Sunday, of course, is Easter; and for\npagans like us that means the Easter Bunny will be visiting. Not\nsure how the Easter Bunny came into existence, but my Lovely Honey\nPie mentioned a reference she heard that the famous bunny has pagan\nroots. I did some searching on the interwebs and learned that nobody\nreally knows where the Easter bunny originated; but there is\nspeculation that the pagan festival of the Goddess Eostre might fit. \nLegends tell of a goddess of spring and fertility, and a rabbit was\nassociated with both due to their prolific breeding abilities. \nNobody seems to know for sure. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, we’ll be hiding eggs so the\ngrandsons can go hunting. We might even boil some up and color them!\n Oh wait… that sounds backwards. Maybe that’s because the ones\nwe’ll hide are going to be the plastic kind. You know, eggs you can\nopen up and stash a surprise inside. Hopefully we’ll remember where\nthey all are… might be a good idea to count them before we do the\nhiding. Last year there was one \u201cgolden egg\u201d that had a $5 bill\ninside. Seemed like a fun idea, until one grandson got a golden egg\nand the other didn’t. So this year there will be two golden eggs. \nThat way, regardless of who finds them; each grandson will know in\nadvance that there will be one golden egg per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the \u201cgood old days,\u201d we would\nhard boil a bunch of eggs a day or two before, and then they would\nmysteriously be hidden by the Easter Bunny. Also hidden were the\ninfamous Easter baskets, loaded with jelly beans, chocolate eggs, and\nof course a chocolate bunny. Back then, it was especially important\nto find all <\/strong><\/em>the\neggs; because unlike the plastic ones, eggs will eventually smell\nreally bad if left at room temperature. So yes, we counted the eggs\nahead of time and made really, really sure all were picked up before\nthe Easter morning festivities came to a close. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the egg hunt has evolved into a cash\nenterprise… my Beautiful Girlfriend has been dropping coins in a\njar for the last several weeks so she can load the plastic eggs with\nmoney. I’m not sure money is a good replacement for chocolate, but\nof course you can use it to buy sweets. But since their parents\nwould have to drive them to a place to spend their loot, cash is\nprobably a healthier gift than a few pounds of candy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, the most important part of all\nthis Easter fun is spending time with the family. I’ve invited the\nfamily over for Thanksgiving. \u201cI’m making Thanksgiving for\nEaster,\u201d I told them all. \u201cMashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables,\nand pumpkin pie.\u201d \u201cOooh,\u201d our daughter said, \u201cyou know those\nraisins you put in the pie last time?\u201d I assured her I’d be doing\nthat again. I love to cook, but I also love to push the envelope a\nbit with recipes. Sometimes that works nicely, other times, not so\ngood. Raisins dropped in the pumpkin pie mix just before they go\ninto the oven turns an ordinary pumpkin pie into an intriguing\ntreat!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please have a splendid Easter. Oh, and let me know if you see any of these \u201cfunny little bunnies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n