Happy Easter

Happy Easter to you all.

This morning, my husband and I were awakened to the sound of very excited voices downstairs. For while we were asleep, or so it seems, packages had appeared on our kitchen table. As a centrepiece there was a large basket filled with wrapped Easter gifts from my mother. Moreover, in each bowl (the table was set for breakfast), there were some smaller packages, and Easter eggs in several different sizes. Each child received one of these sweet ceramic eggcups, although as you can see, most of the chocolate eggs that were in them have disappeared.

My youngest son is convinced that the Easter bunny has been, while the older ones keep mum (largely because their mouths are full of chocolate).

I was given this dark chocolate Easter bilby by my sweet husband, who knows dark chocolate is my favourite. Bilbies are an endangered native Australian marsupial and a few years ago some clever person had the idea of marketing chocolate bilbies at Easter to raise money for the Save The Bilby Fund. My bilby came with some extra little eggs, though of course bilbies don't lay eggs (unlike our platypuses and echidnas).

After breakfast we attended a beautiful Easter service. The children were encouraged to decorate then attach cardboard butterflies to a twig 'tree' as a colourful symbol of resurrection, transformation and new life.

During the service a young girl of 18 was baptised by full immersion. She was given her baptismal certificate by an elderly gentleman who was baptised on Easter Sunday 1943. Beautiful and so lovely to see traditions continuing.

Our Easter dinner was a scallop and tomato pie, accompanied by my favourite leek dish in the whole world, lemony leeks and rice. Dessert was a cherry and vanilla trifle I made and popped in the fridge yesterday. Yum.

I had to stagger upstairs for a siesta after eating all of this food, but it was worth it!

This weekend I have harvested the remaining pumpkins, and have discovered that some of the cammelias are coming into bloom. Even better, we may be about to have some long-needed rain, up to 10 ml (2/5 inch), according to the weather bureau. This may not sound like much but it is good for us.

I hope Easter Sunday gives you peace and joy.