Oh yes indeedy...

...sweetie~pies, spring is upon us ~ hurrah! The prickly little cactus above lives on the living room windowsill and has started to bloom, so I guess it must like it there ;-) I must admit that this has surprised me a tad, since the window faces more or less north and so doesn't get an awful lot of sunshine ~ especially at this time of year. Still, if Mr Cactus likes it there, then who am I to argue LOL What do you think to my new-to-me vintage coat, my loves??? I was really taken by it as soon as I spotted it ~ and bid on it even though it doesn't (yet!) fit me. The label says that it is made by Seigal (whoever that may be!) and the seller said it was from the 1970s. The coat itself is very nice although the lining is showing signs of age ~ I know how it feels ;-) However, it did have a somewhat unfortunate aroma of eau de mothballs about it, not too strong but noticeable nevertheless. So I made the decision to wash it.....even though the label said dry clean!! I really, really dislike the smell of dry cleaned clothes, sweetie~pies, hence my decision to wash the coat. I put it in the washing machine on a cold wool wash and crossed my fingers and toes! When I took it out of the machine, I was very disappointed to find that the "interesting" aroma was still there, albeit a little more faint. Still, I hung it on the washing-line in all the glorious sunshine that we've been having and as it dried out, the smell started to dissipate ~ thank goodness! It spent the night hung up in The Shed, as it had warmed up in there quite considerably during the day, and I put it back out in the sunshine again the following day. I am extremely happy to report that the coat hasn't shrunk and the smell is all but gone :-) Isn't it amazing how Nature always find a way through all the man-made "stuff" we humans surround ourselves with! This little violet is growing in the tiny crack between the patio door steps and the house wall. And this one is growing further along :-) I have these sweet violets popping up all over the garden, so it's just as well that I love them so much! I took this photo of Amber the other weekend. She was in such a deep sleep out in the warmth of the spring sunshine that she didn't even notice me walk by her to get my camera from the house, come back outside again and take some photos of her LOL On Tuesday, I spent the day with my parents to help Mum springclean one of her china cabinets. I took these photos in their front garden just before coming home. I can't for the life of me remember what this sweet little spring bulb is called, my loves, but it is very pretty. Primulas and pansies ~ two of my favourite spring flowers! Mum has lots of primulas in her garden again this year. It rained in the afternoon and I was so taken with how lovely the drops of water looked on the flowers that I took a photo :-) Dad took their dog, Jacob, for his daily walk and took Amber with them too. She was absolutely pooped when they got back!