Happy Bunny-Day

Easter Sunday I bunny-hopped over to Napa for Sunday brunch with the whole of the Smolinski/Wilson family at Tante (Aunt) Judy’s.
Almost everyone was there, including Hans & his caretaker, Barbara, her sister Suzi and her boyfriend Bob O., their cousin Sharon, her husband Randy (the Daddy), big sister Sarah and little sister Anna. That pretty pair only call each other ‘sister’ which always charms me to bits.

When we arrived, the kids had already passed a busy morning searching for like a zillion hidden Easter Eggs. Sad to report, one egg is remains MIA – thank heavens they are plastic eggs and not the hard boiled potentially smelly sort.

Hans has looked tired lately but he was up for the challenge of a large crowd and there was no 'prune face' today! Judy is her family’s gourmet quality chief. The mimosa flowed & the French toast with maple syrup vanished as did any other food that dared to show its yummy self at Judy’s wisteria draped holiday table.

Besides loads of chit chat there was sport. Sarah challenged me to a Peeps War. Peeps are those fluffy marshmallow concoctions that annually haunt Easter baskets. We each chose a Peep to carry our colors into battle and then armed our Peeps with a deadly spear (toothpick). Then our confectionary warriors were put into the battle arena (microwave), set on STUN (100% nuke power). Resulting chick-type carnage in photo at below. I warn those of a sensitive nature, beware; the end result of a Peeps War is not pretty - ok, I'll grant you it's colorful, but it's not for the weak hearted.

Poofy Peep protagonists, post joust -
a glorious battle ending in a tie

Big treat, Sharon showed me around a website where I can do some genealogy work. Sharon told me that what birding is to me, that is what Genealogy is to her, i.e., her one true love. I ♥ when someone speaks any version of my language. A quick search yielding a military record of an unmarried man of 31, an alien living in Manhattan who was born in the West Indies, and who went by the name of Charles Lomax Carter. Hurrah! We found my Grandpa the database!

I find it interesting how just as I’m about to do a deep genetic roots search through the Genographic project, an ancestor should jump out at me like that. Oooo, can hardly wait to search for my paternal ancestors without even having to resort to a shovel. Thanks Sharon!