Happy Easter!

It was hard to wake up this Monday morning, which is a gray, rainy first day back after a long weekend.  Especially because we had such a nice day yesterday.

I think I first heard a child moving around about 6:05 a.m.  But they didn't come jump on our bed until 7:00 on the dot--ah, the joys of the older child who can tell time!  I'll miss it when they don't get up early for holidays at all.

First things first, as usual, we went to the porch to see our Easter Baskets.  The kids had already ascertained that The Bunny had visited by looking outside and spotting an egg or two.  Sure enough, there were books, candies, little games, special drinks, and a few lawn sculptures in our Easter baskets.  And The Bunny had even left a basket for our friend, Miss N, who was coming later in the day.  She was a coworker of Mama's back in the NYC-commute days; originally from Japan, she lived in NYC, then returned to Japan, and has now moved to Hawaii.  She was visiting NYC for a little vacation and we invited her for Easter--she had never celebrated before!  But she wouldn't arrive until midday.

After perusing the baskets, the kids searched the house for plastic eggs filled with candy and coins.  There were also empty eggs, which were worth 15 minutes of screentime per egg.  Best.  Prize.  Ever.     The Bunny was tricky this year, hiding eggs higher than ever and actually in things like teapots and the piano bench.  It certainly kept the kids busy.      

There were carrot bits all over the house.  We think The Bunny must have raided the fridge--because the kids didn't leave out any treats.  They were a little aghast at forgetting.

We had a big breakfast of bacon and biscuits as we waited for 9 a.m., which is the earliest we let them search for eggs outside because they get rowdy and loud in excitement.  But right on the dot, they headed outside to find more plastic eggs and some hard-boiled ones.  Again, tricky bunny, the eggs were harder to find.  I said maybe they had a new Easter Bunny (we've discussed that there are probably several), on the 10 and up level!

And then, the kids and I watched Mockingjay Part 2.   Not exactly happy Easter fare, but we enjoyed seeing the last of the movie series.  And even though it's the saddest in terms of favorite characters dying, it didn't dampen our day.  (Probably helps that we all knew what to expect.)

It wasn't long after that our guest arrived.  We hadn't seen Miss N for a couple of years and were excited to catch up on news of her new life in Hawaii (on the "Big Island.")  And we got an invitation to visit and stay with her!!!  (You can bet we're looking into that.)    We had a nice big lunch, talked about traveling all over the world (she has been to Iceland and Peru and Kenya and more), and then  made our Shaker Lemon Pie, which was delicious.  While it baked, the kids organized an egg hunt for Miss N, who had never done that before.  Nor had she played the "hotter/colder" game for finding something.  And so we wandered altogether around the yard finding eggs.  The kids have gotten better at hiding them, too!

After she left, late in the day, we all just lounged around, not quite ready to end the weekend and face the school/work week.  Spring.  Easter.  Rebirth.  Renewal.  New Beginnings. All of that would wait til Monday!

Countdown to Easter

Thursday:
Sis stayed home because the doctor Thursday afternoon said she had probably had the flu and was only just getting over it (strep test negative.)  We lolled around, watching "Glee," our new show (yes, there are a lot of adolescent situations but it gives us a chance to talk--about sex, pleasure, responsibility, feminism, sexism, body issues, bullying, homophobia, acceptance, etc etc etc.)

Bud came home midday (it was just a half day) and we hung out for a bit before running off to an appointment, picking up some dinner, and having some frozen yogurt.

That evening, I was gone for three hours on a night shoot for a new promotional video for the historic house.  I was very self-conscious but eventually settled into my role as narrator and costumed interpreter.  In fact, though it was in no way like a movie, I had some insight into several things--waiting waiting waiting around while lighting, set, props, etc were set up; trying to keep the same lines fresh over and over again without tripping on any words; taking direction to turn my head this way, modulate my voice that way, move a prop another way, and emote half the sentence like I did in the first take and half like the second; getting the giggles when I flubbed a line (cursing, too); becoming super self-conscious of how I looked, sounded, and moved.  But I had a great time and the video turned out pretty well.  (If I know you personally IRL and you want to see a copy of it, I'll send it to you; just email me.)


Friday:
We were kinda dull on Friday, with Sis still recovering and Bud tired after a long week at school (he was probably fighting the virus Sis had without actually developing the flu.)  We had pizza and watched Beetlejuice, which holds up pretty well some thirty years later.  The kids didn't quite get it, but nobody was scared of the ghosts or sad about the deceased.

