Easter. Eggs.

Anyone familiar with cascarones?

     They're real eggshells, dyed super-saturated colors, and  filled with confetti, hecho en Mexico, and they only appear at WalMart for a few weeks before Easter.  This is the first year the package didn't feature a cartoon of one child smashing a cascarone on another child's head (which I appreciated because what else would you do with them?).  A dozen cascarones cost about $1 so I always buy 3 dozen for the stepsons to enjoy on Easter.  

     I'm not suggesting that cascarones don't cause fights and minor bruising, but I'm usually inside relaxing by the time that happens.

     A couple weeks ago, one of my hens laid a lunker egg.  Here's what was inside:

     Two, count 'em, TWO yolks!  Not that amazing but fun to see, nonetheless.  This 2-yoked egg is sitting on an Indonesian rice crepe called a hopper.  Diana sent me the recipe to try and it's very tasty but requires some planning as the batter consists of rice flour, yeast and coconut milk and must rise for 2 hours.  Good for slow-paced mornings.

     The week after the 2-yolked lunker egg appeared in the henhouse, I found a tiny follow-up egg.

     Eggs this size never have a yolk so I used my German egg blowing device to empty and save it.

     There were some other tiny eggs laid in my yard...

     This nest full of Carolina wrens didn't hang around long after hatching.  Seems like they fledged in a couple of weeks.  I checked out their nest after they were gone and it's TIGHT; very comfy and cozy.

    There used to be a dachshund in the middle of this fur.

     Lilly is feeling a little less cozy these days, after her haircut, but if I don't clipper her woolly outer coat every so often, she's a burr magnet.  

I got creative with my own grooming.

     I wish I could find the original Sally Hansen metallic polishes I was obsessed with in the early 2000's.  They had a solid metal finish whereas the current metallic polishes are more of a glitter look.  Still, I dropped $2.78 on Sally's Xtreme Wear in Celeb City and my craving is satiated.  It all started when I recently watched the movie The Counselor and I couldn't quit staring at evil Cameron Diaz's silver metal press-ons.  Sleek!

     I walked these silver toes to the post office and FINALLY requested actual stamps for a letter to Germany.

     It took forever but the result is so great!  I asked the postal employee why they don't have a program that spits out stamp combos from their existing inventory and he replied that they used to but it was discontinued.  Dang cutbacks but I'm sure that was one of the least-used programs at the USPS.

     Back at my farmlet (I'm adopting that term even though I don't earn income from my produce), I tried freezing a batch of kale for the first time.

     I only consume kale in smoothies or wilted on the stove so hopefully the texture after I thaw it won't be a problem.

     The little guava tree is covered with blossoms for the first time since I started actually caring for it.  I might have guavas this year!  I might have lots of cucumbers this summer, too, and I plan to make refrigerator pickles.  Natasha is my dill connection.  Check out her amazing dill!

     I'm going to freeze some, dry some, and plant some seeds.  

And until I can make my own pickles, I've been enjoying this dill pickle relish:

     I like the old-timey look of Mt. Olive products and they were the only company I could find in the area that produced "sour pickles" required for a friend's Oklahoma style potato salad.  This dill relish has probably been around for awhile but I've found it at last, just in time to make some Easter egg salad.