Easter, Now and Then

It is raining to beat the band. Grandma Cora used that phrase, ‘to beat the band,’ all the time. I missed not getting to know her better. I know she was smart, thrifty, and had a wicked sense of humor. But we only saw her and Grandpa Jake four or five times a year. I was 18 when she died.

 

I went to the new doctor today. I am but a cog in the HMO machine. Everything is computerized there. She ordered my prescriptions, blood work, and a referral to a psychiatrist, enrolled me in a class for fibromyalgia, and set up an appointment for a mammogram; all from a terminal in the exam room. I felt a bit rushed through. I really needed to talk to someone about my mental state and she just said I could do that with the psychiatrist. Best part, no big deal when I asked for an injection of Novocain in my hip for bursitis. She just stuck me like a pig! There is still some residual burning on the edges of the bursa; but nowhere near the pain I had been having for the past week.

 

I did some shopping afterwards. I went to the Rainbow Market (Grocery Outlet) and found a few bargains. Like a planter in the shape of a coffee cup and saucer. I bought one that reminded me of Mexico complete with yellow flowers and a hummingbird. Then I found an Echeveria Metallica, getting ready to bloom, to put into the pot. It will grace the dining room table.

 

I found some bronze fennel, an Easter lily, some adorable sedums for the strawberry jar. I planted it 12 years ago and it needs some freshening. I’ll just knock out the old potting mix, add new, and replant what’s left and the new plants. I’ll pot up any leftovers for Nate. Some of his hops are growing! For that micro-brewer that is one great happiness!

 

Selene’s b-day present is now bought and hidden. I found Lennon a card and a goofy ball for Easter. I want to find him a hat to hold his Easter gift from us. (We always tried to give Selene her Easter basket as a hat filled with some goodies.) No going overboard. He will get gifts from a myriad of family and friends. So will be keeping it simple.

 

We are having an Easter picnic at Debbie’s and Rob’s. We were hoping for nice weather. Not to be found this year. Reminds me of the year we went to Weippe, ID, my dad’s home town, for Spring Break. We stayed with Uncle Harold and Aunt Georgia, before they got indoor plumbing. It was the same house that Great Grandpa David and Great Grandma Mary built when they moved to Idaho around the turn of the century. (The ranch is still in family hands.)

 

Uncle Harold took us on a drive up the Snake River. There was about five feet of snow on the ground. Best part of the day was having a picnic in the snow and seeing Big Horn Sheep across the river. Dad’s cousin Keith’s wife showed us the little park where her family always had their Easter picnic; she wrote us later that they held the picnic in the park that year; they just shoveled snow out of the way!

 

I found the missing mop. It had fallen behind the freezer. So, tomorrow my goals will be:

• Mop the floors
• Make a pot of baked beans
• Make a marinated bean salad
• Make an applesauce cake
• Baby-proof the house!