Spring has finally arrived here in Michigan. 

The Bradford Pears are blooming along the city streets and golf courses, the rhododendrons are fuchsia-bright, our neighbor's massive tulip bed is all reds and yellows, and the magnolia tree in our front yard is blessing us with its short-lived but beautiful pink blossoms. The lilac in the back is starting to bud, and all the crabapples will soon be dotting the landscape with their profusions of tiny pink flowers.

I have a pot of cheerful yellow primroses on my porch, and the woods behind our house, for so many months brown and barren, are leafing out, bright green and filled with birdsong. 

While the outside world is covering itself in glory, I'm trying to do my part indoors. 

A few pics from last week's Easter celebration.

So, I've been trying to do a little spring cleaning. 

I sorted through and got rid of about eight inches of paper work from a file cabinet drawer I could barely stuff one more receipt in. And my knitting projects have been totally disorganized. I showed up to knitting class last week, two large bags stuffed with knitting supplies, but missing some instructions and having to borrow a needle and stitch holder from the teacher. I felt like an errant school child who has come without her homework. So I got that all squared away, and discovered I have nine ongoing projects. Hmm, better get busy.

I finally made some order out of my sewing/craft room that was my daughter's room up until this past September when she got married. It had become a dumping ground for all my projects, craft supplies, writing projects, and photographs. I still have lots of sorting to do but everything is neat and organized, and at least in boxes/on shelves.

My Project 333 closet. Oh my goodness. It's more like Project 666 at this point!! My closet has never been such a mess. I really have to have a good sort through/clean out soon.

In the meantime, my book club is planning a bridal shower for one of our member's future daughter-in-law, and I am thinking decor. 

The bride-to-be likes blue and daisies. And she had been considering a barn wedding, so I thought she might like a rustic touch. So I got busy on etsy. I love etsy. I could spend hours -- and I usually do -- browsing all the fun and unique items there.

I'm not sure what to do with this fabric. I might cut it into triangles for a banner or tear it into strips to decorate a banner, not sure yet. But it ties together the burlap and lace and daisy theme with the blue napkins and plates.

I got the plates on the right, and then worried they might be the wrong color. I was afraid it might look like a baby shower. So then I got the plates on the left. Oh, dear. Now what? The plates on the right really do look better with the fabric, but should I forget the fabric?

The last bridal shower we did I had decorated a Christmas tree that was still up with pink roses and eucalyptus. My niece was looking for something to decorate the end chairs lining the aisle at her outdoor wedding so I sent her this pic of the rose and eucalyptus and asked if she wanted me to do something with them. She liked the idea, so I will put something together using either satin ribbon or tulle, and maybe experiment adding a little bling or trailing ivy with it.

My husband is outside today doing some heavy-duty yard work. I think he was hoping I would help, but I hurt my back moving furniture just before we were to get started. Ahem. Not on purpose. But now I can sit here quietly with a pillow behind my back and work on my blog and visit blog friends.

Hope you're all enjoying your Spring.

It's still early, so it's hard to tell whether today is going to be sunny or cloudy. On Good Friday, of all days, I always think a cloudy day is much more appropriate. I always think the sun should be ashamed to shine, especially between noon and three. It needs to discreetly hide behind the clouds.

An idea I've had since childhood, and it's stayed with me.

Now on Easter, it really does need to come out of hiding, and shine for all it's worth.

Speaking of which, I need to get going to be ready for Sunday. First off, list making. I can't seem to do anything without my lists.

Once I decide on a menu, then I need to find recipes, then make my grocery list. I need to decide what needs to be cleaned (everything, but we prioritize when time is tight!). I'm also in the middle of planning a trip with some friends, and a bridal shower with my book club, and those are involving a lot of lists, too.

Once I get myself organized, it feels like half the work is done. I don't need to think anymore, just do what the list tells me.

It seems that in the busyness and the instant-ness of social media it is easy to jump in and cheerfully and thoughtlessly post memes or hashtags along with everyone else without giving them much thought.

I'm guilty of this.

Just recently I saw a short video on Facebook and laughed. It was really cute. Until I read a comment about it that brought me up short. No, it really wasn't funny, after I took a moment to think about the implications.

But I had joined in with the thousands of other "likes" before thinking.

And have you ever posted a special picture with #blessed attached to it? It seems a happy thing to do -- a sharing of your blessings with friends. An acknowledgement, even, that it's a gift from a real Gift Giver.

Everybody, it seems, loves to use this hashtag.

But if you stop to think about it, saying "I'm blessed" can be an insulting, and not altogether true, statement.

What?! Well, bear with me.

"How are you?" one friend asks another.

"Oh, I'm blessed. My son just got a full-ride scholarship to XYZ University."

Or, "We just got back from a wonderful cruise. We're so blessed."

Or, "The lab results came back and everything's normal. I'm #blessed!"

How about just saying, "I'm so thankful," or, "I'm so grateful."

When you say you are #blessed, it subtly implies that your friend, who isn't experiencing the same "blessing" as you, isn't really blessed.

Yes, your kid has a full ride to a prestigious university, but does that mean that your friend whose child is struggling to pay his or her way through community college is not #blessed?

That the friend who can't afford a cruise, and is hoping for a few days at the lake this summer, is not blessed?

That the Lord has forgotten the friend whose lab results are a concern? That, somehow, she is less worthy of a blessing?

There are blessings in every circumstance, and reasons to be grateful in every situation. To imply that the Lord is with you in a special way just because things went your way reduces Him to a gumball machine in the sky -- a god who hands out #blessings to a privileged few and ignores the rest.

A picture of a new baby with the hashtag "blessed"? Of course, babies are wonderful blessings. Just about the best. But what about the woman who is struggling with infertility? Is she to see herself as unblessed?

To say "I'm thankful," to me, implies a humility and gratefulness that #blessed doesn't. #Blessed, to me, has a touch of pride about it.

Of course, there are promises in the Bible about receiving blessings. Sometimes these are material things. But oftentimes they're not. They are things like patience and joy and love and long-suffering. Which don't always make catchy Instagram-worthy posts. (Nor should they, when you come to think of it -- "hey, I'm more patient than I was last year! #blessed." Ugh.) 

What do you think? Do you agree, or am I just being cranky? 

*****

p.s. Actually, Google says I'm spot on. I just looked up #blessed and discovered that many, many people are fed up with this hashtag. There was the article on "Why #blessed is the most annoying hashtag on Instagram." And why "#blessed is the new brag." The New York Times even said it was the "go-to term for people who want to boast about an accomplishment while pretending to be humble." 

And I thought I was being original in my dislike of it. 

We had afternoon tea at a beautiful little tearoom and were able to visit for a couple hours.