Easter weekend photos

 I took a few pictures the other night when my friends came over for our little belated birthday/vaccination party. 

First, the table with my china rabbits, the birthday cake, and the punchbowl full of Sparkling Strawberry Margarita punch.

Did I mention that Marla, Martina, and I made plans to dye Easter eggs? We thought it would be a fun activity for the day before Easter. They both brought over a dozen boiled eggs (I'd prepared my own dozen the night before) and I supplied the cups of dye. We really had fun with this! Martina said she hadn't dyed Easter eggs since she was a kid. Marla planned to go home afterwards and dye more with little Carsen, since she's finally old enough to appreciate the activity.

Speaking of Carsen....she's just as fascinated with the big aquarium as she's been since infancy. She spent the whole 30 minutes or so she was at our house looking into it.

Except, of course, when the two toddlers were finally reunited!

Buddies.

It was certainly good to see my friends again, but I must admit it felt a little awkward at times. There would be sudden silences when no one could seem to think of anything to say next. Halfway through the party, I had to go sit on the porch by myself for five minutes or so. I was feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed. (Marla and Martina were inside having a spirited conversation about something so I don't think they noticed). They both went home a little earlier than normal, and I think we were all tired. Everyone acknowledged that we've gotten out of the habit of socializing in person and it just feels a bit strange. Who knows how long it will take before seeing friends will feel normal and comfortable again? Still, we had a good time and hopefully this is the start of more ordinary life again!

My neighbor Luella is back in the hospital. I woke up early Easter morning to the sight of an ambulance taking her away and we've been really worried about her. Today I texted her just on the off chance she or her daughter might see it and respond and let us know how things were going. Well, Miss Luella herself texted me back! She says she's very weak and will be in the hospital for a few days, but despite all that she seems to be in good spirits. I texted her back and told her how pretty her yard looks today, and she asked if I could snap some pictures and send them to her. Could I?!

The 50+ year old magnolia that had all the gorgeous pink flowers this spring now has the nicest green leafy shade.

She was so happy to get these photos! I told her to hurry up and get well and come back, her little house misses her! :) 

I hope you all had a nice Easter (if you celebrate it) or a nice spring weekend!

Easter egg birthday party!

This has been a great weekend. In addition to having four days off work, last night a couple of friends came over and we had a little party in which we ate too much, drank too much, and dyed Easter eggs. We had so much fun!

Party table!

Gettin' fancy shmancy with the radish roses!!!

Mini brownie bites with peanut butter cups baked inside!

 

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

Local wine.

 

Prepping for whiskey sours.....

...the glasses are ready....

Delicious!

 

Getting crafty in the garage. We were banned from the house.
I can't imagine why!

 

Messy! Colorful! And a creepy floating egg!



M. and her dyed fingers! Also, see how happy she looks? That's
the result of two glasses of wine and two whiskey sours!

 

T. and her "goth" egg! She has the same birthday
as me so it was a double celebration! 



My eggs, so pretty!

The lovely flowers my husband surprised me with.

We didn't get photos of all of the food, mainly the hot dogs we grilled (yum!) or the delicious dip my friend M. brought. But rest assured, we had a small feast!

It was a very happy birthday. And now I'm thirty-eight years old. Eeek!

Happy weekend

Today is the start of a four day weekend for me, and I couldn't be happier! Tomorrow is my birthday, so the next few days will be filled with small celebrations and fun. My husband is off today and tomorrow with me, so we will get some time together. I'm not sure what he may have planned. At some point I'll be going shopping for my own gift--I'm in serious need of some new work clothes and of course only I can buy those. And on Sunday a couple of friends are coming over to have drinks and eat cake with me. We're also going to dye Easter eggs!

Lest anyone thinks that's too weird, let me explain. Several years ago I picked up some cheap egg decorating kits at the grocery store on impulse. I thought a bowl of dyed eggs would look pretty on the table as a centerpiece since it was almost Easter. On the night when I had boiled up a dozen eggs and was preparing to begin, some friends dropped by. Well, we ended up having drinks and decorating eggs and we had a BLAST. None of us had done it since we were kids, and the alcohol only added to the fun. Everyone ended up with some cool looking eggs to take home (and rainbow stained fingers) and we ended up talking about what fun it was for years. Since Easter is coming up next week I thought it would be fun to do it again. So we'll be having drinks, finger food, birthday cake, and craft time!

Speaking of birthday cake, I've been trying to figure out what kind to have. I've been doing without sugar (as part of my new year's "get healthier" resolution) for over a month now, so I'm super excited. I'm torn between chocolate layer cake, and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. It feels like a big decision when I've not had any dessert (other than fruit) for weeks on end!

Friends, family, new clothes, cake, crafty stuff, and time off....it's going to be a great weekend!

March already!

March came in quietly this year, with gray skies and cold rain that doesn't look much different than the whole of February. Spring doesn't seem to be in any hurry. Aside from a few stray daffodils, nothing is blooming yet, not even the flowering trees that are usually very early. I keep waiting for everything to pop!

This is my favorite month of the whole year. It's my birthday month, so I feel very aligned with the energy of March. St. Patrick's Day is coming up (hence the blog makeover with all the GREEN!) and Easter falls on the 31st. March is all about daffodils and shamrocks, dyed eggs and Easter candy, mad hares and Dr. Seuss.

In honor of my favorite month, I'll spend the next three weeks celebrating everything March here on the blog. Stay tuned!

Ginger looking for a 4-leaf clover.

My lucky egg

This is the egg I found in the little wooded lot in the churchyard near our house. Gregg and I were walking Ginger through there, and I looked down and it was nestled in the pine straw, waiting for us. It had candy inside.

Sweet!