Dahlia Time

Yesterday turned out to be amazing, weather-wise. The afternoon temperatures were about 70 degrees, the sun was out,  the sky was blue. Fantastic!

I spent the morning working in the garden. I pulled all the dahlias out of winter storage in our rear garden shed, and noticed that several of them already have sprouts -- slender pink or white stalks just barely out of the ground. We keep them in pots so we don't have to keep replanting them year after year, but I did repot two. Then I set them out among the other garden residents to do their thing.

I also weeded some other pots, cleaned the house, did laundry and ran errands in the morning.

After lunch I took Olga to the cemetery for a leisurely walk. This rose that we see on the way scents that whole corner with a sweet perfume. Maybe that's why Sweet Corner (the cafe on the next block) has that name? Oh, and yes, you'll notice that after months of sitting dormant, Sweet Corner has finally opened! I haven't been there yet -- it's hard with the dog, because I'd have to leave her outside unattended while I go in and order and she would hate that. (And probably would be vocal about it.) I'll have to wait until Dave can come too.

At the cemetery, I noticed that someone left yellow roses on the tomb of Grand Duke Michael of Russia and his wife Sophie, Countess de Torby. I wonder who? Are there any Russian monarchists left? They did have children and grandchildren -- including Mountbattens, members of the British royal family. So perhaps there are descendants still bringing them flowers for Easter.

We also found another one of Esley's rocks!

In the afternoon I headed into Central London to see Dave's students perform their spring concert. It was held at LSO St. Luke's, a performance space on Old Street that used to be a church. It was an ideal location and the performance went really well.

At one point, one of the jazz bands performed a medley of music from the film "The Blues Brothers." I was sitting next to the high school principal, and he turned to me and said, "I guarantee you, none of these kids have seen that movie." We had a good laugh about that.

Afterwards I walked westward to Farringdon station, admiring the street art along the way.

I'm not sure what's on the agenda for today. I know I need to catch up in blogland, and there's also more to do around the house. But I might also make time for a walk. We'll see!