Hoppin' Into the Hodgepodge

 

Joyce asks the questions, we provide the answers. See how others answered at From this Side of the Pond.

1. Do you celebrate Easter? If so what are your plans this year? Did you have egg hunts as a kid? 

I definitely celebrate Easter. As the boys have grown, it looks a lot different than it used to. Before the big day, I'll attend the Triduum: Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday Service, then the Easter Vigil. An interesting tidbit: In the Catholic Church, the Mass doesn't end on Holy Thursday; there's not an end to it until the Easter Vigil. There will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until Midnight when Complines will be held and the Blessed Sacrament will be hidden away until the Easter Vigil (the night before Easter Sunday). I went to my first one last year and it was just incredible. I plan on going again on Thursday. Holy Thursday is also the time when 12 people from the church have their feet washed by the priest. I was chosen one year (it just happened to be my birthday), and I can't even begin to tell you how emotional it makes you. Good Friday isn't a Mass because the host used for Communion was consecrated on Thursday. At this service, we have the opportunity to kiss the feet of Jesus on the crucifix. Also, at my church, we have the live Stations of the Cross at 3:00 in the afternoon, but they are done behind a screen so it is in silhouette. Again...very powerful. Easter Vigil (the night before Easter) is when people who want to enter into communion with the Church (i.e., become Catholic) are administered the Sacraments to become Catholic. It's an extremely long Mass (around 2.5 hours) but the time goes by quickly and it doesn't seem that long. It is an amazingly beautiful Mass...in my opinion, the most beautiful of the year.

So, now that you've had a lesson, the Catholic Church doesn't just celebrate Easter 1 day; it's a whole season! :) The Easter Season lasts for 50 days, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost!  For Easter Sunday we will invite YS & his GF over (MS is still living with us and OS lives out of town) for dinner. If YS has to work, GF may come on her own. I'll probably go to Mass again with CH & MS (as long as CH feels up to it) then take the rest of the day to relax.

When I was little, we didn't have egg hunts. We had  AN egg hunt for the Alleluia egg. Since there were 10 of us, we were divided up into older & younger. I don't remember ever finding it.

2. What's your favorite bread to find in a bread basket? 

Having just vacationed in Ireland, I have to say Irish Brown Soda Bread. My SIL sent a recipe that a B&B owner in Northern Ireland gave her & I tried it out. Not exactly the same but pretty close. Delicious!

3. Your favorite chick flick? 

This time of year it has to be Steel Magnolias. It depends on the time of year as to my answer.  I wrote a blog post 11 years ago outlining my favorite movies to watch on different holidays. 

4. Tax day is rapidly approaching in the US of A...what's something you currently find 'taxing'? 

Having to work? Not being able to live in Ireland?

5. Have you ever ridden in a taxi? Do you have a funny-scary-crazy-interesting taxi story to share? Do you use any of the newer taxi-like services such as Uber? 

Yes, I've ridden in taxis. I don't have an interesting taxi story, but I have an incredibly scary Uber story. 2 friends & I took an Uber in Nashville; 1 of the friends lives in Nashville. The driver was taking us through some questionable parts of town so my friend was commenting on the areas so the driver would know she knew where we were. Shortly after getting in, there was an alarm going off; the driver said it was her glucose monitor. I asked if she needed to do something and she said no. Later, she attempted to go up a ramp onto a busy parkway, realized she was getting onto Briley Parkway, and turned around going the wrong way. My Nashville friend reported the driver and recouped the fare. It was just crazy. I think we should have known better to get in the car when we saw tape over what appeared to be bullet holes in the window.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I've started a series of posts about our trip to Ireland, but what I haven't said (yet) is that I'm also doing some posts about camping in Ireland on our Flyin' the Coop blog. This was such an amazing trip; I'm really glad CH suggested a campervan and followed through with the plan. It was the perfect way to see Ireland without getting into "touristy" places.