Easter brings 'hope'...

Happy Easter!

There's something wonderful about Easter... spiritually as well as physically.  Easter brings *hope*... hope for a better world, hope for a new beginning, hope for a new better tomorrow (and on a more personal note - hope that if we keep trying, one day we'll get it right).  

Emily Dickinson's poem about Hope is one of my favorites:

"Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words, 

And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard,

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

that kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

and on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me."

And on a lighter note... Easter brings families together for services, gatherings, food, and candy! Easter Egg Hunts are great fun! Watching the kiddies run around in the green grass (or snow as the case may be) looking for brightly colored eggs, Spring flowers in abundance (although since Easter is a bit early and winter still hanging on, flowers are a bit scarce this year), new life and Chocolate Bunnies!!  What a wonderful world!

Don't mean to be too Pollyanna about it, I do know that life is hard and some people (here and in other countries) are in extreme difficulty, but I do believe that our attitude and perceptions and inner beliefs can help alter lives and re-activate hope.  The other poem/saying (?) that runs through my head almost daily is "The world is so full of wonderful things... you'd think that we'd all be as happy as kings."

We're having an odd Easter dinner.  DH and I love stuffed artichokes and we don't get them often. His mother (who is 95) made them for us in years past in New Orleans. So since Central Market had some beautiful ones this week, I decided to stuff one for us.  If any of you are interested in stuffing your own, I kind of did a 'picture commentary' on how it's done (pretty simple really).  

 

Remove pointy tops of leaves

Assemble ingredients:

bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, olive oil (salt and pepper optional)

 Spoon stuffing into leaves...

                                                                                           

close up of stuffed artichoke

Steam in covered pot until leaves come off easily (about 45 -60 mins)

and then:

we'll have manicotti, salad,

and 

PIE!

Buttermilk pie

Jack and the bunny parade...

Jack is feeling much better today...

As you can see, Jack is feeling like his ol' self again... playing with his bunny.  While I watched him play, I thought that maybe I would do a bunny post - similar to the Christmas Elf that pops up everywhere!  So here are a few shots of the pop-up bunny!

Bunny joins Elephant Bank on shelf...

Bunny hops into Clay Bird House...

Bunny slips over to window sill...

Another bunny gets into the game...

and another !

OK... he's not a bunny, but Finky wanted to play too!

Happy Easter Saturday to all!

chess board nearing completion

Clay tiles drying slowly...

just another view...

Once the tiles have dried, I can sand them down a bit more, then give them 3 coats of underglaze before firing to bisque. Hopefully the tiles won't shrink too much in the first firing. Today I was putting it all together to see if the pieces  fit together.  They did... more or less... not perfect, but then hand sculpted is never perfect. As for color, I'm *thinking* black and rust for the square tiles and then maybe using 4 strips of a stained wood around the sides. Again, it's a work in progress and I tend to change my mind as it goes along.  However, I'm pretty certain that I'll stay with earth-tones.

There's nothing else going on around here today. I've still a few last minute Easter things to do... oh, and Jack  had an 'episode' yesterday. He hasn't had any in a long time, but it lasted most of yesterday evening. Seems to be over now.  It's a long story about Jack's condition... one I don't want to go into today. But he has been on Rx Prednisolone for years. It's not good to stay on steroids for this long, but according to the Vet, it's all that is keeping him going. However, I believe that it's the steroids that cause these 'episodes'.  They seem to be neurological... he gets jumpy and twitchy and his eyes are frightened, ears back.... like he's having hallucinations. He'll run and hide or jump into our laps, etc. Occasionally he'll lose control of his bladder. He's such a wonderful cat, it's hard to see him go through this.  Hopefully this one is over and done with.

a chicken pot pie (again) and new bunny...

Chicken Pot Pie (again)

New kitchen bunny on hot hob

Close up of new wood bunny













OK, I made another chicken pot pie.  The original one I had made some time back looked good, but because the recipe called for everything to be basically cooked in the pie, we weren't happy with the veggies as they weren't cooked enough for us.  So-oo this time I cooked the potatoes, onions, carrots, and green beans first and then added everything into the pie at the end.... much better. Also better because I added a bit more seasoning as well as about 2oz of white wine. Much better!  (Even grandson had 2 pieces)

And this little wooden bunny was at Jo-ann's (fabric shop where I ran to get some yarn) for 60% off, so I couldn't resist. He makes a cute 'kitchen bunny', don't you think?

This is the crochet hat  made with the yarn I bought at Jo-ann's.  As you can see, it's way to big for me... but looks cute on bear. I will try to make a smaller version using less bulky yarn. However, it was my first attempt at crocheting a hat and the pattern was easy to follow.

Now I really have to run as I should be in Yoga class right now, but am playing hooky so that I can do some Easter shopping before the weekend.

Wait! Wait! one more pic!

Brisingr from Christopher Paolini's Eragon series

bunnies, cups, dragons, and scones...

