Happy Easter!

[Sidebar: I apologize for the lateness of this post, but I lost Internet and phone connection sometime during the night. I reset the modem and got the phone working, but still no Internet. I’ll have to call Bright House, I guess. But, here it is, anyway]

I woke up late on Easter, at the ungodly time of 7:11 AM! I hurried to take photos of the Orion candle holders before the glare got too bad from the rising sun (I forgot to say I put the glass candleholders and the burgundy candles back on the fireplace mantle, in case you were wondering). Then I finished and published the Blog entry. I went back to the bedroom and refilled my weekly pill box.

It’s a little warmer than the last few days but right now it’s overcast with a possibility of widely scattered rain. It’s supposed to clear up before noon, though, but become very windy. So, no book burning today!

I ate breakfast, took my pills and did the rest of my tests. I was filling in the spreadsheet on the computer for my doctor when I heard a dreaded sound: a cat choking! Before I could get there, Scruffy had barfed on the clean bedspread (Calley had barfed on the entry-way floor yesterday, too). Okay, that’s it! No more catnip for you two!

I put the bedspread in the washer after spraying the spot with Zout. I got a Happy Easter phone call from Sadie. We exchanged stories, her about her granddaughter’s health and me about mine.

I shaved and showered and felt great! I think showers you take “at will” are always more refreshing than showers you “have” to take to get to work or somewhere. You can relax and take more time or something.

I finally put up the replacement paper towel holder in the downstairs bathroom cupboard. If you remember, I took the one that was there and put it in the kitchen to replace the one that was broken while I was in the hospital.

Joe called to wish me a Happy Easter, also. This gave me an idea and I thought I’d be proactive for a change. So, I called Carla’s Mom and wished her a Happy Easter, except I did it to her answering machine (sigh). So much for being proactive…

I ate the last two slices of Swiss cheese dipped in hot mustard and an Easter egg for my lunch. I remade the bed with the now dry bedspread and threatened both cats. I thought I heard one of them snicker…

I wound the mantle clock. By then it was already 2:00 PM. It was 60 degrees F., but the wind was blowing fiercely from the north. So, outside was no place I wanted to be!

I sat on the loveseat and read for a while, drinking a glass of V8 juice. At 4:30 PM, I began to make dinner. Now, I must tell you, I altered some of the recipes so much (I used fresh chives which I have, instead of fresh Rosemary which I don’t; and whole small tomatoes instead of the plum tomatoes the recipe called for, etc.) that I’ll just tell you what I did.

I took about a pound of baby red potatoes and either cut them in half or quarters, depending on their size. I put them in a bowl and added about 3 tablespoons of fresh snipped chives and two good-sized cloves of garlic, minced. Then I poured in about 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil. I gave them a good tossing with my hands and spread them out in a single layer on a aluminum foil-covered cookie sheet (it ws too small of an amount to waste a half-sheet pan on).

Then I buttered a casserole dish and cut the tops off my four tomatoes (which had recovered “somewhat” with their overnight soaking in salted water). On top of each, I first drizzled some melted butter and then sprinkled a mixture of some finely chopped shallots, three minced cloves of garlic and some dried thyme.

I put the casserole dish and the cookie sheet into a preheated 400 degrees F. oven and set the timer for one hour. I also threw in an aluminum foil packet containing several slices of ham during the last 10 minutes to warm.

When the timer went off I checked the roasted potatoes (done, so I took them out) and then took out the casserole dish. I topped each tomato with a mixture of 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of fresh-grated Parmesan cheese and two tablespoons of melted butter.

I put the casserole dish under the broiler and broiled the tomatoes until they were golden brown (just a couple of minutes).

After taking that out, I plated it and ate my Easter Dinner. The results? Well, the ham was, of course, the same ham I’ve been eating since I got it. The potatoes needed salt, but were excellent. And the tomatoes were alright, but kind of hard to eat and tasted just so-so. It might be because I didn’t use the Italian (plum) tomatoes, but I don’t think I’ll make them again. So, two out of three ain’t bad.

I was just soaking the casserole dish when the phone rang. It was B___, checking in on how my weekend went. I told him, and also complained how my back was hurting today (because it had been). He thought I had perhaps overdone it on Friday and said he hoped it would get better by tomorrow’s start of the new work-week (me, too!)

I watched TV (some taped and some live) until I went to bed, early.

Happy Easter, everybody!