Bunnies & Bonnets

For Easter, I always dressed up in some frilly pastel dress (sometimes knee length, sometimes long), and I usually had some kind of coordinating accessory:  a bonnet, a little purse or possibly a parasol.  I know, gag.  I remember that it was usually too cold to be wearing a frilly dress on Easter.  I’d go to church, and then my parents and I would go to both sets of grandparents for Sunday dinners.  Dang, I remember the pies and the gravy.  My mom’s mom made the BEST pie.  My dad’s mom made the BEST creamy chicken-fried gravy from the fried chicken drippings (she made really memorable pies too as she taught me to love custard pie—there was not a pie I didn’t love, but that's a post for another day).

The Easter that sticks in my memory is the time we had an egg hunt at my grandma’s (mom’s mom) and I could not for the life of me figure out how I missed the “prize” egg, I was probably 10ish.  I think all my aunts & uncles and cousins were there.  I remember running around in my light blue long frilly dress (ruffled tiers with polka dots) and white patent shoes.  My cousin, Belinda was wearing mint green, I think.  I remember collecting eggs ALL OVER the yard (front, sides, and back).  In the back behind the garage, I remember looking in a wheel rim—No egg.  And then it wasn’t 10 minutes later and one of my much younger cousins found the Prize egg IN-THE-WHEEL-RIM!  For the longest time (maybe a decade), I never understood how I could have missed that egg.  Every year, we had an egg hunting contest, and whoever got the egg marked “Prize”, got some special gift (i.e. chocolate bunny).  I never won.  With so many kids, odds were against it, but I have to admit that once I grew up and realized someone PUT that egg there just seconds prior for that little kid to find, I was much relieved to realize I wasn’t that unobservant.  I think either Paul or Annette found the prize egg—and it made their year.  Looking back, I’m really glad they found it.

We are eating a late ham dinner, with homemade buns (Todd’s buns), and this wildly delicious-looking potato casserole dish Todd just whipped up that looks like it has more cheese than potato.  It’s almost done, and our home smells really tasty.  Hope your Easter was wonderful!