Weekend Fun and Pain
It's below freezing, the wind is blowing, and it's snowing. I know it's spring because I read it in the paper. Did someone forget to tell the Mother Nature?

Yesterday, in the afternoon, the sun came out and it warmed up to the 50's (F). Granddaughter Kimmy and I went to a Maple Sugar Festival at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. We got the see the sap running, the sap boiling, and taste the finished product. Yum.

Spending the afternoon outdoors in the woods with the first signs of spring was delightful. Sharing it with Kimmy made it a special event.

I managed to fall down and hurt my left big toe. It's swollen and black with bruise. It hurts. I have it propped up as I write this. If it's not better tomorrow, I'm going to have to come out of denial and get it x-rayed to see if it's broken.

Fortunately, I was able to ignore the toe and continue to enjoy the Maple Sugar Festival. The toe got gradually worse throughout the afternoon, but I didn't go into limp mode until Kimmy had been delivered safety back to her mother in the evening.

I'm guessing that walking around all afternoon on an injured toe wasn't the best thing for it, but I'm not sorry. We had a great time. It was one of the first beautiful afternoons of spring and now that winter is back I can sit around with my foot elevated.

What Happens at the Equinox
Questions from Sunday Brunch.

1. Do you get a spring break?

No. At the moment, there is nothing going on it my life to take a break from.

2. Some of us are pretty casual about spring cleaning. Others go to it with a lot of gusto. Which are you?

The house gets ignored even more than usual as I spend all my energy working outside in the spring. I love it - until the blackflies hatch in April.

3. Is planting flowers or a vegetable garden on the agenda?

Flowers. We have shade almost everywhere, so I plant Impatients.

The Kalamazoo area is the bedding plant capital of the US. I love walking though the greenhouses in the springtime. It usually results in a flat or two of some plant I've never grown before.

Most of our property is planted with perennials. We have hundreds of hostas. Lily of the Valley grows like a weed here.

4. Do you suffer from allergies and do they get worse in the spring?

I have mild allergies and they do get a little worse in the spring. I ignore them. They're worse in the fall, and I ignore them then as well.

5. How will you celebrate Easter this year?

Quietly at home.

I am the only church attending member of my local family, so it's not a big family holiday for us.

Church on Easter is an overblown crowded production. A few years ago the elders asked the "regular attenders" to park at a nearby soccer complex and take a shuttle to the church on Easter so that the "guests" could be sure and find a place to park. That request solidified my feelings about the Easter service, and I've been skipping them ever since.

What are your thoughts on Easter Sunday Church Services?