PATIENCE

Chocolate Easter bunny

In a jelly bean nest,

I'm saving you for very last

Because I love you best.

I'll only take a nibble

From the tip of your ear

And one bite from the other side

So that you won't look queer.

Yum, you're so delicious!

I didn't mean to eat

Your chocolate tail till Tuesday.

Oops! There go your feet!

I wonder how your back tastes

With all that chocolate hair.
I never thought your tummy

Was only filled with air!

Chocolate Easter bunny

In a jelly bean nest,

I'm saving you for very last

Because I love you best.

by Bobbi Katz

And Nip, Nip Nip it was gone gone gone just like that.

(a line from another book called Baby Blue Cat and the whole Batch of Cookies)

*and it wasn't full of air. Yum yum yum!

Sunset Avenue

Yesterday afternoon was very stormy...lots of wind and rain and severve weather in the area...but here's what how the day ended! This is looking west from Sunset Ave looking down Pinetree Drive. It was beautiful.

Easter

John and I had a nice Easter that began with sunrise service at Ocean Avenue in Melbourne Beach followed by the annual brunch get-together at the Spinos house. Every year we speculate on whether or not the brunch is going to happen...as everyone is getting older and it is quite an undertaking. But the party went on and we had a great time as usual. Let me start at the beginning.....

Last year we opted to go to Holy Name's mass because the priest from Immaculate Conception who does the mass in MB has many health issues, including problems with his eyesight. For several years now...he has used the same sermon every Easter.(he has it memorized and typed up in very large print just in case) I know he has issues...but it just bugged me that he couldn't come up with a new sermon! Well....we went to a different mass last year and it was nice...but there's something about going to MB, where the usual crowd is, and this year we decided to go back. Well...when it came time for the sermon...I could almost quote lines "as the sun rises over the beautiful Atlantic ocean......." and so on...but it really was nice this year. Father Nolan's voice sounded strong and though the message never varies...it is a good one...so I guess I can live with it! Now...the mass at the beach is a bit like live TV....you never know for sure what is going to happen...no matter how carefully you have planned it...and this year was no exception. Sometimes it might be a loud bird in the nearby tree, or pesky wind, or the altar boy leaning too far back and falling onto the dune and then crawling back up to the platform that keeps troublemakers like me laughing no matter how hard I try to stay focused and serious! Well,this year did not dissappoint!

This year we had the random beach goer who ascended the stairs and realized he was walking right into the crowd assembled for the mass that had just started.(you could almost hear him thinking "oh no") As a coincidence the guy had shoulder length brown hair and a beard (no kidding!) I'm telling you if he'd been wearing a robe I would've sworn he was playing the part of Jesus in a live reenactment. As it was he was wearing a pair of blue baggies as he strolled through the crowd to his car? John and I looked at each other and chuckled. I was feeling a little guilty...but spotted some friends in the crowd who were obviously thinking the same thing judging by the grins on their faces. Other than that distraction...it really was a nice mass...and I was glad we were there.

Afterwards we headed over to meet up with the group. All the old familiar faces were there....the Spinos and all their children, Mr. and Mr. Hogg, Stephanie and family, Kevin and his daughter,Mrs. Madden and some of her kids and grand kids, The Fiores, Strahles, Eckhoffs, etc. It was so nice to be around all these people who have known me all these years...it was like being with my Mom and Dad again. Telling stories, etc like you do when you get together with old friends. As it turns out...Mrs. Spino was diagnosed with colon cancer late last year and has been going through some grueling chemo. She has been pretty sick, so there was some doubt as to whether or not the gathering was going to take place this year. After a couple of weeks break from the chemo, she was feeling better and even though the Dr. advised against it...she wanted to have the party. All her children were there to help (she is 83? Mr. Spino a year or two older)

and they all decided to go for it. It was a wonderful morning and Hank told John that even though they had worried about going ahead with it...seeing their mother so happy and enjoying herself with all the friends and family, they felt they had definitely made the right choice. Knowing this made the celebration a little bittersweet ,but also that much more special... It was

an opportunity to make the most of what time we do have. You could look at each family and find some challenge they were going through, but for this day...it was a celebration of family, friends and faith.

(as I'm typing this I am listening to music...guess what's playing...Dave Matthews ...

"Celebrate we will........"

