Persephone has come home

It is spring! And as evidence, my front yard has sprouted some lovely purple flowers. The snow has melted, the rain has come, and the day is long.
Updates on Thermal:
I am furiously knitting the 2nd sleeve. I'm growing quite weary of this pattern, only in that it is taking me forever and a day to get it done, and I want so much to wear this before it's too warm.
My next project is Cubs koozies for my diner gals for our summer road trip to 4 games in 4 days. I can't wait. Kelly has sent me daily texts with her excitement and apparent lack of bladder control over this trip. Her and Manda are hard core Cubs fans, whereas I truly do not follow any sports. I'm just in this for the fun of being with my girls; when the 3 of us are together, I feel sorry for anyone brave enough to be around us. We are insane, over-the-top fun, and loud. My favorite 2 people in the world not related to me. Kelly and I go way back to junior high; she rescued me from a very toxic friendship, took me under her wing, and revived me from a shy wallflower to the brazen chica that those closest to me get to see. She also introduced me to John and forced us to express our feelings for each other when we otherwise might not have. I have no doubt that in 80 years, we'll be screaming at nurses together to get us more brandy.
And next, the wedding. Beautiful day of joy and family. It rained, but it forced all the guests to hang out together in the little clubhouse. We danced, drank a lot of spumante, and watched as Jen and Brian expressed their devotion to each other. His father made a toast that made everyone teary and the best man dropped Jen's ring. Jen was stunning as usual, and once her nervousness subsided, she partied with the rest of us. I sang "Lady in Red" directly to her with at least 2 video cameras on me, but after the first verse, I was living it up. I honestly thought I was going to either vomit or pass out, but I had fun with it. Jen and my mom both cried, as this was one of our many songs we all sang together as kids. I am so ready for karoake now. Singing in front of an audience has both been my greatest dream and my greatest fear for as long as I can remember.
Life is sweet. Love is grand.