flighty spring? Not.

I'm a person who deliberates, and I've appreciated all your thoughts on moving and how you've made your decisions. The professor and I are still working on this, although the Philly option didn't work out in the end. He's still traveling to other interviews, and if and when new options come in, we'll think through each one to see if it's right. We both like to make informed and careful choices; I find that where I live really matters to me, so we'll keep working on this one. I'm a hands-on person about creating a home, wherever it is--I'll be working on this right down until I pack the last box, drive to the new place, and set up the whole new home, down to the dog crates and bed linens.

In the meanwhile, I worked on this freeform embroidery. My cousin is getting married in a small ceremony. In order to include her loved ones, she is asking folks to contribute decorated squares to create her Huppah, or wedding canopy. Here's mine. The top bit is in Hebrew, it says (transliterated) "Kol Sasson v'kol Simcha" and is part of the seven blessings that are recited in a Jewish wedding ceremony. I quoted a fragment of the blessing, this part, which is also a joyous song sung at traditional weddings:
The sound of happiness and of rejoicing;
the voice of bridegroom and the voice of the bride

Although I don't love to embroider, it was fun to celebrate this occasion on my own, with needlework. The bride, my cousin, is a good person and deserves every happiness!

Next up has been preparing for Passover. We've just begun searching out Passover foods. This time, instead of travelling to a city where we can buy special foods for the holiday, we've tried ordering them online. I'm hoping a big box of matzo and other necessities arrives soon. Alas, prepared foods for the holiday are just not an option here in the hinterlands. (homemade tastes better anyway.) Although we're spending the first couple of days and the seder with my family in Virginia, we'll still clean up and observe the rest of the holiday at home. Since the professor has been travelling a lot, he's had to schedule trips around the holiday. It's very hard to avoid eating bread and other prohibited foods on the road.

Another tradition for Passover is to get new clothes. I've had an online shopping binge all by myself! Right now I'm celebrating my new Keen Ventura sneakers--my first ones ever made of all natural and recycled materials. I'm excited about my new sneaks and a step towards sustainability. I've also gotten a new dress, some jeans, and I'm enjoying the pleasure of new things that fit better for spring.

The garden is also bursting out with new growth. We've got more green onions than we can possibly eat, and lovely heads of lettuce that look like flowers. It makes eating your veggies look so exciting! An old college friend of mine is visiting, and I'm off to pick spring onions and incorporate some of them into our green salad and jerusalem artichokes for dinner. In the end I'm not flighty (much) but really enjoy spring, despite allergies... anyway. Deliberately!