That was an exhausting weekend. We're Ex-Catholic enough to go for grilled Italian Sausage on Good Friday, and while I had a fire going I figured I might as well roast some coffee beans, since it was going to be an exhausting weekend and fresh roasted coffee would help. I ended up with a mostly light roast, just what you need for long days and short nights. It was a night without thirteen year old, too, for the first time ever she biked to newspaper_girl's, alone. Later I had to bring stuff over as she was spending the night, we still don't have our Wiimotes back.

Saturday was busy, art class for eight year old in the morning, birthday party in the lockdown ward in the early afternoon, a quick run downtown to my sister's, and then back for the First Baptismation. Apparently the Church considers someone eight or older and adult (and there's a straight line), so they give you the first three Sacraments at once, baptism, First Communion and Confirmation. There were four others getting the business (another straight line) in addition to our niece, by 10 at night the Baptisms were done, since we had an hour and a half ride ahead of us, we snuck out, we figured they still had an hour to go for the other Sacraments. It was refreshing to attend a Mass that wasn't a funeral Mass. As it was, it only took an hour and ten minutes, a steady 75 with bursts of 80 really eats up the Thruway. Good old Windsor iron.

Easter was pretty good, the weather was great, the food was good, my dad and I and the oldest bonded over car repairs, and we even watched a movie.

My parents picked the girls up early, so we had a little time to ourselves, not that we did much but veg on the couch. Then off to my parents for ham and chocolate. After dinner my dad helped me with the minivan, the driver's side sliding door was sticking. It turns out there is a third latch on the driver's side (it isn't on the passenger side), in addition to one in the front and one in the back. The moving part wasn't easily releasing, and it was held on with rivets. The bolt part was on the door, and held on with T20 bolts, so I took it off, problem fixed. Just don't lean on the door at highway speeds.

We played some flying discs, the eight year old and I rode bikes around the block, we walked to Rite Aid and CVS looking for real Frisbees, then we gathered around the TV to watch the heartwarming family movie "Little Miss Sunshine". Really, cut half of Arkin's dialogue, the drugs and the magazines and it's close to PG.

More Frisbee at home, and then we all went to bed early.

In book review news, The Fifties I picked up Halberstam's The Fifties from the discard pile at the local library branch, it's a big thick encylopediac book about the 1950's, from an American perspective. There isn't really an overall theme, just short chapters about the people who made big changes in the America, starting in the 50's. Ike gets mentioned in a bunch of chapters, Elvis gets one chapter. Some are about things I was unaware of, the Korvette's discount chain. GM gets a bunch of chapters too, Halberstam thinks they started going downhill in the 50's when the financial guys took over from the engineering guys, and stock price become more important than car quality. It was an easy, engrossing read.

My wife made split pea and Easter Ham soup for dinner last night, we gave the big ham bone to our dog, he was in Heaven for half an hour, working that bone.

The soup could have cooked another hour, parts of the peas were a little undercooked. I had too much, and for the rest of the night as the peas expanded in my belly, felt like I was going to blow up. I figured it was a good excuse to stay up until 11, watching the "Road to Mandalay" episode of "Victory at Sea". I was a little put off by the lack of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in it.

Nothing planned for the weekend, though I'd really, really like a few hours with my bike.