I finished crocheting a blanket for an old high school buddy with whom I've reconnected and sent it on its way; she's having surgery and I wanted her to know I was thinking of her.  It's my usual Giant Granny Square but with a new edging called the Crab Stitch (mainly reverse single crochet around a row of double crochet.)  The colors in the photo are a little muted because it was overcast--it's actually a lovely lavender, some deeper  light green, and blue.

I did manage some shopping for the last of our Easter grocery needs.  Our final menu includes deviled eggs, pimento cheese, ham, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, cheddar cheese rolls, green peas, and Shaker Lemon pie, with Zinger Sherbet Punch.   And I got some hyacinths and hydrangeas for Ma and for me.


Saturday:
The Easter Penguin came!    There weren't any wet footprints because we don't have carpet anymore, but he did leave the kids a set of Minecraft blocks.  We had asked Bud if he thought the Easter Penguin would come and Bud reiterated that the Easter Penguin was very reliable.

The kids skipped their morning activities, both because they weren't feeling great and because Ma and Gong arrived . . . . so we went to the movies instead!  Yep, went to see Zootopia, which was funny but also a good teachable moment on race, biological determinism, stereotypes, prejudice, free will, the role of police in society--it even had a plot to incriminate the "predators" by poisoning them with toxic flowers (see recent interview excerpts with Nixon lacky Ehrlichman who said the war on drugs was exaggerated to criminalize and oppress African Americans and hippies/war protestors.)  All it needed was #PredatorsLivesMatter.

We had lunch at a new traditional Mexican restaurant which serves fresh tableside-made guacamole, lots of grilled foods (including cactus!),  lots of authentic-seeming dishes, and fresh tortillas (I know, Texans, none of that sounds special but this is Connecticut.)  Some of it was even too spicy for Ma and Gong!

The afternoon was a hodgepodge of "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," eating apple pie, Bud trying out Gong's tai chi sword, building an Easter nest (there were flowers in bloom this year!!), making origami bunnies and frogs, and eventually saying goodbye to Ma and Gong.

We planted a hydrangea to mark the almost-one-year anniversary of the death of beloved Aunt Sis (today, btw, was the first anniversary since my emergency surgery.)  We had planted two other hydrangeas this spring in her memory, but I think only one survived the winter (and my gardening!)

Then the "work" started!  We pulled out the Easter decorations and purged some of the books and things.  We always find extra egg decorating kits--and so Sis chose plain tab Pas dye and Bud did tie dye.  I drew on a few eggs with a Sharpie and a wax crayon--see my bunny, Bay Max, and Totoro.  Lots of fun.  Then I prepped some dishes while Mama made the traditional last-minute run to the store.  And the kids and I hid some eggs and left a basket for the little girl and boy across the street.

Whew!

And it's not even Easter yet.

Easter Weekend

One of the reasons we were so excited that Gommie could come up was so that she could help us celebrate Easter this weekend.  And celebrate we did!

The day started with our traditional visit from our non-traditional Easter Penguin, who left a treat near the fairy-door entrance to our house.  I can't even recall what he left--there were so many treats and gifts this weekend (the bunny and penguin must have felt for us.)

Then we decorated Easter eggs.  We had about 3 dozen boiled white-shelled eggs, so one for Bud and Sis separately, and one for me and Gommie to split.  Except then a few cracked in the boiling process so it was about 7 for Gommie and me.  I always read such fantastic and inventive ways to decorate eggs online, but we went with the really straightforward:  Pas colorful tab dyes in vinegar.  Sis likes to play with the colors and takes her dyeing very seriously.  I tried a food-coloring-in-rice technique that I just discovered and that looked easy, except my food colorings are gel not liquid and so it didn't quite work, but it has great promise.  And it got hard sticky rice everywhere!  And finally, we did some doodle, or Zentangle, eggs.  Bud, Gommie, and I really got into this with our colorful Sharpie collection--grids, Cadent, swirls, roses, "Zendala" flowers, spirals, starbursts, etc.  We had such fun.  Though, each of us discovered separately how hard it is to make a grid on an elliptical egg!  Luckily, we're over being egg perfectionists so that it didn't matter that the grids didn't meet well.  And they looked beautiful altogether.

Sis also made the delicious apple crumb cake, while Gommie and Mama threw together the pimiento cheese recipe to set overnight.

