Easter Treasures

Easter morning was great fun at our house this year. Isabelle had a good time hunting for eggs with a little twist.

Easter has always been fun for us but when I grew up it was mainly a candy grab. There always a few other presents too. With Isabelle we didn't want to make it too easy so with some help form the Easter Bunny we put together all the little bits and made a treasure hunt out of it. (By the way, where I come from it's the Easter Chicken or La Poule de Pâques that delivers the eggs and candy but that's another story. I looked for info on the Internet but couldn't find anything on the so called: Poule de Pâques.)

It started with a basket she was sure would be brimming with chocolate when she woke up in the morning. In fact it only had a few little chocolate eggs and one plastic egg. We didn't realize the consequence of this as she was pretty peeved when she saw it. In fact she pretty much left it alone and sulked for a while until we caught up to her and explained what was up.

In the plastic egg was a note which told here where to find another basket. From there multiple plastic eggs with multiple clues led her to more eggs and eventually some treasure. She had a blast running all over the house and outside to find the clues and treasure. There were a few times I had to help with the clues, but overall she read them all by herself and found everything. I guess this is how traditions begin. Now I wonder what the Easter Bunny will bring next year...

Catching Up with the Sun and the Stars

Here I am sitting on the back deck in shorts and a T-shirt, sipping a cider, and listening to Dar Williams as I think back and forward.

It’s been a few long weeks. Since I’ve been back from Ireland I’ve had a whole lot going on. We had some company while I was away. Jane’s Mum and Dad were here. They stayed through three weekends and were here while Isabelle was off from school. Isabelle gets a whole two weeks off around Easter.

I think Peter and Elizabeth enjoyed their time here. It was the hottest end of March and early May SC has seen in a while. Temperatures got up into the 90s on some days. As our neighbour put it, we went right from winter to summer. I must say I enjoyed it. This week we got back to the 70s so it’s still really comfortable. It is nice and dry now which makes it bearable. July won’t be so forgiving.

So my week finished with a big presentation and me preparing for another. I’m looking forward to next week and a visit from a long-time friend. We are heading to Charleston for the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. It should be a good time. I really enjoyed it last year but going with someone else will be even better.

Last night had Jane out to play Bunko at one of the neighbours. I think I’ve mentioned it before. It’s a game of chance that involves some interesting rules. It seems to be pretty popular here as there are leagues or clubs in most neighbourhoods. Anyway, I took advantage of the time to have what I have called a DDD. That stands for Daughter-Dad Date. I usually head out with Isabelle about 5:00 or so and we go off to find somewhere to eat. Last night it was Sticky Fingers on Woodruff. They make some mean ribs, and Isabelle likes the chicken fingers. Add a sweet tea and some lemonade and we were all set. After that we usually head off for some shopping or some play time somewhere. Last night we did both. First a few stops at Target and Wal-Mart, looking for a two legged kick stand for Isabelle’s bike.

Jane thinks that a two legged one will be more stable than a single. She’s likely right but it is only as good as the kid using it. We’ll have to see how it turns out. We didn’t find one. In fact I’m not sure there is one to be had. I remember having them when I was little but none in the stores knew what I was talking about. Maybe they don’t make them anymore. I’ll have to ask the grandfather back in Saulnierville if he still has one squirreled away somewhere.

We also found some time to go to a local park. Hollingsworth Park at Verdae is an interesting neighborhood (sub-division) with a great park. It has a playground and some rolling hills. There is a nice walk all the way around the park, a nice sand volleyball court, and the usual picnic shelter and washrooms. We brought the kites along but there wasn’t quite enough wind. Isabelle tried and tried but it just wouldn’t fly. She did run around a little with one but quickly tired of that.

On the way home I started talking about the stars, the sun and the moon. One thing led to another and she rattled off most of the planets and a few other interesting facts. I explained how Pluto is no longer a planet and then asked here about the sun. I specifically asked if the sun was a star that was close of if the stars were suns that are far away. She thought about it for a while and then explained to me that the sun is not a star. You see, stars have five arms when you draw them but the sun has lots more, like twenty or something. Well, I don’t agree with her science but I can’t argue her logic. I left it for another day.

That’s the story for now. Talk to you all soon. Here is a video from the park last night to go with the picture at the top.