I Like Thursdays 4-6-23

Good Thursday morning - today is the day that LeeAnna of Not Afraid Of Color hosts a group of grateful bloggers - go check out these positive posts! My first like is the rainbow above - taken after a thunderstorm last week! There was also lightning occurring, but I wasn't fast enough to capture it on camera. I really like turbulent weather, so you know I was happy!

I like cake. This one was especially good. It is Pecan Upside Down Cake and is made with a cake mix. That topping - it is so good I was picking it off to eat by itself with no shame! You can find the recipe right here.

I like my "new" used chair in my sewing room. We made a few changes in my husband's office last week and I inherited his office desk. It serves as a combined sewing table/laptop table and left room for a chair. We found this one on Facebook Marketplace for $15.00!

I like cats and have liked them since I was a small child. I currently have four rescued kitties. Katy is the oldest, and she is 11. She mostly stays under the bed snoring - lol! She is a beautiful black longhair, and we have to keep certain areas shaved because she has become a bit lax in the self-cleaning department.😉

LeeAnna's prompt for the week is this:

Do you have any fun or special memories of getting or giving an Easter basket? 

I honestly don't have much in the way of Easter basket memories. I did love to dye eggs. I remember the vinegar-y smell and mixing up colors in Mom's coffee cups, then in little glass bowls for our kids. We do have good memories of fixing up baskets for our kids and hiding eggs and that kind of thing.

Here are some of my random memories about Easter.

When I was 13, Mom made me two new spring dresses - one for Palm Sunday and one for Easter Sunday. They were two versions of the same pattern - the aqua one had a straight skirt and the light purple one had a gathered skirt - both with bolero jackets. I loved those dresses!

Another Easter when I was about the same age, we were sitting in church and started hearing thunder. It got louder and louder as the service ended. People begged us to wait until the storm passed but Daddy was hell-bent to get home! As we got into the car it started pouring, with loud thunder and wind. Driving home, we crossed some downed power lines (scary stuff!) and the car was buffeted and it was hard to see for the heavy rain. By the time we got home it had passed, and we went inside breathing a sigh of relief. That is until Mom realized the wind had blown the front door open, and the rain had come in through the screened porch and soaked the carpet and part of the wall paper! What a mess!

My most significant memory of Easter was when I was 8 and became fascinated with a magazine called Ideals Easter. It was probably very similar to the one above. It had a lot of beautiful pictures and drawings. I pored through it every day and asked Mom to read the story in it over and over. It was the Easter story, illustrated with drawings and depicting Jesus' last days and His agony on the cross.

One night I got very sad and started crying. Mom asked me what was wrong and I told her that I was sad because Jesus had died. Mom said, "but Honey He lives!" And just like that my tears stopped and I was happy again. I didn't question how or why He lives or even care, I just believed what Mom told me.

Over the years I have come to realize that is true faith - no doubt about the how or the why, just simple childlike belief. And that day in my 8 year old life was the foundation of my belief to this day. I am so grateful to my Mom for giving me that good news, and I don't think I ever told her that. Several years ago before Mom came to live with us, she mailed me the Easter Ideals pictured above - knowing I would love it - along with a sweet note. I treasure it!

How about you - any Easter basket memories or other happy Easter times you'd like to share?