Signs of Spring

Happy Easter!

Easter Bleats on the Bunny Trail Beat

Forget the Peeps, the Cadbury Creme Eggs, the foil covered chocolate eggs, the jelly beans, the chocolate bunnies. This is what's blissing out my sweet tooth today:


The cranberries and strawberries are sweet and chewy and delectable. The cherries provide a punch of tangy tartness that wake your tastebuds right up. But the blueberries? Tiny bites of sweetly earthy heaven (and I'm usually kind of "meh" when it comes to blueberries)! These are going on my next order from Mariani:


I'm hooked, I tell you. (And no, they're not paying me for these rave reviews. I'm paying them for the pleasure of purchasing their wonderful products.)
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Quote of the Day:

Nothing says He has Risen like receiving a blow 'em away PS3 game in the Easter basket.

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Easter Exchange Rates:

According to current exchange rates, one Creme Egg = one small hollow chocolate bunny, three medium-sized solid chocolate eggs = two Creme Eggs, one handful of pink and yellow jellybeans = three chocolate-marshmallow eggs. One brightly colored hard-boiled egg has no value. Don’t even try to use it on the open market.

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In case you're not up for the usual Easter ham (or lamb), here's a little cholesterol bomb that just might appeal.

(I dunno about you, but my arteries just whimpered.)

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Three love stories for you:

• Aimee and Yuriy: "Aimee Peirog married Marine Cpl. Yuriy Zmysly on a frigid Wednesday morning on the last day of fall during the worst year of their lives."
• Mr. Deal: "At the 3 pm celebration of the Passion, I saw a familiar Kelly green blazer out of the corner of my eye, during the procession to venerate the crucifix. Slowly, in measured steps, he approached the cross that the two altar boys held for the congregation to touch as they filed past. He paused, knelt, and put both hands at the base of the cross and lowered his head for a long minute. When he raised his head, tears were flowing from his eyes."
• Edgebrook Lutheran Church: "Whatever happens, the people at Edgebrook Lutheran say they will stand by the man they have long tried to help. Two weeks ago, Interim Pastor John Holm visited Deichman in jail and offered a message of healing: God has forgiven you, Holm said, and so has the church."

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Now the Green Blade Riseth

Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

In the grave they laid him, love whom men had slain,
Thinking that never he would wake again.
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green,

Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain.
Quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Thy touch can call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

Saturday Ramblings

Okay, I lied. Blame it on my Barstool Blog Son, but you've got to go here for a little "Cooking with Peeps." And, whatever you do, do not miss this link to the biggest sugar bomb of all time -- the Easter Turducken.

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If you live in Cook County, IL, I think this is great news:

Forrest Claypool is about to take the biggest risk of his political career. On Tuesday, this columnist has learned, he will declare war on his own Democratic Party and announce that he is running — as an independent — for assessor of Cook County in November against Joseph Berrios.

It takes a lot of guts to buck the Democratic party in this state. I, for one, will be voting for Claypool. He's always been a stand-up guy.

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Ear Worm of the Day:

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Speaking of good news, I let out a hearty "HUZZAH!" when I saw this news:

The co-founder of the Studio 54 nightclub in New York has purchased the Ambassador East hotel and its famous Pump Room restaurant.

Hotel investor Ian Schrager closed on the approximately $25 million deal Thursday, sources said. It amounted to a short sale -- a lender taking less for the property than it was owed.

The 285-room hotel at 1301 N. State Parkway has seen business slip the last few years. Schrager has promised to renovate the property and to restore the Pump Room to prominence.

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What ever happened to creativity? Originality? Certainly it's lacking in Hollywood if this summer's lineup is any indication. (Excepting for Dreamworks and Pixar animated movies, that is. Those are worth seeing.)

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