Happy Easter, Esther

We always say this in our family. And I know it's not technically Easter just yet. But somewhere in the middle of the night the mystical moment will occur. (No, not when the Easter Bunny arrives.)

Esther was my sister's mother-in-law's sister. So we were a little bit related. She was always at family gatherings - lived well into her 80s. In the last year or two Esther was on Earth she lived in one of those apartment complexes for seniors - I'm not sure if it was "assisted" or "independent" living, but she was pretty spunky up 'til the end. One night, they had a dance. Esther loved dancing. She had a great time whirling about the room, then sat down to rest ... and that was it. At the memorial service, the priest said she danced right into Heaven. What a great way to go.

This is my first Easter all by myself. I think I just realized that. Lizz decided to stay at school so she could attend a friend's baptism today and go to a sunrise service tomorrow. I guess I'm not really by myself. Claudette is here meowing to get into my lap and I'm dog-sitting a friend's dog, Rennie, who is quietly sitting here as I type although I think she wants to go o-u-t-s-i-d-e. I've asked her to be patient just a few more minutes.

So on my first Easter Eve alone (human-wise) I spent the evening baking cupcakes. This was one of two tasks my sister gave me for tomorrow's meal: Fruit salad and "cupcakes the way Busha (former mother-in-law) made them." White cake, boiled frosting, a nest of coconut and jelly beans. Now I'm no slouch in the kitchen. Baked goods and confections especially. I often make cutout cookies - eggs, bunnies, carrots, etc. with my almond buttercream frosting. But I thought cupcakes would be "easier." Silly me. I think I need to go to boiled frosting school. The cupcakes were a piece of cake (ha!). But after beating egg whites until stiff (no problem), boiling the sugary syrup to softball stage (also no problem) I blended together (for six minutes) a mixture that got increasingly stickier and more gooey and ended up with a melted marshmallowy-like substance that I ended up dunking the cupcakes in and swirling rather than spreading.

I hope everyone will forgive me tomorrow. At least there's fruit. And perfect cupcakes aren't the point anyway, right?

OK, Rennie. Time for a walk.