I am ready for warmer weather, and when I get up in the morning and walk my son to the bus, there are a number of birds singing their songs who seem as impatient as I am for spring to arrive. The birds and I have a common goal — we are waiting for winter to loosen its grip.

Before the weather that resulted Tuesday’s unexpected snow day arrived, I had high hopes that I would finish three projects before the weekend.

One of those projects was the seventh (of eight) crochet baskets for an Ikea Expedit unit that figures prominently in my organization efforts.

This morning, shortly before I had to leave for an onslaught of errands, I finished the base of the 7th basket:

Hours later, when I long last returned from doing the many things that needed doing, I fit in some time to work a few more rows of Dotghan 1.5:

But the truth was, my heart was not with either the Dotghan or the basket. What I really wanted to do was to put the finishing touches on the banana I had crocheted for my son’s upcoming birthday.

While the banana was, on many levels, perfect, it seemed to me that it was missing a certain “je ne sais quoi.” Then at some point after most of the frozen rain had melted, it occurred to me that I did know what that “je ne sais quoi” was, and I got to work, fashioning a crochet hat, cape, and mask for the adventurous banana:

Zorro has his own story to tell (as only a banana could), and now that my work with him is done, I am ready to move on and finish both Dotghan 1.5 and the seventh basket.