HAPPY EASTER

 

Over with Easter and on with SPRING…..and hopefully some warm weather!! Vancouver is dull with heavy clouds and fresh snow on the mountains, but you never know around here, because I have this theory that by approx. 4 pm, the weather makes a change either for the worse or the better. Today, it has to be for the better!!!

I’m mixing my colours like an decorated Easter egg!!  Have you ever wondered where the Easter bunny idea came from?

 

The Easter Bunny is Born

The first appearance of an egg laying rabbit emerged amongst German Protestants during the 1700s. They wished to retain the Catholic custom of eating coloured eggs for Easter without having to fast. (Catholics were forbidden to eat eggs during lent,(I never heard of that!) and were therefore abundant on Easter Sunday).

German immigrants introduced the “Osterhase”, which means Easter Hare, to Pennsylvania in the 18th century. The Germans told their children about the hare that would only lay colourful eggs in nests created for him by good boys and girls. The tradition has spread and is now celebrated among many cultures, some with slight differences.

So, now you know the rest of the story!!

We just arrived back from Tom’s long awaited CAT scan that was booked after our Christmas cruise, and then went and had lunch and bought some groceries, however…..it’s very difficult to buy groceries when we have no fridge, which isn’t delivered until next Thursday. So, we hope the cooler weather holds until then and Mother Nature keeps our food cool for us. Only this time we CROW and SEAGULL proof them!!

I took a few pictures on the way home of some trees in bloom.

These are the beautiful delicate blooms below.

This tree is so pretty when in bloom, however, from the picture above, the flowers don’t last too long. Some already fading.

I forget the name of these, but they are everywhere!! A few more different tree’s along the way home where in bloom, but we couldn’t stop in traffic to take them! But, it’s pretty around here!

 

I took a picture of this very beautiful lady at the Mall. Isn’t she lovely!

This handsome, well dressed man just had a CAT scan, and I just had to snap of picture of his hospital outfit!!

 

and

HAPPY EASTER

I hope Peter Cotton Tail, comes hopping down your bunny trail!!

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday…a day for remembering that Jesus died on the cross for us!

When I was younger, brought up in the Catholic faith, taught by nuns, went to church not only on Sunday, but also, every mornings throughout Holy Week before Easter, down on my knees saying the rosary at each of  the Stations of the Cross, I felt such a strong faith within myself. I could feel God with me. That faith is still as strong in me as those long ago yesterdays and even though, as I grew up,  and eventually grew away from the church and on with other things that tend to consume our mind and time and life, my faith, and the feeling that God is with me has never left.

Oh sure, I go to church only at Christmas now, but my belief today is not with any particular religion, although the Roman Catholic faith is still very strongly the core of my faith. I just don’t believe anymore you have to be in a church to still practice your faith.

Practice…what does that mean? To me, it’s believing in God, doing all the things that make me as good a person, that I can possibly be.

One thing ingrained in my mind as a child is the Catechism. The CAPITAL SINS, Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy,Sloth

THE CARDINAL VIRTUES  ‘Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance’.

And of course…THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

I am the LORD thy God. Thou shall have no strange gods before Me

Thou shall not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

Honour thy father and thy mother.

Thou shall not kill.

Thou shall not commit adultery

Thou shall not steal.

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour

Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s wife.

Thou shall not covet thy neighbour's goods.

Oh Boy….have I broken a few of those!!!

However, it’s Good Friday tomorrow, and I still remember being told that Jesus died at 3pm (what time zone, I never thought about as a child), but I’ve always remembered that, and never forgot it, so tomorrow at 3 pm, I will remember as I do every Good Friday, what it all means, give thanks and say a prayer that, always  God is very near.

I hope everyone out there, at least gives a thought to that tomorrow!!

MEMORIES OF EASTER AND THE INVISIBLE TAILOR

I have so many great memories of Easter’s in the past, while I was growing up in Owen Sound, Ontario. When my two brothers, Michael and John and younger sister Roxanne (not born when this picture was taken) were young children, the tradition for us, was to put out our hat on the buffet, and the Easter Bunny would fill it with beautiful eggs.

Of course we didn’t know it at the time, but those beautiful decorated Easter eggs where made by my father!! He was a man of many talents, and he loved to make holidays special for his kids. He knew of a restaurant that made chocolates and they would give dad huge chunks of chocolate and these cast-off molds of bunnies, chicks and many different size eggs. When I look back, we never did suspect or get the smell of chocolate being melted after we where in bed. But, he must of had some late nights and hunted for some great hiding places, so we wouldn’t find them. Dad had a knack of decorating them too, and his favourite design was lily of the valley and those big and delicious sugar roses, you still see on cakes, but ours was hard candy like roses. Our Easter eggs became works of art, and our biggest problem was having to take a bite and destroy such beautiful creations. They where beautiful and bountiful, and our hats left out for the bunny overflowed.

