April ~ Showers and Showers and Showers but no Flowers

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating.  I have seen crocuses pressing out of the soil, and the tiny promise of buds on some of the bare trees, but we certainly have seen little sunshine to herald the coming of this spring month.  Today it's rainy heavily and rather grey, but nevertheless, this last month brought some new experiences and new adventures!

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

In March, I experienced my first foray into downhill skiing and I think I'm hooked.  The day was very snowy and we actually went cross country skiing at first not realizing (being newbie cross-country skiers) that very snowy weather does not produce ideal conditions for cross country. Tracks get covered which makes for very slow going and then going downhill is also rather boring. When we went back to the base, we discovered that we were the only people out, and they encouraged us to catch a bus to the alpine base. Downhill skiing?  I hadn't been in decades, but I wasn't adverse to entertaining the thought.  In any case, we soon found ourselves "equipmented" up and ready to go.  After some very good coaching from an ace skier, we tried our first run.  Eehhh, not good.  The hill looked enormous to me as a beginner, but after a few runs I was getting the hang of it and soon didn't want to stop.  It was soooo awesome!!! My only complaint was that cross country clothing attire is not good for downhill, where you are sitting on a snowy chairlift for a good amount of the time at the mercy of the wind and cold.  When I came home, the next day I immediately went out and bought a warmer jacket.  And guess what?  I haven't been downhill skiing since.  :-(  Life takes over and makes one so busy that time for recreation dwindles, and the season is ending making at times for less than ideal conditions.  In any case, I do want to make this sport a priority next year!

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

I also made a trip to visit a friend whom I hadn't seen in about 3 years.  She's started a farm in the community consisting of a number of animals as well as a number of acres that produce squash, tomatoes, herbs, potatoes, garlic and other vegetables. The growing season, of course, hadn't begun but it was fun to catch up.  I met ducks, chickens, sheep, goats and was even charged by a llama that screeched to a stop in front of me and then kissed me. Rather intimidating!  It was lovely to get away and relax for a couple of days even if the weather was somewhat damp and rainy.  Each night our dinners consisted of everything off the farm, a journey from garden to table, so to speak.  Another trip followed, with both of us visiting an amazing farm on a nearby island.  The farmer's business model is to help neighbouring farms as much as possible, allowing them the use of his equipment and selling them some of his seeds at cost.  All of his farming consists of organic and/or heirloom varieties, and the excitement and dedication he exhibited when describing his operation was inspiring.  I came home with four different varieties of seed potatoes and I can't wait to get planting.  Which brings me to my next adventure ---- food blogging.  I've started planning a food blog with a friend about which I'm rather excited.  In spite of having the imagination to see the finished product in our minds, the reality of the process is work, work and more work.  It will be arduous to get it up and running I think, and at the moment it's in the copious-amounts-of-planning stage, but hopefully within the next six months, we'll have it launched.  So stay tuned and I promise to keep you updated!

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

The thought of talking about reading is rather depressing.  I've almost finished The Histories and did finish up The Small House at Allington, so all is not gloom and doom.  I'm going to be starting The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides,  Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope, as well as continuing my Great Ideas Projects and my Deal Me In Challenge.  April also brings Amanda at Simpler Pastimes Classic Children's Literature Event, so I plan to read her read-along book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, in addition to Cyrus the Persian by Sherman A. Nagel (to complement my The Histories read), Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson and hopefully one or two other yet unchosen classics. (Why does this person sitting next to me in the coffee shop keep staring at me? ;-)  )  I am quite kerfuffled by the lack of reading time I've had lately.  I don't know what's wrong.  I mean, I know that my reading time is reduced but really I should be getting through more books than I am.  For shame on me!

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

My wishes for April?  More reading time, but I know that I have lots of blogging to do so I plan to be realistic.  Yet that realism will not keep me from pining for more personal time with my books.  I also need more focus, which probably should be my catch-word for the month.  However, income taxes are looming and I have pretty much resigned myself to another unproductive month, this time doing chores instead of fun adventurous things. Oh well, perhaps I will surprise myself.  Tune in next month to find out.

Best springy April wishes to everyone!

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel