BACK TO WORK (APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH)

FRI 01 APR 2011 4:23pm  So, here it is April, the cruelest month, according to T.S. Eliot. It certainly is a transition month, with everything green just waiting to burst forth, and the last of the snow melting with the temperature rising. And my personal winter is over since I got the clarion call to return to my place of employment. It actually doesn't seem so bad, I guess because I've been off so long. And it helps that I got a lot done that I'd planned on. And some I hadn't.

I'm sitting in the bright late-afternoon sun in my workshop. still amazed at the beautiful plank floor I put in just this past week. I was surprised at how fast it went. And it makes a huge difference. There's room to move around. It feels solid, not like the dirt floor it had been. Easier to keep clean. Room to lay stuff out. It's the shop I've always wanted. And the crazy part is there's enough floor space, with the table saw easily pushed out of the way, to practice dancing. We have a ball room now!

A couple of days ago we went for our first walk on the beach. Not much glass showing yet but we did find one really nice piece. There were still a few hills of ice and snow, but most of the water is free. Colts' foot are out on the hill-side. Little yellow harbingers of spring. A whole world that lay buried beneath the snow for a good four months is now rushing to make itself known. Soon I'll be writing on my back porch. It will be the for the first time, because I started this blog in January. 

Tried to start the motorcycle today. It cranked but, not quite. Put the battery on the charger again. It drained fast so probably needs more juice. If that doesn't work I might have to drain the gas and put new in. That worked one year. But, it's amazing how often, after it sitting outside all winter, it's just started right up. It's a 1982 Suzuki. I wonder how many new ones would do that?

 Met Lori for lunch in Dover last Thursday. Really good visit. She gave me a book called The Yellow-Lighted Bookstore by Lewis Buzbee. It's a memoir and a history of the book trade. When he was a teen and being disparaging of the books his parents read he was upbraided by an older woman who pointed out that they did him a favour in bringing books, any books, into the house and made reading a natural thing to do. I had the same attitude and now feel upbraided along with him. 
A few pics of Port Dover follow.....

Had a bit of a day away. Went to a few thrift stores. J was looking for some dolls she can use in her class to show how the spine bends. Something to make it fun. Then we went to a big mall to look for beads. Didn't find any but went into a music store and was pleasantly surprised at the large selection of vinyl records. And these are new, not used. Also had little record players that look like the portable ones we had years ago. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't kill vinyl. Lifts my heart. Photographs and printing that you can actually see with older eyes. Long live LPs!