“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
Happy First Day of Spring!
Today is a cold but sunny day. The sunrise was gorgeous. The beach was warmer than I expected as there wasn’t the cold breeze which sometimes comes off the water. We sat for a bit in the car then went outside to greet the first spring day. We watched the pinkish red glow of morning touch the sky then saw the top of the sun rise over the jetty. We sang our traditional songs. My friend Clare found us each a shell, a memento, then we got back into the car and went to breakfast. The sun was getting higher in the sky as we drove away.
Tonight it will snow. The amount is still in question. We could get 0-2 or 2-4 inches. We’re on the cusp.
I don’t remember cold Easters when I was a kid. My memory drawers have hidden them way in the back. I remember warm sunshine, pastel dresses, white gloves and Mary Jane shoes in black patent leather. This, the week before Easter, is when my mother did most of the clothes shopping. The Children’s Corner in the square had the perfect dresses. It had round racks filled with pink, green and light blue dresses and other racks of petticoats to make the dresses puffy. The shoes came from Thom McCann. I wasn’t one for hats but my sisters were. They fancied round ones with ribbons. They also carried little purses with one long metal strap. A light, fancy jacket finished the ensemble.
The dresses sat on hangers in the closets until Easter. Every time I’d open my closet I’d take my dress out to look at how beautiful it was. I could hardly wait for Easter.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: cold and sunny, Easter clothes, first day of spring, shells, Snow, sunrise, the beach, traditional ceremonies
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March 20, 2016 at 1:59 pm
So you didn’t like the Easter bonnet thing mentioned in the song, “Easter Parade”. My mother bought are shoes at Buster Brown and later at Tom McCann. The Buster Brown stores all had X-ray machines to show our mother’s that our toes were not being crowded. I’m surprised we all haven’t developed toe cancers from God only knows how much radiation we received just buying shoes. Our clothes were usually bought at JC Penny’s.
I arrived here in New Jersey at noon and the temperature is well above freezing, 39 degrees, and partly cloudy skies. They are predicting one to three inches of snow tonight but with this warm weather I don’t think it will stick to the roads.
March 20, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Bob,
Easter hats always seemed too fancy to me. I do have a few winter hats and a summer one of cloth which I can fold up to store.
When I was really young, we also had Buster Brown shoes and Mary Janes, made by the same company. I remember him and his dog Tige on a sticker inside the shoe.
I used to love the x-ray machine. It was neat to see all the bones of my feet.
We didn’t have a JC Penny’s in my town. Mostly my mother stayed in town to shop though once and a while she went to Boston, to Jordan Marsh.
The sky is no longer blue.
March 20, 2016 at 2:19 pm
Chilly morning here but the rest of the day has been very warm and sunny 🙂 Not bad actually having spring on the spring equinox, that doesn’t happen too often here.
To be ho9nest, I can’t remember the weather on a single easter, I do however remember the easter egss filled with loads of candy 🙂 I remember the decorations we made at school and the dinners at grandma’s but not anything about the weather 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
March 20, 2016 at 2:29 pm
Christer,
No longer sunny and still cold here. Spring really won’t be more than a date on the calendar for us until late April or early May.
The weather was really important so we could show off our new clothes. I also remember those chocolate eggs and rabbits.
Have a great day!
March 20, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Today’s the first day of Spring … ? Go figure. It’s a really great day here ‘cos it’s all grey ’n cloudy ’n cold – and the WX types tell us it’ll be even colder tonite. Life is good.
Just got back from Wal-Mart. Had to pick up some peppers (bell, jalapeño), onions (Spanish & Vidalia), English muffins, milk, and another windshield wiper blade. The Michelin ‘Stealth’ is a helluva nice wiper for not much money (~ $13±). Figured it’s better to have two new blades rather than a mix of new ’n old, and the windscreen’s much clearer now.
My awakening is always made better on a Sunday when I tune in to WTUL-FM’s ‘Cheezmusic’ program from New Orleans. It’s four hours of ‘ease-into-the-day’ music that makes Sunday the nicest morning of the week. When ‘Cheez’ ends at 10, it’s rollover to WWOZ-FM for ‘Hazel the Delta Rambler’ and two hours of old-time country music and a bit of a ‘Music Education 101’ history lesson at the same time. At noon, like Cinderella’s carriage, it all goes ‘POOF!’ and disappears into the ether for another week. Sadness ensues.
Easter in New Orleans was either warm or wet. Pick one. If it was warm, there was an ‘Easter Egg Hunt’ in the back yard of someone’s house. We usually visited Dad’s sisters or Mom’s brother if they didn’t visit us first. The solid chocolate Elmer’s Gold Brick egg was the treasure desired by all. No ‘Peeps.’ No candy canes. No ‘Heavenly Hash’ bars. Chocolate rulez!
Now that you mention it, our shoes came from Thom McCann, too. It was one store removed from the Woolworth’s five ’n dime, so much shopping got taken care of with one trip. With the Hills Brothers grocery right across the street, we could also get groceries if any were needed before heading home.
The thing none of us liked about Easter was having to get all ‘dressed up.’ That usually meant a white ‘ice cream’ suit like one wore for First Communion or Confirmation and a tie. A white tie. And white shoes. Like Pat Boone. Easter coulda been a lot more fun if jeans had been the Uniform of the Day.
