Dear Reader:

Another sign of the times this year as Easter quickly approaches is replacement bags for Easter baskets…for the first time in almost a decade Boo won’t be hostessing the Dingle-Turner Easter Egg Hunt. I must admit…it makes me sad and nostalgic over past hunts.

Well…admittedly…that series of memories took up over an hour as I went back down memory lane…I laughed, smiled, and teared up over those endearing past moments..almost a decade of them…unbelievable!

Thank goodness (this year) for on-line Amazon ordering and Tim Davies delivering for Education Station…(Both provided me with “surcies” to put in any bags I could find around the house…left over Christmas or teacher bags) to be delivered by Tommy and Kaitlyn. (*Yesterday I met Tommy at his office when it opened…we switched the grandchildren’s “Easter” bags from my car to his and then with an invisible high 5 I was off!)

*This really is the time when we must all get creative and “make do with what we have.”  The problem I ran into a couple of days ago…however was a real “stumper.”

I ordered on-line from Publix my weekly grocery list…I had all the items needed to make spaghetti. I listed ground beef, fresh bell peppers, parmesan cheese, onions, garlic, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, and pasta. My mouth was watering waiting (it took three days) on the order to come in.

The delivery woman handed me a bag with the bottle sauces, pasta and parmesan cheese and another bag with the fresh vegetables. She  then started to walk off.

“Wait a minute,” I called out…”I have one more important bag...(jokingly) the ground beef.”

“Oh yeah,” replied the deliverer, “Publix is completely out of ground beef…don’t worry…I gave you the refund.” “Have a good day.”

I stood there holding the bags…trying to remember that old axiom…something like “When you have the whole world but nothing at all?” I thought again…it should say “When you have the whole meal but nothing to cook.”

I called around to see if anybody had been in a store this past week and remembered seeing hamburger meat…but to no avail. Susan said she would keep her ears and eyes open if she heard or saw anything to help me out.

I told her not to worry with it…then while on the way to meet Tommy I got a text from Donna Clark asking if I needed anything at the store…she was heading over. I mentioned the ground hamburger meat…but if it wasn’t on display…don’t worry about it…I could just wait and make it after Easter next week…maybe by then they would have it again.

I turned everything over to God’s Basket...if this was supposed to work out now it would…if it didn’t it would work out when it was supposed to…

And then…boom! A double whammy! Donna texted to let me know she had some ground beef for me…I was so excited that I started peeling the onion and cutting up the raw vegetables so all I would have to do… would be … cook the meat. “Ask and you shall receive“…thank you Donna and your Irish lucky charm!

And as if that wasn’t a stroke of pure luck…while I was stirring the sauce…I heard a knock at the door and my beautiful niece, Ady, was there holding a bag…she said they (she, Bekah, Susan) had stopped by Bi-Lo on the way home (from the strawberry fields to pick strawberries) and the store had ground chuck. *I also had fresh strawberries in another bag! Unbelievable! 🙂 🙂 🙂

There are so few times in life when one can stay stationary (doing nothing…well maybe a little pouting 🙂 while others actively pursue a goal (your goal)…and stationary wins out. Two gifts of ground beef!

Perhaps Carole King says it best “You’ve got a Friend”...actually more then one and they are all spectacular…no doubt I am blessed with guardian angels selected by God to drop in and check on Boo.

So until tomorrow….Easter isn’t about bags or baskets, gifts or hunts (even spaghetti)…it is about sacrifice, grace, and love…and that I have in abundance!!! 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

***Look at these beautiful ceramic flowers Honey is making now…and you don’t have to weed or water them!

A couple of funnies…