Finally Friday - Easter Weekend

 And a Good Friday/ Easter Weekend to all.   Here's a blast from the past - forsythia in PA.  This was at my father's house.  I wonder if it is still blooming or if the new owners have slashed it back. 

I like bunnies!

Ready for an egg hunt.  My tummy hurts from already eating too much chocolate - ha!  Bite off those ears. 

We'll probably be going out  to Kevin's house - young girls in pretty dresses will be fighting for those money eggs.  I hope your weekend is full of Easter grace.  Enjoy

Finally Good Friday - Happy Easter Weekend

Greetings and Happy Easter.  Hope it's a grand weekend with family,  friends, or just you - eat bunny ears with no regrets.    This is a past  arboretum picture - tulip festival

More arboretum

An ancient pic of me and dad at the Morris arboretum.  This very vital man is now 92 and I don't know that he knows it's Easter.  Oh Dad!

And one of my Easter displays.

We'll be going  to Kevin's. The girls shall have an Easter egg hunt. We'll eat a nice feast.  And plenty of chocolate overload. 

Cheers to you and blessings.  And yes, while not religious, I appreciate and honor the lovely aspects of the religious season.  Peace.    Peace.  That's all I ask.  No judgements.    Just  peace for all. 

Love

J
 

Monday Moments - Let's Review Some Easter Joy

Cute little girls before the chocolate mess on the pretty yellow dress

Dakota is 5 - she just bounced through the day, skipping, talking non-stop, and being adorable

Makyla is 14 - braces off and a cool young lady. She rolls her eyes at her younger sisters and gives more instructions than their mother. Ha!

Ray's family. The whole local herd. Sheer coincidence with all of the blue

The sons - Chris and Kevin. They've turned out darn well.  This was before the wrestling match. They are the reason I had footprints on a ceiling back in the day.  Boys!
 

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter weekend to one and all.   And for those celebrating Passover - blessing to you too.  

Saturday will be Easter egg hunt day with this crew. They are older now and we'll have to get creative with our hiding. I just hope it's not raining - soggy eggs...that's no fun

Meanwhile, last weekend Ray and I went to visit Aunt Pat and enjoy the bounty of Hill Country wildflowers. 

The bluebonnets were popping

Just a glorious time of year - not too hot, not too cold. Just right for  spring flowers.

Cheers to you and your families in this time of year for  renewal. 
 

Friday Flashback to Easter Fun (and Candy)

I've been in PA  visiting my super senior dad and relieving my siblings  from 24 hour care. No doubt I will have stories to tell.  But I've done some filler posts.  Let's flashback to fun Easter and cute girls in lovely Easter dresses - Dakota and Skylar.   Sweetness. 

Makyla is older sister and just growing into a lovely young  lady who loves the arts, etc. She has my heart - truly creative and finding her way. It's amazing. 

The whole family.  We had a fun Easter Sunday - good cookout, egg hunt, and  turns out new twin goats had been born. No pictures, but life in the country (an hour drive for us) yields a whole new world. 

No doubt I will have a Dad story or two in the weeks  ahead. OMG - he's a mess, but he's our mess. 

Until then,  Happy Friday. TGIF and have a great weekend. We zoom into MAY.   How can that be?  

 

Enjoy Easter Weekend

These two cuties are now 16 and 13.  I bet they still want to seek eggs and get a chocolate bunny

Tulips = Easter time .  Such a fave fleeting flower

I love Easter displays.  Spring eternal

 Fun to see pastel colors again. 

Hope everyone has a safe, fun, family filled weekend  with chocolate bunnies galore. 

Happy Easter!

Easter Weekend - lonely egg hunt and more

Easter weekend 2020 version shall lack pretty little girls in Easter finery. Our house (an hour away from Kevin's ) will not host an egg hunt - unless I cajole Ray into one. Somehow, that could be quite pitiful.

Doubt there's a basket full of treats (though I admit I've had jelly beans and chocolates through this whole Covid situation, and I am convinced they are a barrier to the virus).

If Ray finds and buys a small ham on Friday, we shall probably slice it and share with his folks.
A teensy celebration.

An Easter in April just means spring to me. A season of hope, flowers, fresh green grass, some allergy sneezing and coughing, and I'll repeat the word hope.

Easter 2020 - make the best of it, stay healthy, take a deep breath, and let's look to the near future with hope.  All the best, my friends.

Easter Weekend and Peace

To me, Easter is a time of reflection, peace, and a welcoming of spring

Relax and enjoy your weekend - time outdoors, time with family, and yes - time with that chocolate Easter bunny.  Chomp those ears!

 Happy Easter weekend everyone!   Here's my little tablescape at home.  It was nice to pull out my bunny stuff. Spring pastels and cuteness.  The little ceramic bunny - I made that back in junior high art class.

