Pollyanna spring

Pollyanna moments:

• My backyard excuse for a tiny lawn has been entirely taken over by wild violets and forget-me-nots, which means it's a mess later in the summer, but right now it's a ravishing meadow of blooms, along with bleeding hearts, wild silver-dollar plants with their purple flowers and what's left of the tulips that the squirrels didn't behead. My upper back was really hurting yesterday afternoon, and after trying to read lying down with much discomfort, I settled into a comfy, saggy lawn chair in the yard and finished my book club selection in the late-afternoon sunshine, my SPF-treated sunhat slouched over my face. My little patch of heaven did wonders to distract me from the back pain (as did the later ingestion of a couple of codeine pills), and the fact that, in spite of the reason, I can lounge in my backyard in the sun on a Wednesday afternoon. I took some photos this morning; it's raining out now, but the light is better for colour.

• My old pal Julia popped by this morning with fresh homemade bread! So much for the low-carb diet...it's yummy.