A visit from the Easter Bunny

After lunch the uncles go outside for 'port and cigars'
which causes much distress to Miss Rosa
who is worried about her daddy smoking.
He solemnly promises not to smoke.

Grandma gets out her collection of egg baskets
and shares them around the little girl cousins.

There are photographs and more photographs
but Miss Rosa cannot wait any longer.
She fizzes with excitement.

In the orchard the Easter Bunny has been busy...
there are eggs hidden under leaves,
in clumps of daffodils,
on winter bare branches,
and inside the washing.

Bracken the dog must wait outside.
He is patient.
His ability to find the last egg
has been proven year after year.

After the eggs have all been discovered
the task of sharing out the bounty begins.
Grandma could teach a pirate king a trick or two.

MissM has done us proud.

*****

Thank you for all your lovely Easter messsages.
We have been away in the land of no wifi
so Happy Easter to all my friends in Blogland -
I'm looking forward to catching up with your news.

Minions in Winter

<< L to R >>

MissM,
my father,
Bracken the dog,
MasterM,
my mother.

happy memories of a windswept day

my crazy family

It is Friday morning.

MrM sends me a photo of his breakfast:
scrambled eggs and coffee
in a small artisan cafe
on the banks of the River Thames.

MissM sends me a photo of her breakfast:
porridge with lashings of golden syrup
and lightweight reading material

MasterM send me a photo of his breakfast:
Eggs Benedict and fresh orange juice
in a cafe somewhere in Stellenbosch
with his unsuspecting digs mate.

my crazy family - I love them all.

:: sunday ::

it is hard to find words

to say what needs to be said

so we go about our day

finding comfort in simple tasks

and quiet in the fall of light

*****

MrM's father, Thomas, is very ill
please hold him in your heart
:: thank you ::

Sunday

2 Samuel 24:24

And the king said unto Araunah,
Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price:
neither will I offer burnt offerings
unto the LORD my God
of that which doth cost me nothing.

Today Thomas celebrated his last service as Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of St. Andrew's, Thornhaugh and St Mary's, Wansford.

The church was packed to overflowing with friends who had come to give thanks for his stewardship over the past ten years. MrM was there and has told me all about it.

I wish I could have been with them too but I know that Thomas and Audrey were surrounded with love on this very special day.

Visions of Love

My mother-in-law, Audrey,
was born into a clerical family.
She grew up in a large country vicarage
but by the time she was 19 they had moved
to the precincts of Lincoln Cathedral.

Audrey has told me that she was walking
through the Cathedral precincts one day
when she turned to her mother and pointed
to a young man walking towards them
"I don't know who that man is
but that is the man
that I am going to marry."
That young man was Thomas.

Thomas and Audrey married in Lincoln Cathedral
when Audrey was only slightly older than MissM
and celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary last year.
Yesterday we celebrated Thomas' 80th Birthday.

Happy Birthday, Thomas.
We send you our love
on this the feast day of
St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney,
patron saint of parish priests.

family chit-chat

chatting with my sister B

(not that sister, the other one)

"...I had a lovely birthday...in the morning I went for a swim with a friend and in the evening I did a 10k run. It wasn't competitive because I am saving myself for the triathalon challenge next month but I made a good time..."

MrsM remembers her extremely idle birthday and blushes..

Cake Love

Please note...

I am not claiming that
MasterM and MissM
were the cutest children
in the history of the world...

I am just putting the evidence out there
and letting you decide for yourself.

*****

from my mother's photo collection

A Conspiracy of Silence

Here is the littlest boy cousin
sitting placidly on my brother's knee.
He has grown so much since we saw him at Christmas
and is sitting up, watching the world around him.
He has inherited his mother's sweet nature.

Here is his big brother.
He is nearly two and is a blur of activity.
The world is full of exciting opportunities
and he is not going to miss any of them
by sitting down for a minute.

MasterM was exactly like this at two.

I consider telling my brother
and my adorable sister-in-law
about the rollercoaster ride ahead of them
but, just like discussing labour
with a first time mother,
I don't think they will believe me.

I think it is probably safer
if I let them discover for themselves.

The Feast of the Epiphany

Before the service...

MasterM
Hello Grandpa!
Thomas
Hello!
Good to see you!
MasterM
I'm looking forward to your sermon!

After the service...

Thomas
And did my sermon pass the test?
MasterM
Oh yes!
I particularly enjoyed the bit
where you said that
we must learn to receive gifts.
I'm up for that.

A Confusion of Cousins

MissM has four little girl cousins
and two little boy cousins
and when all the Cornish cousins
meet at Christmas
it is an intense experience.

*****

We have just returned
from a quick trip to Cornwall.
My parents were snowed in for ten days
and we did not know until the last moment
if we would be able to visit.
Thankfully, the snow melted overnight
and so my family could be together
for the first time for over a year.
It was a very special three days.

Generation Gap

I like my flapjacks:
they are reliably golden,
buttery and slightly chewy.

My mother's flapjacks are much more exciting:
sometimes they are sticky as tar
and sometimes they are hard as rock.
You never know if your teeth will survive
and I have learned to be cautious.

MissM has the careless optimism of youth:

"Once you have a taste for them
Grandma's flapjacks are curiously addictive...
I think it is the element of danger..."

the vine

These are the grapes
that were cut from the vine
that was grown from a twig
left over from a bunch
that was picked from a greenhouse
and shared at a picnic
in a cliffside theatre many years ago
and now provides dessert for
a special birthday lunch.

*****

My parents argue amiably
about who can claim the credit
and it is agreed that
my mother nurtured the twig
in a Marmite pot with rooting hormone
and when the vine had grown
my father carefully transported it
to the garden by the river.

family chit-chat

email from my sister D

"...I went to the Surfers Against Sewage ball last Saturday as Kill Bill in my yellow all in one pvc catsuit and samurai sword..."