Easter Week Continued

Good Friday Concert - The Seven Last Words of Christ by Joseph Haydn

At Trinity Episcopal Church, Upperville and afterwards an amazing sunset behind the Blue Ridge Mountains

Saturday was my day to paint the front and back steps, finish spring cleaning and flower planters, 

as well as prepare the Farmhouse for  Easter Dinner.

 , a

Krista gave me her linen table cloths and Dean cut branches from flowering trees.

At 7am on Easter morning I carted more things from the Cottage to the Farmhouse ...

 And hid the plastic Easter Eggs that Anne Kress and Ann Wilkins prepared.

So excited to have a GREEN Easter - No snow on the ground!

 

Wonderful Easter Service 

Maundy Thursday Surprises

First Surprise: The temperature dropped to 28 degrees. Remember, Sunday was 80! The Boston Ferns and Mandevilla are in the cellar and the rest of my plants came inside.

Second Surprise: I opened the front door this morning to a crisp clear Maundy Thursday and

found a tiny bird's egg (broken) on the mat.

I found this bunny tail on a hike.

Third Surprise: A raccoon is trapped in the trap we set for our ground hog!

Last week we caught a skunk in the trap and can still smell the scent on the side of the house.

Raccoons are nocturnal. So it is sleeping.

Fourth Surprise: Jeff, Bob & Evie Eisenhard came for a late afternoon visit

I served Kakel's smoked salmon as an hors d' oeuvre.

We had Norma Zimmer 's Chicken Salad on lettuce leaves,  creamed tomato soup, and toasted focaccia bread.
So nice to have relatives  drop by for visit!

Palm Sunday

 It was 80 degrees today. Our windows are open and the breezes are wonderful. 

But I dread the inevitable heat that is coming ....

This is what I visualize when I think of April in Virginia!
The view across from our driveway - Red Bud and Forsythia

Point to Point Races at Oatlands

I wore this hat for the races. The bow is suppose to go in the front but I felt better with it in the back

Kneeler for Dr. Joe Rogers at Church of Our Saviour. He was honored today at the Oatland Races.

Knitting Through Science Lectures

We sat through 2 full days of lectures  this weekend. We didn't know anyone at the conference.

Jim was more interested in the material than I so I brought my knitting and was content. Actually, the talks were amazing and piqued my interest. My Fitbit registered more than 10,000 steps - the knitting movement registered as steps!

Dr Robert Spitzer & Jim at the Pensmore Dialogue at Patrick Henry College

Pensmore Dialogue - How Did Life Start

 Lectures by Dr. Robert Spitzer

Lectures by Dr. John Lennox

Groundhog Stew, Stink Bug Tacos

On Wednesday nights during Lent we are studying the 39 Articles of Religion. Before each session

someone brings soup or stew for a light meal. Last week I said I would bring Ground Hog Stew if I caught the pesky ground hog that is digging under our porch and house. His holes surround our yard.

So  we set a Haveahart Trap and added veggies and peanut butter on bread.

AND we caught a skunk.

No More New, Mom

In 1982 we moved back to Pittsburgh from Chaptico, MD. Charles was 4 and Peter  2. As I drove them around Peter's Township and Upper St. Claire I chanted, "This is your NEW playground. This is your NEW school. This is your NEW church. This is your NEW McDonald's. This is your NEW . . . " Strapped in his seat behind me, Charles finally pleaded, "No more NEW, Mom!"

7 months into our New home, I feel his pain, especially in finding my way to and around the grocery store. This is the map I made for my car to get to the super markets in Leesburg. I have a great GPS in the car but it requires a physical address. The Rt 15 Bypass and a few loopy roads and strange lanes have gotten us terribly confused ON THE way to buy groceries. Just when I thought I could throw away the map, I discovered a short cut to Wegmans.

When we moved to Anchorage from South Carolina, 

I was thrilled with my NEW supermarket  -  Carr's (before it became Carr's - Safeway). No pain in trading Piggly Wiggly for Carr's. 23 years later I could shop in Carr's blindfolded.

Then I walked into Wegmans! Charles introduced me to Wegmans when he was in college at Cornell in Ithaca, NY

It just came to Leesburg and it is an experience. A wine bar - the best sushi I have ever eaten. Because wine is sold in supermarkets in VA, the store seems so huge. But a third of the store is wine! It will be 10 years at least until I can say I could shop blindfolded.

Thank You for Rating Us the #1 Supermarket in America  We're thrilled to share that once again a national consumer magazine has ranked Wegmans #1 on their list of supermarkets! We realize this achievement is a result of the special shopping experience our people create every day. We thank you for recognizing their passion and commitment to providing incredible service.