23 April 2008 Day by Day

Below are "before" and "after" pictures of the entrance to the path in my blog of March 25.The pictures were taken from the same place. On the right is the entrance as it is now. What a difference a month makes! Rain is predicted for later today and tomorrow. That really makes the snow melt.

Here's a poem I wrote on April back in the 1980's. The feelings expressed still hold true today.

April
Birches are wearing

The barest illusion of green,
The robin celebrates
Winter’s numbered days
As the north wind rages
In sunless cornors where tatters
Of gritty brown snow resist.
Winter-chilled hearts cling
To the robin’s song.

Below is a postcard I made using a pad of watercolour paper made for creating postcards. I've had the pad for years, but this is the first time I've used it.

18 April 2008 At Last!

The snow is finally retreating underground! Notice that the grass is greening up as the snow recedes. It would be greener, but this patch doesn't do well even in mid-summer.

Ground floor neighbor made snowsteps to shovel from the top down.

The tree below my balcony. Before melt-off started, the snow came even higher up the trunk.

Rascal can't believe the temperature!


Two cards for ladies with newborns in my Ink Stainers group.

16 April 2008 More Spring!

Rascal and Fripon, bless their kitty hearts, have found bliss on the balcony. Their needs are simple; give them fresh water, plenty of their favourite kibble, the treat of some "wet" (canned) food once in a while, and several cozy nooks in which to sleep and dream, and their happy. Add in a sunny balcony with no snow, and they're in kitty paradise. They cautiously sniff the air as they stand at the open balcony door, and on venturing out, immediately throw themselves down on the sun-warmed cement and roll back and forth, then rise and engage in some stretching exercises and sharpening of claws on the cement.
Here's another spring card, using the same technique as the April 7 entry.

These four ATCs are for a Four Seasons swap for ATC Artists.

15 April 2008 Spring Fever

Making eight copies of the little spring truck ATC put me in the mood for making a spring-themed card. The warm sun and green grass creeping out from the edges of finally-melting snowbanks helped the mood along.
Here, we usually skip spring and go directly from winter to summer. As long as there's snow on the ground, there's a sharpness in the air, in spite of the mild 40+ temps. As soon as the snow disappears, the temps rise and soon, we're complaining about the unendurable humidity rising from the St. Lawrence. People! Go figure! If God had a head, he'd be constantly shaking it, trying to figure out how to satisfy his sons and daughters.
The blues in the card remind me of endless, cloudless skies that stretch in a protective bowl over me as I bask in the sun on my balcony with "the boys", Rascal and Fripon. Soon, the days of breakfast outdoors will be here. Can't wait! Remind me of this post if I complain of heat in the months to come.

14 April 2008 Punch it out!

I was looking through some of my old Stampington magazines, and saw cards that made me punches. I remember my disused decorative made four ATCs today, an art form I've neglected lately. Proving, perhaps, that everything old becomes new again, if left in a drawer long enough.

8 April 2008 It might as well be Spring!

Almost didn't need a jacket today! Temps in the 40'sF, snow melting, birds singing, the cats on the balcony, basking in the sun... Of course, we did have one monster of a blizzard on 1 May many years ago, and there's always the giboulis of April. Translation of "giboulis" would be inadequate. The best I can do is to say it's Québecois for the type of snowstorm we get this time of year)
The picture was taken this past Sunday in the parking lot of my church. Too bad they didn't bring their skis!
Here are Fripon and Rascal. Too bad I had to evict them from the bed so that I could make it
up. Don't worry, they'll find another equally comfy spot!


Below, two cards I was inspired to make by a cuttlebug tutorial. The ribbon on the House Mouse card is pink. The scanner was thrown by its shine!

7 April 2008 The snow is melting, the snow is melting!

Hopes of spring are finally bearing fruit! Not literally, but yesterday the temps were in the 40F range, and tomorrow we're to see the thermometer up to 55F! Wonder of the thermo remembers where that is on the scale. This, plus the longer days filled with sunshine are plenty of reason to celebrate, so I think I'll have a second cup of Java. Hope spring is sprunging where you are.
This card is another technique I found on the SCS site. Here's the link: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/04/02/dappled-light-garden-tutorial/

3 April 2008 Closin' My Eyes and Thinkin' Spring!

The idea for this card came from a visit to this site: http://www.heartprints.net/gallery/cuttlebug/page/1/
To anyone living below the old Mason/Dixon line, with all due respect, there's no way you all can truly appreciate the arrival of spring. I grew up in Oklahoma, and I know!
It's not the snow, ice, or cold that's gets most of us up here in the truly frozen North, it's the length of winter, and the short days. One starts the working day in the dark, and those coming home from outside-the-home jobs come home in the dark. For a couple of weeks now, we keep saying to each other every day, "Almost seven p.m. now, and it's still not dark!" So, even though there are tons of snow on the ground, I can close my eyes and smell spring coming! When I visited the above link, I just had to make a cheerful spring card!
Easter brought the hope of Eternal Spring, and to you all, I wish a lush and abundant Spring 2008.