This bunny plate is a new treat. It caught my eye in the Anthropologie store in Southlake.  Cheap enough kitschy stuff....heck yeah, I wanted it.

I am in PA visiting my Dad. We'll be eating Easter brunch at my brother's place. It will be nice to see everyone. A little spring renewal.

My sister is on spring break for the upcoming week and she'll be popping in and out. Will we accomplish any clean out?  Will Dad allow us to pry stuff loose from his arthritic hands? Can we run faster than him using his walker?

Stay tuned. I will answer these questions and have some Dad senior stories at the end of the month.

Meanwhile - Happy Easter  - enjoy the spirit of the season.

Easter Break to Philly

Flying to Philly Thursday evening for a quick Easter weekend. Hippity-hop 

Time to check on my Dad and also do a white glove test - my sister swears she's been cleaning weekly. Hmmm. I'll let you know if she's telling the truth. I look forward to Easter lunch at my brother's. Should be calm and a good visit. 

Now Ray's invite to son Kevin's said, "What says Easter more than an egg hunt, 4-wheelers and a shoot-out (clay)? 

I'd be a tad nervous on the egg hunt - I bet snakes are waking up from hibernation and on the move. 

Best that I head to Philly and Ray head to the country. All parties are happy. 

I wish everyone an enjoyable Easter weekend. Reflect on spring - a time of renewal. 

Let's pray for peace for Belgium and the world

Not A to Z today. But E is for Easter

 Sunday is a day of rest.

Happy Easter!

OK - What Did You Miss in April?

It is May, but since I did A to Z Challenge (FUN!) you missed some good April stuff. I went to one of the best places on earth on Good Friday - the Dallas Arboretum. Check out the gloriousness

 Yes, Peacock in flowers.

 New water feature

I love this place.  And what the heck - do you still have a few jelly beans that fell into the couch? Or half of a chocolate bunny left because you ate the ears? Well - it's late but here is my Easter poem for 2014

Easter candy 

signals spring

fluorescent jelly beans

tangy mango surprise

familiar Hershey kisses

wrapped in pastel foils

melt memories of Christmas reds and greens

malted robin egg renewal

herald chirps outside

harsh winter grays fade to

blue sky dappled with marshmallow clouds 

we arise

H1: Happy Easter and Happy Birthday

Happy Easter! Officially, today is a rest day from the A to Z Blog Challenge. However, why not have an H1 greeting? Nothing says Easter like tulips.

So pretty and elusive. They don't last long, but tulips have to be a favorite. They shout spring with their color and grace.

Happy Birthday to my brother, David. Born April 8th, his birthday lands on Easter every few years and today's the day.

E: Easter, Epiphany, Elmer, and Ergot

E is for Easter. Unfortunately, I've eaten all of my jellybeans. I can remember Easters in PA with sunshine,tulips, and shiny Maryjane shoes. I can also remember wearing a winter coat over my new Easter duds.

Here's my epiphany on e-books - I don't think they'll eliminate paper. I was reluctant to climb aboard the e-train, but once I published my own book (My Zoo World) I decided I should see my format and how it works out on an e-reader. Santa brought me a Kindle and I'm hooked. I've downloaded free books, 99 cent specials,etc - books I would not have considered otherwise. It's opened new horizons. I still go to the library. I still buy hardbacks. AND I enjoy my e-reads.

Elmer was my maternal grandfather. He's long gone, and I think so is the name. What's Elmer say to you? He was a kindly farmer originally from Indiana, wore suspenders, held my hand as we ambled to the five and dime in Quakertown, PA. Think about your characters' names and the time period of your story. Could Elmer, the name, make a comeback?

And now, your deadly e-dose of the day: Ergot, aka St.Anthony's fire, is a fungus parasite that infests cereal grain, especially rye. Seldom seen today thanks to cereal screening. Whew! In the Middle Ages, death by ergot was epidemic (unless you prayed to St.Anthony). Antidote - gastric lavage followed by activated charcoal. Ewww!

Contented

I'm breaking all of my blogging rules on this post. I try to maintain a professional non-personal veneer. But - cute girls in Easter outfits. Abigail is almost seven and Maklyla is twoish - three in August.

You can tell they are cousins, and Abby is the leader - maybe even downright bossy. However, Makyla trundles along behind her.

And now - drumroll - an original poem inspired by Easter Sunday:

Contented

she followed her older cousin

six year old wise leader knew to

dash, grab, fill her basket

younger two year old stumbled

on unmown grass

plastic eggs beckoned

chubby fingers clutched a purple sphere

she waved it, delighted

something rattled

pried open to behold a penny

enraptured, she stood

filmy cloud of white dress

billowed, blonde hair windblown

studied her find, ignored entreaties to

seek more

satisfied with her prizes

Joanne Faries