Spring Weekend

Yesterday was beautiful, a little taste of Spring with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 50's.  Claire and I went to the beach, of course.    It was a bit cooler and cloudier there, but it was wonderful to be out.  

Today is another day of beautiful weather, but Claire was sick all night and this morning, so we'll be staying in.  We have the windows open, though, and just hearing outside noises for a change is refreshing as well.  

Been Busy

Things sure have been just rolling right along. Yesterday was my last day working at the job I started at the beginning of the year. The school is expanding and my position would have been full time starting in the fall. Claire will be in all day kindergarten by that time, but not during the hours I would have to be at work. So I decided to leave a little earlier and have the summer off. I'm looking forward to it.

We've been spending a lot of time on the yard this spring. Moles dug up our backyard last fall, so we have been planting a lot of new grass. Its actually going much better than I expected it to. In the front yard, we dug up a lot of sad looking bushes. Since the house faces east, the plants there get just a little bit of morning sun before the big maple trees along the street put them in the shade. I'm thinking its a perfect place for some hostas.














I'm not sure what the plant is that we left on the end, but I like it. I think it has bright orange flowers in the late spring. I'm not sure it will stay where it is, but with no new location picked out, its safe for the time being. Its been fun going to greenhouses and looking at all the options.

Welcome Back, Winter

So the 'Picture of the Day' was actually taken today (04-05-07). Overnight we got 10 inches of snow. I'm sure it won't stick around long, the snow already looks to be melting off the roads, but it doesn't exactly feel very much like April anymore. On the other hand, we'll soon be in Hawaii, so I can't complain at all.

In the mean time, we are having an incoming resident and her husband (Sadie and John) stay with us for a few days while they job/house hunt. They drove up from Washington DC last night, and a trip that should have taken 8 hours lasted 14 due to the weather. Then today they found out that a number of John's interviews as well as some showings were canceled because of the weather. Seems like its been a rough start for them, but hopefully they find something they like in both searches. If not, I really think John is all set to just move right in with us.

Spring Cleaning

I've been making some changes here at the halblog. Nothing too earth shattering, but a change is nice. I'm going to attempt a picture-of-the-day in the sidebar. Hopefully that goes well. I figure I've stuck with blogging longer than I expected, so maybe I can make the commitment of a new(ish) picture each day. Actually, now that I look at it, I have to change the picture I chose already because I've used it on thehalblog just a few posts ago. See, I'm getting better at it already. I expect I'll continue to play with the template until I find something I like, or until I get tired/frusterated with it. Hopefully I find something I like.

to the beach!

The last time I posted about how winter finally seemed to be giving way to spring, we got over a foot of snow two days later. So this time, all I'm going to say is, boy today sure was a nice day! Claire and I spent just about the entire day outside. First we went downtown and spent some time on the Maine State Pier watching the boats. We walked up to Old Port Candy Company (this is the only place I've ever found my favorite Jelly Belly, pink grapefruit, in bulk) and then wandered around Old Port a bit while we ate the treats we bought.

After being downtown, Claire and I agreed going to the beach would be nice, so we drove to Old Orchard Beach. We spent the afternoon playing in the sand, exploring, and collecting shells and other treasures. It was a little cooler and much more windy than downtown was, reminding me of a typical spring day like you'd have in Wisconsin. It was warm enough to take our socks and shoes off and stick our feet in the (cold!) water, but not warm enough to take off our jackets while doing so.

I haven't posted many pictures lately, but I'll make up for it today. Here are a few of my favorites, and you can check Flickr for more.

Warming Up.

It has been beautiful the past few days, and today has been the best so far. The skies are cloudy, but the temperatures are in the upper 50's. We didn't use our backyard a whole lot this winter, I guess we took our snowshoes and sled to more scenic places, but now that its warming up, I'm remembering how nice it is to have your own backyard. With a fence. And I think Claire is remembering, too.