Easter auntie duties

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auntie duties, Easter, Easter preparation, family, gifts, photography, post, sending parcels

Easter isn’t too far off anymore so it’s time to put on my floppy ears and fluffy tail and hop along to my Easter auntie duties.

Living in a different country to my nieces and nephews means I can’t just hop around the corner and deliver chocolaty goodies by paw so I need to get down to the post office and hope they’ll deliver in time for Easter Sunday smiles.

But before I can do that I need to pack up those goodies, write a few cards and make sure I don’t get anything mixed up since the age differences between both my  nephews and nieces is more than ten years. Luckily I found some lovely little Easter bags that can help me divide up the treats and gifts to ensure the right gift goes to the right nephew or niece.

For a few weeks now I have been keeping my eyes open for small, inexpensive gifts as I don’t want to add to much chocolate to the Easter sugar over-excitement that is sure to incur.

A wonderful side effect of my Easter auntie duties is that it gets me into the Easter-spirt without even trying. So, while Easter is still a few weeks away I think it may be time to consider hanging some painted eggs into my window and maybe do some spring-cleaning while I’m at it. That means my weekend is planned!

Easter bags ready and waiting to be filled

 

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having a very Good Friday

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Easter, Good Friday, masters, novel, photography, photos, short story, sun, sunshine, writing

It’s half way through the day and I have to admit I am having a very Good Friday. That hour of extra sleep and a treat of a bagel for breakfast were the perfect start to bright and sunny day. Some light house work (yes my floors needed a bit of TLC) and a few cups of tea later and the day still stretches before me.

And while I still a good few items on my to-do-list I have decided to indulge in lots of writing time. With the summer break quickly approaching I need to sit down and type. I am behind with my novel and still am at least one short-story short so the hours will be filled with sentences – both long and short – carefully crafted (I hope) and perfectly phrased (I hope even more).

However, since the sun is out, I will take myself for a walk, soak up some rays of vitamin D, boost my serotonin levels and get that tiring melatonin down. And who knows maybe my hiding muse will come out and play for a bit – after all the sun is hard to resist.

the Easter bunny is keeping watch over my progression – until he is eaten

 

 

getting ready for Easter

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decoration, Dublin, Easter, flowers, home, narcissus, photo, photos

Easter always seems to come at the wrong time and this year is no different. While on the one hand I am so looking forwrad to spending a few days off and catching up with my writing, on the other hand Easter always means we only have a few weeks of the semester left.

To me this means piles and piles of corrections and motivating students to get their work done, which can be very tricky as attendance tends to drop when the temperatures begin to rise. And this year it also means I have to hand in my own work for my Masters.

So, while the world around me paints eggs and searches of Easter nests hidden in the garden I rarely even get around to putting up many decorations. But this year I am determined to celebrate Easter with a few chocolate eggs and seasonal flair.  I have unearthed the purple Easter tablecloth my Aunt made several decades ago, hung a few hand-painted eggs in my window, bought some potted Narcissuses (or is it Narcissi – possibly both) and I even treated myself to some easterly treats.

Now Easter can come and I won’t feel left out!

my Easter table

Narcissus close up

Narcissus close up

 

having a happy Easter

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100 Muses, baking Easter loaf, Dragana Jurisic, Easter, music, photography, The House Presents

Having a quiet Easter is turning out to be wonderful. Yesterday afternoon I spent my time baking an Easter loaf and this morning I am loving the fact that I did, it really does make for a very yummy breakfast.

Last night my friend Dragana invited me and another friend D. over to dinner. She cooked a delicious chickpea and  chorizo stew. As the three of us sat over bowls of comfort food and filled Dragana’s new home with laughter I couldn’t but think of Shakespeare’s three witches, but in the best possible way.

As the evening grew dark we walked down to my local, the Annesley House, and enjoyed a night of poetry, music and dance. The first performance we saw was by the incredible duo Nic Gareiss and Maeve Gilchrist from “This is How we Fly”.

Maeve was like some sort of delicate elfin being who plucked her harp with grace, creating wonderful melodies that Nic danced along to. I have never seen such a magnificent combination, his soft shoes tapping out a beat to support the harp, sand changing the sound, the height of his jumps mixing up the beat. If you haven’t heard of them before, do check them out you will be in for an incredible treat, just click here and enjoy: Maeve Gilchrist and Nic Gareiss.

Over G&T we then listened to poems by Demitra X and later to the punk influenced by BeRn, and as the night came to an end Dragana met a few future muses (#100Muses outtakes of #MyOwnUnknown) and that alone was worth the night.

Today I just enjoy a few marzipan Easter Eggs, maybe later a walk on the beach and I will use my free time to write and just enjoy the day. All in all I have to say I really am having a perfectly happy Easter.

 

 

 

low hanging clouds

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clouds, Dublin, Easter, family, grety days, low hanging clouds, parcels, photography, photos

Today was another one of those grey days in Dublin, one that never seems to see the sun. In addition to the lack of sunlight, low hanging clouds covered the city, damp air clinging to every fiber, drizzly rain creating shallow puddles and wet feet.

