I saw daffodils this weekend. A few of the magnolia trees have flowers. Sitting outside seemed like a luxury instead of a punishment.

Hooray!

After spending three days last week sick with some nasty bug, Friday night seemed to bring some relief. I slept lots and pulled out the decreases of the hat I finished last week. I’d realized that every time I put it on, I tugged at it incessantly. In other words, as I’d realized at the time, I really did need three full pattern repeats. I re-finished it Friday night and have been wearing it non-stop since then. Much better.

Saturday dawned clear and nearly 70, so I headed to Georgetown to hit the local yarn store‘s sale. I purchased no yarn, but I did buy Folk Shawls at the suggestion of a fellow customer to make something with the yummy alpaca Gramma gave me for my birthday. I also bought a copy of the new Interweave sock book, which I spent a full hour ogling when I got home. [Confidential to Suzanne: I’ll bring it in when next we have knitting group for you to peruse.]

While out, I stopped at an Austrian restaurant hidden away above the canal. I wanted to eat in their courtyard but the wait was longer than my patience, so I picked up a cup of tea and a Sacher torte to go. I ate chocolate and knit and bopped away to some tunes on the iPod, amusing the college aged guys sitting across the water who could see my feet swinging away in time to the music. It was the sort of afternoon when you felt glad to be alive.

I concluded the waning sunlit hour with a walk along the canal. Even the ten (!) dead fish I counted couldn’t dampen spirits lifted by seeing green shoots and sprigs. I returned home in a better mood than I’ve had in months.

Sunday, after our weekly jaunt to the farmers’ market, we went to hang out with friends and pick our baseball ticket dates for the upcoming year. We finished early enough that we were able to swing through Eastern Market, wander Barracks Row, and hit the grocery store, and still have time to take our books to the Starbucks patio to read in the afternoon rays.

All in all, a truly lovely weekend…

Click here to see more photos from my Georgetown walk.