Happy Easter Weekend

On Easter Sunday we again celebrate hope, optimism and human perseverance. It's been quite a year, but we're still here to forge ahead.

Speaking of which, Notre Dame Cathedral's famous rose window was saved following Monday's fire. And thankfully, much of the iconic stained glass windows, art and relics are safe too! Some of these irreplaceable articles date back to the 13th century.

Let's jump back a little further in time ... do you recognize this man? 

 Photo: TwentyTwoWords.com

If a history buff, you might. He looks more Middle Eastern than how centuries of Western paintings, films and television series depict him.

The Jesus of Nazareth 1977 television movie

I grew up with the image of blue-eyed, hunky actor, Robert Powell as Jesus. (Va-va-room, I believe!🙂) However, theologians who study history say the real Jesus Christ looked more like the first image above. As a Galilean, his skin was dark, his beard (if he had one. Jews in Antiquity often didn't) and hair were coarse and cut short; and it is likely: Jesus was not long and lean, but shorter in stature. Does it matter to believers that the real Christ looked so different than how we in the West were conditioned to see him?

Enjoy this lovely holiday with family and friends. It's Passover weekend also for those who celebrate. A weekend to relax and spend in a positive way ... Muslim, Jew, Christian, or something else. Let's put Christ back into Christians and commit to treating everybody with love and respect. Strive for fairness and humanity for all. I'm pretty sure, we'll fall short sometimes, but we will hit the mark often if always striving!!!

On this Easter Sunday eat the chocolate!🍬

Happy Easter!

 - The Chi Rho is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" = Christ.

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Photo: The altar of Westminister Abbey, London England 

Once again we celebrate hope, optimism, and human perseverance. 

A belief that ultimate good can overcome challenges, evil, and the limitations of life. Existence is layered and multifaceted. There will be trails, and yet everything has an opposite. Up - down, hot - cold, bad - good, despair - hope. Death - eternal life? It's a leap of faith.

Photo: Trading News

We also celebrate all the goodness life has to offer both in nature and manmade ... from flowers (nature) and colored eggs (art!) to human kindness (generosity of spirit).

Photo: David Attenborough's Facebook post.

Every year there's a new cycle of life. Welcome to the world little lamb. My lovely Readers make the most of your time here on earth!

🐣🐇🌷

A flashback photo of my mom and me on Easter Sunday. Dad was taking the picture. Unlike Christmas or Thanksgiving, it was the one holiday we sometimes treated ourselves to eating out and after our dinner hobnobbing around town.

Happy Easter from THE SAVVY SHOPPER!🐥

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Happy Easter, dear readers! 

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It's Easter Sunday

The custom of giving eggs began as a pagan practice, but was adopted by early Christians.  Easter eggs are used as symbols of new life, the arrival of spring and the resurrection of Jesus.  Plus, kids love dyeing them.

Michelangelo's Pieta, which depicts the body of Jesus on his mother's lap after the Crucifixion, is poignant, equally human and divine.  Easter remembers this, but more importantly, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus -- a miracle in the Christian faith -- showing how it is possible for good to conquer evil and life to overcome death.

Happy Easter Everyone!  Enjoy your Easter egg hunt, basket of treats and family dinner. And take a moment to remember ...

Life is good.

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Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio

Leave it to one of my favorite Baroque painters, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) to depict a resurrected, incognito, very human Jesus eating a meal in the town of Emmaus with his clueless disciples who fail to recognize him ... until they do. Then Christ vanishes. (Khan Academy analysis here of the painting).

Once again we celebrate hope, optimism, and human perseverance in a flawed, limited, and sometimes challenging world. But, spring is here -- days are getting longer and warmer, and life is good.✝️🐣

Happy Easter! 

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Photo: Patch

 It's Holy Week on the Christian calendar, a time to remember it takes hope and perseverance to overcome the expected and unexpected challenges in our Journey of Life. 

Photo: Country Living

Equally important to note: Life is meant to be lived -- happy, enjoyed and purposeful, so try to reach out where and when you can to make a connection and difference in someone else's life.

