Happy Easter or Passover! 
We just had a delicious roast chicken up in Salem with my sister. The wind was cold and blustery earlier, when I took Finn to the Upper Field, but the snow drops have emerged on the south side of the house and most of the snow out back is gone. For the holiday, I treated myself to daffodils and some potted hyacinth. Now, to finish the celebration — a little chocolate!
I am feeling a little washed out, not unlike my plaster buddies. Tired from being on my feet yesterday, and possibly fighting whatever C. has had all winter. HE is on antibiotics as of this morning.
It is a good day to putter about cleaning, and to sit and stitch. The first season of Project Runway (borrowed from the library) is calling my name. I’m hooked.
This landscape below is comprised of several split woven squares, as well as a ‘practice’ house for a commission made last year. The silk sky looks horribly flat next to the weavings, and received a nice oily blotch during pinning. So, it will be covered or removed. But later.
Cooking up a batch of color, AND some yellow beets (beets being food AND color, of course). We were careful, D. and I, to keep all food/dye implements separate, lest you blanch at the thought of my taking a sip of purple Ritz No. such-and-such. And please rest assured that I will NOT be stirring Easter soup with a chop stick saturated with dye.
Yesterday I read about wrapping eggs in silk and boiling them in water and 1/4 cup of vinegar. I had to try it. The big surprise was that the loveliest of the bunch came from a dark, dun-colored necktie fabric (four of the five orange eggs pictured below).
The former blue silk blouse was basically a bust (ha!), but the checked taffeta came out cool.
The easiest tool at-hand for securing the silks turned out to be bread tabs.
The last step will be to rub them with a little canola oil, for some shine. I used whole eggs, but next year (I say this now), perhaps I will blow some eggs in order to create some that will hold year-to-year (then I understand that you have to get a little clever about weighting them down in the pot so that they don’t float).
Those beets will be peeled tomorrow and dressed with a tangy vinaigrette… have I mentioned that I am a Salad Goddess? There are so many things that I am not very good at, that I hope you don’t mind, dear reader, the occasional reminder of my Goddess status in this area!
I will also be making Potato Leek soup. The leeks at Russo’s (local readers, I hear you swoon at the thought of Russo’s – and yes, I braved the crowded lots and aisles to go yesterday) were so unbelievable. I swear they are nearly as long as I am tall! I also will have watercress on the table for folks who want their soup with a little more peppery flavor. It is turning out to be an Irish dinner – two legs of lamb will be the centerpiece. Blanched asparagus, garlic parsley new potatoes and a salad with bitter greens, radicchio and endive will complete the fare.
Once I started dyeing, it got D. thinking. He wanted to tie dye two shirts, so we hauled up some tubs, rubber bands, gloves, squirter tubes, and soda ash.
I tie dyed three little layette pieces that have been sitting in the basement, washed and ready to go. They will be washed at least twice before being tagged for sale.
I have made some tiny cotton pants to go with. They are aqua.
Happy Easter, all!
After I received a comment from a cyber-friend that she still hid eggs for her teenaged sons (enjoy her blog here), we decided to do the same. Besides, I DO like to find them later in the year (we’re talking chocolate eggs, here — not hard boiled!).
Something distracted me last night between cups two and three in my yellow cake preparations. I stood there wondering, “Should I add another cup or not?!!” The worst of it is, I knew better!! Otherwise, at Christmas time, I wouldn’t have asserted to a room full of friends at a cookie swap that I’d reached an age where I needed to measure ALL MY FLOUR IN ADVANCE.
Oh well. The cake bombed. Sadly for my waistline, it is still pretty yummy and I will manage to consume more of it than I should. The lemon squares, on the other hand, came out just right.
Given the situation with my sister, I have this opportunity to see how little today is about the food anyway. It’s about occasion. We will be transporting our meal to the rehab where she currently lives, and will share the time as a family — not worrying too, too much about the temperature of the food or the cake’s crumb or lack thereof.
It is a stunningly beautiful day here in Eastern Mass. Exactly the kind of day that could make one warm to the idea of rising from the dead.
One of these crosses is going to be for my friend Joan. She loves Easter more than any other holiday and I am thinking and thinking of her today.
