My Pandemic Diary, Entry #20

Hello Fellow City Cooks,

It’s Easter Sunday and I’m sending happy Easter wishes to everyone. 

Mark and I were out this morning on our walk and the park was far more active than it has been, although it certainly wasn’t crowded. We just weren’t mostly alone as we have been on prior walks.  Maybe it was because it’s a holiday, or maybe because it was a lovely morning and tomorrow, we’re due for a seriously rainy day so folks were getting their sunshine while they could. In any case, we had more company than usual which was rather nice. Not everyone wore a mask but everyone kept their distance. 

At one point we saw a family taking a self-portrait. I wouldn’t call it a selfie because they had a real camera set up on a tripod near a small field of orange tulips. There was a young mother, two little girls who were maybe two and three years old, and a man close in age to the mother who I assume was the dad. Everyone was dressed in what used to be called their Sunday best. The little girls were in pretty pink and white dresses and each held a stuffed bunny. The father wore a suit and tie. And as we stood and watched this tableau, the mother took off a winter weary puffy coat to reveal a beautiful marigold yellow dress. As the father wrangled his daughters, the mom set the camera, tucking into the tripod a third little stuffed bunny, as if to be a focal point for her girls’ attention. Then the four of them stood together, smiled, and captured this portrait of normalcy on a gorgeous Easter Sunday morning. 

I could imagine this photo soon arriving in the email inboxes of grandparents and aunts and uncles and I hope that for all of them, and for this mom, dad, and daughters, this image will forever be the way they will remember this time. I know that just watching them made my day more joyous and hopeful, which for me is what Easter should do for us all.

Cooking and Groceries

No traditional Easter dinner for us today.  We will have a piece of salmon I bought yesterday and a cup of minestrone soup. I’m going to pretend that it is baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and a cup of crème of asparagus soup, finished with a slice of lemon tart sprinkled with a handful of blueberries. 

Stay safe and have a nice dinner.

Kate McDonough