Photo: recordonline

Be kind! Embrace the spring ... your family and friends ... your unique talents and interests ... you be you!

Photo: Istock - Getty

Value a pretty table setting and a good meal; and don't forget the chocolate bunny!

How lovely and apropos to the season is the sentiment of Phillip Phillip's song, Home -- and just to be clear: On this earth it's meant to be a message from human to human.  Below are my favorite lines: 

''Settle down, it'll all be clear

Don't pay no mind to the demons

They fill you with fear

The trouble - it might drag you down

If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone

'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home ''

Hope and human perseverance! Happy Easter, Friends!🌷

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Greeting cards by Papyrus

Recently my mom said, "Now that everyone carries a phone everywhere, you can't get ahold of anyone!!!  Years ago when you called someone at home, a child ... or someone answered the phone and it lead to a conversation!"  

Imagine that.  You didn't need to text, email, or tweet a "friend," nor wait for a typed reply.  No peck, peck, pecking ever.Goodness, I know we can't live in the past, but let's keep it simple ... and meaningful.

Personally, I'd rather have one telephone call in lieu of 50 text messages, a face-to-face chat over 100 emails and a handwritten card instead of a column of electronic greetings.  To tell you the truth, sometimes I don't even open electronic greetings.  But I would never leave a handwritten card unopened, plus I save cards with heartfelt notes.  They become memories.

Several years ago, an elderly neighbor sent me an Easter card that I still have.  She said, when my parents first moved next door to her, she watched my dad carry me outside in a snowsuit to show me the falling snow.  She wished me a Happy Easter and told me to enjoy the Spring ... then passed away a short time later.  I'm glad she took the time to write and reminisce, and she inspired me by her example.  It's quite nice getting an Easter card.

Papyrus has unique and beautiful selections of stationery and greeting cards for all occasions. Expect to find rich paper with glitter and foil at reasonable prices. If you hit a sale, you can get a box of expensive cards for under $5.  It's always a good time to let someone know you care. (My Papyus Christmas cards are bought and on hold.)

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Photos: Deviled Eggs courtesy of Food and Wine and Butter Cookies by Debra Turner

On the left are classic deviled eggs topped with paprika (plus I added freshly ground nutmeg).

On the right are my (baked this morning!) butter cookies.  We can taste vanilla, butter and a hint of pecans in every bite.  Into a recipe for butter cookies, I threw in a cup of ground, uncooked oatmeal and about 1/3 cup of pulverized pecans.  [Note: I reduce the butter to ½ cup (1 stick) and the sugar to ¾ cup.]  So tasty, there's no need for frosting.  A chocolate chip eye is the perfect finish.  We served the more perfect-shaped bunnies to guests.  From the same batch, I made some star-and-heart-cookies for an after Easter tea party.  Those I can decorate with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Butter Vanilla Cookies - ingredients you'll need:

1 cup butter, softened 

1 cup sugar 

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk 

1 tablespoon vanilla 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Go here to continue -- it's what I did. :)

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The Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1650, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain - Images 1 and 2 by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Some people get upset if the historical accuracy of Jesus' birth is questioned, but when the Gospels were written, the people they were written for had a different sensibility and way of reading texts than we do today. Gospel writers crafted their stories to make points about who they thought Jesus was [to paraphrase Matt Baker, Ph.D. in theology]. Modern scholars tell us that fact-for-fact-accuracy or historical record was secondary, which was accepted by the audience, who didn't expect factual reliability. This can rattle some contemporary believers who do.

Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618 - 1682) was a Baroque Spanish painter. Orphaned at 11 years old, the artist became a ward of his older sister and brother-in-law, in a close-net family, and lived with them until he married in 1647. The painter, famous for his religious work, also painted everyday life giving us an insight into the 17th century. He was the father of 10 children. 