Otherwise, we relaxed.  I sat on the couch--I'm mobile enough to be downstairs all day (pain-wise, this is much easier than my back injury; mentally and physically, I know it is really much more serious)--with walking, sitting, and some napping in the afternoon.  We watched Penguins of Madagascar.  Sis went to ice skating.  Bud practiced kung fu.  Gommie put together her very first Lego set all by herself!!! (Really, I'm very impressed--I've never tried to make one.  And Bud was thrilled that she was interested.)  I did a little walking outside, to admire the beginning crocus, daffodil, and hyacinth blossoms. Sis even constructed Easter nests outside, with branches from the boxwood and pine tree, the only green in the yard, and put one of her yard ornament rabbits next to them. And dear Lambeth called to check in--it was great to talk to you!!!  (Then I went to the surgeon, not relaxing, but that was another post.)

At bedtime, Sis put out carrots and apparently left a survey for the Easter Bunny to complete--with questions about what the bunny's name was, what she looked like, how many there are, and if our cats were nice to her!  (Oh, and if she were a boy or girl bunny.)

Sis was up early the next morning, so ready for what she says is her favorite holiday.  They tried not to wake us up before 7, but we could hear their giggling through the walls, especially because the bunny had answered the survey and left them treats in their plastic collecting baskets (vs. their wicker gift baskets.)  We were up and downstairs looking for eggs in no time.

BTW:  Her name is Scamper Cottontail.  She is a girl bunny, specifically a white Angorra bunny, normal-sized but she has magic to manage things.  There are lots of Easter Bunnies, divided by county to get the job down.  She likes to deliver eggs, "glitter pink" being her favorite color.  And our cats were very nice to her.  She even petted Patron's tummy and Mojito purred at her.  Albus followed her about and Hermione is just so sweet!

Okay, there were dozens of plastic eggs all over the downstairs living rooms and the kids made rather short work of finding them all, mostly without fighting with each other over who found which egg (no calling, "I see it, that's mine!").  They were filled with trinkets (post its, little plastic figures) and coins.

And then we retrieved our gift baskets off the front porch.  So many wonderful gifts from the bunny!  At our house, even adults get things.  Gommie got a Zentangle book and Mama got some DS games (and a 3DS player), plus candy (caramels and jelly beans for Gommie) and salty things (something from Trader Joe's like Corn Nuts--yes, Scamper apparently shops at Trader Joe's!), plus Mojito mix!  The kids got pajamas, small Legos, lots of chocolate (the Autism Speaks-supporting Lindt bunnies only!), other treats, figurines for Infinity and Smash Brothers games, and some DVDs (Into the Woods, Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies) and a game (Just Dance 2014.)  I got scarves (one b&w infinity scarf and one pastel Easter egg-colored scarf), a little figurine of a woman holding a bunny, Speculoos cookies and chocolate bar, Prismacolor pencils, and a new sketchbook.  I think Scamper felt bad for all of us!  We were spoiled to the hilt.

By 8 a.m., we let the kids run around outside looking for the dyed eggs, which the bunny always hides outside (can't have cats eating boiled eggs . . . or have us not find one!)  They missed all the really obvious ones (on my windshield and bumper, in the pot next to the front door!) and found the more tricky ones, which was funny to watch.  Apparently, there are two missing eggs still.  I'm guessing our raccoons had a special treat.  And there was yet one more treat in their outdoor nests!  That bunny!  It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed walking the driveway and front walk (the ground is sometimes too uneven when I don't feel sure-footed.)

Whew.  8:30 a.m. and we felt like we'd had a full day already (or at least, I did!)  We spent the whole day playing with said treats--Gommie and the kids danced "YMCA" on Just Dance.  We all watched Into the Woods, which was good even if they cut some good songs and shortened the second act too much.  It's a very nice show.  Gommie doodled with her new supplies.  Mama had the longest nap she's had in ages.

And we ate.  There was a bit of smoked ham from Nodine's, which we'd saved in the freezer.  Plus roasted potatoes, asparagus, green beans, and carrots. Plus pimiento cheese salad with crackers and dinner rolls.  There was also delicious leftover butternut squash soup, from a friend's delivery on Saturday (we've been getting awesome meals!)  And the apple cake.  It wasn't formal--we huddled around our small kitchen table without even formally setting it.  But we were all their together, which was a treat in itself.

