People have been greeting the several nice days we have had, with pure joy! It seems like winter, dull days, rain and snow, and miserable weather have been with us for a long time. Garden shops and hardware stores should be doing a booming business if good weather continues.

The season of Easter creates memories of several kinds. Regardless of the weather, young and old go forth in new clothes – to church, to Sunday School, to parties and visits to friends and relatives. It brings to my mind the horror of having to shop with three girls for new spring outfits. I was patient to a point, but when it came time to buy spring hats for each of them, I approached the shopping trip with nothing but dread. Susan was always easy. She could select about six hats she tried and had trouble choosing the most appealing. Wendy wasn’t too interested; and being the youngest, she made her choice by color, not style, and was easy to please. Laurie was next to impossible. There was never a hat made that she liked, wanted, or would try for size, unless dire threats were made at every store where we shopped. She hated hats, I hated hats, so we did have some understanding about the situation.

Back in those times, it was a necessity that females of all ages showed up for church or Sunday school in a hat. Winter hats did not prove a problem; hand knitted or warm caps from a ski shop were acceptable. But fancy spring hats were another story, and a challenge. Looking back those many years ago, I realize now that I probably never saw Laurie’s spring hat again, after Easter Sunday.

Hiding Easter goodies was the fun part of the holiday. I spent a lot of time finding good hiding places, and each year would find a couple of jelly beans or a marshmallow chicken in an undiscovered and well concealed place. After the hunt was over it was almost impossible to regulate the quantity of candy each child felt they could consume, for several days.

Easter also is a time when flowers take center stage and vendors take up their place on street corners, in front of shops, and anywhere there will be potential purchases. My desire for Easter blooms centered on pansies. I never had enough of those appealing little faces and soft velvety colors, because they may be planted in still-cool weather. They satisfy that craving of any gardener to put something in the good earth until the end of May, when other things can be safely planted anyplace.

My husband was always a practiced gift giver. One year I received for Easter a sturdy little shovel for planting in the flower garden. Another year it was two big bales of peat moss which I had been wanting, and another it was a big box of pansies. They would last much longer than a box of candy and didn’t require any calorie counting.

Springtime and Easter time also bring forth the chores required of the season: washing windows, rooting out the garden, spraying trees and shrubs, taking off the snow tires, and a really thorough job of cleaning the car to remove winter’s sand and salt. Under blue and sunny skies these seasonal jobs are not too stressful. But planting the pansies is the best job of all!

The column last week ended with words from a common proverb.

Who said, “Those who write don’t shoot and those who shoot don’t write” ?