Spring? Where?

Isn’t this a pretty picture of November: The snow is coming and winter will finally begin, we can bring out the wool sweaters and Christmas seems right around the corner! No, wait, that’s a picture I took TODAY. April 8, Easter Sunday. Happy Easter, by the way!

We had a good thing going for a while; I had every intention of switching out my winter clothes for spring when a cold front kicked all of us right in the teeth. Wedding-obsessed as I am, I continually think, What if it blizzards the day of the wedding???? Really, I just hope it gets up into the fifties, because the extended forecast has us in the balmy 40 degree range by the end of the week. Whee.

However, the crummy weather meant that DF and I had no intentions of walking to this great sandwich shop near us so we did an ironic spring cleaning instead, obviously skipping the step of taking the “ghetto plastic” off the windows. Our little place sparkles and shines as much as a place with few reflective surfaces can. And we built a fire last night—very cozy and not something one does in April, usually.

I think today marks the first Easter I did not spend with other members of my family in memory. We were good and went to church—a lovely ceremony complete with a brass band and the gorgeous church choir, plus hymns that even the fallen-away Christians know, so everyone sings. Plus the reverend got all the kids to come up and sit with him for a chat and we all got a laugh when, upon wisely asking if anyone had new Easter clothes today, one eager little boy informed us that he had his “church shirt” on. After the service we did what all good Buffalonians do: We raced home in time to watch the puck drop for the afternoon Sabres game, the last of the season before the playoffs. Whoo hoo! It’s like a mania when the Sabres make the playoffs, and this year we honestly do have a good chance to do quite well. I won’t even mention the Stanley Cup for fear of jinxes.

So tonight, no big Easter meal, which makes me kind of sad but also points out that my holidays will not always revolve around going somewhere else, which seems a bit of a relief. Plus DF’s making his absolutely delicious shrimp tonight, which are so easy to make and wonderfully tasty:

- Start with raw, shelled shrimp (no specific amount; we do enough for two)

Mix together in a bowl

- garlic powder

- cayenne pepper

- cardamom

- McCormic Grill Mates Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning

- dry jalapeno mix (ours is made by Chili Today-Hot Tamale)

- flour (the main ingredient: DF does about half a cup and just gives good, hearty shakes for all the spices)

The spices are purely for taste; there’s no specific measurement. He makes it so the shrimp are good and spicy but not overwhelming. After you’ve rolled each shrimp in the mixture, covering well, heat a skillet on medium-high. Coat the skillet with Pam—we use butter flavored—and sauté just a few minutes per side. Serve with whatever you want. Tonight we’re having cream of mushroom soup. Yum! A traditional Easter dinner!

And this is totally unrelated, but I had to show off my new camera, which has the coolest thing: a "best picture" feature. The two I've uploaded I used the "pet" and "animation" features. The pet is my sister's sweet little collie puppy. BTW, I don't know why the picture layout is all wonky. If anyone could help with that...?