Easter: Bunnies, Babies, and Patent Leather

April 11, 2014

Easter: Bunnies, Babies, and Patent Leather

With my new grand daughter on April 8, 1014
Isn’t she a doll baby? (Details in the blog post below.)

Easter was always the high water mark for spring in my early years in Iowa. Not only did it mean that the frigid snow had melted away with warmer weather ahead, and that the world was in bloom, filled with glorious color, including flowers of my favorite blue-purple (periwinkle) variety, but it was the stuff of my little girl dreams. It meant that deliciously, luscious chocolate would be found in my Sunday morning Easter basket, and that I would be outfitted in a NEW Easter ensemble, complete with shiny, black patent leather (…still a favorite of mine!) purse and matching shoes to wear to church that Easter Sunday.

My younger sister, Cheryl, and I pose for an Easter photo in 1969.
Check out the shiny patent leather handbags and my groovy matching shoes

Holidays are memory makers, and Easter is no exception. In addition to cultivating my love of patent leather, another one of my favorite early Easter memories, is my Grandma Westphal’s Easter cupcakes. I always looked forward to the sight of those “Easter basket” frosted cupcakes sprinkled with green tinted coconut, jelly bean “eggs”, a yellow pom pom chick, and topped with an arched pipe cleaner as a basket handle. As we had our own children, we created our own Easter memories, filled with Easter outfits, Easter church services celebrating Christ’s resurrection, Easter Egg hunts, and Easter gifts, including a real white bunny, quickly named Fluffy, for our son Spencer.

(I would love for you to, please, share in the comments section at the bottom, for everyone to read, your favorite Easter memory!)

Easter 1996 in Texas with our four children, Spencer is holding Fluffy Bunny

One favorite video that we played each year at Easter, when my four kiddies were young was the 1974“It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown”. The sight of Snoopy cavorting with the local bunnies and delivering Easter eggs made for a smile-inducing 26 minutes.

Snoopy and his bunny pals in “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown”

What is it about hulking grown men decked out in bunny costumes that I find so hysterical? Two particular bunny images come to mind.

The first image that lurks in the Easter archives of my mind is in the 1970 episode of Bonanza-Caution: Easter Bunny Crossing, and features 300 pound Hoss (Dan Blocker) in a white bunny suit!

Hoss (Dan Blocker) as a reluctant Easter Bunny on “Bonanza”

To watch this fun episode, click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO6ypCIBSTc

The second memorable bunny suit image in my mind is of John Wayne, yes THAT John Wayne, dressed in a fluffy pinkish bunny suit. He wore this costume on a 1969 show of that hip show, Sock It To Me, “Laugh-In”! Somehow, Wayne’s tough cowboy image is hard to align, in my head, with the cowboy image shown below. :o)

John Wayne adorned in bunny gear

John Wayne in one of my favorite movies, “McLintock”

Another cowboy, who will always be entrenched in Easter lore, is the actor and singer Gene Autry. The “singing cowboy’s” popular 1950 hit “Here comes Peter Cottontail” is still heard today during the Easter season. (Autry also sang “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and “Here Comes Santa Claus” to great success.)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Autry

Cowboy Gene Autry sings “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”
To hear this Easter hit, click on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XQLypAGqTc

To listen to a fun “Bunny Rap” click here.

Easter is a celebration of new life, at springtime, when all is anew, as green grass begins to show itself, plants bud and begin to bloom, and nature’s creatures prepare for their new offspring. This year, on April 7, this Easter season has brought a new little life into Dale’s and my world, our first grandchild! It goes without saying, that she is gorgeous! Spencer (Penny) Marie came into the world at 9 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches long. The proud parents, Spencer (our son) and Cayce, are doing fine.

Dale and I are extremely proud grandparents!

In honor of Easter, I would like to share with you four wonderful Easter printables (to put in a frame, magnet to the fridge, or post on a bulletin board), and one craft, that some very talented, fellow, bloggers have so generously allowed me to share with you. Just click on the link below the printable that you wish to print out, or for the craft directions, and it will take you to the blogger’s site.

http://www.lepapierstudio.com/blog/2011/03/free-printable-tea-time-silhouette.html