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Easter 3-day
April 21, 2014
Took Friday off; Spouse and I went to the city to pick up various Polish delicacies necessary for him and his brother P to properly observe Easter weekend. It was a gorgeous day, so we ventured down to Gene's Sausage shop in Lincoln Square, instread of going to their location on Belmont as we usually do. So glad we did--it was much less insane, the communication was easier (the counter people on Belmont have limited English), and we were still able to get pretty much everything we were looking for. Pierogi, rye bread, smoked kielbasa, kiszka, smoked pork butt, and kolacky (they didn't have kruschiki, but them's the breaks). For me, I splurged on a box of one of my favorite teas, and a tube of McVities Rich Tea biscuits.
I only got one package of kolacky, though, and caught hell about that from P, even though A) they weren't on his list, and B) who thinks of buying pastries for a diabetic?! We ended up giving our package to him.
We went to Russell's for a BBQ ribs lunch (advantages of being a heathen on Good Friday!), then tooled over to Meijer in Niles for groceries. I picked up a supply of kosher Coke, since we both love it, and a few things we needed for Easter dinner. And...an egg-coloring kit, because I that's something that I love about Easter. Then we headed back north.
After we got everything put away, and I boiled my eggs, and ran one more little errand...I had a bit of a lie-down. I am getting better at having energy to get things done, but I still am deficient in the stamina department.
But I got up about 4:00, fed the B, and dyed my eggs.
And because Spouse gave up his kolacky, and didn't get any kruschiki...
I baked--and decorated--three and a half dozen sugar cookies.
Well...yes, he's spoiled. (So am I, so I can't point fingers.) In fact, that last little errand, before my nap? Ran to Festival for some cookie dough. I thought I had some in the freezer, turned out I didn't. It wasn't that much work, since I totally cheat with the dough and the icing. And it made him very happy.
After our big BBQ lunch either one of us ended up wanting any dinner to speak of--he actually had a bowl of oatmeal; I just nibbled a cookie.
Saturday morning was another glorious spring day. We got up late, had coffee, and did some housework, then we got cleaned up and headed out to meet P to give him his haul from Gene's, then we drove out to the Veteran's cemetery to decorate Papa's grave.
I had gone to the dollar store and gotten some stuff to make up an arrangement of silk flowers in a miniature florist's can, with Easter lilies, purple crocus, and yellow daffodils, plus a couple of Easter egg picks, finished off with purple ribbon bows on the handles. I thought it came out quite nicely. Since Papa is in the bottom row of the columbarium, it is easy to decorate--I plant the arrangement in the gravel in front of his niche, and no issues.
I miss Papa so much. Especially at holidays--he enjoyed them so much. I very nearly put a box of Peeps with the flowers; they were his favorite.
After that, we rode into Racine and stopped at the Walmart "Neighborhood Market" on the north side of town, for paper goods and wet dog food. Very nice store! Much less crazy than the big Wally's in Sturtevant or Somers. A nice grocery store, and they carry most of the basic household items we usually buy at Walmart. We will go there again, I think.
After we got home, I baked a dessert for Sunday; a small lemon cake with a lemon glaze. I climbed back on the laundry wagon, stripped and did up Spouse's bedding, and kicked back in between loads, relaxing and reading. Since Spouse knows how indigestible his Polish favorites are, we had our dinner early in order to have more time before bed. Smoked kielbasa, pierogi (mine were kraut and mushroom, his were meat and kraut), rye bread, and hard-boiled eggs. I also had green beans, because I do occasionally have to have some kind of vegetable.
Since we ate so early, I aided my digestion by taking the B for a brisk walk around the neighborhood after the dishes were done, and then we prettty much chilled the rest of the evening.
Sunday was the prettiest day of the long weekend. I stayed in bed until Spouse got up, in order to let him find his Easter basket on the dining room table. (I can't help it--I love Easter baskets, and I always feel so bad that he never got one as a child!) After he had discovered what the bunny left him, I got up and made coffee, and kicked back while he made Bananas Foster pancakes. Yeah, they were pretty awesome. He made his usual pancake recipe, but used the Williams-Sonoma french toast recipe for the topping.
After the breakfast dishes were done and we had showered and dressed, we made the big move of the day--we took B to the dog park for the first time this year. He had so much fun I thought he was going to explode. It was crowded, and he is out of shape, so we didn't stay long, but he had a blast.
I have never had a dog who was that social with both people and other dogs--he craves contact. He wants to play with every dog he meets. We took a long ride after, to settle and cool him down, and I made a quick stop at the drugstore to try and replace the clip-on sunglasses I managed to break on Friday (no luck). Then we went home, threw open all the windows, and relaxed for a while.
Spouse started dinner about three (ham, mashed potatoes, green peas in butter sauce) and we ate at five. Another quiet evening; Spouse retired to his room with a new library book, and I puttered around getting things ready for Monday morning, set the DVR for Mad Men, watched an episode of HIGNFY (Jeremy Clarkson and Henning Wehn!), and played Flipwords till bedtime.
Reading: Busy weekend, so not reading too much. Juggling a couple, though: Still reading "A Court of Inquiry" (1901), by Grace S. Richmond. Also, "He Comes Up Smiling" (1912), by Charles Sherman.
Listening: Bruce Springsteen, Fitz & the Tantrums, Del Amitri, The Eagles
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