Spring: Bling it On

It's Valentine's Day and I got a lizard for the woman cave in Arizona, my dad shipped it to me, and it arrived today. So now the woman cave has a touch of color. Bling.

Appropriate for spring, and the giant thaw. Halfway through February now, we can get serious about spring fever.

The back yard is a slush swamp. I won't even say what is floating in some of the puddles, but we have two dogs. There is a science to picking that stuff up. Once it melts through the snow, you have to wait until the snow melts, the ground underneath dries up, and the substance in question is solid enough to pick it up without it falling apart.

Since this morning the slush pond has evaporated somewhat. The middle of the street is dry after being completely covered with ice this morning. Both edges of the street, along the curb, are still at least ankle-deep in icy slushwater.

Today wasn't such a warm day, either, the morning stayed cool. I went to the track to do 10 miles and get used to the curves again, and I froze the whole time I was running. It was cloudy and there was a breeze.

Tomorrow, hippie beer tour. Mr. Bill is too much work, I don't feel like having gunk on my face. I found some big dangling beaded earrings, a bandana I can wear as a headscarf, some beaded necklaces, a miniskirt, and some wild colors. That should be 70s enough. After a couple of beer stops, no one will notice. No one will notice anyway! We all blend in as a bunch of freaks running down the streets of the brewery district of Fort Collins.

Tonight is Valentine's Day and I'm cooking dinner, Dennis won't know what got into me when he gets home. But I have steak, roasted garlic and basil cherry tomatoes, asparagus with Meyer lemon, a special dessert I got at Whole Foods which is a small Black Forest cake, and wine from our favorite winery in Salida, Mountain Zin from Mountain Spirit Winery.

Between the beer tour and my Sunday run, the weather forecast looks good. It was supposed to hit 90 degrees in Phoenix this week. February is too soon for that kind of heat down there. I'll take 50s, sunshine and slush for now. And beer. Don't forget the beer.