Bright Yellow

Welcome back everyone who gave up the internet for Lent! I imagine everyone is having a swell time doing whatever they didn't do, eating whatever they didn't eat.

I heard from a number of people who do what I call "Reverse Lent", where they strive to do something that is difficult for them, rather than giving something up. As my long time readers will attest, I do not ascribe to this philosophy since it does not align us in any particular way with the suffering of Jesus. Lent is like one long "Sorrowful Mysteries" of the Rosary, where we dwell on one aspect of the life of Christ. Let's not make them into the "Luminous Mysteries" or the "Glorious Mysteries".

Okay. I'll leave it alone.

But then, when Lent is over...do you stop doing the thing your were striving to do? What if you didn't achieve it?  What if you haven't assimilated the new behavior?  Lent is over, you're done. You don't have to keep trying if it's difficult (and it at least should have been difficult!). You should be celebrating! You see my problem with this.

We're having some leftover ham. Ham was a favorite of Sister Mary Fiacre, so we're enjoying it for her. We rarely have ham. I'm not supposed to have so much salt. But one of the ladies of the Catholic Charities brought a little of that Honey Baked Ham over and that is such a treat. Perhaps my feet will become enormous. It's only for a day or two.

And someone made the most wonderful baked beans! I'm not a baked bean lover. I can take them or leave them. They always look so good and then they turn out to be ...beans. Dry on the inside, not that great on the outside.  But if I had to live the rest of my life eating nothing but these baked beans...well, I'd definitely have to give them up for Lent.

The secret ingredient, I was told, was a squirt of mustard. I find this difficult to believe. Not because of the mustard. I am a huge mustard fan. There is no such thing as too much mustard where I'm concerned. You can tell when I've had a sandwich because my fingers are yellow. A sandwich should squirt mustard when you bite it. No, I find it hard to believe because my mother always used mustard in her baked beans, too, but they didn't rise to the level of these baked beans. And my mother is a wonderful, wonderful cook.  I think the secret must be in what brand these beans were to begin with. Because we always doctor the baked beans, no matter what that dog and his owner have done with them when the beans went in the can.

And deviled eggs! It's the mustard that makes them delicious. But the woman that made them added some sort of red seasoning to the tops that was scrumptious. Not paprika. This was some brand name "salad seasoning". I believe that is what it was called. She didn't add it herself but set the little shaker out so people could add it if they liked. So I looked it over but good.  For you! Because we can't afford those little luxuries. Those things are stupidly expensive. I'm always disgruntled when we run out of any kind of basic spice because it it such a hole in our little budget.

We've also had two desserts. Wonderful bread pudding with rum sauce and terrific strawberry rhubarb pie. So my feet, after they blow up from the ham, will actually be proportionate with the rest of me.

We'll be walking to the store this week. And everywhere else.

The weather is beautiful! But then, the weather is always beautiful here. Happy Easter! It's a joyous time!