Scenes from Our Easter Celebration 2013

I had been working on a new toy for Tyler for the longest time.  It was an alligator, made from a 1950's pattern, that I first saw on Anna's blog.  I thought it was so cute!  The vintage pattern was easy to find on e-Bay.  Sewing it was a little more tricky.   But Tyler loved it!  It is such a happy time when a long-worked-on project is appreciated.   

The Gator

I left him out with Tyler's Easter basket after Mass.

Gator Wraslin'

We also made a lamb cake, using Great Grandmother's (Grammy's) pans.  Tyler and Da decorated.

And what would Easter be without the Easter Bunny Kitty?!  With creepy eyes!  (Kristin's Living Sculpture Artwork).

Easter Elsewhere

This Easter we did not go to our parish church for Easter Sunday Mass.  I could not bring myself to go there, due to the unpleasantness that occurred around Christmas.  (See post here.)  So we went to the other Catholic Church in our village.  It is a lovely church, smaller than our parish, and has a strong Irish influence as opposed to the German influence of our parish (which I have no problem with of course!).  We have gone here several times since Christmas.  As with most Catholic churches, there are wonderful stained glass windows.  The ones at this church have a different Saint portrayed on each one.  Tyler and I especially liked the window for St. Patrick.  He liked the shamrock and snake (St. Francis was said to have banished snakes from Ireland, although this is thought to be symbolic); I liked the Irish harp in bright yellow glass.  

I wore my "Easter Bonnet" (pictured above, with the 1960's handbag that I also carried) and this coat.  I received several nice comments from other congregants.  One lady told me she had been on the lookout to see if anyone was wearing an Easter bonnet, and she was pleased to see mine!

It felt so strange not to be singing or playing.  I simply sang along with the congregation.  But I was okay with it.  I feel that God doesn't care where I worship as long as I do!  But I was moved by the Mass in general, and a special gift God provided: I can rarely sing high E's; I am an alto through and through.  It can be so frustrating to have one's voice break on the high note of a piece.  Easter morning I was able to sing the E.  A small thing for sure, but it meant a lot to me, especially given the circumstances.

A Pastel Bird Heralding the Arrival of Spring

Beautiful.

A Visit from a Leprechaun

 We had a visit from a leprechaun!  He left tiny green footprints by the door.

And he left a "gold" coin in Tyler's shoe!  

(Tyler thinks he looks like a pirate in this picture!)

Valentines Day with Grandson

I wore the tatted heart that my mother made.

I wore a special hairstyle.

I went to Tyler's school to help with the class party.  He confiscated the tatted heart!

 

Tyler loved it, and got a bag full of Valentines, toys and treats.

Tyler and me!

The Young Master Performs

Tyler, six years old, plays in a violin recital.  He does very well for six!  Here is him playing one of his pieces:

Pressing the Reset Button (Harp)

Although my Christmas Day was lovely, playing music on Christmas Eve was not.  It wasn't the way that I played; I felt that I did well.  Rather it was the horrible attitude and behavior of our choir director (of whom I was so pleased with prior to this).  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, that is when things started to go south.  I can no longer work with him.

Although I am sad to leave my friends in choir, and feel rather depressed about the whole situation, this has freed me to begin playing and working on the pieces I want to work on.  You see, prior to this it seemed that every fall I was working on Christmas music  and every winter and spring I was working on Easter music.  Summers are very busy with the garden and with Grandson, so my practice time is limited then.  So I never really got to work on the pieces that I wanted to work on.    

I have been hearing various harp pieces in my head that I have been wanting to work on, but had set aside for so long  (ghosts of harp music past!).  I realized that all of this was a reset, so to speak.  A shift in focus, a change in pieces.  So I gathered together all of those pieces I was hearing (and a couple other ones I discovered in my quest, "Oh, that one.  I want to play that too!").  It is a nice, but challenging, assortment:

And here is my poor baby, who served me so well during the trauma of Christmas Eve:  

She is ready to reset too!