I'm jumping for joy--my photos will now load again--sort of! They'll load in explorer but they won't load in firefox for some mysterious, unfathomable, deep-seated computer reason. However, explorer is VERY slow and stubborn--unlike firefox that just zip-zips along.
So let's finish Spring and segue into Summer--shall we? I'm SO ready for it! Especially with our past few days having been exceptionally spectacular! Last weekend we even got everything drug out of the catacombs of the shed--and the storage unit--and I even re-discovered some unexplained missing items! How's that for some Spring cleanin'!
The wild flowers are poppin' up everywhere--along with chubby little fist-fulls of straggly bouquets looking for tiny vases!
Spring Cleaning
On the first day of spring, whenever that may be, any day of March, April or May, the sky is swept clear of cloud and rain and winter murk, the morning sun shines in through the kitchen window, and there is a little warmth in it.
Start to spring clean, very early.
Turn out cupboards. Sweep to the back, clearing all the debris of spilled rice and sugar and currants and dead ants; rub away the sticky round rings of jam and marmelade. Throw out half-empty packets and half-full jars with lost lids, and dented cans and unlabelled bottles. Rip off the dirty shelf papers. brush cobwebs from corners.
Soon, everything smells of hot soapy water, and woodwork drying slowly in the sun and the spring breeze blowing through the open door.
And then, if you can, whitewash walls, with a wide flat brush, slip-slap-slop in the pail.
And later, sit out on the step and turn your face up to the first spring sunshine and, like Mole, "Hang whitewash!"
From Through the Kitchen Window by Susan Hill, illustrated byAngela Barrett
"Linen Ballet", by Wendy Newcomb, gouache
"There's something very comforting about hanging out wash on a summer's day. On this particular day, the breeze that came off the lake animated the sheet in such a graceful 'dance' it inspired me to try to capture that feeling in paint."