And now to present the One Man Barbershop Quartet … yes, you read it right – the One Man Barbershop Quartet. One man sings four parts. He’s good. How good is he, you ask? He’s very very good. Click to listen and decide for yourself … I have to start cooking now, ‘kay? Enjoy.
March 20, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Richard,
It will snow later, not the greatest welcome for spring. I figure Old Man Winter has his claws in the ground to keep Mother Nature from getting rid of him.
My Sunday mornings are spent leisurely reading the Sunday papers, doing the Globe crossword puzzle and drinking a pot of coffee and maybe eating a croissant or two.
Nothing is worse than windshield wipers not doing their duty. I need that clear windshield!
The crown of our baskets was always a huge chocolate Easter Bunny. As we got older, the chocolate got better because we knew the difference. My mother would buy everything in a chocolate shop. I do the same. I like peeps but they have to be hard as a rock. That is because when my Easter basket got to Ghana the peeps were like rocks, and they tasted great. Now that’s the only way I like them.
My dad nearly cried when Thom McCann closed. He loved their hush puppies.
When I was growing up, the Easter outfit for boys was a white shirt, a tie, new pants and a jacket. I usually hated getting dressy except for Easter. To have new clothes from top to bottom was a rarity.
You are so right. He is a great One Man Barbershop Quartet.
March 20, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Spring? Where???
March 20, 2016 at 3:31 pm
Birgit,
It is a state of mind said I waiting for the snow.
March 20, 2016 at 6:22 pm
It’s Palm Sunday, I sit in the pew and convert the fronds into a cross which will then be place next to a photo of my late Mother for the next year. I have been doing this for 16 years. I also remove small strands from a frond and place them inside a hymn book bearing my Mother’s name
Zoomed over to Hallmark to find an Easter card for the best Grandson ever and it is secured but I don’t know if he is coming. He asked for a big Easter Egg – if he is with us he will get it, if not it will be more funding for college.
I have gone a bit stale on new music, nothing has been delivered in the last 60 days and I am looking. There is a great big box set for the Sensational Alex Harvey Band which has my attention but not at $140..I will be patient.
Spurs cranked it back up today and hammered Bournemouth. Just 7 matches left and they could still win the league. We shall see
March 20, 2016 at 6:53 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I remember my mother had apiculture of Christ over her bed. It was an old picture with muted colors and a huge halo. That is where she placed the fronds. They’d get dry so quickly and hurt if you touched them.
I’ll pick my cards up tomorrow and send them from the post office in the afternoon. My friends and I exchange Easter baskets and I always decorate the tree hanging over their deck. I set my alarm for 6 and hurry down to try to decorate before they wake up.
I am putting my money away for the trip to Ghana. I am almost at the necessary amount and still have 5 months to save.
You keep my updated or I wouldn’t know. I am now reading baseball news anticipating the season of the Red Sox, last in their division for two years.
March 20, 2016 at 6:31 pm
Hi, Kat.
To me, it isn’t really spring until I hear Tom Lehrer’s famous (infamous?) tribute to the season –
http://tinyurl.com/TomLehrer-Spring
March 20, 2016 at 7:14 pm
Hi Jeff,
I haven’t heard Tom Lehrer for years, but I hadn’t forgotten his sense of “humor.”
I laughed at this and thought of my mother. We were in Trafalgar Square when my father and I gave my mother a bag of seeds to hold. She was attacked by double digit numbers of pigeons. This would have been her theme song.
March 20, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Hi Kat,
I remember snowy Easters but I don’t remember how we dealt with them. There’s a photo somewhere of us all standing outside in our new Easter duds and the ground is covered in snow.
Easter dresses were always pretty and always uncomfortable and itchy because of the nylon floofy stuff underneath. Apparently I was sensitive to nylon netting.
Hats were my favorite part of Easter clothes with pocket books coming in a close second. Hats and pocket books that were a matched pair were magical finds.
I still don’t know what kind of weather to expect tomorrow. The larder is stocked with good food and junk food just in case. One is not prepared to face bad weather without ice cream and chips.
Enjoy the day.
March 20, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Hi Caryn,
I don’t remember any snow on Easter. Maybe all that chocolate had me dazed.
It’s so true how uncomfortable the netting was. Chaffing is what I remember. I was never big on spring hats or little purses. Even as an adult I have never been big on bags. I carry a backpack even now. It is made of leather and was made in Vermont so at least it’s far fancier than the ones I had when I was younger.
Boston has already called school off for tomorrow. My larder too has wonderful storm food. I also have one book left to read from my last trip to the library and a bunch of DVR stuff to watch. I’m ready.
Have a great storm day!!
March 21, 2016 at 7:54 pm
The only Easter dress I recall is one my mother made me, probably in 3rd or 4th grade. It was peach with a flower print and my mother made it with flounces. To complement the outfit, she also made me an apricot cape, the first of many she’s made for me over the years.
March 21, 2016 at 9:27 pm
sprite,
I’m thinking that wearing a cape is high fashion indeed. Peach is a great Easter color.
My mother made my senior prom dress. It was brocade on the top and satin like on the lower part. She hadn’t ever made a dress before that one. It was beautiful.
March 28, 2016 at 2:44 pm
Wow! I can think of plenty of experienced seamstresses who would quail before a prom dress!
March 28, 2016 at 6:50 pm
sprite,
We couldn’t find one so she said she’d make it. You couldn’t step on the living room floor for a while as she had material and patterns all over it. The dress was just gorgeous.
Maybe being a novice seamstress was the key. She didn’t know to quell.