Where Oh Where Is Spring????

Is anyone as sick of the weather as I am? One lovely day this week that gave me hope spring was right around the corner. Then rain and coldness to chill your bones today.
But Saturday was a dream day to make you smile. My friend Sylvia showed me her garden with the creek running through the front yard and her violas and pansies blooming in pots stacked everywhere. Her 40's cottage home painted the sweetest shade of yellow with green shutters. I am thinking of painting my red brick au natural house yellow. How do you feel about painting brick? I am thinking hard on it.  A yellow ranch house sitting nestled in a huge yard far from the street. So much more appealing than just plain brick. Dare I do it?
Sylvia sent me home with a bit of yellow. A huge pot of forsythia tall and willowy with its tiny yellow blossoms.  I almost hugged it when I placed it on my patio.
Rain, rain, go away, come again......well, come again when I need to water my garden. When the grass smells sweet and my lavendar and rosemary are growing in my herb planters. When the elephant ears that my husband planted years ago peek through the ground again, a loving reminder of our days together in the garden. Rain come when my Butterfly Bush is waving in the breeze and little butterflies are flying by its lovely long purple blossoms. And maybe a little rain as my one lone rose bush starts to blossom on the trellis in the back bed. But shoo for now rain, and cold, I've had it. Oh how I want the sun on my face!
I am getting ready for Spring. Tomorrow, no matter what the weather brings, I will be at Home Depot in their gardening center. I am going to pebble in a huge area off my small deck and add stone pavers around it. The grass no longer grows there because of the tall tree blocking the sun. And six dogs running in the yard can make a mess of it. I am out to find stone and gravel and pebbles and brick pavers. I have a design in mind from an old gardening magazine and can't wait to get started.
What are your garden plans? I'd love to be inspired with some thoughts on how to make a large yard cozy. And what to use in place of grass, grass that does not grow in my back yard.