees with morning drizzle and afternoon gray skies, it doesn't seem much like spring, but then again neither does it seem like winter.

Slowly there are signs of spring. My daffodils have not only leaves but now the flower stalks are about 8 inches above ground. The grass is greening up a bit. Lots of fat robins roost in the trees. The landscaper took the protective cones off of the rose bushes this week and removed the bright orange plowing markers from the sides of the driveways. 

Easter is 2 1/2 weeks away, and the stores oblige us with big displays of candy and toys and decorative rabbits and chicks. I even bought a Godiva chocolate bunny to unwrap and enjoy on Easter Sunday. Our church usually has a potluck brunch on that day; we haven't gone the last few years, but I think this year I will bake a breakfast casserole and join in. After church, I plan to hopefully grill a pork tenderloin (bake if bad weather); we can eat a bit later than usual. 

I was melancholy this afternoon. I thought about my Mom who has been gone about 20 weeks. My pastor is having chemo for his prostate cancer, and my niece will be starting chemo for recurrent breast cancer soon. We and our world are so broken. To change the focus, I got out my spring tablecloth and pillows for the sunroom.

 Time to think about the new life in Jesus we celebrate in spring.

Wednesday we had a first at Winona Literary Club as far as I know. Our speaker from Marcel Fund that ministers to the elderly in the Ukraine gave a very nice presentation. As she brought it to a conclusion, a guest who had Ukainian roots and was visiting at the invitation of one of our members hijacked the meeting. He stood up and started to give us a history lesson about the geopolitical events of Ukraine. Starting with the early nineteen hundreds when the Turks were a thorn in the side, he worked his way through the 1920s, 1930s Stalin oppression, and was starting in on World War II, when I politely interrupted and said we had a schedule to keep. Maybe that's why we are a women's club--no assertive insertion of our agenda on the members. ;-) 

At our next meeting we will go ahead and vote for next year's officers even though we have nobody to serve as Vice President. Originally, the soon-to-be President said she would only serve if she had a strong VP. She has decided we will cover her absences on an ad hoc basis using other officers or one of the executive committee members. She has been busily recruiting committee members and seems full of excitement about next year. That sure beats my burnout and minimal coping. I prayed much about this situation, and I feel this change of attitude and acceptance of no VP is God's answer. 

I asked my husband if we could eat supper at a restaurant tonight. Looks like it will be La Troje, a Mexican place in Warsaw. Yippee! No cooking and cleanup this evening.