The Holy Family, c.1660-70, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Murillo created warm images of Mary and Joseph playing with their happy baby, the man Catholics proclaim as fully human and fully Devine (a hypostatic union in the incarnation). The painter left us with depictions of the Holy Family as a close-net loving unit. St. Joseph is an appealing devoted father.😍

Here's a Victorian drawing of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and 5 of their 9 children surrounding their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle where the royal family celebrated Christmas. Prince Albert was also known to be a loving, involved father, adored by his children. The Prince Consort popularized Christmas trees in Great Britain, a tradition he brought from his native Germany. Unlike Prince Albert, Queen Victoria was not a natural parent, but she was a mother who loved her children and they loved her. She put a ton of time into raising them, and they grew into 9 decent adults. Let's look at one of the royal couple's homes ...

The 2022 Christmas trees are up at Osborne on the Isle of Wight which Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought as a private home in 1845 to get away with their brood from court life. Queen Victoria used Osborne House for 50 years to entertain family, foreign royals (many were also family), as well as, government ministers. After Prince Albert's early death in 1861, it became her favorite home. Her son, King Edward VII, wasn't as fond of it (as it was far from London) and after his mother's death, donated the Osborne estate to the British people. It is open to the public for tours, giving us a glimpse into the private lives of Queen Victoria and her family.

Another longtime Christmas tradition is (of course!) baking cookies. My family bakes the same cookies every year and I posted some of the recipes previously. Pictured above you see (in order): Pecan cookies👇, Russian Tea Cakes, Coconut Macrarooms, and Scottish Short Bread. Other varieties of cookies are scattered throughout THE SAVVY SHOPPER. My mother always requests that I make Mini Pecan Tassies and she always makes butter cookies at Christmas and Easter. Golly, decorating cookies after pulling them from the oven is not my thing! Starting over is a hassle!! Eating is my next step (which now you know is the reason I bake Scottish Short Bread instead of butter/sugar cookies.:) 

(Here is our recipe for) Pecan Cookies 🐫

Ingredients:

20 ounces ground pecans
4 large egg yolks
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (you decide how sweet)
a sprinkle of cinnamon

Optional: A little flour for your hands to help form the cookies.

Directions:

1) Using a fork mix the ingredients in a bowl.

2) Dip your hands in all-purpose flour to help form the cookies and drop in a parchment paper lined, or greased cookie sheet. If your cookie dough is too wet to handle, just add additional ground nuts (a tad more sugar for the addition) until you can handle the cookie dough.

3) Bake for 10 - 12 minutes in a preheated 350-degree F oven and remove to cool.

We always make pecan cookies and coconut macaroons at the same time since the former requires egg yolks while the latter, egg whites.

Photo: Macy's

My Dear Readers ... thank you for spending another year with me, and I welcome you who joined us recently. Here we're one global human family sharing our collective knowledge, humor, interests, tips, and holidays with acceptance of all cultures. I can't do it alone, so bring your uniqueness! Everybody is valued on THE SAVVY SHOPPER, and I love hearing from you!🌍🌎🌏 

May the Spirit of Christmas find you!🎄

xoxo💋

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It's An Upper East Side Halloween

Date night!

Let's take a tour of my Manhattan neighborhood. Lots of Upper East Siders are keen for Fright Night to began.

Some are flying high solo while others are suspended with like-minded fends, um friends. 

Every undead body is putting his, or her best face, or sheet forward.

    

Dangling, crawling and hanging out until dark. Just biding the day howling!

Dressed to kill, um party and rehearsing a few new skills like levitating. Practice makes perfect!

Killing um passing time at home ... and marking the way for tonight's prey, um trick-or-treaters.

Getting one's party face on to greet and let early arrivals inside.

Putting all the heads together, the old and new. How naughty to start eating Halloween treats before everyone arrives!

   

Remembering an ancient spell: "Eye of Newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog." Hmm, where did the tongue go? It was near one of the heads a second ago!

But mostly just counting down the hours and resting one's bones: "Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones."

 

Chillin' on a fence until the fun begins. Won't you came a little closer!?!

Happy Halloween from Gotham City!🎃👻



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