We have a beautiful rhododendron at our front door. Even with our frosty spring, it's in full bloom, and I had the thought to take this photo to compare with one we took in our first spring in this house.
I don't think I took one last year so we won't have a complete set of year-by-year shots, but I still like the concept. We had to wait a few days after it bloomed last week for a day warm enough to go out without jackets. We've had overnight frost the last two nights, but things are looking up in the days ahead.

I was also going to share a non-kid photo showing our recent kitchen improvements--new stove and dishwasher! But alas, our streak of buying homes from people who have not embraced their own home-repair incompetence as we have continues. We pretty much call a professional for anything more complicated than a light bulb change. Other people apparently aren't so tied to actually having things done right. The dishwasher installer discovered that the electricity was oddly rigged and in no way up to code, so we have to have an electrician come out to fix it before he can finish the installation. Luckily the crazy old connection never caused any other problems. Luckier still, I called the electrician this afternoon, and he's coming out tomorrow, immediately followed by the return of the dishwasher man, so we should have a gaping hole under the counter and a new dishwasher randomly stashed in the corner for less than 24 hours.

Both appliances had previously been on life support as we held our breath hoping they'd last until we could afford to replace them. Lowes helped us out in that regard with an 18-month no interest deal in the last week, so between that and our tax refund, we were ready to take the plunge. It's really quite something to cook in an oven that actually heats to the temperature you set and then maintains it throughout the cooking period and whose burners heat all the way around! It truly is the simple things in life that give the greatest pleasure.