Who said, "time is a river?"

.... because the river seems to have dammed up around here.

I am always in a state of awe at the way time flies away. Let's face it... I should have long stretches of hours and days... even weeks (!!!) with nothing more annoying than the occasional deadline. Really! From the outside looking in, I'm certain that's how it would look. Many times I find myself frustrated by this seeming mystery of where time goes. It was here a minute ago... well, at least this morning. I KNOW it was here this morning.

Today was a perfect example. The magazine deadline was Tuesday, and Maryanne's been putting it together with occasional input from me while I accept changes, nudge for last minute additions, and work on my part of things. In the meantime, today is Molly's birthday. That had to addressed and prepared for. There's the brother who needs some care, and today there was also the addition of Molly's father, and fitting around his schedule. In between there was some practice driving, some errands, and several things that didn't get done yet. In another half hour, The Birthday Girl needs a ride to the movies with her friends. After that, dinner needs to be thrown together. The day is already gone, and I didn't even get started yet!

Tomorrow doesn't look much better. But hope springs eternal.

But at least I did get to walk around outside a little bit. Just for a few moments. Molly got a new camera for her birthday, and I got to play with that. The snow from Wednesday is still here and there, so I was surprised to find blooming chickweed and a couple of dandelions. There were also lovely buds on the lilac tree. They probably won't make it to spring, but will be replaced with other growth in a couple of months.

The row of lavender starts right behind the Bergarten Sage. All are holding up well. I'm anxious to see what kind of crop they bear this year. Last year was a pretty good year, considering it was the first bloom for all of them. Imagine how many wands we can make this year. I wonder if we can teach my brother to weave lavender....

While Molly chattered with her father, I sat at the table separating the petals from the roses that arrived on my birthday last week. My friend Laura surprised me with them, and since they started to wilt yesterday, it seemed like they would do well to become a potpourri - maybe with some of the lavender and sage and lemon verbena that will come from the garden this spring.

So... if it is like this in January, I'm not sure what May holds in store. Last year we had the dreaded Farm Show to recuperate from, and blamed the doldrums on that. I've got nothing this year... I'll have to blame myself, and my inability to make schedules and stick to them.

Hey! Wait a minute! Maybe I need to start working on that.