Late Easter Family Time

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon: Sunny and a predicted high of 74 F

As beautiful as springtime is here in this part of Oregon, I still can’t bring myself to change the header photo to this blog.  I love seeing that image of Antelope Canyon.  There were many high points on our travels this past winter, but somehow the light shining into the darkness, illuminating everything with wild colors, is the memory I return to most often. 

It seems as though we experienced the essence of opposites during the trip, and the other memory that comes back repeatedly is the brilliance of every shade of green that we entered on Snake Creek in Florida.  Green water and red desert.  I can’t quite pick my favorite, and I guess I don’t have to. 

April has flown by with all the springtime chores that accompany the reawakening of the earth.  At last the tulips bloomed, the daffodils finished this month in full glory, only now beginning to falter with the warm days and still cold nights.

I love Easter.  I have no clue why.  As a kid, it was the Easter Cantata at church, the new fluffy dresses, the Easter hats, and Easter dinner.  When my kids were little, I made Easter baskets for each one, going way over the top with my own creations filled with See’s Candy that I really couldn’t afford.  The actual day should be irrelevant, since we aren’t a “churchy” family.  However, this year we celebrated our family Easter a week late since part of the family couldn’t be around on the actual Easter Sunday. 

Big surprise.  It was a great family time, a lovely day, and yet, it did not feel like Easter.  I guess there really is something to the idea that people all over the world, in spite of their particular bent on religion, are celebrating Easter on that particular Sunday.  It was subtle, but we talked about it a bit.  We could feel the difference.           Check out the cat with his place setting! Mo left her chair to take the photo!

I still had all the Easter/Spring decorations up, with eggs and bunnies, and pastel colors everywhere, but we didn’t color eggs.  We didn’t have an egg hunt.  Somehow it seemed like a bit too much trouble. 

Since Deborah has been living in the cottage in Grants Pass, she has enjoyed the friendship of wonderful neighbors.  Karen and Glenn have children and grandchildren of their own, but they are all a bit distant.  They have taken it on themselves to adopt my daughter, taking her to Sunday brunches, to outings at the Moose Lodge, keeping an eye out for when she gets home from work in bad weather.  Not bad neighbors to have around when you are a woman living alone as Deb is right now.

We invited them to join us for our celebration, and they decided it would be fun to drive their fifth wheel over the mountain to camp at the big house with us.  The weather and scenery between Grants Pass, just two hours away, and Rocky Point, is fairly dramatic.  They laughed and thanked us for adding a bit of snow to the spring mix for their entertainment.

Mo opened up the cabin, and again a pipe was broken in spite of the heat we left on during the winter while we were away.  Mo fixed the pipes while I vacuumed out all the spiders accumulated on the ceiling and in the shower for my spider phobic daughter so she could relax and enjoy her little vacation time in the cabin.  Once the wood stove was cranked up, the cabin was warm and cozy for Melody and the kids.

Karen and Glenn had so much fun camping at our place in their older fifth wheel that they drove home and the next day bought a brand new fifth wheel!  Looking forward to seeing that one! 

It seems that the major focus of the non-Easter celebration was eating.  Deborah made a truly magnificent eggs benedict casserole, and we slathered it with at least a quart of hollandaise sauce.  Karen made another kind of tasty breakfast casserole, so we had two main dishes before the dessert course of fruit crepes, one of Melody’s great accomplishments.  She can even flip those thin crepes in the air like a pro.  Delish! 

I had some Key Lime juice brought home from Key West and this was my chance to make a Key Lime cheesecake to share with family.  Yum!  We were all too full to eat much of it, so I had some to share with the Quilt group on Tuesday.  Perfect.  Now I want to make another one, cut it up into nice small servings, and freeze them.  Just for me.  It was that good, and made me smile as I remembered all the great Key Lime stuff to be found in Florida.  Still hoping to make some Key Lime hollandaise someday when I get around to it.

I have been quilting on the fabulous new Bernina in the mornings when it is too chilly to be outdoors, and then going outside for gardening time.  The greenhouse needed some spiffy work, and the soil was a bit hungry so I added some organic manure/compost to the raised beds.  Mo and I will get the roof back on today, removed over the winter to keep it from caving in due to the weight of the snow. 

Still working on the photo project, importing all my photos into Lightroom and publishing them to my SmugMug website.  I think my most favorite feature of the SmugMug site is the ability to sort and organize my photos into folders and sub folders.  Unlike Google, where there is no ability to do that, it makes it so much easier to find stuff.  With thousands of photos on Google over the last few years, I really hate having to scroll down and down to find something from long ago. 

On Smug Mug, I can go to a fold called “Holidays”, down to a folder called “Easter”, and then find each celebration listed by year. I have chosen to keep family celebrations private unless you have the link, however the photos from our trip are “public”.  SmugMug also has a feature that keeps people from grabbing my photos with a right-click.  Pretty nice.  The website was recently updated and I am still trying to learn about all the features.  It sure does make it a lot easier to share photos and to find them online.  Also, SmugMug doesn’t mess with my photos the way Google does.  (PS.  I just noticed that I have TWO logos on the lower right of these photos.  Hmm…seems as though I did it once in Picasa and then again in Lightroom.  As I said, I am still learning!)

Mo ordered a VuCube portable satellite receiver almost five months ago from Camping World, and it was an excellent price.  We had hoped it would be delivered in time for our winter trip.  Nope. Mo’s willingness to wait saved her a couple of hundred dollars.  It was finally delivered a few days ago, and yesterday we managed to figure out how to hook the thing up to the TV in the cabin.  It is now working great with our extra Direct TV receiver, and the next job will be to figure out how to get it all hooked up in the MoHo.  Since the rig was built prior to 2007, our TV isn’t digital, and there is an input for cable but not for satellite.  Also, with a smaller rig like ours, we have to figure out how to add two more boxes that require a power outlet to the TV which is built in to a fairly tight space.  Stay tuned.

I did finally manage a day in the MoHo to get her all spiffy again after three months of wandering.  Deep vacuuming, polishing and carpet shampoo were part of the mix.  I found myself sitting in the lovely sunshine at the dining table, feeling as though I was right at home again.  Time to go on another trip!

In a few days, we will head west to the our favorite campground at Harris Beach State Park.  As much as I loved the Florida beaches, Mo found herself missing the wild rugged Oregon Coast.  We thought about traveling upcoast toward Florence to camp at Tugman State Park, but the weather may be a bit iffy, with rain and wind predicted for a few of our days, so we might just sit tight in our favorite place and enjoy the wild coastal weather without adding a bunch of extra driving to the menu.

We will be back in time for another celebration, this time a Mom’s Day brunch in Grants Pass with Deborah, and Melody and the kids coming over from Klamath Falls to celebrate with us.  More food!  Good thing I am getting outside most days to garden!