If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ll probably have noticed that my monthly book summaries ceased when the calendar switched years. It wasn’t done on purpose. I wanted to hold off in January because I was behind in mailing out Christmas packages. And I just never quite got my act together to get it out in any of the subsequent months.

And, yes, I realize this is a particularly paltry sum of books to have read since the start of the year. I started many more books than this, but either I was really on a run of sub-par books that just didn’t merit finishing or the depression really bit into my desire to read.

Earlier this week, Grey Kitten pointed out that I’ve not posted about books in forever and that he missed seeing what I was reading. That encouraged me to take out this post and dust off the moth balls that had lingered on it for some time.

The good news is that I’m currently working on several books that I do enjoy and that I will resume regular summaries at the end of the month. In the meantime, I offer you the books I finished between January and April, in no particular order:

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It’s been a pretty good week here in the Burrow. Last night after work, Rudi and I headed down to the garden to water our plants and to put in a couple of the ones we picked up over the weekend. We decided that the non-lettuce, lettuce-like plants were weeds and Rudi did the heavy digging to get them out of the ground. They had roots like huge sweet potatoes! Very scary! I had the much easier job of weeding and planting a tomato. And our pea plants are starting to send up little shoots! I’m very excited.

Oh, and it’s Thursday. So that probably means you’d like to see what’s been beautiful recently. Here are three items from the last week:

1. As I was blog-surfing this morning, I was suprised by Jeremiah hurtling out of the window and noise in the window well. Expecting to turn around and see someone working on the utility boxes, I instead found a baby squirrel. I’m not sure if it fell in or if it’s mom sent it down to explore, but the poor thing was freaked out. It kept scrambling around the well and grunting, as my three cats tried to figure out if they could break through the screen to catch it. Eventually it climbed out and followed mom up a tree, but returned about 30 minutes later to visit the cats again. I just hope the screen holds out.

2. As Rudi and I walked up 22nd last night, we approached a group of people standing next to the Schevenko statue. I don’t quite know why I expected it to happen, but it totally did not surprise me when they broke into an a cappella rendition of “For the Longest Time.” Must have been all those years in college hanging out with Jason and Kim…

3. Last week, I was hurrying through Metro Center at rush hour to get to the spot where I like to board the train. I happened to accidentally catch the eye of a woman getting onto the elevator to go downstairs to the other line and she considerately held the door for me in case I wanted to get in. I didn’t, but I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of the gesture.

While Rudi and I work on getting internet connectivity for the new-to-me iMac sitting on my desk, I’d like to suggest you all check out some tunes:

Rudi, our college friend Sam, and Sam’s friend Matt offer monthly playlists around a theme for your downloading pleasure at Selective Service. Every thirty days I check out what they’ve posted and often find something new to listen to.

But over the last few months, they’d gotten pretty stingy with the women they included and I started to harass Rudi about it. He acknowledged my point and suggested I offer them a challenge. I demurred. He went ahead and told Sam I’d do it anyway. I agreed, but told them there was no way they were sticking my picture up there dressed in fatigues. (You’ll see what they opted for instead by clicking over to the site.)

Well, last week, Sam posted my challenge and the guys offered up three different interpretations. I leave you to read their responses, download their playlists, and leave them (or me) feedback.

I’d say this photo, which appeared in a post last month, qualified as the thematic shot for April in the 007: Snap a Dozen Days meme:

The garden is growing well. Maybe we don’t quite have pretty maids all in a row yet, but we do have some strawberry flowers and lettuce and whatever the weird non-lettuce plants are. And last week, we added a row each of English peas, snow peas, and leeks.

Earlier shots in the 007 series: March, February, and January.

Tomorrow, photos of animals — both wild and domesticated!

For my friends in the north, I offer this report of what came home with me from this morning’s farmers’ market:

• Strawberries
• Rhubarb
• Pea shoots
• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Cucumbers
• Spring onions
• Blueberry scones
• Mascarpone
• A tomato plant
• A peony

Having fresh, local strawberries in May may be one of the few redeeming properties of living in the south.

ETA: Rudi just ran back to the market to supplement and came home with ramps and broccoli rabe. Yum!

Why, I do.

Emily was my Bloomin Feet pal, and I have to say that she totally rocks, sending me a wonderful box full of goodness.

I mean, seriously. Look what she made me:

I love the way blue and brown look together. They remind me of my early spring garden — all earth and sky. And check out the picot edging. I don’t know how to do fancy edgings, so I’m particularly impressed by those people who do. And, folks, they’re made from Socks that Rock. I’ve never even seen STR in person in a skein, let alone in a finished sock. Very comfy!

I can’t believe Emily made these. For me. I mean, she doesn’t even know me and she sent me these beautiful handmade socks that took her many, many hours and even more false starts than I had with my pair. What a great knitter!

Check out how well they fit!

And while the socks in and of themselves would have been enough, Emily did not stop there.

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