For Mom, he always made a special one! One so beautiful, it took our breath away! A huge chocolate egg, with icing ribbon and bows, and roses and lily of the valley adorned it.

Then, we always had nice new clothes to wear to Mass on Easter Sunday. A new Easter bonnet, and new patent leather new shoes. I remember one dress mom made for me that was more special then anything off the shelf. The pattern was little tiny violets, which have always been my favorite flower ever since  and violets always make me think of that special dress that I loved and the love that was put into making it.

I also had a new camel coloured coat, and I loved the colour. I walked to Mass in my new dress, hat, with ribbons flowing from the hat as I walked, and stopping every few minutes to wipe of the dust from my new shiny shoes. As I was walking through the church parking lot, my sleeve caught on a car door handle (those old handles that where a open latch). My sleeve caught in the handle and I heard a horrible rrrrrip! I had torn my new coat from the sleeve to almost the elbow. Talk about a life-time feeling and memory that gave me the sickest feeling, deep in my tummy.

When I showed my parents and told my tale of woe, Dad, told me not to worry, he knew this invisible tailor that would fix it to be just like new! INVISIBLE TAILOR?????? What the heck could that be? What did he mean? So the next day, my beautiful coat disappeared from the hanger, and all week, I wondered how Dad would even find an tailor if he was invisible! A week later, my Dad called me in from play to show me my coat, back on the hanger, and I couldn’t find where it had been torn at all, but what relief!! My new coat was just like new again!

Dad also, being the romantic, would write poetry to Mom and make these little cards with a cute little poem and the outside of his card was made with a branch of pussy willows, with little cat faces painted on the fuzzy part. So cute!!! Now where do you find a romantic man like that these days???

Roxanne, my baby sister was born right near Easter in and her birthday is tomorrow! What a delightful Easter gift for the rest of the family!!

Roxanne and I have always been very close and I love her very much!

This is Sam (my kids couldn’t say Roxanne, so she got stuck being called Sam. Also, her boyfriend Kass.

Happy Birthday Roxanne

xoxoxoxox

IT’S BEEN A BAD DAY

Woke up this morning, racing to get my shower before making breakfast, because today we were going out to lunch for a little birthday celebration for a friend of ours. When I got out of the shower, the shower curtain rod fell down and it’s impossible to get it up by myself, so waited until Tom could fix it. What a production that was!

I dried my hair, curled it and put on make-up, then went about to make some fruit smoothies for Tom and I. Went to get some ice cubes out of the fridge and they just had a thin layer of ice instead of hard cubes. I put the ice cube trays in last night! We’ve been having a problem with the freezer/fridge not getting cold enough for ice cream, but we never bothered to call someone to look at the freezer. We waited too long!!

The freezer was packed full of meat, that was thawing out fast!! I threw out half of it and took the rest that still had ice crystals in it, next door to an empty apartment for which we have  the key, and the permission to use the apt, until it’s sold. I had to throw out so much meat that it took  one of the largest size black garbage bags to the garbage. What a waste!! I had a turkey that was thawed, but still cold, so I threw it into the oven to cook. We ate some for dinner tonight, and haven’t died yet, so I guess it was still okay.

We had the repair man in and he said to start looking for a new fridge!! So, we cancelled our party plans for lunch, and after getting the kitchen cleaned up again and the fridge all wiped out, be began our quest for a fridge.

We found one we liked, a two-door, with freezer on the bottom, and in white to match our stove and washer and dryer. Then,  told it wouldn’t arrive until April 17th!

Of course the weather has turned warm and I can’t store anything out on the deck during the day , even though if I do, I’ll sure put it under lock and key from the darn birds that ate my meatloaf this past week!!

The meat is okay left next door, and the fridge has a wee tiny bit of coolness in it, but hardly enough to keep the milk cold!

Oh yeah…when I did make the smoothies, without the cubes, I forgot to put the lid on the blender, so you can imagine the mess in the kitchen!! What a clean-up!

Also, to make matter’s really bad, I opened up an email this morning that my sister in law, has breast cancer. I’m saying tons of prayers and please say a few more for her, she’s a wonderful person and we love her so much!

So, that has been our miserable day, and I’m whipped, and ready to finish this off and go join Tom in bed to read awhile before heading off to dreamland!!

I’m wonked out!!