I can tell spring has pretty much arrived in D.C. because of the burning of my eyes, the tickle in my throat, and the snuffliness of my head.

May spring soon arrive where you are, but may the allergies pass you by.

It’s a shorter weekend than usual with Daylight Savings Time subtracting an hour in favor of evening light. I know some of you have trouble with it, but I am always in favor of this change.

This weekend is a change from usual in that not only do we get less of it, but that Rudi is actually home at night! He hasn’t been here for a Saturday night since early January — and he’ll be gone starting next Friday for ten days coaching the post-season in upstate New York. He is excited for both races — and to see where the Lake Placid Olympics were held, so I’m pleased for him. And I’m pleased for me that that will be the last road trip for the ski season.

We’ve got the dvd of The Hate U Give penciled in for tomorrow night, although friends may be in from out of town, in which case seeing them will obviously take priority and the dvd can get bumped to Sunday night.

The rain picked up this afternoon just as I was going to run some errands, so I decided to put them off until tomorrow. Tomorrow looks to be dry and Sunday’s forecast is for highs nearing 70, so I think it was an okay tradeoff. Plus, one of them is over at the Navy Yard, so I can take a stroll through Eastern Market’s weekend stalls while I’m over there.

I may stop by the garden to plant some more peas and see if anything is sprouting yet. I wonder if I should wait before planting some seeds for greens — chard and kale and spinach — or if I feel optimistic about my odds now that it’s March.

I’m nearly done listening to Geekerella, so I’ll definitely be spending some time finishing it up while knitting my socks. I’d like to make a little time to paint my nails, too, so that’s some additional time I probably shouldn’t spend using my fingers…

And then there’s the usual farmers market and laundry and tidying.

But mostly I’m just looking forward to seeing Rudi tomorrow evening.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

The weekend included:

• New books and music, courtesy of my brother and his partner and our 2018 member rewards
• Pizza from my favorite local pizzeria, thanks to my folks
• Phone calls with my parents and both Karen and Grey Kitten
• Chores — laundry and vacuuming and floor mopping and kitchen tidying and sheet changing and shopping at the farmers market
• Sitting outside next to a happy baby
• Lots of hot chocolate
• Cookies left over from my birthday
• Hearing that my volleyball league got enough players to move forward this week
• A trip to the library to pick up The Hate U Give dvd
• Listening to my new cds — loudly
• Knitting while watching tv
• Reading — both on paper and on audio

My nails remain their same chippy selves, so I’ll probably just leave them until next weekend, when it’s closer to St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t start my Sock Madness sock, although I’ve narrowed down my yarn choices to two skeins. I also didn’t block the shawl. (Both of those things are on tap for tomorrow, as is some baking, since Rudi is back home now. And I pretty much know where the tax forms are, so mostly now it’s just a matter of filling out the forms.

How was your weekend?

Rudi is away and the weather is crummy and I’m PMSing, so I need to come up with a game plan for getting through this weekend — a mix of fun and accomplishment and self-care. Here’s what I’m thinking:

• Bake. I picked up buttermilk to give the aebelskiver pan my folks gave me for Christmas a try. And, as you can see, I have some Hubbard squash to play with. This was a medium-small one, coming in at less than 8 pounds and giving around 8 cups of baked squash to do something with. (The internet suggested I was going to have a problem getting into the squash, but I put it in the sink to give me the height leverage I needed and used Rudi’s big chef’s knife. I’m almost disappointed I didn’t have to resort to the tip I saw on more than one site, which was to throw it, with some force, on the kitchen floor to crack it. (I was going to put it in a bag first so as not to cover my entire kitchen with pumpkin.) I did use an ice cream scoop to empty out the cooked shells, an easy tip, which I pass along to any of you who have brought home gigantic squash.) I didn’t season it at all, so I’m free to use it for sweet or savory recipes, but it is naturally quite sweet, so I’m leaning toward the former.
• Paint my nails. I’m thinking Mardi Gras colors.
• Do laundry — sheets and underwear, not together.
• Partake of the member sale at the bookstore.
• Take myself out for pizza. Well, courtesy of Mum and Dad.
• Get outside tomorrow, when there’s hope for some sun, or, at least, a lack of precipitation.
• Pull together my tax documents so I can do a preliminary evaluation this coming week. My severance package was already going to make things interesting, but I’m even more nervous after hearing friends’ bill amounts this year. I’m hopeful that since the government deems nothing I own to be of value, it won’t be thousands more than last year, like some people I know.
• Mop (swiffer) the bathroom and kitchen floors.
• Play music loudly. My usual songs weren’t doing it for me earlier this week, but I’m thinking it’s because my phone wasn’t turned up enough. Note to self: Charge the speakers before going to bed.
• Block my shawl. (Kat asked what the yarn was earlier this week. It’s Crazy Zauberball in 1564 Frische Fische. So far, my query for leftovers on Ravelry has come up empty, although someone came close earlier tonight.) It’s modular garter stitch, so I don’t want to block it too vigorously, or it’ll lose all its nice squish, but I’m hopeful it could get a little deeper without affecting its texture.
• Get to the farmers market early enough for milk.
• Start my Sock Madness sock (once the pattern becomes available.
• Read.

How about you? What’s your weekend looking like?

Walking up to the park this afternoon, I saw signs everywhere that spring has nearly arrived.

This bunch of crocuses:

The daffodil finally popped:

And its brethren are set to follow suit:

I know many of you are buried under feet of snow and these signs are still a long way off in your own neighborhoods. But I hope you’ll take them, as I do, of signs that winter will not last forever.

(In that spirit, I wore footie socks out today. It was a mistake, but I did it anyway.)

This weekend included:

• A talk by an artist
• Knitting outside over hot chocolate
• Enjoying all the winter/sprint flowers

• Fewer chores than there should have been
• A lot more streaming tv than necessary (I discovered one of the libraries I belong to lets you borrow Acorn memberships!)
• Not flooding
• Cuddling Corey

• A very large (and delicious) salad
• A bagful of produce from the farmers market (including ingredients for cottage pie)

• Reading on Book Hill
• Enjoying zataar fries before the sun set

• Chatting with my folks
• Welcoming Rudi home

How was your weekend?