This April

April spoiled us with so many spectacular evening skies.

April has been the busiest and most eventful month of the year so far. After months of winter fighting to stay for as long as possible, in April, the weather has turned warmer and brighter and the days have become longer and much more lively.

Work time. Between researching jobs, applying and interviewing for interesting opportunities more than ever before, and finally landing my very first full-time job after university, I have been in work mode a lot this month.

Kitty cuddles. This month, it's become clear that little Mikka has truly become accustomed to our home and she's quite fond of us too. Some of the best moments for me this month were when she came to sleep in my lap or right beside me on the couch, and to cuddle as soon as I got home from work and softly rest her head on my hand. She's even spent a few nights sleeping next to me almost the entire time (as opposed to most nights, when she likes to party on the kitchen table with no one telling her she's not allowed there!)

Geese watching. One of my favourite parts about spring is watching the Canadian geese return from warmer climates. On our daily dog walks in April, I've seen some of the biggest and loudest groups I have ever seen. Besides admiring the birds themselves and their impressive levels of coordination and collaboration, it is comforting to kow that their arrival is a sign that warm weather is here to stay.

Working Girl

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with the post, but I like always having a visual element, and fresh flowers have been making me really happy lately.

This is an important time in my life; the beginning-of-a-new-stage kind of important. Just two weeks ago, after four long and difficult months of waiting, hoping and dreaming, I received a job offer and, since last Monday (April 22nd, 2013), I've been working at my very first full-time permanent job. I still can't believe that I'm already at this stage in my life, even though I've been wishing for it for a very long time.

School has been such an important part of my life. It is everything I've known until now and, for all these years, it has been both my journey and my main goal. Even now, several months after I completed my degree, I still haven't gotten used to this new reality that doesn't include class time and exam periods. In fact, before this job, I was just starting to become accustomed to a different reality that involved lots of time spent at home, with little routines and habits that I enjoyed and that I now dearly miss.

I miss not having a set schedule and quite a bit of free time to spend exploring my passions;

I miss the slower pace of living that I enjoyed while at home, taking the time to slowly wake up every morning, to savour lunch and to wind down in the evening;

I miss spending lots of time with little Mikka & Toby, though it's quite sweet coming home to wagging puppy tails and loving kitty cuddles;

I miss focusing most of my attention on living healthy and living green; on the flip side though, I am learning many new things that keep me busy.

There are both good and not-so-good things about my new reality, but this is the beginning of a new journey; I'm learning a lot along the way already, and hoping and praying for only good things ahead.

Hot Cocoa Moment

I won't lie, this winter has been a difficult one. It managed to break me down and get the best of me. Bitter, long and secluded are three words that come to mind, and they do not a happy girl make. Luckily, last week I decided it was time I take back control and find my joy again. Somehow, I don't know exactly how, I managed to do it and keep it up even through the many little setbacks that the week brought (Thankfully, there were just as many little successes to counteract them.)

Yesterday, we had a snowstorm. Yes, April 12th, 2013, well into the so-called spring season, we had a snowstorm. So, after the morning's errands were done, the only logical thing I could think of doing was to stay tucked inside and enjoy a slow afternoon. After lunch, I made myself a big cup of hot cocoa and spent a few blissful moments sipping it while watching the snow fall.

I have been fed up with this winter for many weeks now. But, over the last couple of weeks, I noticed that the temperatures (very) slowly but steadily crept up - on Thursday we even noticed that the tulip and daffodil buds have come up above the layer of mulch in our frontyard (!!!) - so I knew that it wouldn't last long, even if the weatherman predicted up to 15 cm of snow. (With temperatures going up to 8 degrees Celsius today, and even further up tomorrow, it doesn't stand a chance!) So, I didn't mind it. Instead, I spent those few minutes sipping my cocoa and looking out into our garden. And what wonderful minutes they were. It felt like the last effort of this long winter and the perfect way to say 'so long!'

