It's Everywhere You Look - Spring!

I CAN smell it in the air and see it amongst the muddy leaf-matted soil: It's the sprouting of green things, with colors of purple and yellow here and there. (Lots of yellow here in the crocus bursting forth in the back yard with an explosion of pollen for the bees, if there are any. Click on the photo to check it out closer.)
On the trees there's a slight hint of color at the tips. The weeping willow down the street is turning a chartreuse shade and buds everywhere are swelling. You can't keep a good man down - of a woman either. (Man! I never thought about how sexy spring sounds.)
Things have been busy here in our neck o' the woods. We had company from out of state - from Minnesota, Georgia and Washington - and it was great fun to have my sister's children and two of mine, plus spouses, get together for dessert one night. I somehow managed to clean up my craft room enough to reveal a floor we haven't seen in some time. It was a perfect place for paper and crayons. After dessert, the small ones went outside in the dark (they're not so very small, so it was OK), with a flashlight, and ran around until one fell down. But you know how that goes. It's par for the course, and the one who fell down healed quickly and wasn't traumatized.
I didn't get to include the artists - they're too quick - but it looks like they had fun, doesn't it? Plus, quite a few of my letter stencils got punched out for me. Small fingers do quick work.
There was a baby visiting too and I got to hold him and do that mouth-blowing-thing-on-the-belly that makes a rude noise and makes kids laugh. (Do you suppose there's a technical term for this action? Guillermo (Gil/Billy) is perfect. He's the baby I wrote another post about because he has blue eyes, just like our mother and his maternal grandfather, for whom he is named. You can google "Gil" using the tool to the left.
Here is our star magnolia ready to pop. "Finally!" it's saying. "I thought the day would never come."
And last, but not least, is the copper embellishment going up around the skylight in the shower. The shower isn't quite ready yet. The tile has to be sealed and a couple other things have to happen, but we're getting closer. And now I guess I've caught you up to date - femminismo