House Concerts and Easter Eggs
Yesterday was kind of a rush----we tried to get some things done around the house, take the boys out to lunch as we had promised Leo, color eggs and cook a heap of aspargus to take with us to the house concert. We managed to get it all done and took off for Springfield with our friend Richard. I gotta say he's a great date---he picked us up, had wonderful music to listen to, knew exactly where he was going, took great pictures and delivered us home safe and sound even though I think the Ernie and I dozed off for the last of the drive. What more could one ask for?
The concert was everything we could have hoped for. Of course we KNEW Phil Lee would be ridiculously entertaining and able to segue from his one liners and self-deprecation straight into a song that breaks your heart. Eric Brace and Peter Cooper were beyond wonderful. As much as I love what I have heard from them on cd....live it was even better. Their voices together really do become a third voice----really beautiful. And charming to boot. Ahhhhhh. Hopefully we will get them to our place one of these days.
The hosts, Kari and Bed Bedford, were lovely as well---kind and welcoming. Their house was gorgeous---reminded me of our friends Ann and Bob's house, which is a high compliment in my book. I'm always a bit shy going to parties---I guess that's why I like to give them. But we walked in, Ben and Kari welcomed us and when Phil Lee was doing his sound check and saw us and said, "oh hey"....well then I relaxed. My asparagus and dip was a hit, we snagged perfect seats right by the stairs and well....it was perfect. Thanks to Kari and Ben and Phil and Eric and Peter and Richard. Oh, and to Ernie because he's the best damned date of all.
I must admit that Easter has kind of crept up on me. I need to get through this first year or so of holidays without the rest of my family and then I'll be more set in planning holidays just for us but I'm still a bit off kilter. My mother was gone last Easter but it was still very new. This year I just kept putting off thinking about it---which is unlike me as most of the time obsessing over recipes is as big a treat to me as the holiday itself. We had talked to the boys and told them it might be a bit different this year. I said, "I suppose by now you know there's not a giant bunny hopping from house to house" and they just looked at me in disgust. We did color eggs but I figured I'd just as soon not fill them up with candy, that we'd get them some other kind of Easter (Lego) treat. We got home late (for us) and stumbled up to bed. This morning Ernie woke me up by setting a package of peeps by my side of the bed and saying, "the Easter Daddy is here." I smiled sleepily, told him he was the best father in the world and went back to sleep because hey, I love sleep. When I came downstairs however I saw that he'd had little choice in dragging himself out to the grocery store first thing in the morning. There was a note on the chair in the living room that said, "MOM AND DAD...PLEASE PUT OUR BASKETS OUT" and then in tiny little print, accompanied by drawings, it said, "even though it's useless." I guess you can imagine who came up with the dramatic plea....
God I love my sweet peas.
Happy Easter to all.
Oh....and all the good pictures are by Richard Hill!