Here's My Easter Bonnet

With all the frills upon it.

Won't you meet me at the Easter parade?

Labels:  Easter

Happy

Happy March equinox holidays. 

Happy spring.

Happy full moon.

Happy face in Dar's back yard.

.happy.

Labels: Darlene, Easter, Spring 

Easter Egg Parade

Can you believe Easter is just around the corner?

I've been busy trying out some new techniques with my old dyes. I just couldn't wrap my head around making any Pysanka this year.

It's already, like, countdown time!

Labels: Easter, Pysanky

Easter 2011

 Happy Easter, y'all!

 

Hope it was blessed.

Easter 2010

We were invited to have dinner with Dean, Darlene, and some of their friends on Sunday; and it was absolutely the best of times.

First of all Dean is one of the best cooks ever (and Darlene too for that matter), but their home is so perfectly wonderful. It is full of whimsy and happiness inside and out due to Darlene's absolute charm. Here is their river front. It's amazing how different their part of the river is so different than ours.

Love her bottle tree.

And the old boat hull covered in azaleas.

The meal was fit for a king. Leg of lamb, asparagus, deviled eggs, roasted new potatoes, tomato pie, couscous and squash.

The desserts were delish as well.

OMG'arsh. I, with the assistance of the kid and hub, FINALLY found the strawberry farm that had been eluding me earlier in the week. Look at these babies!!! They taste as good, if not better, than they look.

I took a batch over, some dipped in chocolate, and whipped some cream. Not that they needed anything, mind you! Oh my.

The day ended feeding the local turtles. This one posed for quite a bit until I got just the right shot. How sweet.

It was the best day ever. Thank you so much D&D for the perfect Easter celebration.

Easter Monday 2009

Who doesn't love daffodils? They are still blooming here and I made mom an Easter bouquet yesterday along with some lovely grape hyacinths thrown in for some contrast. Her room smells soooo good!

You'll notice a little Easter wreath that Connie made for me several years back that I have surrounding the little jar. I have the hardest time getting to her site, but I know she can feel the good thoughts I send her way at times. Such a sweet person. And speaking of sweet, while I don't' have a picture of it, Pea's sweet bunny she sent me a while ago sits on mom's bed. We giggle at it each time we look her way. Such lovely folks out there in blogland, it does the heart good.

Mom was in good spirits today as normal. I arrived a tad late and she had already started her lunch. She's eating well these past days which makes me so very happy. There were several days there in the beginning where she snubbed her nose at anything brought to her. She truly is settling in nicely. The nurses and therapists, aids and just everyone is as sweet as can be and even more helpful, if you can fathom that. A new-to-me RN came in this afternoon and told me how mom was doing (good) and explained a lot of stuff to me. Then it came time for her PT. We rolled down to the PT room and I even had the therapist put weights around my ankles too so I could do the exercises with mom. Hey, whatever works. And Lord knows I need it too! Always had those chunkum legs. She did really well watching me and mimicking my moves.

After leaving her to rest, I ran over to the kid's school to pick him up as storms were rolling in. Of course the rain held out until the bell rang. So all the kids got totally drenched including mine. Appropriate for Easter Monday.

Then the real storm hit. We weren't home ten minutes when a phone call came in from the nursing facility made by the social worker. I would call her more of an anti-social worker. She told me that mom's rehab was at a standstill and medicare would stop paying pretty soon. There were no long-term beds available so I better start looking elsewhere. Wha??? That is totally the OPPOSITE of what I was told by two nurses and her therapist today. I was taken aback and thrown into an absolute tailspin. Everyone has been so nice there, and for me to receive this call after having so much positive info given me earlier in the day from everyone else was a total shock to my system.

Of course, I ran over to another nursing facility in the area, terrified they were throwing mom out onto the streets. It looked like total junk as they are in the midst of a renovation. But the director was so very helpful and set my mind straight again. She gave me a lot of much-needed information which gave me enough energy to head right back to where my mom was and meet with this so-called "social" worker. She was about the age of my great niece and didn't know a whole lot about much except the fact that mom would be released soon. After speaking with her and telling her about what the nurses and therapist had told me today, I marched right on over to the admissions lady, who is just as nice as can be. She went over her records and it said that mom was making progress which means she is not being released. Geesh. At this point, I am completely beside myself. It's absolutely gut wrenching when one tells you one thing and the other something totally opposite--especially when, at this stage in mom's progression, there is no where to take her where she will get the care she still needs so badly. This is my mom. I just want to scream and cry and call President Obama and say "Please, get rid of this health care bureaucracy, especially when it comes to the much-needed care for our elderly!" OMG.

Sorry. This post started out so positive and ends on such a sour note. But I just need the release, it seems. I'm sure tomorrow will be better. How's that for putting the p back in positive? I'm trying, at least.

xo
ro

A Happy Easter to One and All

Sending joyous Easter greetings.

xo
ro

Home Again, Home Again

It's always good to get back home. I was really missing mom something terrible and was feeling rather guilty by being away so long. I awoke early and ran over and picked up two dozen cupcakes for all the nurses at the nursing facility. Yum. They are a great lot, and I don't know how they do it. But I am so thankful they do and wanted to show our appreciation, somehow. I was SO tempted to grab some for us, but I didn't listen to that little voice in my head (stomach!).

I also picked up some Easter goodies for mom and was so happy to see her up and walking with her physical therapist when I arrived. She had a walker in front of her and the therapist had a belt around her in case she needed a little help. But she was doing great! In actuality, mom's therapist had called me yesterday and told me she was up and walking a little. What great news. Since Sherrie had been there every day in my absence, I'm not quite sure she recognized me at first. But she was happy to see me, whoever I was to her. Here, she is still getting her bearings with me. I stayed with her for several hours, while she ate her lunch and we sat and watched a little TV. She then wanted to lie down. I'm sure the walking wears her out.

I then came home and started decorating for Easter. Nothing like waiting til the last minute, eh?
I think I enjoy decorating for Easter as much as I do for Christmas.

The teenager is home from college for the weekend and it's nice having him around. He has to head back early tomorrow (in order to watch a film for English--what's up with that???? It's Easter weekend!!) so I think we'll go out and have dim-sum together before he leaves. Do you think I prepared an Easter dinner? Nope. Perhaps I can get myself in gear for Ukrainian Easter next week. Let's hope.

The kid's friend is in from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I missed seeing his mom before she flew back this morning. Sorry I missed you Edi. Miss you.

Hope all are enjoying this beautiful weekend.

ox
ro

Ready for my Bypass, Doctor

I decided to have our Ukrainian Easter meal early. The official Ukrainian Easter isn't until April. Don't ask me why. Just got the whim and did it.

We had:

Kyshka (don't even ask)
Kovbasa (both smoked and fresh)
Pyrohy (cheese and potato dumplings)
Fresh peas from Alabama
Krashanky (hard boiled eggs in onion skins)
Half Sours (pickles)
Horseradish
Banana Pudding (my Southern addition)

Here the eggs are boiling in the onion skins. They turn out a beautiful brown. If you add a pinch of vinegar, they turn even darker!

And the finished product. You always start your Easter feast with a slice of krashanka. Unless, of course, you are the kid, he who doesn't eat eggs.

Fresh kovbosa.

Kyshka.
Fresh Alabama peas.

Pyrohy.

Now for the banana pudding!

If your bananas aren't ripe enough, put them in a preheated oven for about ten minutes.

The skin will blackened but the inside will be perfect for, say, banana pudding!

Custard.

First layer.
Meringue in the making.

Then, POOF, banana pudding.

Did someone say angioplasty? Gawd.