This coming weekend is Easter -- March 31. I'm not a fan of early Easter. I wish they'd just pick one date in mid-to-late April and stick with it! But, I don't set the calendar so you go with what you've got.
I have a lot of Easter memories -- some good, some less so. This year will be a little different because the grands are in Florida for the holiday so no annual egg hunt.
I'll miss that. Carson was even asking about it on our day together, so I know he remembers and anticipates it. I thought about moving it up to Palm Sunday but with their getting ready to go and such, it just didn't play out, so memories will have to do for now. We're going to do it later in the spring when they come up. Who says eggs always have to be found on Easter morning?!
Lately I've heard people say "Are you better off now than four years ago?" and I say, "Definitely." April of 2020 was pretty wretched. Covid was in full bloom and we were all in isolation. Rick and I did our annual Good Friday "Life of Brian" egg coloring even with our friends Mark and Jan on Zoom. On Easter Sunday Rick and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood. It was very quiet (although we noticed a lot of cars breaking quarantine!)
(And when I say "definitely better," I mean it in many ways, not just Easter. Did you notice the stock market hit an all time high last week? At the end of March 2020, the market closed out the worst quarter in its history.)
We always did Easter baskets when I was a kid. I don't remember this photo from when Cousin David and I were about two or three, but it might have been the first where we were really interactive. My later baskets (yes, even as a child) always included my favorite treats: Marinated herring and green olives. (I was a weird kid with eclectic tastes, even back then!)
Now I do Easter baskets for Rick. My favorite was when he was starting a garden!
Easter always brings memories of my youth at Plymouth Congregational Church, a stunning gothic-style church built in 1864. Our combined choirs exceeded 250 people with several youth choirs of different ages and a large adult choir, which included many music majors from Michigan State. There was quite an orchestra, especially lots of brass instruments and drums and the music soared. Between the two services was a large breakfast for the choir and I remember my parents serving it up! After church, we'd invite "strays" to join us for dinner -- kids from school who didn't go home. My mom could set a most welcoming table and it was always a good day.
In an earlier post, I mentioned my egg tree. This is how it looked when I was a kid -- there was a much bigger branch! We were a little manic in our egg crafting!
I'll look forward to the annual challah and French Toast breakfast!
But no bunny cake for dessert this year!
If you celebrate Easter, I wish you a happy one. And Monday is April Fools Day. Be kind!
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61 comments:
I hope you have a lovely holiday, even if your favorite part of the family has gone to a warmer place.
I agree with you that many things in our society and in our individual lives are much better than 4 years ago, but who can be influenced by some old convicted sex criminal trying to fool all of the people all of the time?
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Easter is always a happy celebration with bunnies and baby chicks and maybe sunshine. Never know . Church on Easter was the best- cheerful, joyful, great tunes and fresh flowers. Easter should dominate all other holidays I reckon! You sure were a cutie pie- I hope that your parents appreciated your absolute delightful sweetness! They must have- the size of your Easter rabbit says so!
That bread looks really good. I've seen it before on other friends' blogs. You know how much I love the old pictures you share from childhood, Jeanie. Yes, every year is different with the holidays. Sometimes we are with loved ones, and sometimes our calendars say different. This year, I'll see the family a few weeks later for a fundraiser we will all attend. The pics of the boys with the bright eggs are wonderful, and so many memories for you to look back on. And that photo of you when you were a child holding the Easter bunny is a treasure, indeed.
Happy Easter to you, Jeanie.
~Sheri
Challah makes wonderful French Toast!
Oh, I hope you have a late egg hunt. This will probably be the last egg hunt we have with Desmond since we may move.
What wonderful memories you have. I love, love your egg tree. I love too that you put together a basket for Rick. That garden one was amazing.
Wishing you a very happy Easter... So many good memories you shared with us.
I am definitely better off than I was four years ago!
Velva
Great pictures. I love that seeds were part of it! And, so wonderful to read that things are better for you than they were four years ago. That's wonderful to read. Cheers, Ivy.
The covid time Easter was a nightmare as I could recall. A lot of fright and uncertainty about future. Happy Easter to you!
Lovely Easter memories, Jeanie. It's rather chilly here just now, so the kids will have to bundle up for their egg hunt on Sunday. I love the hope of Easter.
...Easter without grandchildren can be a letdown. Our oldest grandson is a medic in the Army and won't be here. The rest of the tribe will be. My wife hides plastic eggs with money in them for the kids and grandkids. Each has their color to find, I just sit there and grin. Happy Easter to you.
You have so many beautiful memories and traditions for celebrating Easter. I'll bet the kids will miss the Egg hunt!! They are adorable. I love seeing your pics from you childhood. Happy Easter.