I didn't reflect too closely on Easter themes this year--death, rebirth, renewal, etc hit a little to close to home, between my emergency surgery and Aunt Sis's death.  So we embraced family and fun and creativity and food, life-sustaining, life-affirming activities.  And we were rewarded with a wonderful day!

Early Easter

As per our usual Hungry Family tradition, we had our Easter celebration today, starting when the Easter Penguin delivered a small present--a stone figurine of the Easter Penguin itself!--leaving behind wet footprints.  Then my in-laws--Ma, Gong, and Goo--came up for a big Easter lunch and some egg decorating, after kung fu and ice skating that is.  

We had considered going out for lunch, still feeling some of the effects of jet lag and not having gone shopping yet, but decided yesterday that we'd rather just make a ham.  Easy enough.  It's the fixin's that are all the work.  And Bud wanted Eton Mess, his favorite dessert from our trip, and he repeatedly told me that he just knew that homemade meringues were going to make it the best ever.

And so, we had baked ham, macaroni and cheese, "wrinkled" green beans, salad, baked potatoes (oiled, salted, and pierced, for 60-90 minutes@ 350F), drop biscuits, and Eton Mess with lots of different berries.  And homemade meringues.

Afterwards, we experimented with rubber-cement decorating of eggs, with the cement blocking color and allowing us to make different patterns.  Sis and Bud each peeled an egg and decorated its wobbly insides!  And Bud drew a TARDIS on one blue egg and covered another in foil to make a Cyberman.

Now all the eggs are outside in Easter nests, not made of the grass and wildflowers of my childhood because NOTHING is growing up here in cold Connecticut, but made from leftover seashells and some boxwood branches and just a few hearty purple flowers.

Let's just hope it's warm enough to hunt for eggs in the morning without coats!

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Ham
Always ham for Easter and we’d pick off the chewy dark bits as soon as it was out of the oven. Very good the next day cut up into macaroni and cheese.
To make red eye gravy, merely boil ham drippings and add water.  Some people add coffee.

Bake uncovered at 325°F for 1 1/2-2 hours.
Gommie Hungry

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Whole Foods Macaroni and Cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Dash hot sauce (optional)
grated nutmeg to taste
cooked pasta and/or vegetables

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk thoroughly to incorporate into a roux.  Cook roux briefly till it is bubbling,then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly till all the ingredients are incorporated.  Add remaining ingredients and cook a few minutes til sauce is thickened and all ingredients are incorporated.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (salt and nutmeg.)  Serve with  your favorite pasta or vegetables.


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"Wrinkled" Green Beans

green beans, washed and trimmed and cut into preferred size
garlic, minced--as much as you like (garlic powder suffices)
olive oil
soy sauce
Maggi

If green beans are tough or old, steam or blanch first.  I steamed ours in a covered dish in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Heat oil and saute minced garlic.  Add green beans and cook on medium high until green beans begin to wrinkle.  Add soy sauce and Maggi to taste, along with about 1/2 cup water.  Cover and cook until desired tenderness.  Serve immediately.

Mama Hungry
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Drop Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk

Preheat to 450F.

Combine dry ingredients.  But in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk and stir just until dough clings together.  Drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet.  Bake until golden, approximately 10-12 minutes.

Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

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Eton Mess
meringues
whipped cream
berries and/or jam

Crumble meringue cookies into whipped cream and layer with berries and/or jam.  Serve immediately.

Meringues:
• 3 large egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1) Preheat the oven to 200°F. Prepare a sheet of parchment paper by tracing a 9" round cake pan with a pencil to create a circle. Flip the paper pencil-side down and place on a baking sheet. You should still be able to see the circle outline through the paper.
2) In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
3) Combine the Baker's Special sugar and cornstarch and slowly add it to the whites, as you continue to beat. The mixture will thicken and turn glossy. Beat for about 1 more minute. Remove from the mixer and stir the lemon juice in by hand.
4) Spread the meringue on the parchment, staying within the circle. Use about 1 1/4 cups meringue to pipe a tall border around the edge of the meringue in the circle. When baked, this will form a ring to keep the cream and fruit from spilling over.
5) Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed. Cool the meringue in the oven for at least another hour, or up to overnight. The pavlova will color slightly from white to light tan. Small cracks are normal.

from the Pavlova recipe of King Arthur Flour

Our Easter Weekend

Sis's dyed eggs in her ivy nest among the crocuses.