As I ran around town, lots of errands on my to-do-list, my hair decided to swirl, twist, kink and frizz in the misty wet weather. My Afro grew as the day went and I ended up with wet shoes, drenched by awkwardly placed puddles.

I made my way home through the hazy streets and couldn’t help but long for a cup of hot tea and woolly socks – and maybe some chocolate egg, after all it is Easter this weekend. With thoughts of tea and my freezing feet calling for warmth I opened my front door and found a lovely surprise. Two parcels from Germany were waiting for me, one from Godmother and one from my brothers family.

Now this Easter weekend can truly start, and I can’t wait to find out what is hidden inside those big envelopes, I am sure some sugary goodness to sweeten the days, three more sleeps and I will find out!

chocolate eggs and a snotty nose

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chocolate, chocolate egg, chocolate eggs, christian holiday, christianity, cocoa butter, cooking, Easter, easter eggs, eggs, food, holiday, miscellaneous, painted eggs, photography, photos, random, skype, snotty nose

I awoke this morning to a skype-session with my year-and-a-half year old chocolate covered nephew and a snotty nose. His parents had forced him to say thank you for the egg-shaped Irish treats I had sent him and we spend a few minutes stuffing our faces (him), blowing our noses (me) and singing “itsy bitsy spider” (both of us).

Since Easter is probably the most important christian holiday around it does always surprise me how few people really know what is celebrated. So instead of thinking about Jesus dying for or sins and then rising from the dead to save us all,  most people spend their time devouring one chocolate egg after another thanking the Easter Bunny.

It really is surprising that the reason eggs dominate Easter goes back to the fact that the church didn’t allow eggs to be eaten in the week (Holy Week) leading up to Easter Sunday. To not waste the eggs laid in Holy Week they were painted and given to the children on Easter Sunday as gifts.

The Victorians  (1820-1900) then came up with the idea of making satin covered cardboard eggs and filled them with little gifts. This idea prompted craftsmen to start making eggs out of porcelain and later silver and gold. The ultimate Easter Eggs of the 19th Century were of course Fabergé’s creations that he made for Tzar Alexanders wife Marie.

But trust the Germans and French to come up with a more edible idea. In the early 19th century they made the very first chocolate eggs. Sadly they were a little bitter and hard but over time, as chocolate became softer and easier to mould, they perfected the know commonly known hollow variety.

However it was Cadburys introduction of pure cocoa in 1966 , combined with the Dutch invention of a press that separated the cocoa butter from the bean (1982), that allowed the mass production of Easter Eggs as we know them today.

So whether the fox (some parts of southern Germany) , the cuckoo (Switzerland) or the Easter Bunny left you a chocolaty treat today maybe spend a minute thanking the industrial revolution for the chocolaty goodness melting in your mouth. And while you nibble, chew and smile say a grateful prayer, celebrating the true meaning of Easter.

Some hand painted eggs in my window

bad hare day

Tags

chocolate, Easter, families, fun, holidays, humour, love, miscellaneous, random, singles

The Easter Bunny may be visiting people far and wide today but somehow that silly hare has yet again forgotten to put me on his list of happy chocolate receivers. So with no chocolate loot to go searching for I made myself a little basket of chocolatey goodies, but it really isn’t the same and got me thinking about all those lovely family holidays.

I am big fan of Christmas, love the whole season surrounding it. The lights transforming the world into a magical place, the hot drinks and cold noses, the joy of being able to splurge on others and be as tacky as you like with decorations in your home. Valentines day on the other hand is a strictly couple affair, only exciting when a surprise gorilla-o-gram interrupts your day with a red chocolate heart and a card stuffed with love and hopefully an invite for the night. Mothers day is when we spoil those who put plasters on our knees, made us pancakes and helped with our homework. Fathers day is when Daddy’s spoil themselves and go off drinking with the lads. St Patrick’s day is the greenest day of the year with families dipping their heads and hearts into national pride.  But Easter stands a little apart for me. Although it is the most important Church Holiday, it also seems to be mainly a family event.

For some reason while others are gorging themselves with chocolate eggs and hunting down the last shiny orbs in the garden I often end up with no plans. Today is no different, but I am sure I will come up with lots of lovely things to fill the day with.  Yet I have to admit that it does niggle at me slightly that there is no day in the year to celebrate the singles amongst us. Which seems odd as we are an increasingly growing number.

So as my mind is untainted by a cocoa high I had this thought: maybe we should just invent such a day. I am thinking one day in the summer would be nice. No work for those who live alone and the singles cat Jingle (each holiday needs its bearer of gifts and what better than an alley cat?)  would bring us all cards, chocolates, flowers and condoms. And everyone you have ever given a gift to on their showers, wedding days, engagement parties and other couply events have to remember you for a change and exchange the favour. After all didn’t someone once say the joy is in the giving?

But for now I will eat a marzipan egg and see what the city has to offer as the sun is hiding behind grey clouds and my beach plans seem a little too dull.  And maybe the chocolate filled bellies will keep most families at home and I will have the galleries to myself. Yes, sometimes being single is perfect!