Easter is a wonderful holiday to celebrate with kids. It must be different this year with the boys spending Easter somewhere else - but you will just have it a little bit later. We don't do anything special on Easter - we're not religious so we don't really see why we should celebrate. We'll have a nice breakfast like every Sunday morning and since it's supposed to be a rainy weekend we'll just cuddle up at home and have a slow weekend. If the weather god changes his mind we might go out to the coast. I always love the old pictures of you. We had an egg"tree" (some spring branches) in my childhood as well.
I have not had Challah, but it certainly looks delicious!
Hoppy Easter, Jeanie:)
That old church is beautiful.
The HH and I still exchange Easter baskets too.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful Easter memories, Jeanie. Okay, I love green olives, but Russel Stover cream eggs always win out for me! Have a Happy Easter weekend!
Somebody had to tell me yesterday that Friday is Good Friday, so that will give you an idea of the role Easter plays in our lives!
Hello,
I agree with you about making Easter on the same day. The second Sunday in April would be nice. It is early this year.
I am sorry the kids will not be there to help you and Rick celebrate. I enjoyed all your Easter memories and photos. I love Rick's garden basket, what a great idea. Happy Easter to you and yours!
Take care, enjoy your day and have a happy weekend.
This is truly a fabulous post. So many wonderful memory photos. Since Mr. M. and I don't have family close by, especially the great grandkids, we don't celebrate. However, I do love the garden basket you gave Rick. Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a lovely Easter.
I think we've always acknowledged Easter in some way but never in a huge way.
Lots of wonderful memories, happy Easter to you and yours! Hugs!
Lots of interesting faces in this post. I like the old photos of you!
I’ve never had challah bread. I guess I need to check out some local bakeries. Happy Easter!
I remember "having" Easter dinner with my mom over zoom that year. :(
I don't really like an early Easter either! I agree, keep it in April. Lol.
I adore that photo of you with your egg tree as a girl!!
I had forgotten that I once made an egg tree every much like yours with the branch and bejeweled eggs. The eggs eventually got turned into a mobile.
My mom died on Easter and because of that I can never remember the actually date of her passing.
Such sweet photos Jeanie. Easter is going to be very quiet this year. My granddaughter and family are always so busy.. my birthday is April Fool’s day so my hubby will be taking me out. Happy Easter to you.š°
Happy Easter! We have invited my 2 sisters to lunch at our home. Nedra will bring Korean plate lunches, and I'll serve Arizona green tea and vanilla ice cream topped with blueberries. It will be lovely.
It is odd when Easter is early. We are gathering (i.e. me, husband, our two kids and the fiance and Nana) on Sunday. I used to LOVE Easter as a child - the colours, the sweets, how my mother made our baskets... My dear, Jeanie, I can't get over the herring and olives, though. You might be the only child who ever received such things in their Easter basket! Regardless, have a lovely weekend, even though it will be different than usual. -Jenn
What a coincidence! I love marinated herring and green olives too!
Blessed Easter!
IM NOT FOND OF THIE EARLY EASTER..We celebrated Jacques' birthday last weekend so I felt it was overload for our families.. older teens..parents leaving on holidays..so I took a trip down memory lane instead.What a gardening Easter basket for R:) So thoughtful..I'll pass on the herring:):): happy Easter.
Next yr..Easter is April 20th.YAY
Enjoy the Easter weekend! Lovely memories. :)
A fun look back at Easters past! I love the picture of you with your egg tree!
I'm with you -- we are definitely better off than we were four years ago.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter. That bread looks delicious. That's a beautiful church.Thank you for sharing your memories.
Easter is a lovely time. But, like you, I do
enjoy Easter in April.
Looks like you have had wonderful tines over the years.
š£ Happy Easter, Jeanie! š
Wishing you a Happy Easter!
Love the Easter tree ♥
I sure miss egg hunts and dying eggs with my grands. Happy Easter. I agree too early this year. Janice
You could pretend to be Greek because their Easter is May 5th. I know because when we were in Greece we ended up being (unplanned) there for their Carnival. It was fun to see though, since I've never been been to a Carnival celebration, it was a great addition to the trip. But I bet the grands are having a great time in FLorida.
I enjoyed seeing your vintage Easter photos. And when my daughter was little we made those bunny cakes-no more. Enjoy your French toast, and I hope Rick's Easter basket is as fun as his garden one. Happy Easter weekend. hugs-Erika
My mom and I got matching dresses. Plus she made them.
I laughed at your desire to change the date of Easter. Believe it or not, the celebration has a tradition, and reasons for when it occurs: suffice it to say you'd better take up your complaint with the moon! That aside, so many memories from my young life are the same as yours -- except you didn't mention a new Easter dress. I can't remember the last time I heard the song "Easter Parade," but we sure knew it 'back in the day,' and could sing along!
