It's finally spring time!

This is the park by our apartment. I love how well-used it is when the weather's nice. That's the Boston skyline in the background.
Baby leaves
Grackles are camera-shy, but I got this one! The males have really cool iridescent head coloring.

I love the sun shining on the flowering trees.
It's so interesting watching the seasons change everything. The trees are empty of leaves during winter, and you can see right through them. Then the buds start coming out, and the flowers, and before long, there will be huge leaves, thick and bright.
Easter with Greg's family. Back row: Paternal Grandma (Jean), Dad John, Mom Sue, Sister-in-law Shaney, Aunt Sally. Front row: Brother Mark, friends Logan and Marie, Greg, me.

San Diego!

Greg and I went to San Diego a couple of weeks ago. It was such a wonderful trip. We brewed beer, ate sushi, camped in the desert, ate Mexican food, saw my family, snuggled the family cat and dog, Greg turned 30, went to the Wild Animal Park and aboard the USS Midway, walked along the beach...Awesome!

Click here if you'd like to see the photos.

Late Spring

Winter hung on for a long time this year, but it's finally getting letting go. Yay.

My Second Cross Country Experience

Greg and I went to New Hampshire for the weekend. We went cross country skiing and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. I'd been cross country skiing once before, about two years ago when I visited my friend Anna in Finland. This time, I took a lesson, which made a huge difference. Pretty quickly, we moved from the green trails (easy) to the blue trails (more difficult).
Here I come...

Crash!
Luckily, we went over the process of getting up from a fall in the lesson. First, get your skis in the air so you can untangle your feet.





And I'm back up. Even with the fall, I had a really fun time. Greg, too.


This Snow Coach brings people up to the top of Mt. Washington when it's snowy. You can also hike up like Greg and I did. Mt. Washington is known for having the worst weather in the world.

Below, that tree is growing out of the rock.

This time I didn't fall; I just wanted to cool off.
Most of the snow in Boston was melted by this point in the season, but further north and at higher elevation, there was still plenty of snow. We even had light snowfall on our second day out.
The snow was incredibly fluffy and light. We had an awesome time.

The Beginning of the End of Winter

Spring is trying so hard to break through. Here are some flowers-to-be, just starting to sprout, and there's a dusting of snow on their new baby leaves. And the turkeys are back! I saw this gorgeous fellow by himself, but I've also seen a group of a few adults and three younger ones that I think are last year's turklings (poults if you want to be scientific about it).

The frozen Charles River. This photo is from February 21, and I caught it just in time. A few days later, the ice started to crack, and now it's all gone.
Back when there was a lot of snow. This was a very light, fluffy snowfall.

I knitted hand warmers! Greg's mom gave me a kit with the yarn and a pattern. Good thing, because they go crazy with the air conditioning at work.
See how far from the curb these cars had to park because of the snow?!?

Winter Wedding in Vermont

Greg's and my friends Logan and Marie got married last month in Vermont. It was a perfect winter wedding.

A bunch of people went sledding after dinner, and Marie needed the right gear.

Greg went sledding and, unlike Marie, changed out of the clothes he wore to the ceremony and dinner. He did put a tie on, though.
This guy was cross country skiing with his dog.

Sledding

Greg was one of Logan's witnesses, which meant he stood up in the wedding and gave a speech at dinner. Two large lodges were reserved for the wedding group, and the bride, groom, and their parents stayed in the main lodge. There were thirteen of us staying in our house, and I think we got the best room. Huge picture windows, a gas fireplace, a large closet and bathroom - it was awesome. Here I am knitting by the fireplace in our room.

Above, the view from our room. Below, more of the picture windows. We arrived midday Friday and it was sunny. The wedding was on Saturday, and it started snowing during the ceremony, which we could all see out the windows beyond the bride and groom. Perfect.