Like a sunrise.

Across the way, the trees have not yet leafed out, and they create a tangled silhouette between the houses at dusk.

Not home-grown - but those will come along soon enough.

First of the year, blooming in a neighbor's yard. Oldest child home for spring break, so all of us are under one roof for the first time in a couple of months.

What's left of the bunch.

Semi-neatly coiled, until someone grabs the wrong end of it.

Beside the coffee table, because the coffee table still has the giant jigsaw puzzle on it.

Just appearing or disappearing. On Saturday we change the clocks, we "spring forward" and lose an hour of sleep. We also get an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day, so I won't mind the extra dark in the morning.

One of the delights of proctoring an exam is the time I can spend daydreaming, making small notes to myself, thinking of things I'd like to do. Today, I made sketch notes on the edge of some paper. In the park across the street from school, a woman and her dog were running on the hillside, snow had melted to show more grass, and the sky was blue. Spring is on the way.

So far, March = thaw.

Mis-dated, as it's not the 10th yet. (Late enough that I'm sleepy.)

Every lamp downstairs is slightly askew.

Just a few more pages to read...

Yes, we are still working on this puzzle.

The pattern of winter branches makes me think of bar codes. What message is encoded in the spaces, though...

Present-day copy of an old wooden ball and cup-on-a-stick toy. I still can't catch the ball in the cup myself, but I've seen it done.

Crunch. So good to eat anytime.

More citrus. I'm not worried about scurvy at our house, though I wouldn't mind seeing the sun more often.

The smell of lemons makes me think of summer...

Our son made us a pot of tea after supper, and my husband made scones. (It was all I could do to save some of this one to draw, and you'll notice the tea is nowhere in sight - it disappeared quickly.)

The found doll, nicknamed Snow Baby, sits on the living room mantelpiece, still unclothed, still bald. I hope the lack of clothing is not connected to the continuing record snow levels in Pittsburgh.

Not the most polished-looking member of the citrus family, but what sweetness.

Sometimes this is all you need.

Youngest child is making an apron from an old sheet.

Colorful food seems even brighter when the weather is gray.

Fish and asparagus with salad for supper. We're imagining spring.

Youngest child bought candy this past Monday, and has been making the pieces last.

A quiet Friday night on the other end of the sofa.

Work on the puzzle continues.

Not too sweet - just right.

Propped up on the table. I don't realize how many angles are visible along the edge of a foot in a black sock, until I try to draw one.

Sky with some of the tree. One of fifteen hundred. (Is this the one you're looking for?)

All our valentines today were home-made.

On the telephone wire to the house next door. Earlier this evening, lit by a street light, it looked like a crystal chandelier, or ice jellyfish, or cartoon cloud with rain falling from it.

A day of meetings. I took some notes, but mostly listened and spoke with others.

Just at the edge of things tonight. One day of work tomorrow, after four unscheduled holidays, and then we'll have a holiday weekend.

Empty water glass, as if rising.

Wednesday will be the third snow holiday this week - our streets are not yet clear. After 21 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday, more snow and sleet began falling late this afternoon, to continue overnight and through the day tomorrow. Forecasts vary from 3 to 12 inches, depending on how much falls as freezing rain, and how much falls as snow, and how two storm / low pressure systems react to one another as they meet. Tomorrow, the wind is also supposed to pick up and create drifts. Hmm. I don't know that travel on our unplowed or semi-plowed streets will be any safer by Thursday, once you add the new layers of ice and snowdrifts. But we live in the heart of the city, so we can walk to the store for milk, and we haven't lost electrical power (so far). We're warm, well-fed, and fortunate.

And the landscape is beautiful.

The doll we are calling "Snow Baby" had a quiet day. After some time drying on the heating vent, he or she was moved to the coffee table. Tomorrow is another snow holiday - our street has yet to be plowed - and more snow is expected during the day.

We were walking home from the grocery store, and in the snow beside the storage warehouse I saw a small baby doll. No children visible, no one to ask. The doll had no clothes on, and somehow I couldn't bring myself to leave it there in the snowbank. So I brought it home. No name yet, and no clothing, but tomorrow is a snow holiday...

We got 21 inches of snow in Pittsburgh - snow fell right through the night and then all morning. Drank coffee in pyjamas and browsed reactions to the storm on Twitter. Mid-afternoon, my husband and I ran an errand to another part of town - on foot, as we hadn't dug out the car (in a parking lot five blocks away, but that's another story). Three hours of walking. I think we went about six-and-a-half miles. Most streets unplowed. Some sidewalks shoveled - some not. Few cars moving. Plenty of snowmen and people with shovels and sleds. Cross-country skiers on city streets. Blue sky, beautiful trees, and bright light from sun reflected off clean snow.

Feet up, warm socks, snow coming down outside. So far, looking at the table and chairs in the back yard, we have eight or nine inches - and snow is still falling steadily. This will slow the weekend down considerably. Not a bad thing at all.

My favorite dried fruit - the best of them have a deep complex sweetness which makes me think of port wine and winter fireplaces. Try cutting them up and cooking them with your steel-cut oatmeal and see what I mean.

One blossom from the bunch gotten over two weeks ago... We have flurries and slush in the forecast for the next few days, and I want to imagine spring.

Containing tea.

I imagine making a cup of tea for Michael Nobbs, with thanks for his links and kind words today.

The clementines still delight us - we have a few left.

After a month without them - not sure why, but they either weren't in the stores, or did not look very good - we have clementines in the house again. Will the little crate last the weekend? Maybe.

Reached into a junk drawer to find something to draw - and my yellow tape measure was there. (And I'd been wondering where it was...)

A pair of favorite cotton socks were worn out in sole and heel. What to do? Cut the feet off with nail scissors... and... new wrist warmers. Same lovely soft fabric as the socks. The cut end curls, rather than frays. They scrunch on nicely. Great for winter evenings in an old house.

Out of lemons. Cooked with lime tonight. Flavors similar, but head off at a slight tangent.

Recharging and connecting things at the end of the day.

Every angle is slightly different - the little carved soap house has such spirit.

Drawn with a fountain pen, though.

Some snow on the ground here. The sun shines through branches, throwing shadows across the road.

Leaning against the cabin wall... we're spending a couple of nights in a state park - a midwinter escape from the city into the woods.

Or mountain? I had some proofreading to do tonight, so it all depends on the point of view.

Dark, and late, and a window across the street shows me the tree branches in front of it: patterns of shadow, patches of light.

Quiet house - people asleep or reading. When I draw with white china marker on white paper, the waxy white line is almost invisible until I paint over it. That loss of control adds surprise, challenge, delight, irritation, and shakes me out of my previous way of thinking.

Looking toward a short week, after the holiday.