april fool, it's Easter!

Easter dinner in Augusta!
Seriously, I'm not fooling...
I went to Augusta this morning
for the noon dinner time.
Here's Jenny in the kitchen,
putting the finishing touches on
her herb-crusted standing rib of lamb
and hobbling on a sprained ankle.

Here's her husband,
my second cousin Tyson.
He was keeping her company and
trying to stay awake.
(He had worked an overnight shift.)
I think the rabbit ears were probably
topping his head to entertain
their kids, Lucas and Julie.

Here's the man of house, Alan!
When I arrived, I had wondered aloud
where "all the grown-ups" were -
as I had not seen him or my cousin Bev -
but he''d been out on the back porch.
(Mind you, Jenny is recently turned 35,
the same as my first niece,
so she certainly is "a grown-up".)

This fun-loving fellow is Jenny's
younger brother, Stevie.
I tell you, he really appreciated
not being regarded as a "grown-up"!
I really enjoyed his company while
we were awaiting the arrival of
my Aunt Barbara and John.

In fact, the time passed remarkably quickly,
thanks to little Julie!
Her brother may be the Lego-crafts champ,
but her paper-folding skills are top-notch.
Keeping up a running patter, she created
an Origami Yoda for me - for me!
How's that as a welcome to the Prouty clan?
(smile)

Not that she was the only one doing
magical things especially for me!
Remember that my cousin Bev makes sure
I have some cranberry-orange cups to
carry home after the Thanksgiving feast?
Well, she has created a new side dish
to satisfy my yen for fruit -
cantaloupe, dressed with blueberries and
blackberries, in an orange zest ocean.

I was in heaven with its taste!
I only took one slice of the delicious fruit
at first, wanting to be sure all had the
opportunity to sample it.
But at the meal's end, when the others looked
to cake and pie for sweetening, I had
piece after piece of the dressed-out cantaloupe.
She even gave me her recipe for it!

After all were sated, it was egg hunting time!
Sure, this red egg may have been on the fence
about hiding from sight -
how do you like that little inside joke? -
but some of those eggs ended up never found.
Maybe a squirrel or two will locate them!
(smile)

Too soon, time came for me to hit the road as I had promises to keep.
But wait! One favor, please!
I wanted a photo of me with my cooking cousin and my seamstress aunt!
Jenny was sweet enough to take photos of the three of us with my phone,
Bev's phone, and Barbara's phone -
she did a very fine job of it, too!
We are very clearly related to each other, aren't we?
(smile)

Then I retraced my path back to Savannah,
going through a number of small towns
with their painted water towers,
past the horses and cows and new corn,
past the fields of red clover,
cruising 'neath a sky of true blue,
basking on the warmth of this spring day!
i thank You, God!

Now, I've safely arrived on the Armstrong campus,
with a little time to spare.
I had promised Special Office Hours on this Sunday,
as Test 4 looms on Monday's horizon.
I'll refresh myself and stretch a bit first...
I'm not theirs until 6 PM.
(smile)