Easter Memories 2022

 

 

 

My memories of Easter become more poignant the more family members I lose.  My mother made it special; she made Easter baskets, yes at my request, when I was in my 30s and in grad school.  Mom and Dad used to drive down to Carbondale, and we would eat at the Holiday Inn Easter buffet.  One year, we found an estate sale being held in their meeting room.  We also found a flea market open, with a hardcover Mills & Boon (Harlequin) novel I could use in my thesis.

 

Mom and I made cookies together, and we had turkey or duck, occasionally pheasant, if we ate at home.  We usually hit the road; Decatur one year we visited my great grandmother Clara (Aglaia’s) grave.  Mom fell on the uneven round; it was getting cloudy, and it was spooky.  All we heard was her voice, “Honey!” and Dad had a brief moment where he though YiaYia was calling for him.  We would also go to St. Louis, great times at Union Station and the Italian restaurant we loved on Lindbergh drive.  My parents met through people they both knew in St. Louis, or as my YiaYia called it, Sandy Luli, and we would often explore there, or St. Charles.  Another year we went to Hannibal, to Mark Twain’s home.

 

Once, we turned and went home; we got as far as the old Skewer Inn outside Peoria, and had to get home because the temperature dropped drastically and snow was on the way.  Our little scotty/poodle mix puppy, Killer, was in the car.  We rushed out to him bearing peaces of shish kebob, still warm.  He was shivering, scared.  We wrapped him in his red check flannel Blankie, and he sat in my lap and had his snack while we drove the hour and one half home.

 

One monumental year, I flew to Edmonton, riding the plane with the Edmonton Oilers.  We went to The Mall of the Americas, ate terrific food, saw snow, first time in over a year for me.  Shopped, checked out museums, art galleries and antique stores.  I didn’t want to go back to California, but back I went.

 

In San Jose, Jim, Connie, and I, sometimes had visits from my cousins Steve and Katie. We ate out, but ate better at home.  We had turkey there, too, and Jim, who was a great baker, made Greek cookies, baklava, Connie did butter cookies, I chipped in with my recipes from home.

 

My Easter baskets were legendary; Connie could take a ready made basket and add wonderful things, wrapping it all in cellophane and ribbons.  Mom looked for sugared diorama eggs, or I painted eggs, getting ideas from Tasha Tudor’s books on holidays.  We also collected Pysanky eggs, marble eggs, egg dioramas, Victorian glass eggs, chenille bunnies and chicks, all kinds of things.  In kindergarten, Mrs. Moser had us make an Easter tree.  We spray painted a branch white, and fixed it into a vintage flower pot.  We hung all sorts of ornaments that we made from egg shells and bits of cotton.  I have a whole collection of these now, many added by my friend Bev C. in San Jose, who created a magnificent Easter Tree in her office.  We all worked with law firms in The Pruneyard in those days.

 

My favorite Easter book was Miss Flora McFlimsey’s Easter Bonnet by Marianna.  Beautiful illustrations about the little doll who didn’t have an Easter Bonnet, but through the help of friends, got a fantastic chapeau with which to win her contest.

 

We took trips to New Salem, to see the Lincoln sites, we cooked, dyed a million eggs.  Uncle Tom would come to us when we lived in Peoria, and we often took trips to Chicago to shop and eat at Andy’s Steak House or Henrique’s in Oak Brook.  It didn’t matter what we did, just that we were together.

 

For Greek Easter, we went to church all week, and I sang in the choir.  Jim took me in hand when he visited in the early 70s, and we went all over revisiting his friends.  We went to visit the other relatives near Champaign, and one year, sadly went to visit the graves of aunt Leo and Cousin Clara Mae, killed in a car collision.  Also visited their family.

 

My husband went with me to the church Services and sang along Good Friday.  We went to the Anastasi, held at Midnight Easter Saturday. We had snacks and drank chamgapne later, and brought home flowers. 

 

Now, Easter is just really my husband and me, and another trip to the cemetery.  We still love our Easter décor, and I made a tree with bunnies and eggs this year.  I skipped the Eier or Egg market his year; too tired nad too much to do.  But, I’ll have an Easter egg give away this Saturday at the museum.

 

I have so many wonderful memories thanks to my family, and sometimes, I can still taste the jelly beans, encased in plastic eggs Aunt Connie would decorate with Liquid paper.  

 

Blessed Easter and Passover to everyone, and Blessed Greek Easter April 24^th.  It will be Easter in Ukraine April 24^th, and I hope everyone there has peace as well.

 

I send you all a chocolate rabbit and some Peeps good wishes.