Spring - or out of bounce

At long last it feels as though spring is properly in the air - at least when it stops raining for long enough for there to be anything other than WET in the air! Somehow though my get-up-and-go has still been firmly in hibernation and refusing to show itself. Usually at this time of year I regain my interest in outdoor things, enjoy sitting in the garden, seeing the trees, shrubs, and flowers emerging from their winter dormancy into their fresh finery, and hearing the birds claim their territory and establish their pairings. Somehow though this year although that all sounds like a lovely idea, I've struggled to muster up any enthusiasm.

I had been bracing myself mentally for my next oncology appointment, which was due at the start of next week - but earlier this week I got the news that it had been postponed for a few more weeks. Utterly frustrating as I was half psyched up for it, but I now have to try and put it out of my mind for a little longer, while feeling greatly in need of some reassurance that all is still going well and the cancer appears to remain under control...

So at the moment I'm hyperfocussing on knitting in the evenings. The huge circular shawl that I expected to take me around a year or more is finished, having taken just 6 weeks! And the blanket I'm making for 20-something is half done, but I've run out of yarn so need to buy another ball in order to be able to put all the squares together and knit the border. I've still not finished the second sock of the pair I started in December, but that's the inevitable second sock syndrome which is all too familiar. Instead, since the yarn and a few thousand beads have arrived for the next big shawl project, I've made a start on that. On one level the pattern is very simple - it's literally just a large knitted circle, with beads added to create a star map of the Northern Hemisphere - but the tricky bit is definitely keeping track of where the beads go and making sure I don't miss any. AstroChild (aka Chaos Gremlin) will notice if I accidentally remove any stars from the sky, I'm sure!

While kayaking is usually a guaranteed mood enhancer - the combination of fresh air, exercise, and good company works for me just about every time - unfortunately the almost incessant rain of the past few months have resulted in the river being in flood status and off-limits to paddlers for most of this year, so I haven't been able to rely on that bringing me out of my funk. However, this past weekend the river, although fast flowing, was paddle-able, so I finally managed to get back on it. And what a difference that has made. My legs and abs told me I'd been working hard, and the back of my shoulders are still reminding me that it was tough going at times - but it was worth every moment of aching for the sheer joy of being back out there, on the river, having fun. At long last the spring seems to be coming back into my step!