Unoriginal Thoughts

I didn't blog yesterday and I woke up this morning at 4am with a brain tumor so I don't feel like blogging now. But I'm going to. I'm stalwart that way.

Last night I dreamt that The Spouse and I were at a restaurant with Jon, Iwanski and Miss Healthypants. I was sitting next to Iwanski and he didn't speak the entire time so I kept coming up with stuff to talk about, each topic more lame than the last. I think it's because Jon and I have been talking all week about this Chinese place that we have to eat at when we're in Chicago this summer and because Iwanski said something in a post this week about hating to have unoriginal conversations. At which point I thought, "Frak. I have to come up with some original thoughts by July. When am I going to have time to do that?"

Fascinating what the subconscious will put together for our amusement. The Neighbor had a very detailed dream last weekend wherein she was engaged to Richard Gere and her mom was angry because she'd forgotten to pack her wedding dress so her mom had to ship it to her. "And it cost me $200," she complained. The funniest thing about the dream was that The Neighbor kept calling her betrothed "Richard Gere". Not Richard, Rich, Rick, Dick or Snookums but always Richard Gere.

The Spouse is making fried chicken for dinner tonight and chimichangas tomorrow. That's exciting.

And that is all I have to offer in this brief lull before my brain tumor acts up again. I need a nap.

Easter in Retrospect

The weather Easter day was variable but 'round about 11:00, when children were going to be hunting eggs, it was clear enough.And then we had a really yummy brunch of hot cross buns, which The Spouse made while I was at church on Saturday night, a savory baked egg-potato-cheese concoction and Canadian bacon sauteed in butter and then simmered in beer. There was a bowl of beautiful strawberries and some bananas (because I really hate making fruit salad and one of the families that comes doesn't really eat fruit). There was mimosas for the adults, and nice, black coffee. I had bought a bottle of sparkling cider for the kids, stuffing it in the freezer to chill quickly.

I forgot about it. Yeah. It exploded.

I was completely exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. I told The Spouse before anyone arrived that around noon I was going to very politely excuse myself for a nap, in case there were stragglers still at the party. This ruse was not in fact necessary. Once everyone cleared out I thought through all the tasks to prepare for the evening feast and decided I could easily nap until 3 and still have ample time to do what needed doing.

And I napped. And it was delicious.

B & K stopped by just when I needed to get up. They were invited to dinner but unable to make it so they came by with a bottle of wine for the feast and a very cool ice cream sundae basket for The Child. We chatted for a while and they were off.

I had some boo boos in the kitchen this year. First, I sliced my hand while washing a champagne flute. Which, if you have to slice a hand, is an elegant way to do it. I also totally burned the crust for the lemon curd tart, but that was ok because The Neighbor was going to be bringing a triple coconut cream pie from the Dahlia Lounge. (And as it turned out, everyone was so full of feast that the pie was a to-go item for most of the guests anyway...they didn't need lemon curd tart, too).

And the molasses biscuits were a disappointment this year. I over cooked them a bit, too. The flavor was fine but they were sorta like hard tack. Which was not the intention.

And I tell you all this because, well, I don't always get it right and you should know that.

However, these items were of minor importance as the star of the Easter feast is the BAH and everything else only exists to serve it's smoky, spicy, glaze-y goodness.

It starts like this:It ends like this. (That's the roasted beet, orange and spinach salad in the background).I also served green bean casserole and streusel sweet potatoes, which were delicious, though I say it myself. But more important even than all that, even than the BAH in all its smokey, spicy, glaze-y goodness were the people gathered 'round the table and exchanges between and among us.

ReeRee and I sang our traditional rendition of "I Don't Know How to Love Him", complete with the harmony that gives The Spouse goosebumps. There were hugs and tears between prayer buddies, there were faith journey stories and jokes and spilling of wine and what, to my mind anyway, amounted to the grand and joyous relief of another Lent accomplished. There is something really wonderful about knowing that there are now 50 days ahead to celebrate what we learned, to embrace the graces that have been bestowed and all without having to fast.

The evening ended with The Spouse giving a screening of "Fortune Hunters" and we sent the guests off with wrapped slices of pie and reminders for the Pentecost feast in 50 days.

Alleluia!

Easter Morning

Hail thee festival day

Blessed day that art hallowed forever

Day whereon Christ arose

breaking the kingdom of death!

That's the big anthem we always sing on Easter, right before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Woke up with it on my mind, so there you go.

