Happy Spring - Change is Afoot

We got our first official sign of spring this week in Lancaster County, PA, along with a blast of cold, winter air. I took the photo of the daffodils above while wearing my winter coat and snow hat, trying my best to stay out of the wind. The flowers were blowing around so much, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get a good shot. In the end, this photo was the best I could do. :)

I've also started to hear birds chirping happily and our Forsythia bushes have the first signs of the tiny, yellow flowers that will bloom in the coming weeks. The tulips have also started to reach through the ground, though I don't expect we'll see flowers until Easter.

Change is afoot for sure and warmer days are ahead. It's time to celebrate!

I've also made a few changes in my studio. One of my favorites is my brand new keyboard, pictured below. A number of years ago, I discovered a gaming keyboard at my local Staples. The keys were heavy and when you typed on them, they made a pleasant, clickety-clack sound that reminded me of keyboards from long ago. I promptly bought it and discovered the world of mechanical keyboards. I found I could type faster than I could with my stock keyboard. After that experience, regular keyboards have held little appeal.

I've loved that keyboard for the better part of the last 8 years, but sadly it had begun giving me problems recently. Certain keys didn't work reliably anymore, so I was often missing a digit in my zip code or typing words without the letter Q in some cases.

Little did I know that my quest for a replacement would lead me down the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole. It seems that since I bought that first mechanical keyboard, the market for these has exploded. There are now thousands of iterations. These keyboards are mostly for avid online gamers who use the fast, responsive keys for quick maneuvers in online games. But the responsive key switches are also great for fast typing, too.

My research led me to discover that I could choose a keyboard with replaceable switches and keycaps. The switches are what make the keys "click" when you type and there are many kinds of mechanical switches. If the keyboard I bought all those years ago had had replaceable switches I might not have had to scrap it.

I was even more intrigued by the idea of adding my own keycaps to change the look of the keyboard. I'll spare you all the jargon about keycap type and size. I tried several keycap sets until I landed on the ones pictured above. I love the happy spring-like colors. They are so easy to type on and make a very satisfying clickety-clack sound. I'm enjoying typing on my new keyboard right now as I write to you today. Sometimes the look and feel of things really does matter. :)

So what changes are afoot in your world now that spring is officially here? I hope you are taking in spring's energy with renewed vigor and are ready to tackle that next, big project!