Here's an excerpt on Ostara (one of my new favorite holidays because it signifies a beginning to the end of all this snow!!!)

"Ostara: Celebrated between March 20 and 22, Ostara (or spring equinox) is one of the two times of the year when night and day are of equal duration; it is a holiday of balance. Ostara is a time to rebirth our new selves, clear away the clutter in our minds, and wipe the slate clean in our lives. See life in nonextreme terms - neither too terrible nor too fantastic. In nature, flowers are blooming and the world is abuzz with new life. Ostara rejoices in the beauty of our unique selves and in playing with impish delight. Find balance, plant individual expression, believe in abundance and fertility, face fears, cry and allow for all emotions. This sabat represents dawn on the Wheel of the Year..."

I'm very excited that Spring is on its way, but I'm also trying not to get TOO excited because winter is still pelting us with snow and icy winds. I took a walk this evening, and it was pleasant enough, being that it was 0 degrees outside, but with the wind it was a lot colder, and as I was walking along looking at people's trees and gardens, etc all covered in snow, and the warm glow of the lights in their houses shining out into the cold blue night-time air, it seemed a whole lot more like we were about to hit December. (Shiver). I'm so ready for Spring.

I can feel that I am getting restless too - I spend countless hours a day doing mind-numbing tasks at work, and between times am sneaking to read gardening articles, look at lawn care stuff, dream up projects for decorating our rooms inside, drooling at the new spring and summer fashions, and today spent quite a bit of time looking at the activities this rollerblading club in Ottawa offers (I signed up - can't wait!)

So I am trying to remind myself that winter's not done yet, and I'm forcing myself to try to relax and enjoy the cozy down-time we have right now because it won't be long before we're working on a million things at once around here. I have big plans to redo a couple rooms that have been bothering me in the house, and Luc and I both want to tackle the lawns and stain the deck and fences (not to mention adding a section of fence, you know, just incase I ever get a DOG).

We definitely have our work cut out for us, but I'm soooo looking forward to it. The downside is that I have been hearing that we're in for an abnormally cool spring and summer. I hate cold summers. We had one three summers ago, I remember, there were few days that I could take a walk at lunch and not have to bring a jacket because the wind was so cold, and out on the river we couldn't swim it was so cold.

So here's hoping it's warmer than they say... (Fingers crossed).

Anyway, until it's warm outside, I have a ton of stuff to get through inside - like Mom's site (yes, I still plan to redo it!!), some sewing projects if I ever get off my arse and into a fabric store, and lots of cleaning because every closet and drawer in this house is jam-packed with junk. For the first time ever I feel like I need to 'purge' the house of unnecessary things. This is not at all common for me, I normally hoard things like there's no tomorrow (Luc can attest to that), but for some reason, I can feel the junk behind those cupboard doors (I"m going crazy, yes) and it bothers me, so I have to clean it out!

Anyway, my spirits are slowly lifting because, as my excerpt eludes to, I see this as a new beginning in the year, where things start fresh and life kind of picks up. There's a lot to look forward to - from a painting course I found that takes place at different outdoor locations around Ottawa, to our yard projects, to rollerblading and BBQing on our back deck with our (hopefully) new BBQ. :) I think this is going to be a fun summer, regardless of the temperature as we had another couple of friends just move into an apartment near our neighbourhood, so summer dinner parties on the deck, here we come! :)

I've been pretty stressed out lately. I need a good vacation or at least a little break from work I think! One nice thing though, is that on weekends, I get to relax and do whatever I want, which includes standing on a kitchen chair with Zappa climbing up the back of my jeans with his damn claws(!!) and taking pictures of my cozy home that I love so much. :) It's nice to remember there are corners of the world that are all your own, where work stops at the door and sanity returns (or, like me, you can run around in circles, displaying your INSANITY and not have to worry about it). :)
Zappa cuddling with his budddies, and Cricket hanging out in the living room, listening to some Norah Jones. :)

Going to see '300' tonight. Should be an interesting movie - it was filmed near Montreal, with no scenery whatsoever, all green-screen. Well, gotta go cook some steak and taters!! :)

xo

So another b-day has come and gone and I am finally 1/4 of a century old - 'over the hill' as Jessica Simpson would say. ;)

Yesterday was a nice day in a way because I was tired, (as usual!) and it decided to dump a crap-load of snow on us, so there was literally NO ONE at work, so I could afford to relax a wee bit.

Luc had a basket of flowers delivered to my office (sweet boy that he is) - it has mini hostas, african violets, ferns, those cute pink winter flowers that I can NEVER remember the name of, etc. in it. So I moved 'Octavius' the testing worm into his new gigantic home (the plants are growing in soil, not cut, so it will hopefully last a nice long time!). Very nice to add some greenery to my office anyway. :)

So at 2:00 my boss said 'well I am going to go bike shopping' so I said 'well, I'm going home' and that I did - to take a glorious nap (naps are always glorious on a week-day afternoon). Then we went out for dinner with friends. Myranda made a 'luscious' chocolate cake (that girl has the magic touch in the kitchen, I swear), and the restaurant gave me a $25 gift certificate, which was a lot nicer than a bunch of waiters banging on pots and pans and singing at the top of their lungs or whatever. The place we went to, George's, was really nice too - very 'posh' - it's new. I wouldn't have chosen the name 'George' as it doesn't represent 'posh' or up-beat, or modern to me, but oh well.

Anyway, I guess that's it (I just finished entering plant-related ramblings on my garden blog so I'm feeling all blogged out).

One last thing before I go - I decided to wash up this old 'Crown' fruit jar that I'd found in the shed. It has the original glass top with a really old rubber seal and the big metal screw-on top. When I got it clean, I realized it's really nice, and probably an antique. I wish I could figure out how old it is - the bottom says: 1932 with a D inside a diamond (I did learn that E inside a diamond represented Eatons, so this must have been sold in a store that started with a D maybe?) and the # 13. I read too that jars with #13 on them are supposed to be rare because superstitious people apparently would smash them or throw them out. The numbers can represent anything from the machine number, to the number of jars the particular worker made that day, etc. No site I've found has explained how to figure out the year, but 1932 would be wicked cool. ;) Anyway, so it's now my seed-packet holder. :)

Sorry for the rather 'lame' post, but I need some zzzz's.

xo