For our Easter dinner, we had my grandparents here. It was quite accidental that they were here for that particular day, but we were glad for it. I asked Grandpa if he wanted ham, turkey or roast beef and to my mingled dismay and excitement, he requested roast beef. Until this past Easter, I had never cooked a roast beef in the oven. Yes, you read that right. I've always stuck to the safety of the crock pot--- not to mention, the conveniently low price of the lesser roasts that cook up nicely in said pot.
Well, I did it and successfully, too, thanks to a friend who, several years ago, told me how to do a roast "German-style" at 400*F. Surprisingly, it was a moist and tender roast, even well-done. Good gravy, too. But I am not blogging to 'boast' of my roast beef dinner success. I just wanted to pop on here and post a few pictures, both of Easter and of my grandparents visit.
I haven't been online much, lately. I resolved at the beginning of the year that I would put some more discipline in my life, a character quality that I possess little of. Being on the computer less and living life more is just one more step in that direction, though I'm considering blogging more often even if I do less of everything else. A 'habit' of blogging couldn't be a bad thing in moderation, since this is, after all, my only form of journaling. I'm not even going to TRY to add journaling to my list of disciplined activities. I write way too much to keep up with pen and ink on a regular basis. It's a time killer for me.
A picture of our Easter table after I discovered that my spring table cloth is missing-- yes, missing! I searched high and low, as did John, and nada. I have this vague memory of putting it in an odd place for some reason that I obviously felt was logical at the time. I ended up using a crocheted runner (purchased from Walmart, can't take the credit) and some dogwood from the backyard. Plus I pulled out two of my china teacups for Grandma and I.
My only extra detail this time- egg candy in a votive holder.
The four friends hanging out after dinner:
Joshua and his Great-Grandma:
We had some gorgeous weather. My grandparents came from cold, rainy and sometimes snowy, bare-treed Ontario to nearly full green trees and humid temperatures. We took full advantage of one of these days and took Joshua to the park. LOVE this particular park. Joshua has a blast there.
It cooled down a little by the time we got home, but invigorated by the fresh air and sunshine, John brought our patio chairs out to the front yard (so Grandpa didn't have to attempt the steep back steps with his arthritic knees) and we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying it further.
Later in the week-- boys being boys. Grandpa gave Joshua an electric train set that he had purchased well over 15 years ago for Derek and Mark to amuse them while whenever we were visiting. He was a little concerned about Joshua being to young, since one drop and the separate trains, especially the engine, will never work again-- but laid the rules down and Joshua followed them (mostly) to the letter.
They had some trouble getting the train to go all the way around the track, so Joshua thought he'd try and figure it out. ;-)
Got a cheesy grin out of the both of them:
