Spring

The daffodils are here and the tulips will be coming up soon.  Within a couple weeks or so, our front garden, after 10 months of looking fairly blah, will be covered in color. 

I noticed a few years ago that it always snows one last time after the tulips are in full bloom.  Every year, after we're already spending some quality, coat-free time in the yard, it's hard to believe winter isn't over yet.  But every year, without exception, mother nature shows off with yet another surprise storm. 

Other things we can count on each winter, like shoveling snow, and a visit from the jolly old elf himself, are cracked knuckles.  No matter how much lotion we use, the dry, cracked, bloody, sore knuckles happen every year.  But, this year, we had a nice surprise; Anyone who used our handmade soap every day, had no problems with cracked knuckles. 

Just before we started making our own soap, we unwittingly bought two giant bottles of liquid soap.  Some of us quit using it and noticed an immediate difference in how soft our hands were.  But, in an effort to use up the liquid soap, we continued to keep a bottle of it in the bathroom. 

Some of the kids preferred the ease of using liquid soap and, over the course of one, long, dry winter, paid a heavy price for this preference.  In the worst case, our youngest daughter's knuckles looked for a time as if she had been in a fist fight with a beaver.  But, with some good lotion and a whole lot of Whimsy bar soap therapy, she was soon cured of the problem.  We believe she will go on to live a happy and normal life. 

As for the tulips, I’m hoping they'll show up soon.