This week I'm peeling back the winter layers. The heavy terrycloth bathrobe has gone through the laundry and is back in the closet on a heavy duty wooden hanger and the Hudson's Bay blanket is folded so the quilt is once again the top cover. There are two blankets under it and one of those may be removed soon also.

There are large pots beside the driveway door and this morning I pulled out last fall's dead stalks and weeds that pop up first thing in the spring to reveal the small dicotyledon sprouts of basil. (Side note: I was watching a TV travel show, I think on PBS, and the host being followed by a camera through a farmer's market coos "ooh, cilantro!" as they pinch off a leaf of basil. Perhaps I should give them credit for bad editing, but time to turn that channel!

Cooking yesterday involved drawing down the pantry and freezer supplies for a pork casserole I know I've described before. I used home-canned tomatoes and eggplant that I quartered and sautéed before freezing to use in this dish. (I also peel it, I'm not fond of the bitter taste of the skin.)

Sharing jigsaw puzzles as a way to declutter has backfired - I sent one to a friend and on that same day a surprise box with three arrived from a different friend (I should reciprocate), plus one of our cohort has put another in the mail (it does look particularly interesting - involving a mermaid and an oversized lobster.) To balance out the puzzles another big box for eBay is awaiting the mail carrier. After packing a large new listing yesterday I finally broke down to compare reviews and order a flat mail scale with the readout control panel on a cable so large boxes can be put on it and the weight still in view. The post office no longer has a scale in the lobby and I never have great luck with the bathroom scale. I put the shipping on at home instead of paying at the post office because it costs a lot less.