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Be careful what you wish for, or look forward to. After another grueling, sad year, I found myself looking forward to spring and to Easter. I haven't looked forward to anything like this for a long, long time. When I was little, I loved Easter. My mother was great at Easter Baskets, and we had places you could buy sugared eggs, decorated panorama eggs to save, chenille chicks and bunnies, all kinds of wonderful plush, you name it. We loved our chocolate filled eggs, and we had lamb cake and made sweets. We got into antique Easter ornaments, of course, and one year, I got all kinds of Easter décor for my birthday. We decorated our own eggs; one year, I even took a workshop on Pysanki eggs. Easter trees were our specialty since I did one in Kindergarten.
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| Gourmet Sugar Cookies from Jewel-Dominick's
We also hit the road on Good Friday. We would take off and go to Chicago, to the malls, or to New Salem and Springfield. Once, we hit a snow storm and came home, our little dog Killer nibbling souvlaki from the old Skewer Inn, huddled in my lap, wrapped in his red check flannel blanket. We drove home, and took a shorter trip the next day. We were at a Holiday Inn near St. Louis one year; they had matsah and other Passover foods that evening. It was a nice gesture.
We usually had adventures in Decatur when we went to St. Louis. My great grandmother is buried there, in the Greek section of one of the cemeteries. We always get lost finding her. My mom slipped one year; it was spooky. My grandma wanted to be where she spoke the language. Go figure.
Now, as it was with my parents, there are only three of us. Orthodox Easter is a week later, following Passover as it must. Other years, I sang in the choir, or there were big to dos. My mother read the Bible in Spanish on Easter morning, and sometimes, we went to the potluck at church.
My husband and I have had a hard month. I have been sick all month, and an worn out He has ben working nonstop. We are still having Easter, both American and Greek. For tomorrow, also April Fools Day, we are going to church. It is Palm Sunday in the Greek church, and we will take palm crosses to my parents afterwards for their graves.
I bought a small ham, bone in, only $4.13, at .29 per pound at Jewel. On Pinterest, I found a potato casserole recipe, with crumbled bacon nad cheese on top. I assembled it tonight and will bake it tomorrow. We'll have salad, with the sliced heirloom tomato, and the sugar cookies from Jewel pictured.
I baked a gingerbread loaf mix that I got for Christmas. It was part of a Hallmark gift bag and very nice. It filled the house with fragrance, which we all needed.
In keeping with tradition I did a big Easter Basket for all of us, including mothball eggs, cream eggs, Reese's bunny cereal in a box, knick knacks, just fun things. My husband tells me he has some surprises for me as well. This makes me very happy; no one has done this for me in a while.
All these little things have brought us together. It ties in with the memories of my family. I sent boxes to relatives and a couple friends, and a few cards. My mother liked doing this, and I'm carrying on her tradition. There is a sense of normalcy in it. The point is that we have not spent a fortune, and have used a lot of what we have, but we have made it festive and it will give hope to everyone.
Tomorrow will be very cold, but perhaps the sun will be out, as it did today. Maybe the daffodils will also come out, and we will see bunny or two.
Kalo Pascha! Happy Easter!!
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| Sliced, this gorgeous heirloom tomato will make a beautiful, simple salad. Dress it with balsamic vinegar and drizzle with feta cheese. |
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| Easy Southwest Bake with rice and chicken, black beans, cheese, and salsa. This is a nice side dish for Easter lunch, or a great main feature. |
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| Beautiful cards like this can make place cards or decorations. |
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| First flowers of spring 2018. A few in a glass jar make a lovely table centerpiece. |
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| Vintage plush bunnies like this are great to set the mood for a simple Easter egg hunt. |
