Early Greetings and Wishes

I have been busy this week, and it is only Wednesday.Sunday, we were invited to my in laws' for the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. The day before ST Pat's and that saved me the boiling and checking of the dinner on a Monday. Besides, it is better when someone else cooks, any type of food. So, I decided to bake something for dessert. I borrowed a cookbook from the library because it was a book about desserts specifically. I was going to bake a pound cake, but chickened out. I was going to bake a coffee cake, but chickened out. I delved into the book a little further, and it hit me as I turned the page...IRISH SODA BREAD! I read and reread the recipie, seemed simple, so, poof, I started baking. Cassidy helped me, by putting ingredients in the bowl, using the pastry cutter to blend the dough, kneading the dough with me and making a general mess. It was fun, it was scary, and for me being of Polish, Slovak, and German descent, I think that I make a mean Irish Soda Bread. I will make it again, it was rather simple, but the bonding with my daughter, who is of Irish descent, that was the real joy here. She was so proud of the fact that she "punched the baking soda bread," and was beaming from ear to ear when she handed my mother in law the foil wrapped package. The bread was good, in fact, it was one of the best that I have had. It was almost as good as raisin bread, so that was a plus for me. In fact, my oldest, Patrick, has been munching at the loaf that I kept at home, the entireweek. My husband has been taking it for coffee break at work every day, so the loaf is diminishing. I may have to make some for Easter.

I am having dinner here at the house, at 5pm for those of you in the area, tee hee. I am doing the "feast" that my mother used to do, minus a few of the cakes that she used to bake. The menu includes, ham, potatoes, veggies, but also Kielbasa and sauerkraut, gawumpkis(stuffed cabbage rolls) pierogies, boiled and fried(yes, fried) with onions, a poppy seed cake, and a new recipie, cookie pops. I think that my mom made a few things that I am not inculding, but I guess over the years I may discover what they are and add them. This is only my second Easter dinner, I did it last year, and it was fun. It was easy, I tried to make ahead and freeze what I could, so that it was easier. I make the stuffed cabbage already, but cannot really make anything else ahead of time, so, I will put it together as I go on Saturday and Sunday. I want it to be special, I want it to be nice, cross your fingers for me.

We are going to brunch at Scott's brother and sister's in law home. Her children go to their Dad's for ALL holiday dinners. Not fair in my book, but I didn't sign the papers. She enjoys making a meal on the holiday, so brunch it is. It is nice to gather with them at their house too, I get it, holidays should be special, an d eveyone should gather together, for some type of meal. Penny has done brunch for quite a few years, so we pushed the dinner hour up to the real dinner hour. We will be spending dinner with the same folks, just my in laws, and Scott's brother and sister in law. I just want to do dinner, not the sit down formal kind, but just traditional foods that I was used to growing up with as a kid. This will be a hard one for me again, serving what my mother used to serve, but I will get through, I will survive. I had dinner last year, because my sister, who took over for my mother, didn 't have dinner at home last year. We were left to our own devices, so I just picked up the baton and ran with it. My sister called last week to invite us to dinner at her house, but I had already planned this with Scott's family, so I had to decline. I know that last year, my mother enjoyed having a dinner here, with all of the old favorites, only I didn't do the stuffed cabbage, I didn't know how, I didn't have the right cookbook, I didn't have the Polish cookbook that my mother used, from a church in a Polish community on the east end of Long I sland. Now, I have that cookbook, with my mother's notations in it, with a few of her recipies penned in on the blank pages. So, I hope that these recipies work. I think that they will, I know that she would be proud. It will not be easy, but again, I will get through. Christmas wasn't easy either, but it will be easier next year and the year after, and so on. So too with Easter, it will get easier with each passing year. It helps to know that, the logical side of me says.

The emotional side is not so convinced. I have been weepy, and sad. It will get better. The kids have off from school today, tomorrow, Friday and Monday. It is raining hard, supposed to all day. Hopefully it will stop by the weekend. It is warming up, tempertaure wise, so tha t is a plus.

I guess today I will decorate the house indoors for Easter. We will put out the baskets, empty so tha t they can be filled by the big bunny on Sunday, a few pieces of my "glass" decorations, and be done. What makes it simple is that I put everything away last friday, Scott finished up the painting over the weekend, so I haven't gotten to putting every thing back in its placce. I will give a quick dust, press a doilie or two and then poof, decorate for Sunday, and tear it down Monday! Monday, we will haul out the "put aways," and we will have our house back by the afternoon.

Well,that is enough verbiage! I hope that everyone has a Happy Easter and that it is filled with joy and love. Celebrate this most holy of days, together, with family or friends or both. My wish to you all is laughter and love on this holiday.