Spring-time Blahs

I've been feeling rather down this past week or so. I think it began with yet another confusing US Immigration-related form. This one is an application for status adjustment; presumably its purpose is to change my status from Temporary to Permanent Resident. But there are about a gazillion pieces to be filled out, and instructions are unclear. I also can't see any difference between this form (another $400, BTW) and the current process we're already in. That is, we had to start the Permanent Resident application process before I could apply for Temporary Residency, and now I'm supposed to (re)apply for Permanent Residency? Huh? The package of forms includes such gems as this one sheet of paper which looks to be a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a ditto-machine from 25 years ago. It is titled "Spouses of U.S. Citizens". This applies to me, so I took a look at this sheet; it consists of an itemized list of documents. There is absolutly no information as to what these documents are for! Am I to supply these 13 documents with the application? If so, do I need originals or are copies okay? Do I need these documents (originals or copies?) for the interview implied by other parts of the form? Am I just supposed to have all these documents? Are they even related to the current application, or was this piece of paper just some random to-do list and was accidentally included? GRRR!

Meanwhile, my allergies are going haywire, since things are a-bloom. Moreover, I've found 2 odd welts on my neck! Yuck! They're irritatingly itchy and I don't know where they came from! My best theory so far is that they're from some weird hive reaction that I then scratched. Anyway, I'm now moisturizing them like crazy and wearing open-necked shirts with the hope that they'll heal soon!

On a brighter note, Toby and I took advantage of a warm and sunny Sunday to visit parks. We walked through Morningside Park, which normally feels threatening to me. But yesterday it was full of daffodills and magnoli and people playing basketball and frisbee. Even better, we stopped by the pond and found 2 pairs of mallards, a pair of geese (that some know-it-all was telling a family they were swans!), and about 25 turtles sunning themslves on rocks! Awww..... turtles are so cute!



The southern end of Morningside Park is conveniently located one block away from the NW corner of Central Park, so we wandered to the big one for some strolling. Again, daffodils were EVERYWHERE! It's so overwhelming that Toby even expressed annoyance at the sight of yet more daffodils! The Conservatory within Central Park was full of even more daffodils, but at least these varieties had labels. And the magnolias were magnificent! We were able to also identtify some nearly-done mini irises, nearly-done crocuses, and forsythia. Next weekend, I'm guessing that the tulips will be budding. Yay!