Monday, April 21, 2014

An Eggs-Citing Day

The Easter Bunny came to the farm for a visit.  :-)  We had a great day yesterday.  It was a miracle that it was dry all day.. it's been rainy for several days.  We were enjoying seeing the boys hunt for Easter eggs around the farm and then Kristi pointed out a wild bunny up by the old apple tree.  Travis grabbed my camera and snuck up closer to it and got this shot.  How appropriate for the day, eh?


Can you see all the eggs?


There were eggs up in the lilac bushes and on the ground and on car bumpers.  :-)


Caleb is finding eggs in the dark purple lilac!


Meanwhile grandma is walking about checking on the flora of the farm.. more Star of Bethlehem bloomed!


Right under the white lilac which is finally opening!  I took a big whiff.. ::heaven::!



Can you believe that this is the only blossom on my one dark purple bush?  ONE!?


This white bluebell hides behind the pink rosebud azalea.. my son bushwhacked through the honeysuckle to get this photo for his mama.  Aww.. good boy.


The boys found ALL the eggs.. we hope.  Two bags full!  Funny little faces.. the the sun was blinding them.  :-)  Caleb had an itch next to his nose.  LOL!


 Hayden had fun taking all the jelly beans and toy soldiers out of the plastic eggs.


In my garden walk I saw how beautiful my white edged Hosta was looking as it emerges from it's winter nap.


My Bleeding Heart is still looking gorgeous.


A fern I planted by the creek comes back every year, lacy and green.


My daughter sent me a pair of gorgeous English antique oak barley twist candlesticks for my birthday.  I've admired these kind of candlesticks for a long long time, so I'm just thrilled with this gift from my daughter.. thank you, Amy!


I found my bottle of lemon oil and beeswax furniture polish and gave them a good rubbing with the nourishing substance and they just glowed!


The oak is beautiful!


I forgot to show you the neat vintage crocheted hot pad I found at the flea market in Amish country that my daughter and I found.  It's a beauty!  Maybe this will be the beginning of a collection?  :-)


Our Easter dinner was a success!  We made a red currant glazed ham, I tried a new recipe for what we call "scalloped potatoes" - this is the French version  - Gratin Dauphinois - and boy did they come out eggs-cellent!  Also new to our dinner were these baby yellow, green and zucchini squash.  They are DELISH!  


First put 2 pints of heavy cream in a saucepan to slowly heat until it's steaming hot, but don't boil.  Peel and crush 5 garlic cloves and drop them in the warming cream, along with several sprigs of fresh thyme.   Butter a baking dish, slice Yukon gold (or any kind) potatoes thinly, put one layer of potatoes on the bottom of an oblong baking pan, grate Gruyere cheese over the first layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add the second layer of sliced potatoes, salt and pepper and the rest of the Gruyere cheese.  When the cream begins to steam, pour the cream over the potatoes (don't pour the big chunks of crushed garlic in the potatoes) - I stuck the springs of fresh thyme down into the edge of the pan on both ends to further flavor the dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (until potatoes are tender), then uncover and let the top brown.  Things I forgot to do with this is - I had some green onions that I was going to add to the center layer.. and I was going to try grating some nutmeg in the middle and smoked paprika on top.  I forgot all those things but it still turned out c'est magnifique!


Kristi made some really fun cupcakes for dessert!  They had Peeps on top and under the Peeps were some chocolate eggs!  :-)


I just had to show you the boys with the eggs Kristi and they dyed for the egg hunt.  After the hunt K made a nice platter of deviled eggs for us to share!  


I hope you had a nice day yesterday, whether you celebrate or not.  Spring itself is worth celebrating!  We're off to the beach tomorrow.. I'll be popping up from there on my next post.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

22 comments:

  1. So glad you had such a wonderful time with your family. The boys must have loved the egg hunt, and how brilliant that the Easter bunny hopped in too!

    Love your crochet find from Amish country.

