Happy Easter

 RHYS BOWEN:  It's Easter Sunday so I'm keeping this brief today as I'm sure many of you are going to brunch or church or to relatives. In England we nevre made a big thing of Easter. We were bought a couple of chocolate eggs. We went to church. One thing I remember is that we always dressed nicely in summery outfits only to find the inside of the church was frigid. 

But when I was growing up there was no Easter Bunny, no Easter egg hunt. One Easter I was staying with my parents when my older children were 2 and 4. I gave them an Easter egg hunt on the back lawn. I remember the neighbors staring out of their window as flung eggs all over the garden. I thought I'd gone mad. 

The one tradition I created with my own kids was to give each of them an Easter basket and to hide them. Each child got a trail of clues to lead them to their basket. Each clue was a rhyming couplet:

Where birds make nests look up and see

A clue awaits you in a ....."

Tree, they'd shout and off they'd run. I had four kids, about six clues each. That's twenty four rhyming couplets to be written and hidden around the house before six on Easter morning. The interesting thing is that the tradition has continued to my grand kids. Lizzie and Meghan wanted their baskets with clues until they were in college! I wonder if it will go on to the next generation?

So what Easter traditions do you have? And for my Jewish friends I hope you've had a blessed Passover. 

Does Anyone Spring Clean?

INGRID THOFT

Yesterday I got an email from my utilities provider asking me to volunteer as part of a spring cleaning project during which citizens pick up trash, paint over graffiti, and perform other tasks in an effort to beautify our urban neighborhood.  So clearly, the city of Seattle still does their own version of spring cleaning, but does anyone else?

The origins of spring cleaning are open to debate, but according to Wikipedia, the Persian New Year, known as Iranian Norouz, may be one of the earliest iterations.  On the first day of spring, Iranians would do a full house cleaning.

But like many widely-adopted practices, the origins are not quite clear.  Some claim that spring cleaning is a Jewish custom that is practiced in the run up to Passover.  The Chinese have also been cited as the founders of spring cleaning, to dispel bad luck from their homes.  Even the Catholic Church is in the running with the practice of thoroughly cleaning the altar on Maundy Thursday.

But perhaps the rationale isn’t grounded in history or religion, but rather, weather.  In climates that experience distinct seasons, spring offers the chance to throw open the doors and windows and let fresh air circulate through spaces that have been securely closed for months on end.  In decades past in the United States and other countries, women were raised to do a thorough spring cleaning of their homes.  This included shaking out rugs, taking down drapes and cleaning them, and washing the windows both inside and out.


As I look around my own home, there are some areas that could use a once-over: high shelves with decorative items that haven’t seen a dust cloth in quite some time; a mattress that should be rotated; a closet that could use a clean-out.  The place I should really focus my attention, however, is the rented storage unit my husband and I leased when we moved to Seattle almost ten years ago.  Just typing that makes me realize we probably don’t need the contents anymore.  After all, how often have we fetched things from it since we got to town? Infrequently, that's how often.

Maybe I’ll drag the hubby down there in the coming weeks or maybe I’ll adopt Amelia Bedelia’s approach to spring cleaning.  When asked to draw the drapes, she did just that, with her sketch pad and pencil.  She dusted the furniture with a light coating of powder and dressed the roast in a fetching outfit.  That sounds right to me.

What about you?  Do you spring clean like a 1950’s housewife or is Amelia’s approach more your speed?  Did your parents or religion teach you the virtue of a home cleaned top-to-bottom each spring?

The More Things Change

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Happy Spring!  Happy Passover! Happy Easter!   All the first white tulips are out in our garden--and for maybe the tenth year in a row, the ducks have returned to visit our back yard pool. It's always so reassuring to see them. And all of it is such a nice reminder that some things stay the same as other things change.

So, things that are the same this spring: It's time for my winter coat to go to the dry cleaners. I can open the windows--and see they need to be washed. I think--is it time for bare legs? And I've already had my first iced latte!

Things that are different: My new book comes out in September..it's the lead title in the publishers fall catalog!. (Last spring at this time? I had NO idea any of this would happen. Hmm.)  I'm wondering if there's something I should be doing.  I'm 64,311 words into the new book. And I'm hoping I'm on track. (That's not different, I guess. That's a constant.)

What's the same with you this spring? What's different?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: One of the sweetest things about spring is how, even if everything in my life is the same as it was last year, it all feels fresh and new. Hanging the wash outside, listening to the songbirds in the morning, enjoying the daffodils and forsythia. What's different this year? Well, I have a junior in high school, so this spring means college trips, SAT prep, and the Prom! Will I post pictures? You bet.

HALLIE EPHRON: So I want to see the prom picture... and hear whether you go shopping with her for the dress. That was always my favorite thing about proms - finding The Dress.

Same here: Tulips in the dining room. Forsythia in the yard. Trying to figure out how to discourage a family of sparrows from nesting in the gutter over my back door. Considering changing my stance on gun control. Also already the grass already needs to be mowed. In my family that's "men's work" which all I can do is nag unless I want to do it myself. Which I do not.

What's new: Just turned in my book and I got a thumbs-up from my editor within a day; now I'm waiting for comments so I can start on the revision. I love revision but already the spectre of what to write about next is haunting me.

(HANK: And can you believe you're even THINKING about it?)

RHYS BOWEN: Of course I cheat a little with the spring thing. I've just come  back from Arizona where it has been spring for a while. But my California garden is in full flower (only what the deer won't eat) and the Pride of Madeira candles are just about to come into bloom But my son Dominic is growing veggies in big plastic tubs this year and it's fun to open the lids every morning and see how much they have grown during the night.

What's new for me? I am only a few pages from the end of my next Molly book. I have to finish it before I go to Malice at the end of the month where I will be interviewing Lee Goldberg (a truly brave undertaking!)

JAN BROGAN - My kids are home for Easter, that's what's new and wonderful here. The daffodils bloomed earlier than usual and my house is insanely clean, even my desktop and bulletin boards. I am working a lot in journalism, with a regular gig at the The Boston Globe, and am fifty pages into my historical. Just late last week - with the help of my writing buddy Barbara - figured out how and where all three stories within the story will mesh and mirror.  What a relief!

LUCY BURDETTE: We've been in Key West as spring sprung, where I think the changes in season are much more subtle than up north. They do have the most amazing flowers--one we marvel at is bright pink and looks like an azalea blossom on steroids or a miniature pom-pom. On the down side, they endure the spring break crowd for the middle two weeks of March, when Duval Street and the beaches fill up with sun-deprived, beer-drinking kids. Not necessarily something to look forward to, though happily, the city made it through this year without any major calamities...

Hank, can't tell you excited I am to read THE OTHER WOMAN!!

HANK: Awww. Thank you. It’s a nerve-wracking time. But it shouldn’t be, I know. Very exciting! And oh, the winner of the ARC of THE OTHER WOMAN from Thursday (chosen at random by Jonathan) is: Storyteller Mary! (Mary, contact me, okay? And I’ll send it when I’m allowed to!)

DEBORAH CROMBIE: This time last year I wished I was in England, as I do this year.  But on the upside, I'm enjoying spring at home in Texas.  We've had lots of much-needed rain (although we could have done without the tornadoes), the garden is lush and emerald green and the roses are blooming like crazy.  Looking forward to friends and family coming over for Easter brunch tomorrow, although I wish I could say my house was as clean as Jan's!

I wish I could say I'd finished my book, but I've made great progress the last few weeks, so here's crossing fingers.

HANK: So how about you. dear Reds readers? What's the same--and what's different this spring?