Happy Easter

The heaviness of the past week is over, the chains are broken.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Oh Happy Day

 

Yesterday was a happy day.

My new shoes came.  Note to self:  don't wait so long to replace shoes.  The new ones, which are the same style and model as the old ones, except for color, have so much more cushion and support.

It was my daughter's birthday, kind of.  She was born on a Good Friday.  I don't remember her ever having an actual birthday on Good Friday, so she gets a bonus birthday.

I noticed that there is now enough sunlight, on sunny days, for my back porch solar lights to light up in the evening, at least for a while.  That string of lights is such a joy for me.

When I was cleaning in the living room I found a lost earring under an ottoman.  A found earring is a treasure.

And one thing more - the bottle of gummy multivitamins is now empty.  After my intubation it was hard to swallow the regular vitamins and I had a big bottle of gummies.  Now the bottle is empty and swallowing is easy and natural once again.

It was a good day.

Carrots

 

My neighbor came home from a small trip raving about the lemon maple carrots he had at a restaurant he visited.  So of course  I had to look up a recipe.  They are indeed worth raving about and I suggest that you too look up a recipe.  Mine was from Food Network.

I feel like there's not much to talk about today.  I've mailed Easter cards, including a pretty pop-up one for a very young friend.  As always, I wish I had one or two more cards.  

I had a recipe in mind for an orange coffee cake for the church Easter brunch, but I can't find it.

If you're wondering how long you can keep a frozen turkey in the freezer, I just looked it up - one website says two years and I'm going with that one.  Maybe next week I'll thaw it and roast it, but this weekend there will be ham.

I was happy to find Janet Evanovich's new book Dirty Thirty on the library's new books shelf.  Her Stephanie Plum series is always a little predictable but always so humorous.  It's fun to meet the same cast of characters, even the hamster who lives in a soup can.

Friday Evening

Best ever - Friday evening dinner with my college grand girl.  At Goose and Elder close to Findlay Market.  We both had fish and chips, whch fulfilled a March goal for me - to have just that on a Friday evening during Lent.

I was impressed - Nora had an app on her phone for city parking.  She is becoming confident with finding her way around the city.  

I had the grandmother fun of giving her several grocery bags of provisions and good things to eat.  Some early morning foods, like Luna Bars and yogurt and homemade egg bites.  Some fun, like chocolate chip cookies and jelly beans and chocolate.  Some good for her like pasta, cheese, whole wheat bread, and Lean Cuisines.  Some paper goods.

Nora is a busy girl and I was delighted to spend a few hours just catching up with her.

 

Christmas Bag

 

My older friend who lives in a nursing home has a Singer Featherweight and she enjoys making small quilts.  Around the end of November she pieced and quilted two of these square pieces and asked me to make a zipper bag for her to take to Bingo.  She loves the Bingo games there.

We all remember how December worked out, and those two pieces have been living in my studio, just hanging out.  Now, it's mid March, and her little bag is ready.  It has a pretty light red lining and a red zipper.  Actually an invisible zipper, pretending to be a regular zipper.   And boxed corners so it can sit upright on a table.

I guess we'll have to consider it a first Christmas 2024 project completed.

Socks

 

Are these not the jazziest socks?  They arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  Along with a pair of Nike compressions socks, a little different from the ones I've been wearing.  Thanks, Sarah.

I wish - I was falling asleep more easily.  I'm usually a good sleeper.  I suspect that I haven't adjusted to the time change yet.

It was such a treat yesterday to have lunch with some of my retreat friends.  The Greyhound Tavern was such a good choice.  It's one hundred years old, especially favored by an older crowd.  It was crowded but still quiet.

Today - I really have to work on that worship banner.  It's Friday, Sunday is almost here.

Bookcase

 

Not my art.  The art on top of the bookcase was made by a friend and I've enjoyed it for the last many years.  Make more art, Janelle!  You're amazing.

There was a visitation this morning for a long time family friend.  When my husband died - 28 years ago - she and her husband made the two-hour trip to bring my older daughter home.  One of those things you don't forget.

And her daughter - hosted the rehearsal dinner for my older daughter's wedding.  Another of those things you don't forget.

And her grandson took my very young grandchildren fishing in the lake behind his house.

One of my former co-workers from the sewing machine store came to the visitation.  An example of different paths crossing.