Blame it on DST

I was so careful.  I changed all the clocks (furnace thermostat, microwave, bedroom, living room) last night and made myself go to bed early, and even fell asleep pretty easily - not the usual outcome when I get in bed before midnight.  I woke up at the new 6 am, and did not curse the fact that my body was convinced it was still 5 am.  Admittedly, I was dragging a bit, and didn't manage to get out and do the weeding that was on the plan for this morning, but I made it to knitting group on time and did not drop any stitches or otherwise screw up the pattern for my current shawlette. 

Came home, did a bit of weeding and cleared away the dead foliage from the Japanese forest grasses in the sideyard -- so nice to see the bright spring green shoots poking up through the soil! - but didn't do too much else because it's never a good idea to spend too much time weeding the first time I'm out there for the season.  Went back into the house, and decided to work on the drawstring project bags I cut out earlier in the week.  New project bags for new projects, coming up! 

I cut out the corners for the boxed bottoms, stitched up the side and bottom seams, pressed all the seams open, la la la la la....  I do these assembly line fashion, so I had four all stitched up and ready to turn before stitching the lining bottom close.  I turned one, stitched the bottom, pressed the top seam, picked up the ribbon for the drawstring, and realized...

I forgot to leave an opening and stitch a channel for the drawstring.

Seriously? 

And of course, I had left the sewing machine on the very small stitch length that is its default...  And the bag is lined, so that seam allowance is not easily accessible.  Grrrrr.....

I knew what I needed to do.  I did it.  My project bag now has a drawstring installed.

It's a cute project bag.  I like it. But I am Not a Happy Camper.  Daylight Savings Time, thief of sleep, I hate you.

Meteorological spring - I'll take it

There was much talk around Seattle last month about how early the ornamental fruit trees started blooming.  I have wanted to believe that it wasn't incredibly early for all of this, but when I look back at my out-and-about photos from the past few years, the start of the flowering seems to be as much as 3 weeks earlier than usual. 

These ornamental plums down the block always get my attention when they start blooming.  Here they are in 2013:

March 11 2013

Same trees, 2015:

February 15, 2015

In 2013, my Ogon spiraea started blooming in mid-March and hit its peak arounnd April 1st:

Here it is on February 22nd, 2015:

(Don't ask me why I don't have photos of either of these from last year.  I seem to have been fascinated with plants in other parts of the neighborhood last spring.)

The thing about plants blooming this early is that one can't help but be afraid that some nasty weather system is going to swoop down out of Alaska and smack the flowers into oblivion.  We had snow on February 9th last year, and it's not unheard of for us to get snow in March (2009, I'm scowling at you.)  But once we get past March 1, the chances for really nasty cold weather get more and more slim every day.  The equinox is days away, but we're now in meteorological spring, and I can stop feeling anxious about an Arctic front ruining my inner happy dance.  Along with the spiraea in my garden I have crocuses (croci?) and daffodils, and I can see the very beginning of the purple lilacs (the white lilacs hold out a few more weeks.)  Around the neighborhood, the usual early bloomers have been in evidence -- heaths, pieris, daphne odora, hellebores, camellias - but now the star magnolias and brilliant yellow forsythias are claiming their spot in the landscape.  And the new leaves!  I love that early spring green, which is starting to be everywhere, but I also love the brilliant red of the first new leaves on the photinias:

Mind you, an early spring also means an early surge by weeds in the garden.  I had commitments that kept me away from my dirt this past weekend, and the dandelions and shotweed I see every morning taunt me with the reality of what happens when rainy days are interspersed with warm ones.  Guess I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees this weekend.  Cross your fingers and hope the current weather forecast holds up!



p.s.  This is what those pink flowers look like close up:

and they smell good, too!