No Showers but Spring Flowers

It is hard to believe after such a snowy winter that it has been extraordinarily dry this spring.  The weather forecasters are reporting on how little rain there has been and the impact the dry air has been having on those with allergies since the rain is not there to wash the pollen out of the air. 

It is pleasing though to see all the daffodils and tulips blooming in bright colors and ushering in the spring.  Flowers have a way of bringing a smile and improving a day. I have some flowers to leave for others to brighten their day.  

Balloon Animals in the Park

This winter has been soooo long and I have spent so evenings and weekend days inside out of the wind and the cold.  I have always been and remain a lover of the four seasons and a good snow storm in the winter, but this relentless winter tested that love.


On the bright side the weather provided me with many hours inside to craft, read, cook, and pursue other passions that fall to the wayside when the warmer weather beckons me outside.
I have completed several cross stitch projects and am currently working on finishing up a pile of circus animals.

Blue Apron boxes and the goodies inside teaching me to be a bettered than average home cook have become something I look forward to every Friday. Unpacking and seeing what I will cook, learning about interesting ingredients and time and again being amazed at the final product I produce. 

I must also admit that I am not always productive and can find myself binge watching House of Cards on Netflix.  

However the sun is out for longer periods now and just last week as I walked through a public garden I saw a street vendor making balloon animals for children which seemed a sure sign of spring. 

So I have some little kits to grow grass on a kitchen counter or office desk.  Soon the grass outside will be green and parks will be littered with families playing and couples enjoying a picnic.  A little plant can remind us that after a difficult winter summer is almost here.

Snow and Patience!

After a month of having trouble with the photo upload features of Blogger I am back!

Over the past three weeks my town has had more than 6 feet of snow accumulation.  With one storm after another it seems to just keep piling up.  The street signs now just stick out of the very top of high snow piles and just getting around is a challenge.

The streets are narrow with parking spaces fully covered leaving people parking in what are normally travel lanes and reducing the amount of actual space for travel.  People are trying to walk across streets and drivers have trouble seeing them as they pop out from behind snowbanks.  With schools out, travel impaired, work days missed, cold temperatures and sore muscles from shoveling much patience is needed.

This is the type of living conditions when just an extra smile or kindness can really lift the mood of another.  So with Valentine's Day just passed I have some smiling heart sticker sheets.  Maybe the finders will add them to a child's lunchbox, decorate a bulletin board at work, or stick them on by one on a newspaper or window to make someone smile!

Paramedics

My first real experience in following a blog started a few years ago when I became addicted to reading the postings of a Boston paramedic who wrote eloquent short stories about his twenty plus years of experience as an urban paramedic.  His writing not only interested me in blogs in general and the greater community they can connect you to, but also enlightened me to the dangers and experiences of being a paramedic. 

Sad to say he has now pulled down all his posts and indicated he will be publishing a book, but I have not yet seen it.  :(   

It takes a special kind of person to run toward danger and walk into unknown homes.  Since the Urban Paramedic's blog is no longer active, I now follow a couple other posting related to Boston paramedics. 

Today I saw a GoFundMe page for one such paramedic struggling to care for his terminally ill wife (also a paramedic).  I have never donated to such a cause but felt drawn to this one.  http://www.gofundme.com/k0me44.  The Undercover Ladybug wishes Kenny and Drew McCarron some peace and relief through this trying time.

Happy New Year

Another year of Undercover Ladybug kindness begins!  Welcome 2015.  I will be in 7 states in the next 5 days and plan to be leaving presents along the way.  I am going to try something new this time and post the items I leave after I leave them with photos of them where they were left for their finders. 

I have a full bag of gifts that I am taking with me for the travels through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas so stay tuned!

Snowmen

I have been doing quite a bit of crafting lately and find myself looking forward to visits to arts and crafts stores.  Something about this time of year when the holidays are here and the cold weather blows in that makes me want to sit inside and accomplish small projects.

Recently I picked up a kit filled with all the supplies to make snowmen ornaments and could not resist buying the kit and dumping out all the pieces on my table at home.

I started by simply by putting together all the pieces to make one ornament.

By the time I was finished I had a pile of snowmen that I am ready to give away.  Hopefully, they will bring a smile to the faces of their finders this holiday season.

The 13th Gift

I just finished reading a heart warming book entitled The 13th Gift.  It is a true story about a woman and three children going through their first holiday season after the sudden loss of their husband and father. 

Twelve days before Christmas during the first holiday season after their loss, they unexpectedly receive a poinsettia on their front steps with a note that is it a gift on the "first day of Christmas" from their "true friends". While unwelcome at first, the gifts. which contine to appear with notes following the "Twelve Days of Christmas", eventually help pull the family back into the holiday spirit and help them realize they will survive beyond their loss.

The "true friends" were simply anonymous gift givers who remained anonymous for fifteen years until finally revealing themselves to the recipients.  When received by the right recipients an anonymous gift can be so meaningful.  I thank the author for the last two sentences of her acknowledgements at the end of the book which read, "I send out a prayer of hope and gratitude for gift givers everywhere.  Your generosity of spirit fuels us all forward."

I hope some of my gifts have impacted finders even a fraction of the amount the family written about in The 13th Gift were impacted by their gift givers.  I feel inspired to continue on this path to bring happiness to others.