Random Bullets (and pictures) of Easter

• Easter is my favorite holiday, I think. I love the springtime, for one thing; Easter usually means flowers and light, even if (as it did Saturday) it snows. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the snow on the dogwoods, but it was almost melted by the time I thought to get out the camera.

• Snow may actually have been appropriate. After all, Easter is about rebirth, resurrection, life out of death. The brief blanket of snow on Saturday reminded us that we weren't quite there yet.
  

• We had the world's best houseguests with us again. It's becoming an Easter tradition, almost--they were with us two years ago for Easter, anyway. (There were only three of them then.)

• Caroline made this fabulous lemon cake, which involves boiling and pureeing whole lemons but still didn't look like too much work. She says she'll post the recipe soon.

• As often happens, we started our meal planning with dessert. Then we bought various things and made them, and we turned out to have a pretty great Easter feast. For example:

Roasted spring vegetables: asparagus, shitake mushrooms, shallots, broccoli. There were green beans, too, but they were on their own plate and were not photographed. And then there were potatoes.

• There was also a pork tenderloin (sorry, no photo) for the carnivores among us, roasted with garlic, olive oil, and rosemary. Yum.

I realize I've never photographed the rosemary filoncino before. So here it is now.

• And one more dessert: Mariah's first chocolate guinness cake.
  

• I had to show her how to use the bottle opener. How does one get to be 17 and not know how to use a bottle opener? (I know, I know, twist-offs. And she doesn't drink soda. Or, apparently, beer.)

• Nick has the flu, which slowed him down somewhat for Easter festivities. He stayed home from church Sunday morning, but I brought him treats from coffee hour and his cousins shared their egg-hunt goodies with him. Still, he was pretty pathetic. And today when I got him to the doctor we learned that tamiflu is only effective if started within 48 hours of the onset of the flu. Since he really came down with this Friday afternoon, no go. The pediatrician told us he'd seen four cases today; apparently the flu vaccine only lasts four months, so people vaccinated in October and November are now susceptible. Which puts the rest of us at higher risk as well. Great.
  

• Our houseguests are on their way home, and Mariah and Mark are off to do some college visiting this week. Nick will be hanging out with me. (At home, mostly; see above.) I think we'll be eating leftovers all week. Anyone want to come over for cake?