Monday morning update

A few things:

Earl found a copy of South Shore Living magazine for me yesterday. (What a guy!) The article looks good, although it has fewer photos than I thought it might. What a thrill to see my byline in a new place!

I do need to think about getting a new headshot, though. For the contributors page, I gave them the last singer photo I had done, and while it's a gorgeous picture, it was taken about 10 years ago, and doesn't reflect current reality. I'll get on that. Right after I lose these last 25 pounds or so.

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Yesterday was a glorious, glorious day. Warm sunshine, temperatures in the 60s, a perfect day for a walk, so that is what we did. My sister brought over her boxer and we and the kids all took the dog for a walk. A long one; poor Brian was really tired by the end of it. We walked around the neighborhood for a while and ended up on a little trail near Pine Tree Brook. In retrospect, it wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. The trail was a boggy, muddy mess in spots, and Timmy and Brian did more splashing than careful treading. Hopefully their sneakers are dried out for today.

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On the other hand, it's raining so hard this morning that they'll probably have to wear boots to school, anyway. The weatherman promised a "wintry mix" today. I say, nix on the mix. If it must precipitate, let's just have rain. Bring on the spring!

I noticed a few green shoots in the perennial garden yesterday, and a chive revival in my herb patch. Hooray! Other than those, the only green to be found was in the patches of moss that we saw on our walk. But what a beautiful green it was!

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My family is holding its collective breath these days; my sister-in-law is scheduled to have her baby on Wednesday. She and the baby have been closely monitored throughout her pregnancy and, other than a breech presentation which will likely result in a c-section on Wednesday, everything looks good.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for my brother and sister-in-law, having lost a baby to stillbirth a little over two years ago. We are all hopeful that the story will have a happy ending -- really a happy beginning -- this time.