Happy Easter 2011

Did you know that there is no Easter Bunny in Italy?

And no tradition of painted eggs or Easter egg hunts?

Italian children get these giant chocolate eggs from friends and family and the first thing they do is break them into pieces...not because they're naughty...but because there is a surprise toy hidden inside!

Of course, for me it wouldn't be Easter without an Easter bunny and painted eggs, so, as with all the major holidays my family has combined customs. We paint eggs (like the ones above) and the Easter Bunny hides them in the night so the boys can find them in the morning. He kindly, and multiculturally, also brings them each a large Italian-style chocolate egg. So, everyone's happy.

Hope you and your loved ones had a lovely day!

Easter gift

I'm back! Our changeover from one internet provider to another was not painless...two weeks with no internet connection at all...but we are back on-line!

And I have a surprise for you...Blackie had kittens! Five kittens! She gave birth in the field just past our garden wall on Easter Sunday. We brought the whole family into the yard and have created a private room for them inside our backyard bar.
I had my doubts about who the father was going to turn out to be. Tigro had broken his leg shortly before Blackie went into heat... And there was an orange intruder hanging out rather too assiduously during that period...
But the birth of 4 black and one tiger-striped kittens has cleared up all questions of paternity!

What a cute family!