Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter to all my celebratory Christian readers, and to all those who just enjoy the holiday as well!

One year when my son was little, I spent the week prior to Easter blowing out eggs and dying them. Now that he's grown and away, the eggs are packed away in boxes and stored in parts unknown. If I could get my hands on them I'd photograph them for you, because even all these years later they are beautiful, with dyes both subtle and unsubtle, interesting etched patterns and rainbow effects--definitely one of my finest crafts hours (to tell the truth, I didn't have so many fine crafts hours, although there was also a gingerbread house we made that was stored in the attic and alas, eaten by small creatures--and not human ones, at that.)

Blown-out eggs are well worth the trouble, and why? Because they last. And nothing eats them. You only have to do them once, and you're all set. They are a bit fragile, but not so very.

So here's my Easter present to you (not that you couldn't find it yourself): the instructions for blowing eggs:

First, you'll need to make a tiny pin hole on each end of the egg. A pin works well, or a wooden kitchen skewer or even the tip of a sharp knife. Gently work the tip of the pin/skewer/knife in a circular motion until a tiny hole appears. Repeat on the other side. Then insert the pin or skewer (the knife will be too big here) far enough into the egg to break the yolk. Use your mouth [blow] to expel the contents of the egg.

And here is a more complex--but perhaps better--way, for those obsessive-compulsives among us.