When I walked out to get the papers this morning, I searched my yard for any sign of spring. Nothing. No new sprouts or buds or … wait!
A rabbit. Right there in front of me, nibbling on whatever he or she could find in my still frozen, still brown lawn. There are still patches of snow here in the Midwest despite the fact that we’ve changed our clocks to daylight savings time, confused birds are singing and the calendar on the wall says spring.
But that bunny stirred something in me. Sure, the tastiest bits of grass and vegetation might be weeks away, but hunger is hunger. So I came in and pulled out the classifieds to see exactly what was on the house sale agenda for the weekend. Slim pickings for sure.
Around here, warm weather has to really hit before the great sale ads appear — those 50-years-accumulation-and-it’s-all-got-to-go-we-haven’t-even-unpacked-the-boxes-wear-your-old-clothes kind of ads that start my heart thumping.
So, if there’s no sale to attend … there is always a sale for which to prepare.
I began straightening my office, observing the small collections that I like to have near me. Industrial safety pins, wooden rulers and drafting instruments, old office stamps hung in their metal carousel, teensy boxes of office supplies shaped to look like miniature books, flower frogs and skate keys all share space with my laptop perched on its vintage typewriter stand. It’s time to remind myself to look at what I have … and think about what I want.
It’s list-making time.
What will catch my eye this spring? Carved bone crochet hooks? I have a friend who is going to teach me how to crochet ( I am a voracious knitter and love old wooden needles, bark-cloth bags and bakelite tapestry needles) so some crochet and needlework accessories have to be on the list. I found a cache of old mysteries at a sale last year and it whetted my appetite for vintage hardcovers from the twenties and thirties with titles like The Golf House Murders. I snagged one called, believe it or not, Period Stuff, which is definitely a Jane Wheel cover!
And speaking of Jane Wheel covers, I have signed on with St. Martin’s/Minotaur for book #6 which I am currently writing. Scary Stuff is shaping up to be a Halloween tale with Jane finding more than one skeleton in the closet.
Spring comes early in the South, and a friend sent me this photo of her steel Kellogg's shelf, found during an Easter weekend foray.
Anyone out there collect Halloween stuff? Send me some pictures to inspire Jane’s reveries and I’ll try to describe your beloved collectible as one of Jane’s discoveries!
And now, back to that rabbit. If that bunny can find a tasty breakfast in my winter-worn yard, I can take heart that spring — with all of its rummage and yard sales, its outdoor flea markets and auctions—cannot be far behind. A carved crochet hook is at the bottom of a sewing and button box waiting for me to find it.
