Got the Itch for Spring???

We do. The weather has been playing with us lately. We've had round after round of a few temptingly, warm and sunny days followed by snow, harsh wind and cold temperatures. While we're native Minnesotans and we're used to being bitten by the spring fever bug after a long cold winter, this year we seem to have been bitten even harder than usual. We're clambering for the temps to rise so that we can take our little Noah out in the evening for a walk around the neighborhood or to Como Lake. Today, Mother Nature really had it in for us. While it's bright and sunny outside, we're huddled inside watching the snow melt off the trees yet again. Yes, it snowed overnight again last night. Hopefully this was our last snowfall until next winter. We're crossing our fingers that the grass will now begin to green and we will see how our yard projects of last fall fared through the winter. We may have to reseed some areas, but we're hoping the majority of the grass took root and will be shooting up soon.

Kitty Cat Update: During one of the recent warm days, Tigra enjoyed some time outside. Well, maybe enjoyed is not the right word for it. Tigra sunned herself for a while, then must have gotten into a fight with another cat. Last weekend she started licking again and when Eric took a look, sure enough she had another bite. Ugg. Another $300 later, she's healing again. But we have decided that she can no longer go outside unsupervised. Tigra is not happy with us about this new arrangement. She is constantly running from front door to back door as we walk around the house, expecting that anytime we will open the door for her so that she can go out. Too bad, Tigra. No outside time for you. It's too expensive to let you go outside.

Jobs: Eric and I both found out this week, there will be lay-offs in our departments at the University and Medtronic. We're not sure yet whether either of us will be involved, so we're trying not to worry too much about it yet. However, we have decided to put any other house projects on hold until we have a better idea of whether we'll have jobs this summer.

Friends: We had a very nice dinner with friends, Megan and Matt, last night. The four of us decided to join a wine club together. Once a month, we'll gather at one of our houses cook dinner and enjoy our bottle of wine. Last night we had a petit sirah. It was very smooth and fruity. We loved it. I hope all of the bottles we receive will be as good.

Family: We're looking forward to seeing the family for Easter next weekend. We'll drive out to the Balsam Lake on Saturday for dinner with Eric's family and enjoy pancake breakfast and lunch together with my family on Sunday. The Grandparents and Great-Grandparents are looking forward to seeing Noah again and admiring how big he's grown.