Easter has come and gone, with lots of food, fun, eggs and bunnies, and not a little chaos.

Ma and Gong came on Saturday, bringing with them all manner of food.  My Easter offering of deviled eggs and pimiento cheese couldn't compare to mango sticky rice and various buns.

Our favorite part was coloring eggs, both by traditional dip-n-dye method and then using our new spin machines (rather like a salad spinner, but for eggs; I think you could use a salad spinner, if you had the right dyes.)  I had such a good time pushing the button to spin the egg.  And the eggs were beautiful!  Bud liked the spinner; Sis experimented with the dipped dyes, trying to get the riches color possible.  This year, we didn't bother with natural dyes; maybe again next year.

Lunch itself was rather a challenge and somewhat stressful.  I had hoped to make rolls snipped into bunny shapes for Sis, but something went wrong.  The dough came out of the bread machine with little specks--the paddle had dropped some of its coating.  And then fuzz from the towel I'd dried my hands on transferred to the dough and, well, it was a lost cause.  Then we made a mistake with the potatoes--Mama used the Celsius temperature instead of Fahrenheit and we never could get the potatoes right after that, too dried out but not totally cooked.  So we ran to the store and got macaroni and cheese in a box, green beans in a bag, and refrigerated pizza dough to finagle some rolls.  So lunch was late.  The ham--from Harrington's in Vermont--was very good and we liked the rolls and Sumi salad and macaroni and cheese.  Still, it was a stressful effort and not exactly what we had in mind.

That evening, after Ma and Gong had returned to the city, Sis and Bud played outside and even decided to make Easter nests.  But unlike last year, we have no grass growing and not much in the way of greenery to form the base of the nest.  So they cut some ivy off a nearby tree and used that.  We didn't want to pull up our crocuses or snowdrops, so they built the nest amidst them.  And placed one egg inside it for the Bunny to hide.   The rest of the eggs, along with some celery, were left on the porch with our empty baskets.

Sunday was much more relaxed . . . even though it started way too early.  The kids woke up excited around 3 a.m. and chatted with each other for hours.  At 6 a.m., we finally let them look for the eggs inside.  But first, Sis checked the letter she'd written to the Easter Bunny, asking for an autograph and/or a picture; she got both!  The Easter Bunny drew a picture of her tail--Sis called it an 8 x 10 butt glossy--and signed her name, complete with ears, decorated egg, and carrot!  Besides having a sense of humor, the Bunny was clever (or tricky) this year--she's definitely upped the difficulty level--hiding eggs up high and under things.  The kids had a challenge finding the candy- and coin-filled plastic eggs.

On the porch, having eaten the celery Sis left for her, the Bunny had filled our baskets with chocolate bunnies, books, puzzles, musical scores, tea, flowers, and pajamas.  Then Mama and I took a nap while they played and ate their treats.

At 8 a.m., we finally allowed them outside for the next egg hunt (waiting til then so we wouldn't wake up the neighbors).  Sis was way ahead of Bud in the egg-finding business; she gets that from me!  I am an excellent egg hunter.  So much so that my mom and Aunt Banana accuse me of cheating.  I didn't have to cheat, though; I had five years of experience and several inches on Aunt Banana--who needed to cheat?  Sis didn't have a size or experience advantage, but she is still just better.  And Bud was getting sad and frustrated.  So, halfway through, we talked to her quietly about her superior skills and generosity and sensitivity, not to make sure they got equal numbers of eggs but so that she knew she had the chance to help him have a better day.  And that egg totals didn't matter.  They found the last egg together, after circling the house three times (we knew we had given the Bunny 36 dyed eggs), which was hidden in the middle of the yard, just in the grass!  We almost stepped on it.  It was hilarious!

Then we had a great big breakfast of eggs, biscuits, bacon, sausage, and sausage gravy!   Mmmm.  The rest of the day was slow-paced,with naps, The Music Man, and more food.  Bedtime came very early--the kids were sound asleep before 8 p.m. and I was in bed by 8:30 p.m.!

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Tangy Green Beans

4 slices bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

2-16 oz. cans whole green beans, drained (or 16 oz. fresh)

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon (or 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast)

3/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon pepper

            Microwave bacon until brown, removed and crumble (or just boil in green beans!)  Combine other ingredients (add extra water if necessary); cook until thoroughly heated.

