Yay me!

I sanded the fireplace mantel yesterday. That was the evil part of the job--it involved moving furniture, rolling up the rug, and covering everything in the room with old bedsheets or plastic. Then I spent an hour or so employing power sanders and elbow grease, and another hour on the interminable cleanup of all the DUST. Ugh.

Today all I have to do is paint it. That doesn't seem so bad.

Despite our blustery weather (in the 40s this morning with frequent icy blasts of wind), roses and clematis are starting to bloom here in Greene County. I also noticed that my potted poblano pepper plant (try saying that ten times fast) has flower buds on it.

Baby tomatillos and lacinato kale in the garden. Apparent survival of a few cauliflowers. Excellent.