An early Spring

It's spring in Texas, which is one of our best times--only it's early. I always heard that March 15 was the date at which you could feel comfortable that there would be no more freezes. But here it is, March 8, and the Bradford pears and redbud are in gorgeous bloom, ground plants are sprouting up with new green growth, and my chives have sprung up again--they're amazing. I planted them years ago, and every year I cut them back and they grow again. I need to cut the rest of the remaining herbs--oregano and thyme--back, and maybe the sage, which has grown so leggy that I'm thinking of starting over again. Maybe if I cut it way back . . . . Friends are coming for dinner Sunday night and one said, "Oh, good, maybe it's front porch weather!" (which means I'd have to scrub all the furniture) but in truth it's to be cooler and rainy on Sunday. We'll see. But I think this weekend I'll buy fountain grass for a big pot in the corner of the porch and cyclamen for my planter boxes--too early for basil and parsley and cilantro. That freeze--or even a severe cold snap--might still come. Meantime, it's lovely to see the trees in bloom. And I'm sneezing all the time and waking up at 5 in the morning because my nose is so stuffy! But still, I love it that it turns light shortly after I get up at 6 a.m.--while I'm exercising I get to watch the sky turn purple and red and gold (that will end this weekend when early daylight savings kicks in) and I wake up in a more optimistic mood than I have for a while. Yeah, spring is great!
In the library the other day, among the current best-sellers offerings--a great addition to the coffee bar area--I found a new Dick Francis novel (Under Orders) with a 2006 copyright. I quit buying Dick Francis titles partly because I would buy them, get them home, and find I'd already read them and partly because I thought he quit writing after the death of his wife, who was almost a full partner in his writing. But here's Sid Halley, back in a new hair-raising horse-racing adventure. And I'm useless for anything else, because I'm reading the novel all the time. Need to finish it and move on with my life--but I also found a 2007 J. A. Jance novel, so I may be a vegetable for a long time to come. The book on Texas women languishes, though I've made a good start on it.
I had supper tonight with longtime friends at a small--literally, five tables inside, maybe three outside--country Italian restaurant. The "she" part of the couple I dined with was a student worker in my office I hate to thinkk how many years ago--and she probably does too. But even then she was a non-traditional or older student. She was a great worker, and she's gone on to a career in publishing and to a great community service record, and she makes me so proud I could bust. And I now love her husband as I do her, so it was good to visit with them--we don't do it often enough. I had pasta puttenesca that was great and chocolate mousse I couldn't finish, and they sent me home with some kind of pastry with a chocolate hazelnut filling--all in the fridge for another night.
I'm a happy camper.