The Child and I went to the Easter Vigil last night; it is my absolute favorite liturgy. This year 25 people were baptized. I had the privilege of standing as proxy for a woman named Liz. She lives in Oregon but came up to be baptized along with her sister, who is a parishioner at the cathedral. Liz's sponsor couldn't make the trip, I was available, there you go. Liz is a lovely, funny young woman and we hit it right off. I got to spend some time with her during the afternoon preparatory retreat and it was, not to put too fine a point on it, a blessing.

Anyhoo, the service was gorgeous, the spirit infectious, the music grand. The service began in clear, balmy air as we gathered on the Cathedral steps for the lighting of the Easter fire. And when Mass was over, we left in a torrential downpour. It was like God was saying, "All that water imagery? All the baptismal stuff? Yeah, I mean it". And then, just as quickly it stopped.

We got home around 12:30. The Child went off to bed and I ran over for a post-prandial with The Neighbor, who is in 2 choirs at church and consequently has pretty much been singing non-stop since Good Friday. Then home to assemble Easter baskets.

I was still a little jacked up from the service so I read a bit, finally turning off my light a little after 1:30. Then sirens started. And came very close. And we looked out the windows and smoke was pouring down our street. A house just a block up had caught fire. It was quite the most sensational thing I think I've ever witnessed...flames shooting up into the dark sky, the sound of breaking glass and chain saws, the myriad lights of so many response units that I just kept hoping no one else needed anything in the night. The smoke was frighteningly thick at times, swirling around the knots of neighbors who gathered along the sidewalk, talking in hushed tones.

There was so much hooha I wouldn't be able to sleep, even though my group finally all ceded to the cold (including The Spouse). I wandered up to the corner to see if there was any word and found Tanya, the Rabbi's youngest (beautiful young woman, a hat maker). Then the Rabbi and his wife came along. We were alternately chatting almost blithely about our Passover/Easter celebrations and then saying, "Oh, I hope everyone got out"...stricken little prayers of hope.

And the family did get out: parents, grandparents and 2 teenage boys. Although, we also learned, the firefighters had delayed putting out the blaze because the youngest boy was unaccounted for and they had kept searching the house for him. Turns out, the little bastid had snuck out and was at a friend's...they called his cell. I looked at Tanya and said, "Oh, when the relief subsides, he is sooooo grounded".

Anyway, once we had the word that all was well and another neighbor family had taken them in for the night, I felt like I could sleep. Which I did. For what amounted to 4 hours before The Spouse got up for early services.

So there you go. Mama is soooo going to be taking her traditional Easter nap today. The extended version. Now I must away to assist the Easter Bunny -who left a basketful of eggs on my desk. I think she wasn't quite sure if the weather would support an outdoor hunt so she left that call to me. It is blue and fine...just like an Easter morning should be...so outside it is.

Friends arrive at 10:30 for the hunt and brunch. I intend to bodily remove them all by 1 at the latest so I can sleep before the feast at 6:30. Mmmmm. BAH.

For those of you to whom it applies, have a very happy, blessed Easter. For those of you to whom it doesn't, have a wonderful day anyway!

Friday? Fuggetaboudit.

Woke up this morning feeling like crap on a cracker.

It's mostly a headache. And you know what that means. Yep. Brain tumor.

So I'm heading back to bed with a cup of coffee, 2 aspirin and W magazine. Maybe I'll take a little nap.

You know what is nice about this? I did a bunch of stuff yesterday...stuff so significant that people noticed. (The inside of the fridge looks like new). And since my house is all nice and cozy I can go to bed and nurse my brain without a lick of I-shouldn't-be-languishing-here-when-there-are-things-to-do-itis.

Btw, I am now making The Child do her own laundry. It so rocks.

Illness, Not a Lot

The Child is going to live.

She slept most of the afternoon yesterday and so did I. General headachiness and feelings of bleh abounded. It seemed perfectly reasonable to take it easy now and possibly ward off worse contagion and that's what we did.

Took her to the doctor today to have a tetnus shot as she managed to scamper over a rusty nail on Sunday. That'll learn her not to listen when Mummy says, "Those really aren't the best shoes for playing outside". (Open toed sandals with heels...what was she thinking?)

We just finished watching Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". She's planning on doing a project on global warming for the school science fair and when I told her about the movie she asked to see it. Just happened to have it at the top of my Netflix queue. If you haven't seen it, you really must. The science is presented in understandable terms, it's amusing and as angry as some of it can make you, it also ends with a very positive "we can turn this around" message full of practical points on how to do so. Highly recommend the film, highly recommend acting on the information presented.

"Why wasn't he our President, Mom?" she asked when it was over. I'm too tired to explain that again.

Time for another preventative nap and then The Child asked if we could pretend that we are Hermione Granger and Ginnie Weasley cleaning up Grimauld Place as a surprise for Harry Potter. Grimauld Place being her room. Whatever works.