more springing

Spring is getting even more into swing here - the cherry trees are full of buds, some of which have opened. Soon the streets will all be lined with pink! When I was at the Botanical Garden last week, their magnolias were blooming. I took yesterday off to garden, but it rained, so Douglas and I went recumbent bike test riding, instead. Today will be gardening day! I'm trying to decide what to plant in the few spots open in our garden - I'm thinking some cosmos, some poppies, some osteospermum, not sure what else.

Douglas finished my recumbent bike, and it rides like a dream! I'll try to take a picture today. He posted a movie on his blog. It's made of muffler pipe and pieces of other bikes. It's surprisingly easy to ride - though it's a little tricky to get started unless you're facing downhill. I'm getting better at it. He's going to build one for himself, too.

My commute is still a bit of a bear. I've realised/come to terms with the fact that it actually takes me 1.5 hours each way. That means 3 hours a day. I've never in my life had a commute that was more than 30 minutes each way, 1 hour total. So I'm losing 2 hours each day - that's enough time to watch a movie, or cook a nice dinner. Each freaking day. Thing is, our little house is great, and there's no way we could afford anything like it closer to the university. If we moved much closer, we'd have to settle for a little 2 bedroom apartment, no basement, no yard, and really hard to find a place that would take Saira. And she's a little too big to hide. 8) Not really sure what to do about this - will have to wait and see where Douglas ends up working.

And, just in time for spring/summer, I'm planning to start knitting my first sweater! It's a pullover, and I'm going to get some kind of fancy yarn - Rowan Felted Tweed. Fingers crossed that it turns out!! I spent a long time last night trying to decide which color to go with, and finally decided on dark green - it just barely won out over orange. I might still regain my nerve and go with the orange.