I’m excited to have a full weekend at home after so much traveling. Here’s how I think I will spend it:

• Knitting: I am super far behind on my Sock Madness socks, which are supposed to be finished by next Saturday at noon for me to advance out of the qualifying round. I don’t know that that will happen, but it would be great if they were further along than they are now.
• Cleaning: The two things topping my weekend list are really opposed to each other. I cannot clean and knit at the same time, and the cat gets really grumpy when i tie a swiffer cloth to his belly and a duster to his tail. But, also, our apartment looks like a way station and things need to get put away.
• Doing laundry: Underwear is in a dire spot, and I have no clean sports clothes left. Plus, I have to go to a congressional briefing this week, so I should make sure I have something clean and unwrinkled for that. Also, laundry mountain could have an avalanche and suffocate us while we’re sleeping, so it’s good to be proactive about that. This will require going out to procure quarters.
• Reading: I have less than ten chapters left in my Inspector Gamache audiobook, and I can listen to that while doing other things.
• Paying some bills: This includes the mundane monthly items, but also sending our friend a check for baseball tickets and our garden our annual dues, which are both good kind of bill paying.
• Hitting up the local bookshop’s quarterly member sale: My brother gives us a gift card for the store, which sells both books and music, every Christmas. I don’t know that we need anything right now, but it’s fun to look.
• Stopping by the garden: I planted peas and spring greens a couple weeks ago and want to see if either have come up yet. And the violets, since daffodils, croci, and hyacinths are now blooming. Plus, I could probably throw some more peas in the ground.
• Going to the library: If I get going early in the morning, they’re accepting donations for the Friends’ sale for an hour, but I’m not convinced that will happen. But I also have some things to give back and a couple things to pick up, so even later in the day will work.
• Baking banana bread: To keep my colleagues from throwing away fruit at the end of the week, I told them to freeze any past-prime bananas and I’d recycle them into bread for the office. My coworker alerted me to the fact that an entire bag had accumulated while I’d been traveling, so now I need to follow through on my promise.
• Sleeping in: We lose an hour this weekend, so I should definitely try to stockpile zzz’s for the upcoming week. I know they say it doesn’t work that way, but I’m willing to believe scientists are just confused on this point.

What are you hoping to do this weekend?

March 1 is the first day of meteorological spring (as opposed to astronomical spring, which is the vernal equinox later in the month), and if this weekend is any indication, D.C. is skipping the lion part of the season I grew up with in New England and skipping right ahead to the lamb:

Are there signs of spring where you live?

This weekend was a good one. It started on Friday night in Fort Lauderdale, where I caught an outdoor family-friendly concert and craft fair. I sang along with plenty of pop songs, ate a crepe, and generally enjoyed being outside on a February evening.

Most of my Leap Day was spent at the beach, although I did precede it with a bike ride over to a local farmers market. I picked up baked goods, a baguette, burrata filled with nutella, oranges, strawberries, and tropical fruit, much of which became my breakfast and lunch. I read on the sand, dipped myself in the water, and enjoyed people watching. (There’s a lot of Instagramming that goes on at the beach, particularly on the first official day of spring break season.) The sun was setting as I arrived at the airport, which seemed a pretty fitting end to my trip.

To kick off March today I did sleep in a bit today before getting up and heading off to the farmers market. My team had our final bowling match of the season and then we each headed out our own ways. My friend Sigrid and I strolled back toward Dupont together, possibly our last such walk, since she and her husband pack up to move back to Germany at the end of the month. I did a little grocery shopping, got in some phone time with my folks and my friend Laura, made a lasagna, and did a very little bit of tidying up before Rudi came home. After he went to bed, I started a new graphic novel, New Kid, which won the Newbery Medal this year. I’m nearly halfway done and am really enjoying it so far.

Tomorrow it’s back to the office. I thought there might be another trip coming up later this month, but it looks like some other colleagues are going to cover that, so I feel optimistic that I might be able to catch up on several projects. It would feel great to not be so behind on things and to start my second six months at my job with some things crossed off my to-do list!

I hope your week is a good one (it’s that magical last week before daylight savings time robs us of an hour of sleep) and that you get to cross some things off of your to-do list, as well!

I’m home. Corey was delighted to see me arrive and now is eager to remind me where we keep the bedroom.

But first, I wanted to think about what I’d like to do tomorrow:

• Sleep in a bit. I didn’t get to do that today (although I also didn’t get up to watch the sun rise over the ocean the way I’d considered) and am looking forward to it. I’d guess Corey will also agree that’s a good way to spend the morning.
• Stop at the farmers market to buy milk and drop off compost.
• Go bowling. Our team is vying for third in the league playoff during the final week of the season.
• Unpack. Rudi will also have bags tomorrow night, so I’d like to minimize their impact on the living room.
• Call a friend I keep missing in phone tag.
• Do some laundry.
• Start my Sock Madness sock. The first pattern arrived today and I’ll have until midday on the 14th to finish a pair to advance to the next round or a single sock to get all the patterns. I haven’t gotten out of round one in several years…
• Get Rudi to put aloe on my upper back. It’s the most ridiculous sunburn, full of bumpy edges at the limits of where I could reach myself. I had hoped that I had compensated for that knowledge by putting on a long-sleeve shirt in time, but alas.

How about you? How’s your weekend going? Are you ready for a fresh new month’s start?

I thought I’d share some more cake with you.

This is the homemade blitz torte. It was so good that we’re down to a single slice remaining.

You know it’s a good birthday when you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, even if you were intending to write a blog recap from bed.

Rudi & I began the day with bagels and birthday presents before he took me to the airport for a flight to Connecticut.

My parents gave me midday cake (above) and we spent a low key afternoon reading and dozing (me) before heading out for pizza. We returned home for more delicious cake (Mum made my favorite cake of Gramma’s) and a dizzying array of gifts in front of the fire.

I got texts or calls from everyone I know, starting before I got up to moments before midnight, which made me feel very loved.

If your birthday sets the tone for the upcoming year, mine promises to be a good one.