It's early, anticipatory season-wise. It most definitely is still winter. When we came downstairs this morning the outdoor thermometer read minus 21 C, which the weather news confirmed, and it was windy, albeit sunny. So it's miserably cold. And again last night, after our latest snowfall of 20 cm on Tuesday the municipal plow came by to clear the roadway and left a deep dump of snow at the end of our driveway, which over the succeeding hours turned to hard-packed ice, necessitating that my husband go out after breakfast with his own snowplow to clear it away.

But though it isn't yet spring, I decided earlier in the week to begin spring cleaning. Most years it more or less creeps up and surprises me with the realization that there's a lot to do in the house, and I'd better get on with it. Last spring it was difficult because we had two new puppies to care for, mischievous, rambunctious little fellows who kept us busy. They weren't averse to chewing happily at everything in sight, from furniture legs to slippers and shoes, and nor were they very quick to learn that their bodily deposits were to be done outside. Constant treks outdoors with them during the cold winter months wasn't much fun but they needed to be praised when they understood what was wanted of them.

I surprised myself last spring at the amount of spring cleaning I was able to accomplish, given these complications, while being aware at the same time that I was leaving a substantial amount of it undone, focusing primarily on what was really pressing and just shrugging the rest away. This year I've some catching-up, as it were, to do. I don't think that an annual deep cleaning of cupboards, the washing of window coverings and the windows is too much to do.

So I began with emptying the large glazed dining room armoire of all it holds to dust everything; objects and interior, clean the glass, and wash out any stray specks of whatever might have accumulated in the past several years, since I missed it last year. From there I cleaned out the powder room vanity, a four-door affair, and the vanity upstairs adjacent our bedroom. There's lots to do, the kitchen pantry, baking cupboard, the breakfast room glazed buffet, and clothing cupboards and drawers, but now that I've got a head start I imagine myself performing it all in relative leisure.

And when late spring turns the corner I'll be finished and prepared to get on with welcoming the garden back to life. Hurrah!