It Might As Well Be Spring

The last arctic blast of the season sweeps through Northeast WA, but I remember the promise of prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil. I also favor The Law of Attraction and the power of positive thinking. So I've replaced the snowman I'd placed last November aside my front door with my chirpy spring ornament, even as the snow piles up. My crocus will be crunching up soon, followed by twirls of tulips and dazzles of daffodils. It won't be long now. It won't be long!

In the meantime, here's what I'm writing as February dissolves into March:

• A new holiday tale about how my late husband, Ken, carried on with Christmas preparations after I tripped over a cat on the stairs, and fractured my left shoulder.
• An essay about how baton twirling and psychologist Albert Ellis helped me overcome a longstanding anxiety disorder.
• A piece on common grammar, punctuation and language usage errors that even experienced writers and editors let slip by.
• A story about Grandma Gertie's Brown Betty, a baked pudding I adored as a child.,.and think I'll prepare this afternoon...nothing like a cinnamon scent to warm up a house on a bitterly cold last-gasp-of-winter afternoon.