Easter celebrations

The rest of my eco-Lent flopped badly, I'm afraid. Life has an annoying way of not stopping so that you can concentrate; in fact, it usually gets busier! However, saving the environment was always going to take more than 40 days, so at least there is more incentive now to carry on.

But for all our failures, and our fears for the future, we still need hope; and for that, there is Easter.

And we did manage to do Easter!

Here's our decorated mantelpiece: crafts by the boys, banner by me, flowers from the Co-Op and foliage from the garden.

I made a Simnel cake (11 marzipan balls for the disciples, omitting Judas), and some 'empty tomb' bread rolls (a marshmallow inside melts in the oven, leaving an empty hole - ta-daa!)

On Good Friday we did one of the Cadbury/National Trust Easter egg hunts at Calke Abbey. It focused on looking for signs of spring rather than following clues, which disappointed Toby ("an egg hunt ought to have proper answers!") but we found some beetles, admired the waterlilies, and saw a frog in the lake, which was properly exciting. And yes, there was chocolate at the end.

Saturday was the local Messy Church. Toby and Theo enjoyed colouring in a sign and hammering it on to a stake (several bent nails; fortunately no bent thumbs). They also did a 'proper' Easter egg hunt, with, yes, more chocolate at the end.

On Easter Sunday we went to church in the morning, then to the park for a picnic, and came home for a proper Sunday roast.

I should tell you that Toby was very proud to have won his school eggmobile competition. They had to build a vehicle which could carry an egg, and go the furthest when rolled down a ramp. Of course this was right up his street. His prize was - you guessed it - another chocolate egg. He said, half-jokingly, that he'd like to fill it with ice cream and put mini eggs on top, and I said, "Actually, that's not a bad idea for dessert..." so we did it!

And to work off all that chocolate, ice cream and Simnel cake, we went for a good long walk on Easter Monday, on a ridge of hills called the Roaches. It's been a beautiful weekend in all sorts of ways.

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