sparkles & sprigs

After a busy first day of a school session, it was lovely to come home and find my bathroom rug looking all festive and Christmasy. 

And when I stepped out onto my balcony, I discovered that my peppers had sprouted. And I'll be as surprised as you as to which ones they are.

circuitry

Did my own circuit of Bethesda/Leesburg/home today and got to spend some fun hours with my Littles. They're already building circuits and launching rockety things.

After four (?) shops, I finally found some jasmine twigs and got them planted this sultry afternoon.

And I think I've finally perfected restaurant level tofu! Come on over~bring your chopsticks.

the sigh of exhaling into a weekend

beauty

Got to take some kicky fun shoes on their first outing today~tons of compliments. It is a marvelous thing to have a shoe fairy. 

Maybe a waste of an ice cream cone, but what a clever traveling vase idea!

I don't remember the last time I bought cd's~other than some indie ones in Austin. But with this interminable commute, I needed something fun to listen to. I finally saw Bohemian Rhapsody and it was a rare movie that lived up to all the hype. 

transformation

A very chilly kickoff to May was the perfect excuse to turn on my oven and use my new spices!

A bowl of soup and dinner was a treat. Didn't get a snap, but my nasturtiums just poked out of the dirt. A quiet welcome to a new month.

yum

Can't remember if I've posted about some little noshes that students share~basically mini flatbreads with a delicious spice. They didn't know the English words for most of them, so I consulted my friend, Google, and found that the Arabic is za'atar. It's a blend of thyme/sumac/salt/sesame seeds and it's mahvelous. 

Came to work today to find TWO students brought me jars and bags of it. I had been asking where to buy it and which brand was good. Guess it's something that you *don't* use the store bought kind, so now I have heaps of this. 

And to top the day of good eats, someone else brought in two pans of legamuts~SO dangerous. Just a teeny mouth-sized bite of fried goodness.

A beautiful ending to April.

adieu

A student just got her green card and is going to work while she waits for her uni term to begin in September. So, she brought gifts to the admin today~admire my pretty new bookmark! Goes well with my glasses case from SF.

Dressing for the day continues to be an exciting event was we careen between the 30s and 80s.

and whoosh, it's Friday

CupKate on her way to pick up big brother from the bus stop. Just SO MUCH squeeeeeee.

Shifting from gushing aunt to Laurie, it's been wonderful to make a local friend. It sounds odd, but making friends as you age is hard. While I do enjoy my current work colleagues, there are days when you want friends that have nothing to do with work. 

I've discovered a local botanical garden and my annual pass comes with a guest pass, so we met up after work for a walk. A much better way to transition into the evening than traffic.

The grounds look completely different from my visit just three weeks ago~we've shifted from cherry blossoms and daffodils to tulips and azaleas and dogwoods. The peonies ought to be in bloom by my next visit.

through the itching sneeze

Spring is radiant still. Blooms,

bees, & beauty stun.

a little oud music

I love how spontaneous parties often break out at this school.

steamed

Since a truck flipped over on a major road this afternoon and closed that one~which dominoed the entire Beltway into a snarl~our administrators decided to walk up the street to try a new Asian place. They had delicious/healthy/cheap bar bites and it was pleasant enough to sit outside.

I still didn't get home until 830~it took me 43 minutes to get through one stoplight....

But this post was supposed to be about my informative and interesting tour of the visa processing at Dulles International Airport this morning. I got to meet several of my cohorts from around the region as well as ask all kinds of questions from the alphabet soup that runs all the bits of international travel. 

It was nice to have a break in office routine and to be in an airport and dream of travels.

surprise!

Feeling good as we just pulled off a birthday surprise for the boss~when 50 people know, you cannot be sure that it will stay a secret. I knew it was chancy as she loathes being the center of attention, but hey. She founded this school seven years ago and deserves some celebrating. We were really happy that it went well~especially when we heard that her five children AND her husband forgot about her birthday this morning.

One of the best persons I've worked for~which is saying a lot, considering the length of my resume. 

The pistachio/fig cake was a hit with the school.

From an evaluation form~sign me up for that class!!!!!

not sure

If you've really celebrated Easter, unless you've had a bunny bum.

Plastic eggs have stepped up their game recently. 

The behind the scenes before a photo shoot. 

Squinting in the spring sunshine. 

While not technically baby's first Easter, it's the first one she participated in.

Easter beauty

After a wild night of storms and a nearby tornado~today was gorgeous.

Some lessons taught and lunch with family and then a walk around the 'hood with the elder Littles.

Ms. A wanted her photo with her pink tree. 

Best bouquet in the world!