Let's sit and have a cup of tea

Welcome! Every month, Abi hosts a gathering of blog friends, who welcome each other for a chat over a virtual cup of tea. This month, I'm serving up some health blueberry muffins with either tea or coffee. If you were really here, I'd welcome you in on a very lazy Sunday. I've been making soup today, baking muffins and binge watching "Orphan Black." I'd ask you if you'd seen it and what you think of it. I'd tell you that I'm completely smitten with it. 
I'd also tell you how much I'm enjoying taking a day to just relax at home. My teaching term ended last week, and the end of term is full of make-up classes, reading papers, meeting with students, writing finals, etc. I've also been traveling a lot lately - up to Eugene, Oregon for a crafting weekend; down to Arcadia, California for a track meet; out to Minneapolis, Minnesota for a hearing.
In-between work and travel, I've been trying to attend to my day-to-day home activities. I'd tell you that I was happy to be blogging more regularly and that I'm slowly getting a chance to catch up with all my blog friends. I'd tell you that the chickens are laying lots of eggs, but Clara's egg business is off to a slow start. She's got two customers so far, but she has eggs for about six. Paul is happy to eat lots of eggs, so they don't go to waste. But, it would be nice if she could make a bit more income. I'd also tell you that Clara really enjoys practicing her driving, and she's doing pretty well (although there have been a few white knuckle rides over the mountain pass). She's also running track - a lot! There's only a few more weeks left of her track season (depending upon how successful she is in the end of the season meets).
I'd tell you that we're also busy volunteering at the local animal shelter. In addition to walking dogs for about an hour a week, we're also spending 2-3 hours a week working in the "kitten nursery." It's a seasonal facility on the third floor which takes cares of litters of kittens from 2-4 weeks old who need extra help before going to foster care and then up for adoption. Most of the kittens need to be fed with a syringe. They're so tiny! And so cute! We'll be doing it through most of the summer. I'll have to take some pictures and post them soon.
As we enjoyed our muffins and tea, I'd sit back and ask you if you'd seen Julie's post over at Notes on Paper  about making a fresh start in the spring, instead of January. I'd tell you that it really resonated with me because, now that teaching is over, I'm ready to make a to-do list and get some things done . . . creatively, professionally and around the house. And I'd ask you, whether Spring is going to be a time of renewal and fresh starts for you.