Birthday fun

I told you last Wednesday about the plan we had to get my brother Mark on his 50th...but we didn't know exactly how it would all work out. Turns out Mark decided at the last minute to go fishing with John, Reid, Chandler and Ron on his birthday. When you go that far off-shore...it is a long day, so he wasn't likely to make it to LongDoggers to see the pictures. I knew he'd get in there sooner or later...and he did. Yesterday he was greeted by this sign....................... (I'm not sure if he noticed it before he got in and saw the photos on the tables.) Of course Al was there and he was making sure everyone knew what was going on. Mark was sitting in his usual spot at the counter with a photo in front of him and a big grin on his face.(from what I heard). When Mark came over later to our house for (another) a cookout(more tuna and mahi)...I asked about the photos...whether or not he had seen them. He smiled...looked at me and said"Actually, they were all sold out by the time I got there". Ha ha. It was nice to know he had enjoyed the fun. Little did he know....Ron was waiting for him to pie him in the face. (Ron makes sure everyone gets the pie treatment.....but.....he knows better than to get me!) Well we were all enjoying sushi that Chuck was making and all the other salads and dishes people had brought over. Reid and his family were over too...so we sang Happy Birthday to Jordan, and Mark. Mark was getting ready to leave,while Ron was waiting by the door in the garage. John asked Mark to grab a beer from the fridge...he opened the door and BAM! In spite of the mess and the surprise...Mark was laughing and posed for the photo..... I think he was pleased to think we had made a big deal out of his birthday...because as I mentioned the other day...he's usually pretty low key. I am not sure who had more fun....Ron? or Mark!

Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Spring!

Once upon a time and far far away I was actually in the choir at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. It was back when the whole informal, guitar mass was getting popular. We had fun...but as I said I was in the choir...so there is no telling what we sounded like! Ha! We did sing one song that I always liked and it was also one of my Uncle Dave's(my mother's twin brother) favorites. He mentioned one time that he would have the nuns sing it at his funeral mass if they'd let him...but he didn't think they would go for that idea. (he was the residing priest ( actually a monsignor) at the Mother of God Monastery in Springfield Massachusetts. Anyway here it is...

Lord of the Dance
I danced in the morning when the world was young
I danced for the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance said he
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the dance said he.

I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on.
Refrain

I dance on the Sabbath, and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high
Left me there on the cross to die
Refrain

I danced on a Friday when the world turned black
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on
Refrain

They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that will never, never die
I'll live in you if you'll live in me
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.
Refrain

Tomorrow morning we will go to Sunrise mass on the beach at Ocean Ave in Melbourne Beach
and then over to the Spino's house for brunch as we have done for over 20 years. The first sunrise mass at the beach was when I was 16/17 years old...a few families and a priest friend all spent the night at a house down on the beach, that was a FUN! FUN time! The idea of the sunrise mass caught on and got bigger over the years..(.and more organized). Can't remember when the brunch started...but I do know I brought John there to introduce him to all our family friends...so it was at least 29/30 years ago. Brought the girls there as babies(Brenna is 24, Megan 21 now) and well, you get the idea. Year after year the group of friends gets together at Christmas for Potluck dinner, Easter for Brunch(and they get together without all the kids, grand kids, etc...throughout the year) and it is always a pleasure to see everyone. It is sad to go without Mon and Dad, and others who have passed away over the years, but it is always a nice morning....good food, good stories and a place where I truly feel "at home". These people have watched me grow up and have all shared the the ups and downs in life. Lot and lots of good times and laughs over the years! So, at least for one more year we'll be there . (The only thing that would make it better....would be having Brenna and Megan and all my sisters there too...oh well.)
Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Spring!

Easter bunnies

Guess what I saw hopping around my front yard this morning...a rabbit. He looked just like the ones in the picture (minus the clothes and accessories) haha. I was glad the dogs didn't see it!

Maybe I'll find some eggs?????

Easy Storytime/Party treats

Here's what we had a Storytime today.(and every other holiday recently.) It's simple. A Rice Krispie treat, a spoonful of frosting and sprinkles. Not TOO sweet,,,but easy and fun to spread the frosting...I give the kids a little plastic knife, dab of frosting and a little pile or cup of sprinkles. (I have sprinkles for every season/holiday in my pantry...they last a long time.)

We also made Easter Bunny bags. The kids glued on the pink ears, eyes and nose and pink pompom on back for the tail. Then you glue the ear tips together for handles.

My mother always had some kind of treat for us on holidays...nothing too fancy...maybe even just a cookie or some type of candy...but it was something special for a special day.So I always have to do something for the kids...just because.......