My new apron...Ben painting...Our sons...Lemon tree...I miss Italia...Horribly long winter leads to nice but reluctant Spring

I finished this sewing project before things got crazy--being matched with Ben and the corresponding paperwork, the end of the semester with three different classes of students, and receiving chiropractic treatments. Call me Martha Stewart and you're dead. But I found this out-of-style large linen dress at a thrift store and I envisioned making an apron out of it, so I did. I cut the straps off of the back, shortened them, and sewed them together to make a single apron strap that goes around the neck. I then cut the back off by cutting the sides along the seam, which I folded over and stitched. Then I used the extra material from what used to be the back of the dress to cut strips of fabric to make the ties, which I folded, stitched and then stitched to the sides of the apron. I hemmed the front so it wouldn't be so long on me. Before:

For fun, I cut out a heart from some other left over fabric I had used to make pants and a shirt. I ironed the edges under and then stitched it on with a decorative stitch around the edges. Finished product:
Thank goodness the painting I painted for "Sophie" doesn't say "daughter," but "panda" and "cherry blossom" instead. I want to do a Chinese dragon painting for Ben as well. My mom suggested I paint pandas on his wall, but I'm not sure I'm up for such a big project, and it's so permanent like that. He might want something typically boy-like when he gets a little older, like race cars. Lots to do this summer in getting ready for our precious little Ben!

April: My old Southside pal Sheila and I at the Ginger Peach Asian restaurant in Tinley Park, where her cousin sometimes sings on weekend evenings. Our sons are both three years old--how neat!

My lemon tree is growing tiny lemons!

This past long winter was reluctant to leave. March this year only brought a couple of nice days. There were more beautiful days in April and May, interspersed with cool days, so April brought in a nice, slow spring, which is unusual for Chicago, a city that seems to me to usually go from a yucki cold winter to a short spring to a nice, warm and hot summer. Got my outside flower pots planted--hope it doesn't freeze again! I can't wait for this year's Millenium Park concerts and picnicking to begin. I hope Ben enjoys picnicking in the park in 2009. Tee hee!