OUT LIKE A LAMB
A little lamb craft we made at work.  Baa Baa.

AN EASTER MIRACLE
A few days back, I realized I forgot some things for Easter Dinner so I stopped at the Shop N Save in Monroeville after I went to Sam's Club… I don't go to that store often but I do know that they have one of the string people machines.  You know, like the one Community Market has.

I've still been trying for that damn Wonder Woman. I have a ton of duplicates in a drawer downstairs and a bunch on my dresser…

Anyway, I sat in the car and got my thoughts together and made a list of the few things I forgot.  I dug down in my purse and found three quarters.  I searched the car and my travel bag and found another!

I went in the store with my list and my four quarters in my pocket.

I bought what I needed and came back to the car - completely forgot to try for the doll.

It was starting to rain and I really just wanted to get back to the house. I realized I forgot ice cream and debated on just getting it in the morning but I figured I should just suck it up and go back in and be finished with the shopping.

I bought the ice cream and stopped just outside the door and put my four quarters in the machine…

Is that pink?

No, really, do I see pink?

Because, I think, the only doll that's pink is WONDER WOMAN.

I DID IT!!!  I got the Wonder Woman!

THE GHOST OF EASTER PAST
When I think of Easter I think of this pic. I always liked Easter. Even though it was always a little sad because every year I would wonder and wish and hope about the next year… that there would be a little girl in a pretty dress or a little boy in a seersucker suit running around the yard searching for eggs. It's still a hard pill to swallow that that will never happen. Maybe that's why I have Easter Egg hunts for my dog - see post from a couple days ago. ;-)

When I think of Easter I always think of the front yard - here. If I close my eyes I can see myself in a poufy dress standing by the little tree that used to be there. We would always put those plastic eggs on the bushes outside. I remember fishing wire and hanging the eggs off the branches. I remember getting a dixie cup and picking the berries off the bushes because I didn't want the birds to get sick if they ate them.

When I think of Easter I remember scavenger hunts for my Easter basket. Little clues all around that always led me to the same spot: my parents closet in the bedroom. I would open the door and my basket would be there. Every year.

The pup's Easter baskets have been shoved in the back of storage and I don't know where some of my decorations are. I hate that. I hate the feeling of things being scattered about. I hate that I didn't even go up to see Aunt Gloria on Easter because she doesn't even know that it is Easter. I hate that I just looked through the Chasing Fireflies catalog and saw cute little easter pajamas.

Here's a picture of Easter past. I think I was 2. I wonder if this was the start of my love of creepy easter bunnies. I don't seem to be bothered by this guy. I think this was one of the first documented pics of my beloved teddy bear, Paul.

CHICKS DIG ME
The Dad washed the dishes yesterday while I went outside to clean up the yard, etc… I came upstairs and walked in the kitchen to this.

For a brief second I thought he dropped a chick decoration in the sink but it was just random dirty water complete with beak and eye.

Doesn't it look like a little peep? ;-)

A VERY JEANNINE EASTER
We hosted Easter today. You would have thought it was Christmas. I was up cleaning until 4 am last night and seemed like I was fussing with dishes all night. I don't know why I couldn't get focused.

I had an Easter Egg hunt for the pup.

She's been having a hard time seeing but I led the way and she found all the eggs!

Even the Golden Egg!

Thanks for my treats, Mama.

I don't think she knew that I had to dig through her toy boxes to find old Easter toys and went to the pantry for a bag of treats - I got so busy this week I never went and got Easter Basket items!

She had to take a nap before everyone came over. The Hunt was very tiring.

I set up some of my serving pieces the night before and I knew as soon as Aunt Joyce got there she was going to say something. "Looks like you're back to your old self."  Kind of sort of - not really... but I did not forget the lamb butter.

We had a baked potato bar and I served little buns out of a small wheel barrel and chives out of a little lady vase I've been storing pens in. Very Jeannine.

Come hell or high water we are dying easter eggs… I've only been trying to find the time to dye eggs all week. After dinner we went downstairs and got the job done. I didn't have any newspaper so we used vintage wall paper to protect the table. I mean everyone has vintage wallpaper laying around, right?  Very Jeannine.

Brown eggs make very pretty easter eggs.

We finished the night with Aunt Joyce's Pizza Frite and Debbie's fabulous bundt cake and Cara's yummy coconut cream pie and some mini root beer/Coke floats. It's hard to get more "Very Jeannine" than that.

Well, maybe this…one of the mason jars got stuck down the drain and took 5 people and 15 minutes to get it out.  Very, Very Jeannine. ;-)

Happy Easter.

HIPPITY HOPPITY EASTER'S ON IT'S WAY
Rev Bill - I mean the Easter Bunny - literally hopping into the Easter Party today…

We didn't really have a plan so I threw some of my serving pieces in the car and made it work.

JUST PRETEND YOU'RE JEWISH
Whenever a light bulb goes out The Dad asks when Chrissy is coming over. I've been getting better at changing bulbs in a timely manner but some things are proving to be more difficult.  I hate some of these fixtures and I'm not able to change them by myself. So, Chrissy came over and let there be light!  She also helped me move a few things and gave me my Christmas gifts. Yes, It's March.

