WHITE EASTER IN GOLDEN!

This is the first Easter our family has not shared in an easter egg hunt at Diamond Beach. Like everyone else, we have battened down the hatches and even stayed in our separate homes for the duration of the coronavirus. I spent the first few weeks in Austin, with grandbabies there, before driving up to Golden Colorado to stay with grandson Bo and family there. I had to drive, as my kids wouldn’t hear of me getting on a plane, even coated in sanitizer, armed with antiseptic wipes, and wrapped in a face mask:) I was rewarded with the first white Easter in all my years of existence. We woke this morning to enormous flakes piling up in the trees, on the sidewalks, fences, and surrounding mountains. It was magical. The Easter bunny had to hop over piles of the white stuff to deliver Bo’s big Swedish egg. Ika taught us the tradition of one big egg filled little eggs and prizes. Bo was enchanted, although at 2 probably didn’t get the whole bunny rabbit thing.

Ika taught us a great deal about Swedish Easter traditions this day. She prepared the meal, insisting on doing it all herself, which was fine with Matt and I. It was a scrumptious array of sill (pickled herring), boiled potatoes, juhlberg cheese with hard breads, eggs deviled with shrimp and caviar (my personal favorite), marinated salmon, and princess cake for dessert. It was an incredibly rich variety of seafood, not surprising since Sweden is a virtual peninsula surrounded by water. I also consumed quit a bit of chocolate candy, since that was my sacrifice this Lent.

We were all stuffed beyond measure, so time to walk the neighborhood to see what a winter wonderland Golden had become. Even though the high temperature was in the low 20’s, the walk was refreshing and not a bit uncomfortable. The air is so dry compared to Galveston, the cold is easy to tolerate. I think 40 degrees in Galveston feels colder than 20 in Golden, or maybe it’s just more tolerable because of the beauty of the snow.