• Mixing • Stirring • Sipping • Finishing off •

In other news, my almost-8-years-old point-and-shoot camera (the only one I've got!) is, sadly, on its last legs. The photos are way overexposed and have horizontal lines all over them. So with no way of capturing the moment through images, I tried taking a video of it - which seems to work perfectly fine still (with no sound capabilities, mind you; ah, the joys of this old camera...) - but that didn't turn out too well either. I did find a few good stills though, and I think they capture the vibe of the moment much better.

The Garden Chronicles vol. III

Now that I've said my goodbyes to winter, it's time to focus my attention on the season ahead, wonderful spring. One of my favourite parts about this season is that our surroundings are once again injected with a healthy dose of colour and livelihood. And you best believe that, after such long and harsh winters, we make sure to have A LOT of colour around us. This year, in addition to vegetable plants, we'll be experimenting with starting flowers from seeds as well, but there's still some waiting to be done on that front. So, to hold me over until our house is surrounded with beautiful bright colours, I thought I'd take a look back at the flowers from last year; they were everywhere and, to this day, looking at photos of them makes me smile.

On the fence of our backyard

At our front door

In the frontyard

If this year our flowers will be even half as beautiful as this, we're bound to have a fantastic spring and summer.

I'd love to know, what are you most excited about this spring?

Goodbye Winter

There is still snow on the ground, and layers are still required when heading outside, but last week was the mildest of the year so far. Between the increasingly brighter days and the steadily rising temperatures, I am starting to build up hope that we'll be able to experience the wonderful joys of spring soon. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to say my goodbyes to the winter that got a good grasp on our side of the world and hung tightly for as long as it could:

Goodbye blanket of snow; you were beautiful and magical at first, but lost your charm when you didn't stop accumulating until well into March.

Goodbye temperatures that have kept the mercury in our thermometers way below the freezing point for many long months now.

Goodbye heavy coats and boots, and goodbye my new cold-weather lifesavers; I've enjoyed knitting and wearing you, but it's time for lighter - and brighter! - layers.

Goodbye naked tree branches, bitter cold winds and grey atmosphere, we're all ready for some vibrant colours and warming sunshine.

Goodbye darkness that has kept us tucked inside our home for a good part of these winter months. We want to be outside enjoying the long days of spring and summer.

Goodbye winter preserves, you took a lot of work and time to make last fall and kept us well fed all winter, but now we're ready to delight in your fresh counterparts.

Goodbye dry indoor air caused by the heaters that kept my hands and lips perpetually in need of extra moisture, it will feel wonderful to turn down the heat and have soft skin again.

Goodbye winter, we'll meet again in December (and hopefully not a single moment sooner!)

I'd love to know, what about winter are you most glad to say goodbye to?

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This March

There's so much to say about March. So many events, so many emotions, so many thoughts and dreams have occupied my mind and time over the last 30 days.

Bursts of sunshine. We still have snow on the ground. The temperatures still hover around the 0 degree mark, only rarely rising further up. I was close to my breaking point with this cold, grey weather - a few tears of frustration may have been shed and blue days spent inside wishing I lived somewhere else - but unlike last month, we were graced with a few days or hours of sunshine here and there. I'm convinced that they saved my sanity for the most part, but at the same time made me sad that the warm weather is still not here to stay yet. The golden light that fills my room in early evenings of clear days has been so bittersweet: sweet because I thrive in sunshine, and bitter because I know that the darkness is just mere minutes away, without a promise of equally bright weather come morning, after those very long hours of the night.

New family members. This month we got a kitten and a puppy. They're both around the three month mark and quite a handful, but so precious. They're also the first pets we've had long-term - other than countless tanks filled with fish, two parrots and a turtle, all of which are quite low-maintenance - and adjusting our schedules to integrate them too has been quite a learning curve so far.

Endless planning. It feels like this time of year is wonderfully busy in the blog world, with new projects and ventures surfacing all over, and I couldn't help not feel inspired. I'm looking forward to supporting some of these new blogger initiatives, but at the same time I've been doing some planning and dreaming of my own, both for the blog and my life in general. Sometimes I get discouraged when I think about how much work will have to be done and how much time will pass before I can even get close to some of these goals, but right know I'm just hopeful and ready to work. It's a wonderful feeling!


If you'd like, you can read my other monthly recap posts too: January and February!