Easter Miracle

First of all, I want to wish everyone a happy Passover and a Happy Easter!

It works, it works!  Well, sort of.  

I love to bring deviled eggs (especially when I'm invited to Easter dinner at a friend's house) and make egg salad.  But peeling hard boiled eggs is a pain in the neck.  So when I saw a video on FaceBook, making it look simple and fast, I had to try it.

You take your cooled hard boiled egg and put it into a glass. Cover the egg with water and shake it like crazy.  In the video, they use a short glass.  Uh uh.  You need to use a tall drinking glass, put your hand over the open end and shake like crazy -- over the sink.  The shell did not come off in one piece as in the video, but it was darned close! Hooray! It was so quick, I'm thinking of cooking another dozen eggs ...

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I was shocked to hear that 4 panels (20 inches by 30 inches) with poems on them would cost over $350 to pack and ship to Japan -- via UPS.  I will be packing them up myself and bringing them to the Post Office tomorrow.  The mailing rate is about $125.  These are gifts for our Sister City Library in Kanegasaki, Japan.

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I have had the privilege of inventorying Julius Lester's papers.  There are 60 boxes (each with many manila folders inside bearing the name of the correspondent) and I have completed 25.  I can "do" about 3 to 4 an hour, depending on the contents.  I was incredibly excited to see a "raw interview transcript."  It was an interview with James Baldwin!

When I told Emily that yesterday, she had no idea who James Baldwin was.  So, for those of you in the same situation, here is an excerpt from Biography.com:

Born on August 2, 1924, in New York City, James Baldwin published the 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, going on to garner acclaim for his insights on race, spirituality and humanity. Other novels included Giovanni's Room,Another Country and Just Above My Head as well as essay works like Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time. Having lived in France, he died on December 1, 1987 in Saint-Paul de Vence.

We will be honoring Julius Lester (and Pat and Peter Schneider of Amherst Writers and Artists) on April 16th at the second annual Sammy Awards. A bit about Julius from Wikipedia:

In 1971 he began teaching in the Afro-American Studies department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He remained in that department until 1988 when he became a member of the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies department, where he remained until his retirement at the end of 2003.

The Library is in the process of acquiring Julius' first book, which he co-wrote with Pete Seeger.

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I am considering planting snow peas. It was about 35 degrees this morning (it has warmed up to 40 degrees with a wind), and I am told they can withstand these temperatures. My problem is that in the past, any tender young seedlings that appear in my garden are the spring buffet for the critters.  I don't know if it's the rabbits, deer, raccoons, or what, but I don't have a good survival rate.  Yeah, I know, get a fence.  I don't want  fence.  But come to think of it, maybe that plastic mesh to keep birds off berry bushes would work.  I'll have to think about it.

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I have purple crocus in bloom in the front yard! It's south facing and I really ought to plant more spring stuff, but I haven't done anything of note there lately.  Maybe this will be the year.

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I have CBS' Sunday Morning on in the background and they are airing a 1993 interview that Bill Geist did with a fellow who has erected 1800 plus 25 foot crosses.  He started in West Virginia where he lived and went over many states.  This fellow had used all of his money (over $3 Million) and made an appeal.  It turns out, Bernard Coffindecker died two days before the story aired.  But others have donated money and have continued with "The Cross Ministry," putting up many more 25 foot crosses.

Bernard said the Holy Spirit had told him to do this (put up the crosses) after he had had surgery.  I find it interesting because many people consider the cross an instrument of torture, which it was.  It has, however, become a Christian symbol which inspires some and comforts others.

On another note, I am really happy that they are airing vintage interviews, especially by Bill Geist. I have long admired his work and sense of humor and it has become obvious that his Parkinson's disease is progressing.  So I'm glad for his "light duty."  You go, Guy!

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I love artists.  Listen to this conversation I had with an artist who was preparing for her opening, hanging paintings.

Artist:  It's unbearably hot in the gallery.  My guests will flee from the opening tomorrow.  It's just pumping out heat.

Me: You could open the windows. Unfortunately, the heat is either on or it's off.

Artist: But it's pumping out heat!

Me: Is there a heating unit like this? (I point to one in the office).

Artist: Yes, but it's not working.

Me: How is it pumping out heat then?

Artist: There's another one.

Me: Find a door like this. (I open a little trap door and there's just a pipe.)  Find the one that has a switch.  (I move over to the other side of the unit and show her the fan switch.)  Shut off the fan.

Artist: Will that stop the heat from pumping out?

Me:  It will stop the fan.

Artist: Will that stop the heat from coming out?

Me: You would have to put your hand over it to see if the heat is still coming out.  And, you can open the windows.

Lukily, she left.  Later on, I popped my head in the Gallery and the temperature was fine.  She thanked me for the "tips."

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My new addiction on Amazon Prime is "Justified."  It's a modern day tale about a US Marshal, Raylen Givens.  He has a propensity for shooting people and getting into fist fights.  At one point, his ex wife says to him, 'Aren't you a little old to be fighting?'  And he says, 'I'm too old to get my ass kicked.'  And he had too.  Two guys were beating the crap out of him.  Unfortunately, he's "all better" too soon.  I wish he had felt the effects longer.

Too many young people watch these kinds of things on TV and they think they can beat the crap out of other kids and they will be fine the next day.  They don't understand that for the level of violence that was shown, the hero should have had a broken jaw needing wiring, a concussion causing double vision, and repair of a broken nose.

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I've got a selection of different sized rings to put onto my Shopkat pendant.  When it's ready, I'll post a picture. I'm going to make another cuppa (tea).  It's a tea day for some reason.