Spring and new adventures

Despite the fact that I've been sneezing and my eyes have been itching from the pollen, I love the spring days we've been having, rain and all. Actually, the rain is what keeps the pollen even reasonably bearable here in the Eastern swamp. The daffodils are up. There will soon be cherry blossoms all over the greater DC area, and the ground is turning green again. Today will be so warm that I'm not only not wearing my jacket, I've even pulled out one of my light summer shirts.

And tonight, I get to see if I've been practicing the right way, when I go to my banjo lesson. I'm way excited about the possibility of actually learning to play it, and apparantly, I'm not the only one. My brother in law last night asked me if I could possibly bring my new banjo to the Seder next week. I warned him that so far my only skills are tuning it and picking up and picking down. I can make sounds on it that make me happy, but nothing even remotely resembling a song. (I sometimes wonder if that perfectionism - I've only had a stringed instrument for a month, and only just arranged for lessons, and I want a song by next week?! comes from the high expectations that I learned as a gifted child. I learn so quickly, why isn't it instantly?)

And along with the high of spring - returning sunlight! warm weather! birds! there's the high of a new adventure (banjos!) and seeing so many of my projects coming to fruition - Dad's blanket is done, and the citrus blanket is progressing apace. The lace handkerchief is done, and my handmade socks are well on their way to being done. And the Afghan for Afghans is coming along as well. And once the citrus blanket and the Afghan are done, I've been going over quilt fabrics with my husband, considering a nine-patch variant for Quilts of Valor.

I feel like a seed that's been working slowly all winter, and only now am I seeing the sunlight. Now, I just have to learn "Red River Valley" on the banjo.