    Helenxx

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  2. Oh Teresa, I think your day tops them ALL. Have a great week. xoRobin

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  3. Teresa ... The ingredients all there for a totally perfect day. Even the Easter Bunny popping in,

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  4. What a great Easter Egg Hunt. So many eggs. You have some beautiful plants in your garden, I love Spring when everything begins to grow and we get colour again in the garden.
    Rosezeeta.

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  5. Sounds like you had a wonderful Easter. Your candlesticks are absolutely beautiful, how lovely of your daughter to give them to you. I hope you have a good week Teresa. CJ xx

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  6. Delish looking Easter dinner! The Cap was looking over my should and said, "That looks GOOD! Tell her we'll be right over." Those potatoes are making my mouth water. Glad you had a nice time for Easter with the boys. Oh, and those candlesticks are so pretty! Very nice! See you at the beach.

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  7. It looks like you had a delightful day !
    Fun for everyone.

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  8. Hello, your Easter Sunday looked like everyone had the most wonderful time. I think you must be a chef Teresa. All your meals look so yummy. Your birthday pressie from Amy is lovely as is all your blooms. Hugs Judy

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  9. It looks like a exciting Easter at your house! I'm jealous of all of your blooms and now your beach trip too. Such fun. Those potatoes look so good, I can almost taste them. My mouth is watering just looking so it's probably good I'm not there. Beautiful candle sticks and hot pad. I used to make some very similar.

    Have a wonderful time at the coast. I'll be watching for the pictures.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  10. Lovely real rabbit! Fun for you with the grandchildren. Yummy goodies and all. Love those candlesticks. We had a fun day as well.

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  11. Your son got such a neat photo of your bunny, Teresa, and I enjoyed seeing photos of your flowers and family and meal with Kristi's pretty cupcakes as the grand finale. So glad you all had a happy day. The candlesticks Amy sent are beautiful, and I hope you have a happy birthday celebration at the beach! We had a good day yesterday, too, and I am getting rested up and better. xx

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  12. What a fun Easter you had Teresa and the boys looked so excited by their egg hunt. Your dinner looked delicious and the cup cakes were a perfect addition. Amy chose a wonderful pair of candlesticks for you....oak is the most beautiful wood. Enjoy the rest of your week x

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  13. Looks like a wonderful time in so many ways. We had very quiet time this year as our sons and families went awaybfor a week. Missed them heaps but happy for them and DH and I have had very chilled out time! Hugs Anne x

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  14. Beautiful day--what a fun celebration!

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  15. What a fantastic photo of the rabbit!

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  16. Such lovely pictures. Looks like everyone had a blast. :) Goodness your table is always so pretty. I just love how you decorate! It's always bright and cheerful...such a joy to always comes to your blog. ((hugs)) to you sweet friend.

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  17. What a wonderful holiday, Teresa. The boys are certainly having a blast! They're so cute. The flowers are all looking beautiful and everything is so green. Your dinner looks wonderful, I think my pants got tight just looking at those potatoes. Yum. The cupcakes are so adorable. I need to get a Kristi at my house! :)

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  18. What a lovely day you had, surrounded by family and the excitement of little boys. I love the picture of the bunny, are you sure it wasn't the actual Easter Bunny just popping in? Amy's gift is gorgeous. She has excellent taste just like her Mom.
    Hugs to you Teresa,
    Meredtih

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  19. Such lovely pictures of your happy family Easter time. And fancy the Easter bunny popping in especially for you!! Your daughter chose such pretty candlesticks, Teresa.....you will love using them even more because she bought them for you. Hope you enjoy your time at the beach!
    Helen xox

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  20. Very fun to see your egg hunt! We visited Virginia and our daughter AL and had a peaceful fun Easter.
    Love your pEEP cupcakes

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  21. Happy Easter, hope you & your family had a lovely time :-) x

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  22. Looks like it rained Easter eggs! LOL Glad you had a great day with family. Your flowers are looking wonderful!

    Judy

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