Tell me this spring weather is here to stay!  It is amazing the effect it has on the spirit. I’ve been an inward-looking hermit all winter long, and now suddenly I have the urge to go out and be sociable. Good thing, or I’d have missed some fun evenings in March. One of my best friends (www.stephaniemainville.com) was in town performing in a song-writer’s competition (she finished runner up!).  It was a great night, with musician Andy Kim as MC. He had some thoughtful things to say, and of course I can’t remember half of them, but one tidbit was about how singers need songs - and how songs need singers, too – if they are to come alive.  It made me consider how much lies dormant and ignored in the world until the right person comes along and breathes life into it.  Like delicious forgotten recipes, like old toys locked in a trunk, like aspects of our personalities that hide in the shadows until someone comes along and shines a flashlight on them… A week later, I went to see a performance by another friend from youth, Kevin Fox, whose album Songs for Cello and Voice recently came out.  Google him (www.kevinfox.ca) and listen to his version of Army Dreamers. It’s so beautiful it will make you weep!

So there, you see, spring can even melt the ice off long-ignored passions. Thanks to Kevin and Stephanie, my inner music amateur (dormant since my early twenties) started to wake up again.  I’m taking classical guitar lessons (I'm not exactly Segovia, but I like it!).  I find myself lingering in front of the concert hall near me to see what performances are coming up.  I bought a CD last week for the first time in….don’t even ask.  (Now, if I’d just get a stereo…)

Anyway, lot’s of activity coming up in April, including my birthday! If anyone has a great cake recipe to share, I’m on the lookout.

Have a happy month – and don’t forget to try something new. That’s part of what spring is about.