Here are a few of my cups in the cup cupboard.  And of course a few bunnies hopped in for the shots...

These little Beatrix Potters were bought in England and the Mama duck always reminds me of my 'Odd Little Duck' story...

These little buggers I made when my kids were small...

This is my favorite David Winter piece. I think it's called, "Looking for George".

Chocolate Pecan Espresso Cinnamon Scones

It's Sunday morning and I made scones for breakfast.  I always *tweak* my scone recipes and this time I added brown sugar, espresso powder and cinnamon to the chocolate and pecans (also extra vanilla). They are yummy!

Yesterday we celebrated my youngest grandson's 6th birthday. We went to a place called The Main Event and we all bowled.  I haven't bowled in years.... and believe it or not, I did pretty well. We bowled, ate, drank, and passed Aoife (4 month old grand daughter) around. I think she rather liked all the activity.   Didn't fuss at all. Then we came home and had pizza and a soccer decorated cupcake birthday cake!  Later that evening I made hamburgers and youngest grandson honored me with a ("these are good!").  He is not a big eater... except maybe for pizza and corny dogs.

So... the weekend is progressing well. The weather here is cold (39) and sunny... a bit cold for my taste, but at least the sun is out.  I hope to get a chicken pot pie made for this evening and my computer room cleaned up before tomorrow. I had to take home all my clay tiles (for the chess board) to sand them down and let them dry during spring break. This last week was Spring Break for us.

Oh, BTW, I got to go to the DMA (Dallas Museum of Art) this past Thursday.  We also visited the Nasher Sculpture Garden.  My friend who is an Art Major took me.  I think she and our Instructor decided that I need some Art Appreciation Instruction.  All my art is 'self learned'... since I was in the Sciences in college. So, outside of the fact that I enjoy creating in the art field, I have no 'formal knowledge' of it.  It was 'interesting'.  The exhibit was *Chagall* and I will admit that I had a hard time 'appreciating' it... but the outing was fun.

Playing around with sketches...

Trumen meets Penelope

I like ephelants...

Penelope

At one time I thought I'd like to write a children's story about Truman and Penelope...

and a duckling?

But I never got around to it. I have so many stories, poems, and sketches packed away in boxes. One day my kids will go through it all and throw most of it out. This is OK. Maybe they will keep a few for keepsakes.  They already know how much enjoyment doing this type of thing brings me.

There is a saying that I love. It means a lot to me and I've probably brought it up before, but I would write it, cross-stitch it, engrave it, etc. on everything... if I thought it would mean as much to anyone else. But we're funny that way, what appeals to one of us may mean absolutely nothing to another. Anyway, here it is:

"Beyond the gloom of this world lies joy....  take joy!" 

(Such a simple thing)

I'm also going to direct you to one of my children's stories, "The Odd Little Duck".  Out of all the ones that have cavorted through my mind, this one is still my favorite.  Click here if you'd like to read it. And I won't be offended if you don't.  Everyone does not like to read children's stories.

a St. Patrick's Day setting...

Happy St. Patrick's Day !

Went walking around my house looking for something that might seem like a St. Patrick's Day photo.  Found a few "Irish" looking things...











Our family name is "O'Regan/Regan".  Yes, we are Irish Catholic.  The basic story is that my great grandfather was from Ireland and moved his family to England at some point where my grandfather (William Edward Regan) grew up and married an English lady (my grandmother, Eleanor Fredericka King). Grandpa William moved his wife and children to the US around 1918. His brother Richard moved his family to Canada. The name on the Ellis Island Ship records is "Regan", but my dad later re-took "O'Regan" when he became a US citizen.  So (long story short...) my maiden name is "O'Regan".  I've tried to use Ancestry.com and can follow the family line pretty well back  into England, but haven't had much luck getting info from Ireland...

My dad met my mom  in New Orleans. She was 19 and he was 27.  My mom's parents (Pe'pe're and Me'mere') spoke mostly French in the house in New Orleans and seemed to like this Irish/Englishman  (my dad). Mom thought him too old for her at first... but he eventually won her over. They were married for 47 years when my dad passed at 75.  When mom turned 80, she moved in with us here in Texas.  DH and I  have never lived in Louisiana after graduating from college, so it was nice having her to ourselves. She passed at 94.

I'm not sure why I wrote all this.  It was just supposed to be a few pictures for St. Patrick's day...

And truth be told, except for Pe'pe're (who died when I was about 8), I never knew my other grandparents. Pe'pe're was the sweetest gentlest  man I ever knew.  He reminded me of Maurice Chevalier (most of you may be too young to remember him - did you see the movie, "Gigi"? ) And my Grandpa William... oh, the stories I've heard.  He did a little of everything in his life, from fighting in the Boer's War, mining for gold, Captain of a gunboat on the Persian Gulf, etc.  I think he would have been fun to listen to.

But I digress.  I really just wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!