Marching Into April (Finally!)

I can't say I'm sorry to flip my calendar to April. In "The Waste Land," T.S. Eliot wrote that  April is the cruelest month. But March -- at least this March -- has definitely been the weirdest.

We've gone from 70 degrees to snow in a matter of days. In the last week it seems like it's just mid-30s and 40s, mostly gloomy and rain. It's Michigan -- it's what we do. At this time of year the snow doesn't last more than a day or two.

Easter came and went. It was fine. Nothing to write home about but nothing bad either. My back has been in a world of hurt so I was pretty low level. I have to say I felt like a slacker. No Easter cards went out this year and Rick's basket was pretty paltry. But it didn't stop us from coloring eggs! (Back is much better, though. Rest matters.)

The days leading up to the holiday were fun. Well, for the most part. The basement is coming along. It started out the month looking like this.

And progress has been made. I'm getting zones set up for china, holidays and such. (Not everything is on the right shelf yet, but at least it's getting into the right part of the basement! I can reorganize when all the shelving is in place.)

There is another pile for charity or to go on the street or to be donated to the theatre's rummage sale. And what I have "together" isn't really organized yet, just in areas so I can neaten it up.

And this pile? And ones like it on two other tables? Well, I'm working through them. Those tables have things like this that still need to be sorted or reviewed, then put away, pitched or donated.

And, I did a few of the Grumpy Chick drawing challenges, which was fun. I enjoyed the hen...

...not satisfied with the eggs -- the nest needs better depth -- but it was fun to do. I have more to finish.

I'm nearly done with PT, unless they renew it for another session, which I hope they do. The worst part about anything last month and no doubt next, is getting anywhere in town on time. With all the construction going on, parts of the freeway are down to one lane, many exits closed and city streets are also under construction. I'm not complaining (much), just  adding to my travel time. I stopped moaning about it after the bridge in Maryland collapsed. Apart from the tragedy of lost life, people there are really having to add to their commute time. 

There was some time for socialization in March, too. I had a wonderful, energizing lunch with my pals Susie and Jane. We get together monthly for lunch and this time were at Susie's. I've written about her late husband, Dick, who passed a bit over a year ago. Their home is filled with his art and it just makes me happy to be there. Add to it deeply thoughtful and stimulating conversation and you have a wonderful afternoon of fellowship.

Rick's guitar friend Onur, whom I wrote about HERE, came to dinner with his wife, Melene. We had a delightful time with some wonderful musical accompaniment, too. (You can hear a sample of his new CD on his website or view some performances on his YouTube page.

But I have to say the morning leading up to that was filled with frustration and colorful usage of vocabulary. I thought I'd make my go-to chocolate mousse for dessert. Easy, light, delicious. Basically, you melt your chocolate, get your egg whites into stiff peaks with a bit of sugar, fold and put in ramekins. Simple. (It's from my favorite "French Market Cookbook" and it almost never fails.

But for whatever reason (maybe because I was doubling it) and even after whipping the eggs for over a half hour, the egg whites wouldn't peak. I turned one batch into meringue shells, hoping they'd peak enough for that and tried again with the same results. (They didn't.)  It had to be doubling the recipe, or maybe I missed a bit of yolk when separating. Or, just as possibly, the chocolate cooled too much before I mixed the not-fully-stiff whites with the chocolate. In any event, it was like sludge. More like truffle glop. Rick said it tasted good (I don't particularly like chocolate so it's hard for me to judge) so we threw some whippy clouds on it and served it. No one complained. But no one asked for the recipe either. I'd do it again though (but wait till this round of bird flu has passed so the price of eggs comes down. Good chocolate will always stay high!) Don't blame the recipe  (below) on this one -- it has never failed before.

As I mentioned above, we did get our eggs colored in our annual Good Friday tradition. Rick made pizza, followed by eggs and then "Life of Brian." (This time I made a blueberry crumble for dessert and it was much better. But Mark liked the chocolate and so did Rick, so despite it not being "moussey," it still worked!

I dye a mix of boiled eggs (for deviled eggs and salads) and raw. It always makes me happy to open the fridge and see colorful eggs.

Oh, and we had a drive-by shooting in our quiet little neighborhood. No one was hurt. There were about a dozen police cars and the ones we spoke with seemed relatively unworried. No victim, no suspect found. You sort of have to know someone to get shot or murdered around here so no one was too worried. Well, I suppose someone was. It was a bit creepy -- while they were shooting at the apartment building on the right side below, I used to live right across the street in that white house on the left, a tad close for comfort. (Now I live two blocks away.)

So, now we're in April, the big eclipse on the horizon. And spring. 

(Although the day the morning this paper came out, we woke up to about four inches of snow! On to the so-called cruelest month!)

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