Chocolate Bunnies never Die - They just get Eaten

All across America ....


(and other parts, I dare say.)

A Happy and Blessed Easter To You All

Christ is Risen

Indeed, He is truly arisen!

Blessings on you all this most wonderful time of year.

God Bless America

I've always hated illiterate spellings of "thru" instead of "through" or "donut" instead of "doughnut." It just recently occurred to me, however, that perhaps it's done deliberately to save money when creating signs. But I'm putting money 10-1 on "illiterate." I suppose I should just shut up and thank God there's somewhere to get a bite to eat 24/7.

It could be worse. A woman I know who teaches 1st graders was telling me she gets so many kids with oddball names, which I won't go into in case you gave your kid an oddball name. She said: Last year I DID have a ''Richard' -- but his idiot parents spelled it "RichUrd." Good grief. This poor son-of-a-gun will have to spell his name for EVERYONE he meets forever. I predict he will either grow up to be a clergyman, or an axe murderer. There is no middle ground here. He will either develop the patience of a saint, or finally snap and go berzerk and wipe out his whole office. "Film at 11" AFTER it's been "breaking news." What are parents thinking?

Happy St. Patrick' Day

When I was in college for a few years I assisted at daily Mass. One of our priests (who years later became pastor of our parish) was a Irish as the proverbial Paddy's Pig. I had just set up everything for Mass and had laid out his vestments on the vesting bench and he strolled into the sacristy in his all black clericals. I thought I would have a bit of fun with him and challenged "Ha! What's an Irishman doing on St. Paddy's Day NOT wearing green?"

With that he carefully looked around to see if any old gossiping biddies were within eyesight line. No, they weren't. Then he gently pulled up a bit of the front of his shirt which had been tucked into his waistband and gently tugged up the top band of his boxers -- the greenest item of apparel I had ever seen or ever would see! I just howled.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the pope had a pair of red and white boxers with beer steins and pretzels on them.

Pysanky

My grand-
parents on mom's side were from eastern Europe - grandpop was born in what is now the southern part of Poland, close to the Slovak border, grandmother in Vishna Polyanka, in what is now Slovakia in the Tatra Mountains, close to the Polish/Slovak border. They met in the US, and my grandmother, in particular, retained "old world ways." They were Ukrainians, born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There's a nice post about my grand parents here.

I was long familiar with pysanky made [usually] during lent and Holy Week. It can take many hours to make one egg. That Paz egg dye stuff ain't gonna cut it. You need clean eggs (duh) -- a proper metal stylus or two, beeswax, really good dyes and a lot of patience, and a steady hand. Usually the women make them, but sometimes men do too. Back before the days of TV the peasants needed something to do during those long dark nights.

I was in my late 20s when my mom coughed it up that, yes, indeed she knew how to make them, but wasn't as good as her sister, Mary. (Also my godmother.) So I had my aunt send the proper tools and with a little instruction from mom, got around, belatedly to making some. Haven't had time to make any in the last couple of years, but the photo shows a few I've made. There's also a nice design I have with an onion domed church, I was showing them to the sainted Father S. the other week and gave him one of those. By custom the priest is given one at Easter - and when people die, they are often placed in coffins - which I had also done when my own mom had died.

I found a website which gives some basic instructions. It can take a good 4 hours or more to make a good egg. I learned to improvise a few things myself re: blowing out the egg without cracking it or taking all day to trickle out. (The trick is you gently SHAKE the sucker BEFORE you put a tiny pin hole top, and a somewhat larger one at bottom. Break the yoke first, dummies! ;-D ) Believe me, nothing worse then putting in four hours or more of work to mess up that part! "oh, well!"

Typically, a few are placed in the Easter Basket of food that gets blessed on Holy Saturday. The whole basket of goodies (which often includes such items as freshly baked bread, butter lambs, kielbasa and all sorts of thing) is often covered by a beautiful hand embroidered cloth. Now that's one skill I for sure don't have, though I have messed around with cross stitching a bit. "Miss Patience" only has so much!

BTW, the plate the pysanky are sitting on is one of my "Sunday china" plates. I've also got "everyday" plates, and another set of plates for holidays.

Palm Sunday - Hari Kari Avoided!

This after-
noon as I was setting every-
thing up for Palm Sunday Mass I was checking to see if everyone had gotten a Palm before Mass. Something also possessed me whilst in the aisle to announce "Oh, and PLEASE turn off all cell phones - it will be the first time in 3 weeks we haven't had one go off."

At Mass I processed in with the rest. And right about when I was due to do the 2nd reading, the thought occurred to me: "Karen, did you turn off your OWN cell phone?"
No worries, I found out after Mass - I had - but believe me, I sweated an extra bullet or two all during reading the narrator's part and afterwards! (I usually DON'T bring my cell in at all.) Not too many people call me all week, and most of my friends know I'm at Mass late Sunday afternoons ... but.....

Thank God. I would have gotten no end of grief!
.

Who Needs the UN?

Just a bunch of charlatans and hot air...


When a "strong letter" to the Times just isn't enough...

Random Chance

I have always been in-
trigued by the im=
portant role random chance plays in one's life. One such nice chance event that happened in my life was that when I was 7 my parents had bought their first home, a small row house in Allentown, Pa. The previous owner had left an upright piano.*

No immediate relatives in my family were particularly musical, but I showed an interest, picking out tunes. At the start of the next school year, I was sent over to the convent after school one day a week for lessons. We moved to Virginia the next year, and that piano moved with us and I still have it today. My favorite piano teacher was Mr. Donaher, who taught me from age 8 1/2 to 11. Mr. D. was as blind as a bat, but a terrific teacher. I think lessons cost all of a buck fifty for about 45 minutes. In addition to the standard John Thompson series, he encouraged playing "other things" that took the student's interest. Right when I was first learning to play, the Sound of Music had come out, and I started with easy versions of same. That sparked a life long interest in musical theatre for me.

