The household mood seems to be a direct reflection of the weather outside these days. It is cloudy and chilly today, consequently we have a household of crabby people.

Actually, all it takes is one crabby person to make a household. Crabbiness is a state that is, unfortunately, infectious. The cure for AJ�s crabbiness seems to lie in his new batting helmet [I�m imagining a restaging of Wagner�s Ring with a bat and magic helmet instead of the traditional spear and, well magic helmet, but a different sort of helmet. Watch the Bugs Bunny opera cartoons and you�ll know what I�m talking about]. Whenever he puts it on, he is a different person. Fortunately, he has taken to wearing it around the house from dawn until dusk. But there was a brief period after school where his head was bare and he managed to spend an unprecedented 10 minutes in the naughty corner.

There is no such magic helmet for my husband or I, alas. Then again, there is no naughty corner either. Maybe there should be.

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I attended a new yoga class last night, since I�d missed my usual class this week in lieu of attending the Sox game with AJ. This was a much more difficult class. Although it was listed as a drop-in, everyone there had apparently been coming for a long time. I was the only newcomer. They were also all way younger and fitter-looking than I. I was a little nervous. The class was very tough, but in a good way. However, it quickly became apparent that I have a most unyoga-like competitive streak. I have to fight my tendency to want to do yoga better than my neighbor. It�s kind of pathetic how excited I was that I managed to hold kakasana for over a minute and was pointed out by the instructor as the only one in the class who pulled that off. Take that, all you 20 year olds! Never mind that you probably don�t go right home and down Advil and glucosomine with your organic green tea to make sure you can still move in the morning. This evening I plan on consuming some less healthful beverages at our neighbors� (Yoga Teacher, her husband, The Girl Next Door and her brother) to help them christen their newly-built bar. That is, if I can still move.
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I leave you with a few pictures of the garden, taken a week or two ago. There are many more things blooming now, but I still like the way it looks at the very beginning of spring.

Virginia bluebells by the log bench:

Lilacs by the woodland path:

Crabapples and flowering quince:

Marsh marigolds on the stream:

The plum tree:

The side yard:

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