                                                                                                                       

Gommie Hungry

Sausage Gravy
Cook sausage in skillet, removing sausage when cooked and reserving oil.  Brown flour (2-4 tablespoons) in grease; add grapeseed or vegetable oil if necessary.  Add milk (1 cup for each tablespoon of flour) and cook gently until thickened, without boiling.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over biscuits.

Mommy Hungry

A New Spin on Easter

We had such fun with our Dudley Spin-an-Egg apparati today.  While we also dyed solid color eggs in light pastels as well as rich brights (Sis's favorite), I had the most fun spinning eggs with multiple dyes; Bud did, too.  Besides being fun, the result was very similar to the eggs of my childhood--beautiful, richly-colored, marbled eggs made with the now defunct Ruby's egg dyes.  Bud said, "I'm an egg artist!"

Here are some of our spinner art eggs:

Spring Break: A Colorful Day

Saturday started early, with a surprise visit from the Easter Penguin:

The Easter Penguin visits the night before Easter eve, bringing small treats.  And also wet footprints!

Then we got ready:

Making "Easter-bread" houses,

making natural dyes with turmeric, blueberries, and beets,

dyeing eggs,

mixing the dyes to create new colors,

and building Easter Nests, which is a tradition from Gommie's side of the family and my childhood.  There are rarely enough flowers and grasses in CT at Easter but we managed.  And it was wonderful to share this tradition with the kiddos.  We filled the nests with some of our dyed eggs, as well as carrots for the bunny.

Easter Begins

We've started our Easter festivities, with the unboxing of our Easter decorations and supplies this morning.  Sis loves to pull out the dozen or so stuffed bunnies with which to decorate the house.  And there's more than enough baskets for everyone.  We used two of the indestructible plastic ones to go to an egg hunt organized by our school's PTA (though, why a public school organization is hosting an activity based on a Christian holiday--when they avoid all mention of the others--is beyond me; still, because our new church doesn't do a big egg hunt, we wanted to go.)  While we were there, my LDS friend mentioned "Resurrection Eggs" with which she and her youngsters study their nightly Bible verses geared towards Easter.  I had never heard of them but a quick Google tells me they are quite the thing in certain circles, with a goody in each egg tied to a part of the Biblical story (you can make your own.)   Huh.  Kinda like Advent calendars, I guess.  As I explained to the mom when she asked if we celebrated, we do more of a celebration of spring and the bunny, even if we'd gone into the Passion a lot yesterday at the Cloisters.

We're also making our plans for the rest of our celebrations--possible Easter menu and any new additions; experimenting with natural dyes as well as the commercial Paas ones; making Easter Bunny houses with gingerbread kits; and all of our activities with Gommie and Pop, who plan to be here before Good Friday.  More as it happens . . . .

Easter Snapshots

Picture this:

Sis was awake at 6 a.m., ready to see if the Easter Bunny had visited our house (this will sound familiar to my parents!). She couldn't contain her excitement and soon had Bud awake too. Then I heard them discussing and debating the egg-hunt rules. A big one was "don't get ahead." They were approaching this egg hunt as a team.

I fetched the kids around 6:30, eager myself to start the day and not wanting them to start fighting before our usual 7 a.m. wake up time. "I'm just too excited," Sis announced as we found socks and long sleeves to go out in the cool, foggy morning air.

Bud spotted the first eggs in the house (which the Easter Bunny had accessed via our very useful "fairy door") and thus knew the Bunny had visited. It's a good thing, too, because I don't think any of our neighbors would relish a noisy egg hunt at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning! They made quick work of the dozen or so jellybean-filled eggs in the house and then peeked out the porch window to see if their empty baskets had been filled.

"This is the best Easter so far!" Sis joyfully announced as she counted up her small, medium, and large chocolate bunnies (the kids, you see, sorta have two Easter Bunnies and we both bought chocolate!). Bud immediately unpeeled the foil from his caramel Cadbury egg, dripping caramel strings all over himself, the carpet, and me. More than that, though, they marveled at the extremely large "realistic" bunnies they'd spotted at the store weeks earlier on a prescription med run (Sis even seemed to remember that she'd seen the bunny at the store but didn't figure out how the Easter Bunny knew she wanted it; same with Bud and his chocolate football goalpost treat). They even rode around the porch on the bunnies for a bit. They wondered at the half-eaten carrots and strawberries--"I guess the bunny was here!" (that was the clue?? Not the filled baskets and eggs?? Or was it proof that it was a bunny?)--and praised the beautiful eggs that the Bunny had made and left for them (guess which colors?!). Then they seemed to suddenly remember that there were eggs to hunt--luckily it was just 7 a.m., what I deemed acceptable egg-hunt time. And so we headed outside.

