Welcome Home!

Just outside my front door is a tableau that perfectly illustrates this time of year: A bright blue snow shovel, that ubiquitous tool of Northwest winters, leans against the steps. Exactly where it was placed after the last snowfall. On the ground beside the shovel, tender tulips have broken through the damp soil.

Proof that winter has melted away and spring is coming up.

I’m ready.

I can’t wait to move the boots that spend months beside the back door. No more boots.

I want to spend mornings on the patio, a cup of tea and a cat for company, enjoying a quiet moment before work. I want to listen to the birds. I want to smell the flowers.

I want to be warm.

I know I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ve got weeks of chilly weather to go before we look up one day and notice that summer has arrived. But just knowing that brighter days are ahead gives me a little more energy. I look at the world a little differently.

The same is true for my home. Already, I’m tempted to put a vase of daffodils on the table. I open the curtains to catch every bit of watery sunlight. I want to clear away the clutter that accumulated while we’ve been hibernating.

At least once a day I stop to measure the progress of the bulbs by my front door. I’ve decided to follow their example.

So, today, the snow shovel goes back to the garage.

Spring is welcome at my house.

This week in Home

It takes a certain amount of courage to be different. This week’s cover story is about a couple that dared to build a different kind of dream on the slopes of Schweitzer Mountain.

Spring green

To celebrate the end of winter we’ve got expert advice on gardening as well as the musings of a woman who happily spends hours in her garage tending to tender rose plants.

And our popular Newcomers page features a man and woman who have recently relocated to Spokane and are cooking up a new dream of their own.

Like the plants and trees around us, this week’s issue of Home is full of promise.

Enjoy.