Friday Five: signs of Spring

Deb brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:




As spring slowly begins to bring a thaw to those of us in the northern Northern Hemisphere, I have been watching for signs of renewal and rebirth. It is also part of the season of Lent as well. This week, let’s focus on the signs of spring within us and around us!

Share with us:

1. Your favorite spring flower. (Is it blooming yet? If so, share the joy by posting a picture of that loveliness with those of us still waiting!)

Here in south TX, wildflowers and the greening of the mesquite trees announces spring. We have two mesquite trees to the right of our house. They have had bright green leaves at the tips of their branches until yesterday when it seemed like all the love burst out! Even friends on FB are announcing spring is here because of the mesquite trees.

2. Your spring cleaning routine. Do you have one? Is there a family memory or tradition around it?


I have always heard of "spring cleaning," but did not see that exhibited in my family growing up. When a sunny day arrives (and it is not too hot), I suddenly have the energy to go around cleaning. I had meant to collect and discard a "bag a day" during Lent, but have not been consistent with my cousins from Canada visiting for the past two weeks.

3. A personal area of growth where you have seen some success lately. It can be personal, physical, spiritual or familial.

Having my Canadian cousins visiting has nurtured familiarity and connection for Chuck and me, plus oldest son DC and his family.  I appreciate this expensive effort to travel from Canada almost to Mexico and have loved being with Margaret, Kathy, 3 year-old Zoe, and 8 month-old Ryan.


4. When does “spring” usually arrive in your area? Are you holding out for late May? Or are you one of the lucky ones who has already put away her sweaters and mittens?


Spring usually arrives earlier in March than it is this year. In fact, my cousins from Calgary, Alberta, Canada have found less sunshine and warmth than they expected for their two-week visit. (Still, it has been better than the snow in Calgary.)  "Spring" is short-lived in south TX, with summer temperatures soon behind. I like to think of our spring has similar to a Bellingham, WA summer!

And spring has arrived here with the onset of allergy symptoms for me. Here is a chart showing possible allergens in TX:

5. A verse or set of verses from Scripture that speaks “new growth” to you. 

I have always loved these verses, which are assurance for the heat of TX:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
      whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
      sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
     and its leaves shall stay green;
In the year of drought it is not anxious,
     and it does not cease to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

Pictures from Austin

Annie and Emma

 This past weekend, Chuck and I drove two cars to Austin. My cousin Margaret came with me. We were meeting Margaret's daughter Kathy and her two children at the Austin Airport. Then, "the Canadians" would use one of our cars for their travels.


We spent two nights in Austin. One highlight was visiting the Thinkery Children's Museum on Sunday. It is a wonderful place to go to with any age of children. Kathy's 8-month-old son Ryan loved a low-walled area for infants where he crawled around, playing with beads and other items on the walls. Someone asked Chuck if he as Ryan's grandfather! (You can see why with the picture below.)

Chuck and Ryan

Zoe is the girl in the back.

Zoe loved playing with the water.

Kathy's 3 1/2 year old daughter Zoe was very active in the different areas, especially with the water activities. 




Avery liked the artsy areas better, plus the kitchen and store spaces upstairs were favorites of hers.

David and Avery

Margaret and Ryan

Kathy reading to Avery and Zoe at Avery's house.

My Cousin Margaret is Visiting!

My mother's cousin Margaret arrived in Houston two days ago, where I met her on a dark and rainy night. I was thankful that our car has GPS, because I am not familiar in driving around Houston. Got there, but I ended up being in the wrong terminal when she arrived! We only learned this when she called me after her luggage arrived.

When I finally made it to the airport, I followed the signs for the terminal where Air Canada landed. When Margaret called me, she said she was at baggage carrousel #4, which I circled, only to find she wasn't there! That's when I realized that I had gone to the "wrong" terminal, but Margaret didn't know which one she was at.

Going back to my parked car in Terminal A, I finally learned that she was at Terminal C (for United). After paying and driving around, I finally found her standing outside Terminal C. Yay! And with it still raining, the GPS directed us to the hotel.

Then on Sunday we visited both the Houston Holocaust Museum and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, where we saw the traveling exhibit The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. It was a very full day.


Today we drove back to Corpus Christi from Houston, which takes about four hours. Chuck, the three dogs and one cat eagerly met Margaret.

I took the picture to the right at The Rainbow Lodge, a Houston restaurant, where we went for brunch before visiting the museums.

It warms my heart to see Margaret, because she shows me glimpses of my mother (also named "Margaret") who died in 1992. This Margaret is 83, but my mother only lived to be 72. I especially see the resemblances between them around the eyes and smile.