(BTW, the Easter Bunny visits everyone in our house--Mama got 5 hot sauces of varying types and intensities; I got chocolate and a cookbook. Thank you, Easter Bunny!)

Once outside, they did indeed stick to their "rules"--"we have rules, Mom," Sis had informed me (I had my own rules--no taking an egg if someone is reaching for--or has "called it" first)--and ran and walked near each other the whole time. Which was apparently necessary because Sis was being choosy about the kind of eggs she wanted to pick up. She mainly wanted pink eggs and thus would direct Bud to an egg she didn't want, "Here, Bud, is an egg for you. It's blue." At least she had a plan.

There was one egg neither wanted: the slug egg. Overnight, a slug had attached itself to one of the dyed hardboiled eggs. Something I'd never seen before. Until we saw it again 3 more times. Do slugs smell? How did they find the eggs? And only the real ones? Curiouser and curiouser.

They actually found just about the same number of eggs (but perhaps only because Sis gave away the ones she didn't want). And only missed 4 on their first full pass around the yard (including the requisite two in the mailbox). Of course, Mama and I gave lots of hints and were probably a tad too helpful. They exclaimed over all the eggs, both plastic and dyed, and were excited by how full their baskets got.

Soon, we were all back on the porch opening the plastic ones, filled with quarters, jellybeans, and mini chocolate eggs. As they sorted through the treats, Sis and Bud talked about Easter. "Easter is the holiday of new life," Sis explained. "And maple leafs." Huh? She never did explain.

They played with the new bunnies and ate an exorbitant amount of candy before we headed to church. When warned about eating in the living room, Bud devised a new tactic--he would run into the kitchen and "chipmunk" jellybeans (his favorites were red, her least favorite, which worked perfectly). Hilarious, but we had to put an end to that.

Church found them spotting the "hidden" eggs strewn across the yard and stuffed into the branches of bushes even before service began. Thank heavens for those large, very distracting and entertaining bunnies, for we'd never have gotten through service. Finally, it was egg-hunting time and the kids headed out with their egg-carton bunny baskets, which they could each fill with 12 plastic eggs. Bud was off, but Sis progressed more slowly. Again, she was only picking up pink eggs. Even though we explained that we wouldn't keep the actual eggs but only the goodies inside. No matter. Pink. Which we then had to explain to all the helpful teens and other parents who tried to help Sis find other eggs. But she triumphed and soon had 12 pink eggs of varying hues in her egg carton. Time to eat the goodies! We learned from last year and had brought a container for emptying out the treats.

We headed home soon after and just hung out the rest of the very relaxed day, the culmination of a great Easter weekend.

Eggstravaganza

Our three dozen eggs (a dozen each for the kids and for the bunny):

• Bud's Tie-Dye Eggs (Paas kit)--Bud loved making these eggs, which were complicated because you had to place them in a plastic shell covered with wet cloth, insert a pipette filled with dye (all vinegar, no water), and color the egg. He even dipped some and then tie-dyed on top of them, making these great, subtle swirled designs.
• Sis's Glitter Eggs (Dudley's kit)--even though this involved paint and glitter and Sis carefully created two beautiful multi-colored eggs, she soon went back to a more traditional method.
• Sis's Traditional Dyed Eggs (Paas kit)--dye tablets, water, vinegar, metal dipper=beautiful, strong-colored solid eggs, which she arranged in color groups in her egg carton.
• My Marble Magic Eggs (Paas kit)--trying to replicate the glorious swirled and marbled eggs of my childhood, which I have discovered were probably made with the now unavailable bunny-topped oil-based egg paints of Ruby's Easter Egg kits which had you dropping pink, yellow, and blue dye on the surface of the water and slowly and carefully swirling the egg through the dye and into the water (and once it was in, that egg was done)--the new marble method from Paas involved first dipping the eggs a pale color and then adding oil to the dyes and swirling the eggs back through a different color (or more than one color). Very messy but a pretty enough result. Nothing like those rich, saturated eggs of my childhood though (and the bunny's were always prettier than mine). I'll try again with something else next year (maybe Wilton gel food coloring?)

(Our own pictures later!)