TheBanyanTree: Easter Weekend

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Good Friday was spent in the grocery store along with a host of other people
shopping for Easter dinner.  We were also having our grandson’s fourth
birthday celebration on Saturday, so we had to buy food for that, too.

We dodged the raindrops as we hauled the food into the house.  It was late.
My fault, I had to workout, tan, pick up two weeks worth of cat and dog
food, develop the menus for the next two weeks, clean out the refrigerator
of old food, write up the list, and then shop.  Whew!  By the time we ate
our dinner and fed the dogs, it was past 10 pm.

I popped out of bed on Saturday and started getting the laundry ready.  I
ate a quick breakfast.  Emptied the trash and cleaned out the cat boxes.  I
picked up dog poop in the back yard.  It was relatively warm, but damp.
Rain was gong to threaten us all day.  Our rain gauge had 2” of water in it
for the past week.

I broke down when the vacuum cleaner stopped working.  Some string got
around the rollers and they stopped spinning.  I howled and Ray grabbed the
vacuum cleaner from me and started to take it apart.  I was still howling as
I vacuumed on my hands and knees with the little cleaner.  If we didn’t have
people coming, I wouldn’t have cared.  The carpets get full of dog hair
within minutes of being clean and I wanted the floors to look their best.

Ray got the vacuum cleaner fixed and I was able to use it for the family
room.  Done!

Then I decorated the dining room table with Power Rangers tablecloth,
plates, cups, and napkins.  I put buffalo wings and chicken pieces in the
oven to warm up.  I had a hot dish in the crock pot.  The kids were bringing
the cake.

Party time.  I was reminded five million times that Boogie was four years
old.  Dinosaurs and trucks were hauled outside to dig in the mud.  Lunch was
served.  Presents were opened.  The neighbors came over just in time to play
with the new toys and have some cake and ice cream with us.

Everyone was out the door by 3 pm and Ray and I sat on the couch ready for a
nap.  But no!  We had to drive to the big city of Minneapolis to Orchestra
Hall and see Prairie Home Companion (Minnesota Public Radio) celebrate the
Minnesota Orchestra’s 100th anniversary.

It was a good show.  Garrison did a nice job of incorporating the orchestra
with the Prairie Home Companion agenda.  Garrison’s monologue broke down and
lost its track, but I could see where he was trying to go, the idea just
didn’t work.  But the music was good, the jokes were funny, and it was a
nice pre-Easter celebration.

It was raining on the way home to St. Paul.  We stopped in Mickey’s Diner
for supper.  Mickey’s is an old street car that’s been a restaurant in St.
Paul forever.  The crowd is a mix of street people and the famous.

Ray and I aren’t either, but something in between.  It wasn’t crowded.  We
could hear patrons talking about the Twins (who lost to the Yankees, as
usual) and the Wild (who won to stay alive in the NHL playoffs).  The coffee
was good and hot.  The hamburgers and fries were perfect and a rare treat
for us.  We read the paper, listened to 50s music, and slipped out the door
into the rainy night with our tummies full and our ears ringing with Wagner,
Brahms, and the Powder Milk Biscuits song.

It’s Easter morning.  It’s dark and damp.  The black cat is outside and is
terrorizing the birds.  The Easter Bunny has been here.  I see some
interesting baskets for the grandsons and a basket full of chocolate (for
me) and Peeps (for Ray) on the dining room table.

The kids will be here later this afternoon.  I’ll go to workout and then hit
the kitchen in full stride to get the ham in the oven, the potatoes made,
and the table set in its spring finery.

Ray and I are used to a slower paced weekend.  But we’re doing all right.
After the kids leave tonight, and the house is clean, and I’ve had a chance
to sit down with the check book and pay the bills, and I’ll begin to prepare
myself for another work week.

Whew!  This has been a busy weekend for a person who has a slug mentality.
I’ve already looked at my planner and next weekend is BLANK.  Thank
goodness.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at earthlink.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.
~Native American Proverb