I won't be seeing my g-kids this Easter, and that's a little sad. But we are getting together with the family today, just before Easter, and I know that will be lovely.
You certainly were a child with intriguing tastes!
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter Jeanie
What lovely Easter memories to have. You have been very fortunate in your life. With you and your husband, Easter will still be so wonderful.
Lovely Easter memories. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the kids when they’re back, maybe something with a Spring theme. š
Jeanie, I'm sorry that you won't be with the littles ( which are not so little now) this year. Time goes by and things change. Good or bad that is how it is. But there is always next year. We never did much for Easter. It seemed that it was always raining when the kids were small so we had to hide the eggs inside. We will wish our happy thoughts over the phone this year and Jerry and I are planning breakfast at IHOP. Yahoo!! It's all good! Happy Easter to you and Rick, my friend.xxoJudy
Jeanie, I know you will miss the grands. I always enjoy seeing your childhood photos. They must hold so many memories. Wishing you a Happy Easter!
It's bittersweet without the grandkids, but your plans for a delayed egg hunt sound fun.
Your childhood Easter egg tree is charming!
Wishing you and Rick a joy-filled Easter, even without the usual traditions.
Happy Easter, Jeanie! š£š·
This is such a heartwarming post, Jeanie! Thanks for sharing your Easter memories and the wonderful photos. Baskets weren't a tradition in the Maritimes. But we hunted for eggs, and my father took great delight in hiding them. Have a lovely day, even if your grandsons are away!
Testing ~ I hope my comment went through!
Some of my children and grandchildren also went away over Easter... Italy... so we celebrated Easter Sunday with an Easter egg hunt in a small group... and thank you, I'm glad we're not completely alone.
I hope you enjoy catching up and that your family enjoys the holidays.
A happy Easter Sunday hug for you from Viola
I always love the pictures from your younger days!
Thanks, jeanie, for sharing your Easter memories as those vintage photos of our once younger years are always wonderful to see. I have posted ones of us on previous Easter posts. I can understand yourv disappointment at no egg hunt this holiday. Years past we would have them and also egg coloring with the grands. We still continued the egg coloring tradition in our apt as we're spending holidays at home this year since traveling to visit family and friends is more stressful at these times.
Lovely post Jeanie! I wanted to get over here to wish you A Very Happy Easter as time is getting along. Loved the photos, you were such a sweet little girl. The boys are cute too. Our Easter is a quiet one today as son is in Los Angeles and it's an extra busy day for daughter-in-law as she is a cantor at her church. It is the first time in years that we decided not to do a big meal, with no Easter ham. Still nice but not big. Enjoyable but definitely low key. We did get to see family members this past Friday who live a few hundred miles south of us. We went out for a nice meal and that was lovely. Their child was in a tournament this Friday and we went over to see the game. It was lovely to be invited and an hour-and-a-half later we were hugging and telling each other how great it was to be together again. It's been a while :) So, without further ado I will stop this from turning into an epistle and wish you again, Happy Easter my friend and have a great week!
Hope your day has been wondrous.
What a lovely post, thank you for sharing some wonderful Easter memories.
We were fortunate to spend time with family over the Easter weekend with some very welcome sunshine :)
Taking the opportunity to wish you a happy new month of April.
All the best Jan
Lovely reading about your memories!
What a lovely tribute and collection of memories. The photos are wonderful! I love that you colored eggs with friends over Zoom in 2020. :) Visiting from the Talking About It Tuesday linkup.
Such fun easter memories to look back on! My boys have long since outgrown egg hunts and baskets but I still like to get them some sort of sweet treat to mark the day!
I so enjoyed your comment on my latest blog post about photos! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and share your thoughts and experiences. It made me think that you might enjoy participating in my weekly blog linkup--if you're interested, it's at https://lifetalesbooks.blogspot.com/p/calling-fellow-bloggers.html and opens each Monday morning. :)
How come I (nearly)9 missed this post!
So cute.
Haha, I remember Dad hid eggs in the fir trees. Outch, what was he thinking?! But he helped and next Easter was a proper egg-hunt!
I prefer Easter being a little later, too. We didn't do much for it, either. It was a weird week for us with Nick being out of town at a conference for the first part of the week, me being sick and working anyway, and catching up on work over the holiday. Our neighbors did very sweetly hide Easter eggs in our yard for us to find. They were filled with a Lego set, which we still need to put together.
The garden-themed Easter basket looks awesome! Nick's grandmother always did the best Easter baskets. They were always really pretty.
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