April 6, 2020 thought for the day: Warm a frozen snake and it will be the first to bite you. Russian Proverb

I set the alarm....after, maybe, three weeks. I wanted to get up early so that I could get to Kroger during the senior hour. I was a little surprised that there really weren’t that many folks there. I got a few things picked up, actually more quickly than I had first thought I would. I was actually early at the pharmacy window. They had another fifteen minutes to go.

Every day I am looking for things I am grateful for to photograph as a memory of this particular day and time. Yesterday, as I was enjoying a little time on the porch swing. I noticed the neighbor’s flag moving in the breeze. The lines and shapes in the background seemed to add quiet and peace to the scene. I am grateful for that.

I have placed an online delivery order from Kroger last week. I was told I would receive delivery on Sunday evening between six and seven. The time passed with no delivery at all. After I returned from Kroger this morning, I made an attempt to find what the problem was. When I called the Kroger 800 number I was told that calls were backed up and I would have to call later. I called the neighborhood store....I was told they no longer make the delivers and offered to give me another number, they are contracted out to Instacart. I called Instacart and was mechanically told there would be a 245 minute wait for someone to come on the line. I gave up....I decided to try ordering through the curbside pick up portion of the online ordering. I completed the order and was directed to pick a day. After four tries being told something like- “all filled up for that day”. I finally got a pick up day and time for Saturday. So now it looks like I am going to have to go that route (if it works, I’ll know Saturday) or go in person during the senior hour (maybe... until that to is over loaded).

It is so nice outdoors today (although I have to scrape the car windows earlier). I decided to go work in the yard as much as my stamina would allow. While I was out, I had a nice chat with my neighbor.

The word is fallen. You seem to me to be a pretty lucky young man; keep your eyes open to your mercies. That part of piety is eternal; and the man who forgets to be grateful has fallen asleep in life, Robert Louis Stevenson.  I am not concerned that you have fallen -- I am concerned that you arise. Abraham Lincoln. Self is the root, the tree, and the branches of all the evils of our fallen state, William Law. We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen away, and to bring home those who have lost their way. Many who seem to us to be children of the Devil will still become Christ's disciples, Francis of Assisi.  It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen that is the common right of humanity, Seneca the Younger.  Many shall be restored that now are fallen and many shall fall that now are in honor, Horace. It is wrong not to give a hand to the 
fallen. This right is common to the whole human race, Seneca the Elder. I am persuaded that without knowledge of literature pure theology cannot at all endure. . . . When letters have declined and lain prostrate, theology, too, has wretchedly fallen and lain prostrate. . . . It is my desire that there shall be as many poets and rhetoricians as possible, because I see that by these studies as by no other means, people are wonderfully fitted for the grasping of sacred truth and for handling it skillfully and happily, Martin Luther. Each new epoch in life seems an encounter. There is a tussle and a cloud of dust, and we come out of it triumphant or crest-fallen, according as we have borne ourselves. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Every accusation against a fallen man gains credence, Publilius Syrus.   

Spring and summer bring so many pleasant and relaxing scenes of “eye candy”. I love the shadows that appear in these seasons. I know there are shadows in the winter too but they don’t seem to be as welcoming. So shadows was my photo of the day for April 6.

I use to do the pysanky-style of decorating eggs. It is time-consuming procedure but gives a feeling of accomplishment when done. The article today gives some ideas of ways to decorate an Easter egg. First the article starts with a way to begin the color. If we forgot to get the egg coloring tablets use liquid food coloring, six to twenty drops to a half cup of water with 1 teaspoon ov vinegar. Here is the explanation for the vinegar: eggshells contain calcium carbonate. Calcium reacts to acid in the vinegar, that lets the color adhere to the shell. I was interested to learn that too much vinegar creates bubbles leading to uneven color. Not enough vinegar doesn’t let the color permeate. There are several ways of cooking the eggs before the coloring. Some people bake them at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Some cover them in water and boil for four to nine minutes. The person who wrote the article cooks them in an Instant Pot for a few minutes in one cup of water. Here is one of the suggestions, if you have a large pressure cooker (Instant pot)  put food color, water and vinegar in canning jars. Put the jars, the number of jars depends on the size of you cooker, on a wire rack on a cup of water. Put two or three eggs in each jar. Make sure the water in the jar covers the eggs. Close the pressure cooker and cook for six minutes, let the stream release. Be careful, the jars will be hot. Once you can handle them, dunk the eggs in cold water. Yet another way to color the egg. Put Cool Whip on a cooky sheet about one half inch thick, squeeze drops of food coloring on top. Swirl the color in gently. After soaking eggs in vinegar water for a couple of minutes dry them then roll in the colored Cool Whip. Wipe off the Cool Whip, the color remains. Here’s another coloring tip, using crayons to write on the egg before coloring. Some other tips mentioned on line, according to the article, is sing rubber bands and stickers to create layers of color.

I am making a dish for dinner called Spaghetti Pie. I have made baked spaghetti before with spaghetti left over from the night before but this recipe uses eggs and ricotta cheese that I don’t use in baked spaghetti. Some hot rolls will to it off.

Joy