Well, this morning is Easter. We never have really celebrated it in our house. Never made a big deal. Just a nice dinner and some candy.

But this Easter will be different. We've been invited to the neighbors' house for dinner today. Pennsylvania Tami and her husband, New Jersey Joe.

Tami is, to say the least, exhausting. She's a mile a minute woman, with more energy than she knows what to do with. She's a loon, quite frankly, and she wears me out. But she's sweet and means well. She loves to laugh and have a good time. And I have to admit, I'm kind of looking forward to it(plus, thank goodness, I don't have to cook for once)

She comes from an italian family. Pennsylvania Italians? hmmmm...anyhow, so it will be quite different for me because she starts off her Easter dinner with good Sicilian Italian Fare. Stuffed shells, Sicilian sauce, meatballs, sausage and pepperoni. This is probably the last thing my gut needs, but my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Then she says they move on to the sliced ham and mashed potatoes. She says she herself never makes to the ham, because she always so full by then.

I've made an O'Hare family cheeseball for predinner snaking and Mark has made one of his themed decorated apple pies. The top is covered with carrot shaped and colored dough with a bunny head in the middle. He was going to make a peach one also, but the peaches we bought just two days ago are bad.

Tami, missing her grandkids, has decided to have a "Seek and Hide" as she calls it, for my son. It's some elaborate thing with choices to be made and clues to follow to the end prize(whatever that may be) I stood mystified, telling her I always just set out eggs for him to find. She said it was elementary education 101, be creative. She was at one time a elementary teacher...go figure. She says she's going to torture Z...laughing. She has lots of film to take pictures(can we say bored). Of course the fact that my son is 15 years old seems to have eluded her. But Z is nice enough to go along and says he doesn't mind being 7 for a day.

so now I'm off to get ready. I still have a few hours before we're to go. But I have a few things to do around here first. ummmm...good food here I come. Thank goodness I have a small stock of pain pills to get me through. I'm sure tomorrow I will pay dearly for my weakness.