Easter Musings

Another holiday passes like the wind.









I started the day with twenty minutes on the treadmill--not enough, I know, but at least I did it! Our daughter and her family arrived around noon-ish with food to prepare. She made a scrumptious ham with pineapple, and cherries,basted in a yummy sauce of maple syrup and brown sugar, some potatoes, carrots and onions, and sweet potatoes. (I may be leaving something out.) I made a green bean casserole and some brownies. While the feast simmered on the stove, we had an Easter egg hunt for The Littles. Here are some pics:


That isn't our house, by the way. It's a playhouse my husband won from the State Fair last summer. Isn't it cute? And the girls had to wear boots outside because we still have a little snow and aLOT of mud!!

The kids used my market bags for their hunt--much nicer than plastic bags!

I made stuffed bunnies for the girls, and a bear pillow from a vintage panel I've had forever for my grandson. More pics:




Okay, I've got to say it. Aren't these some of the cutest Littles you've ever seen? (I'm talking about the children.) ;D

Anyway, we played lots of music: the Wonder Boys soundtrack (if you haven't heard that you should. Great Bob Dylan songs!), Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Michael Franti and Spearhead. And we danced a lot! Four-year-old R especially loved the way the skirt of her new Easter dress twirled. She challenged me to a few moves she learned in ballet class and I did them, but then I hurt my ankle! (Those of you who know me are not surprised, are you?)

Speaking of those dresses, what a sewing nightmare! I cut the tops out of some old rib-knit I've had for ages. I'm really trying to reduce my stash. But this fabric had some stains on it and I thought I'd worked around them. After sewing the bodices together and finishing off the neckline with fold-over elastic, I noticed a very slight stain in one. Then I checked, and a similar stain peeked out from the back bodice piece on the other. Grrr . . . !

Well, I washed and bleached the faulty fabric, but had no luck. And since I didn't discover the spots until Thursday evening, I began to panic. I had to meet my daughter Friday afternoon and give her the dresses so the girls could get dressed on Sunday! (We live about an hour away from her.) Oh, what to do? I didn't have any more coordinating rib-knit in my stash, and there was no time to get to the fabric store for more material.

Bingo! I'd purchased some t-shirts a few weeks ago. I measured them and found that the white one was too big for R, but the blue was just right for little R. I cut the white top apart and re-worked it to R's measurements, adding some gathering to make slightly puffed sleeves. Then I chopped the bottoms off of both shirts, sewed some tiers together and attached them.

Voila! Here they are:


The only thing missing to make the day perfect, was my son and daughter-in-law, who currently live in Hawaii, and the rest of our extended family. It's always better when we're all together. Which is why I'm looking forward to summer!!