We are officially finished with Christmas 2015.  Cara and I still have to exchange, though. This is so funny. Not like we never see each other.

Anyway,  we all headed to Scottdale today. Cara was looking for some presents and Chrissy wanted to go here…

We did some shopping and went here for lunch… the girls got the Codzilla and I'm going to hell for eating a Reuben on Good Friday.

JUNK GYPSIES WOULD BE ALL OVER THESE SHIPS
I had an appointment in Oakland this morning and, after, met Chrissy at an estate sale in Forest Hills on this terrible street.

Lots of unmentionables...

..and vintage sewing machines…

I couldn't resist these weird Nina - Pinta - and Santa Maria ships. I paid $10 for the set. I found them on Ebay for a little over triple that. #directlytostorage

I was worried about this neighbor cat. He had a bell but I was afraid he was going to get hit by a car.

Chrissy wanted to go to a new store on Reynolds - JuJu -  so we went through Wilkinsburg.

…and past Grandma Murphy's house.

Lunch at Social - which was terrible. The best thing about it was this mayonnaise joke.
Or maybe this glass or light fixture… it wasn't the chicken and waffles.

PS - don't use your ex-sis-inlaws phone (when she's expecting a text) to take pics of your food. Chrissy - get your boobs out of the shot and you're going to need a bigger table tonight. Ha ha. Just my two cents - restaurants should have plugs in the booths to charge your phone. If I had a restaurant I would have that. And my chicken and waffles would rock. Like Hash House.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER
We went to the Aviary today for a work field trip. Everyone had a great time. There were lots of pretty birds.

I liked this guy…

…and the penguins, of course.

and the sea eagle…

…and toucan.

…and parrot

I almost forgot these guys…

Oh wait, I liked these guys , too.

We watched the sloth hang around...

Some would say the baby sloth was the star of the show.

Valentino is a cute little thing!

This guy was my personal favorite, though. He reminded me of someone and then it finally hit me - Sam the Eagle from the Muppets!

QUICK LIKE A BUNNY
Cindy and I forgot about the craft today so we quickly came up with this sock bunny. Mine is on the left - hers is on the right. We always have a little different take on the same project.

TRAPPED
I lost the dog for awhile. She was outside with me and then we came in and I thought she went upstairs so I went back outside and then I went to check on her and couldn't find her… so I went back outside and thought she somehow managed to get back out when I opened the door again and was eaten by the hawk that's been flying around. I ran back in and up and out and couldn't find her!  I finally heard her crying for me and found her in the game room.

She knocked over a lamp and trapped herself under the table.

DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET

Have these things been around?  They are dyeable fake eggs - at Walmart. We used them at work and they were just ok. Chalkboard ones too. Not sure if anyone is buying them - there were a ton of them on the shelves.

PLAYING FAVORITES
A booth at L & L had about 7-8 of these egg cups - all different characters.

I wanted all of them.

I only got one.

I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

Bunny from The Hub.

IT'S FRIDAY, AGAIN?
Chrissy planned today's adventure.

Back to Patti's to get pasticotti for The Dad - and a few other things and a morsel for us to eat so we weren't hangry...

Stop off at Dorothy's candy.

I love Easter Candy. Not eating it - just looking at it.  I love the chocolate bunnies and they had cute birds on a nest and two chicks and a truck and these beauties - deviled eggs.

I didn't buy one thing.

Shopping at The Hub. I didn't get this either but I've been coming across this everywhere I've been lately.

Lunch at the Firepit. OK


We shared some sides… Cara got the cornbread… Chrissy got the cauliflower… I got the pineapple.

We stopped at The Big Mac Museum.

We were a little too excited about it.

#whyiseveryonelookingatuslikewearecrazy. People, this museum has been on our bucket list for the last four years. Sorry to interrupt your lunch - we're just looking around.

Chrissy was pissed that they didn't have a gift shop or souvenirs. Not even a god damn magnet. They found an ornament under the counter but it was too big and they didn't even know the price!  It's a museum for Christ's sake! I have more swag in the kitchen cupboard.

I think I see 3 pelos!

We were headed to get ice cream but realized that L&L was going to close…we might as well just turn around here.

Hello, Gorgeous. I was waiting for this guy to come to life like a Transformer.

Someone call Art-O-Mat!!!

Kerbers for ice cream. I always grab the top with a napkin and throw half of it away. I don't even like ice cream.

We were laughing our asses off looking at the Kerber sign in the grass…

Cara determined they were Ryan homes over yonder because of the brick in the front and siding in the back with no decks and were determined to find them… we went on a driving mission to check them out and couldn't figure out where the entrance to the plan was.

Ok - these are NOT them…

Wait - there they are…

It was one of the funniest ride arounds we've ever been on… we ended up at a school during a lacrosse game.  There they are again - OMG, I can see them through the rear view mirror! Are we in Wayward Pines?

Later -  to the Wall.

…and Wilmerding.

There was no Winkys but here's my obligatory bakery photo.