The Happiest Easter

I'm so lucky to have this family.

Little Buddha in a pensive moment

Tiny Dancer zooming around the church garden

It was a happy, full, delightful day. My first real chance to do all the fun Easter things with my kids (last year they seemed too young for it all, and My Old Man was in the midst of a medical crisis that sort of put everything else on the backburner). But today seemed like a perfect day. I baked and cooked all day yesterday, including making a chocolate bunny cake like my mom always made when I was growing up. I decorated the house and put the baskets together late last night, and surprised the boys with their baskets this morning. Tiny Dancer was so excited about his that he wouldn't even stop playing to come eat breakfast. Their baskets were only a couple of pieces of candy and mostly small toys and books, which they have been absorbed with. By far their favorite has been these little puzzles I got from Target for a dollar.

They helped me dye Easter eggs yesterday (I use the term "helped" quite loosely). We did a modified egg hunt inside after brunch, since it was a bit chilly and it was naptime (so I didn't want to get them outside and all keyed up). We had a vegetarian friend over and I put together a vegetarian brunch. It was a bit heavy on the sweet side, but otherwise I was pleased with it and the boys liked it too.

Church was a blast, with lots of great music, a wonderful sermon (kudos to My Old Man), a full house, a really happy vibe from everyone, and a weeping cherry tree in full bloom (it only stays in bloom for about 3 days each season, and I've never seen it happen right at Easter). I hope the boys will grow up knowing how fortunate they are to be a part of a multigenerational community that cares so much about them.

After baskets, church, brunch, and egg hunt, I took the most deliciously long and deep nap I've had in a very long time. Then My Old Man headed out to the airport to go help his mother move. Only he left his wallet here. So our delicious Easter was capped off with me and the boys making a mad dash to the airport at what was supposed to be their dinnertime and then their bedtime. I got there 18 minutes before his flight was scheduled for takeoff - and somehow, he managed to make it.

But what about knitting? you ask. Well, gentle reader, that's where my Easter plans were something of a bust. It went like this:

• Easter bunnies - not one stitch done. Long story that involves a failed provisional cast-on, a failed motivation, and a skein of yarn that keeps ending up in odd places thanks to a huntress cat. Instead, I found them each a stuffed bunny on sale for $6 at Kohl's - and the bunnies were wearing knit roll-neck raglan sweaters, so at least something in their basket was knit. Turns out, though, they had not one bit of interest in those bunnies. So I'm really, really glad I hadn't knit them!
  
• stripey slippers - I knit the first one for Tiny Dancer while I was away on my trip. I messed up here and there, plus it looked way too big. I unraveled the night before I flew back. At the airport at 6:00 the next morning, I cast on again, and went with the next smaller size. By the time the plane was landing, I was ready to cast off, but didn't have time to figure out the three-needle bind-off while we were taxiing to the gate. When I got home and tried the thing on Tiny Dancer's foot, I discovered it was too small! He and Little Buddha fought over the cute little slipper, which made me really want to get them both a pair knit in time to go in their Easter baskets. But I wanted to get more eggs done first, and the next thing I knew, it was 3:00 this morning and I was still up and I hadn't cast on a single stitch of a new pair of slippers. Soon. Soon!
• eggs - They each got one. I knit 14 total, but they each got only one in their basket. I gave two away, I made one a cat toy, I put two aside, I lost one, and the other six were the cause of my late night last night. I had finished four in different colors but had not yet stuffed or felted them. And I wanted to do some in a natural color that I could then dye with Easter egg dye. So I stayed up watching a DVD and making two more eggs. Then I started stuffing. Which took FOREVER. I *hate* stuffing. Especially with yarn scraps. Especially through a tiny hole. Consequently, they all ended up understuffed. Then it was time to felt. I put them in the washer and went to bed. This morning, they weren't all that felted. I put them in the dryer. They were so-so felted and I called them done but it was after the boys had already gotten their baskets. I left the two natural eggs in Easter egg dye while we went to church. They turned out kind of cute. But what the heck am I gonna do with all these knitted understuffed underfelted eggs now?! I'm such a freak. Such a time-challenged, misguided, egg-obsessed freak. If I had known in advance that only two eggs would go in their baskets, I could've skipped all the others (except the two I gave away) and actually knitted the slippers.

Oh well. Surely now that Easter is over, I can let the egg thing go. I have got to finish my spring sweater this week, before I leave town on Sunday. And I really want to finish my capelet, too, but that's probably a tad ambitious. I am almost to the leg portion of Little Buddha's longies. And some day, I'm actually going to knit those slippers.

In the meantime, Happy Easter to all. And, if you read this whole thing, blessings on you!