Done with "ditching"

It is amazing how life seems to get in he way. I had always thought that as I got older, things would quiet down and I would have more time to work quietly on my projects. Well, either I was wrong or I am not old enough yet.

Spring is slowly moving in. We have had cold rainy days with windy sunny days mixed in.

The plum blossoms opened all the way to the tips of the branches and these days I am sweeping up the dark pink snow from out front.

As I walk to the station most days along this quiet street,
I have seen the magnolias open one by one ... starting on the left side toward the far end (where it gets most sun), and moving up the block to where I stand with my camera at the train crossing.

At the far end, in front of the apartment building, the tall square hedge of photinia has turned red on the south side facing the street and still has green on each end that is in the shade.

With today's wind, some of the magnolia flowers at the far end have been dropping petals, while at the end near the crossing, the blooms are just reaching full bloom.

I am so glad that this past winter the tree trimmers left the buds.
... well, they did manage to cut off all the buds on the dogwoods so we won't be seeing much there.

Along my narrow street, this small garden area which is usually all weeds, got a bit of cleaning over the winter and what were just a few daffodils has expanded. Now there is a whole row along the street.



Seeing these in bloom, I went around the house to check on mine. Yep, they are in bloom too. I hope they will multiply as generously as these have.

My neighbor to the north has camellias peeping over his wall. 

From last week I am sweeping up those petals blown into my front walk.

    

The pink sweet daphne is dropping it's flowers but the white ones are taking their turn in the flower bed.

I notice buds on the maples beginning to swell, and, though friends are posting pictures of cherry trees in bloom, our area is still far behind.

The star magnolia in the park is very pretty and the fuzzy bud casings are covering the ground.

The neighbor's hydrangea is getting ready to leaf out.
Today was warm enough to go out and sweep wearing just a light jacket. Soon dog hair will be wafting through the house.

Even with a very busy schedule, I have managed to complete all the in-the-ditch quilting on Phoebe's quilt. I am considering leaving the four-inch I-Spy squares un-quilted. The thinsulate I used for batting will not shift and I rather like those slightly puffy blocks. I will next be quilting the inner and outer borders. Then I want to add leaves to the tree and a flying phoebe in the larger space.

Yesterday began the spring break so I might have a wee bit more time ... however, last week I rescued some fabrics from the sewing room of a friend who needs to make room to care for an elderly relative. I must be out of my mind, as there was a lot more fabric than I can ever use. I have slowly been sorting, ironing the tangled mess, and folding into piles. I have cut some of the odd scraps into usable squares to sort into tins. I can see a feed-sack quilt in the future but dealing with this will be a continuing challenge. I am also thinking of making kits for a beginning quilting class. As I only buy fabric as needed, it blows my mind that someone would buy so much without a use other than to stack in piles.

Meanwhile, choir goes on with several small choir practices beyond the usual ones. Scout events continue and I have a coming OA Vigil to take part in. I am enjoying helping with a group quilt for Nishimachi International school.  Tomorrow is Leia's birthday. We had a nice gathering yesterday and I expect there will be a second gathering to celebrate my SIL's birthday early next month.
At least I am not likely to suffer from boredom!