… also bring May flowers.

I passed this gorgeously vibrant vine of clematis as I was walking to the second comic book shop on Saturday. (I’m spoiled; I know.) The picture does not do it justice in terms of how vivid that purple is in real life. It nearly glowed in the gray gloom of an impending shower that chased would-be patio sitters at the coffeehouse indoors.

This weekend looks to be a busy one — lots of things going on:

• There’s a garden cleanup and social tomorrow morning. Part of the fence along my plot got broken when they took down one of the trees over it last month, so I’m hoping we can find a replacement that’s long enough.
• But first I want to get up early and make a coffee cake to take. I will remember to take the butter out of the fridge before I go to bed. (If I fail in this, there are other options that can be purchased.)
• Then it’s the open house day for non-EU nations. Because I won’t be able to go in the morning, because of the long lines, and because I’ve been to a bunch of embassies in past years, a strategic plan is necessary. I’m thinking there are five on the far side of Dupont Circle I haven’t visited yet that might work — Uzbekistan, Micronesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, and the Philippines. Hopefully some of them will have snacks to sample. (This is impressive; I don’t usually have a plan until I walk out the door.)
• And Free Comic Book Day. (I have two comic book shops nearby and I’m hoping one of them has the first volume of Rainbow Rowell’s Runaways.
• Sunday is the farmers market. We’ll need milk and asparagus, at the very least.
• Then it’s off to the north to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I don’t need yarn, which is not to say that I won’t buy any, but it would need to be something special. I do need beads, although I don’t know if any of the vendors sell them. And I need tomato and other garden plants. And to see sheepdogs.
• Back in D.C., one of the women from my book group is doing a poetry reading. That one is really going to depend on my energy level.
• I have books waiting on hold at the library — and some things I’d like to get back to them.
• There is dirty laundry to be washed. There are warm weather clothes that need to get moved into the bureau. There are cold weather clothes that could be put away.
• Rearrange the kitchen. Rudi built our new cart a couple weeks ago [I asked him if you’d texted, Mum, when he volunteered that was part of his plan for his day off.] and moved some things onto it, but not the things I wanted to have go there, so we’ll have to see if some compromise can be reached.
• Sit in the park tomorrow night if it’s not raining. (We got chased home by the sudden onslaught of rain tonight.)
• Knit on a sock. I made some good progress during the author event we attended last night.

How about you? What are you hoping your weekend holds?

I squeezed a lot into this final weekend of April.

I visited the garden, where seedlings are finally flourishing, where my peas have passed the cuff mark, and where I harvested both another bouquet of violets (I’m guessing I’ve got one more week in them, but we’re due for some hot weather that could kill them off) and my first strawberry (this came from one of the new plants).

I went to Takoma Park (an artsy neighborhood that straddles the D.C./Maryland border) and explored its shops and enjoyed its arts festival. This piece, by Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu, was in a coffee bar.

I did some shopping as part of Independent Bookstore Day, visiting two of D.C.’s indie shops. One of them, Solid State Books, is still awaiting completion of its permanent home’s construction, so is in a pop-up space for the moment. It was my first visit, but the staff was friendly and they had a nice selection of books, cards, and literary-themed gifts.

We watched Avengers: Infinity War, which I found disappointing. It had a very ambiguous comic book cliffhanger ending, and those are not my favorites in any genre. (That was not my only complaint, but the only one I can really share without spoilers.)

I did some of my commuting from far-off (you know, five miles away) neighborhoods by bike, since the days were mostly nice. Riding uphill into a headwind this afternoon was not the most enjoyable part, but I was able to think fondly of the gelato I was working off.

There was also reading and knitting and chores and tv, but those were definitely the highlights. All in all, a good weekend.

Here are some of the things I’m hoping this final weekend in April includes:

• Watching the new Avengers movie.
• Visiting the garden.
• Returning Sing, Unburied, Sing to the library.
• Cleaning out the fridge.
• Stopping in at the French Market in Georgetown or the arts festival in Takoma Park.
• Taking part in the Readathon.
• Visiting some of D.C.’s indie bookstores as part of Independent Bookstore Day.
• Spending some time on a bike.
• Eating spring vegetables.
• Knitting on my stripey socks.

How about you? What are you hoping to get to this weekend?

Saturday:

I spent some time sitting outside at a coffeehouse with my reading.

I spent a little time at the garden, where my peas are now half a hand tall and where one of the strawberry plants I bought last week now has two white berries on them. My violets are flourishing and I picked a nosegay to bring home. They smelled so lovely!

I spent the evening chatting with Karen and got to say hi to both her kids who shared with me stories of their trip to the carnival.

Sunday:

Today Rudi and I went to the farmers market early, hoping to collect both asparagus and a free compost bin. We were successful at both and procured several other items, including greenhouse tomatoes, milk, soft wheat flour, and leeks.

After a leisurely breakfast, he vacuumed before heading off on a bike ride with a friend, and I did laundry prior to venturing over to the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill, where they were celebrating Billy Shakes’ 454th birthday. I’d never been to the building before, so I was particularly excited to visit, because, well … library!

The building is beautiful and is divided into long galleries, of which this is the central one. There’s a quartet performing at the far end of this room, a play reading going on in the theater, an exhibit on early books, and trivia and costume dress-up in the back reading room. Outside, there were kids’ activities and, at the end of the event, Queen Elizabeth I and the Eastern High School marching band arrived (separately) to lead us in singing “Happy Birthday” to her most loyal subject. She then cut the cake using a rapier and then staff passed out slices (of sheet cake, rather than the fancy cake that may or may not have been a prop).

Even Puck got in on the celebration! Or maybe he was really delighted to see this bird.

Rudi and I concluded the evening with risotto made with ramps and asparagus and mushrooms, strawberry ice cream, and tv. I finished my book after he went to bed, painted my toenails (I’m saving the fingernails for tomorrow night), and will soon head to bed.

It was a busy weekend.

My plans for this weekend are small. I need to put things in the living room back in place after the flooding rearrangement, because currently there’s nowhere to put the laundry rack and I need clean clothes.

I would like to stop by the garden to see if anything’s growing and to harvest some more violets.

I plan to knit the heel of my Posey sock.

I want to buy milk and asparagus at the farmers market, a wallet online, and beads somewhere since apparently my local bead shop doesn’t think bright pink beads in the size called for in my pattern is something they should carry.

I’d like to finish a book or two and watch a video or two, but the former is going to come down to wakefulness and the latter to Rudi’s availability.

I’d like to go to the free events happening at the Folger Shakespeare Library or at the Tudor House on Sunday, since I haven’t been to either one.

I want to paint my nails. The green is mostly gone.

I have to get some sleep and spend lots of time outside.