My third teacher, whom I'd acquired after we moved to New Hampshire wasn't bad (a sister who taught at our parochial school) - but she would have been better for me when I was older, say 13-15 instead of 11-12. She was too Nazi like about fingering, which drove me nuts and it kind of sucked the fun out of playing. So I stopped lessons, but I always continued to play. I'm rusty now, but I'm going to start playing more, damn the carpal tunnel but I can suck it up. I learned enough and played for fun enough to pretty much be able to play any standard sheet music and my sight reading isn't bad. (What I was never good at was transposing music on sight.)

I often wonder if I would have come to the musical theatre interest via another route had we NOT had the piano. I like to think it was "meant to be."

*This particular piano is at least 100 years old and was made by the Milton Piano Company of New York. "Milton pianos were manufactured from 1892 until 1907 by the Milton Piano Company at 626-630 West 51st St., New York City. Milton pianos and player-pianos were handcrafted, beautiful instruments, designed for a class of discriminating music lovers." - from bluebookofpianos

Bill for Baby? No problem.

At least in 1956. Total bill for 4 day hospital stay, delivery, drugs etc at Sacred Heart Hospital, Allentown, Pa? $80.20. I note my dad paid $50 bucks and paid the balance later.


Click here to enlarge photo.

Here are ALL the charges incurred during the 4 day hospital stay when I was born:

Room and Board ($9.00 per day) - $36 (4 days)
Labratory - $6.00
Operating Room and Delivery - $10
Drugs - $4.45
Anesthesia - $7.50
X-Ray $1.00
Nursery - $12.00,
Baby Bracelet - $1.00
Misc. $2.50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$80.20

I'm back!

Regular posting of this blog resumes today. It was a bitch of a week last week. I can stop tap dancing for a while now.


.

Bring out your DEAD!!!!

....Drudgereport as of 8:04 Pacific Standard Time has it:

TEXAS
CLINTON 773,431 50%
OBAMA 754,381 49%

Team Clinnochio must have been working the graveyards overtime for that one. Whenever I look back on how many times I wanted to stab myself in the eyes over the despair in my own republican party's nomination process this year, I have only to gaze over at the jackass party and get some relief of a smile. The Hildabeast against "Hussein." Even yellow-dog democrats down in the Lone Star State have to be looking for the nearest rope.

There's a lot of folks that needs hangin'.

Virtual box of Cracker Jacks for anyone who knows what movie this still photo of
Ronaldus Magnus is from.
.

How American Teenagers Show the love

... for their friends.

Yes, ladies and gentle-
men, a very popular teenager lives in this house. Do I know these people from Adam? No, but they live a few blocks away, and by the "festooned" yard, I can tell that yes, indeed, a very popular kid lives here. You see, in the USA, if your friends REALLY like you, and you're not around, and they have "nothing better to do" they TP ("toilet paper") your house. Parents don't get too mad, because by this sign of affection, they know their kid is popular in school.

I do not know how foreign exchange students take this, if they are so "honored" -- I expect it might be hard to explain the phenomenon to someone who lives in Outer Mongolia "honey, your classmates must really like you -- you have ARRIVED."

Maybe back when Jesus was a "yuth" friends would "decorate" with lamb entrails or the like, them not having toilet paper.

I could just see the Holy Family:

Joseph: That's the FIFTH time this month!!!!! Why are you so POPULAR?

Jesus: Heck if I know, of course I did change a few gallons of water into beer for the beer bust last week.

Joseph: BEER? Since when do you drink beer? Wine's not GOOD enough for your lot? Why can't you make something useful that your mother and I could drink, like wine? You know your mother doesn't like beer.

Jesus: That's a thought, I'll work on it.

Mary: Son, can you try some Chianti? You know I love that stuff.

Jesus: Wilco, mom, you know I'd do anything for you, being the perfect Son and following the law perfectly, and given I follow the 4th commandment, of course I'll make you wine whenever you want.

Mary: DO that...our family has a lot of weddings coming up, what with the cousins and all.

Jesus: Mom, anytime, and if I forget, you remind me, okay?

Mary: You betcha. I'll hold you to it!
.

Liza - before she started doing imitations of herself

A little fun for the weekend. It strikes me how everyone in this video is now over 60.






This is from estBay ootFay OrwardFay - yes, use your pig latin. - the off-B'way show done in 63 -
She is joined by dancers Gene Castle, Don Slaton, and Paul Charles.

I'm sure you TLM folks will enjoy the precision! ;-D

Leap Day Roses

Meant to take a picture of these yesterday before they "peaked" but what the heck. With all the rain last week, these beauties (and two more beneath them that DID peak, showed up by the corner of my house. MENTALLY for me tomorrow spring starts. The rest of you can wait the extra 3 weeks!

I remember seeing a 60 minutes interview with Michhael Caine once. He was mentioning how much he enjoyed the California growing season. When he lived here he had the novel experience of visiting the garden shop about this time of year searching for spring bulbs and the like. He asked the nuseryman "when do I plant them?" And the guy said "when you get home" - which was a revelation to him.

Blogging will be a little light but I'll try and get at least a little something up at least every other day.