I suppose the biggest news from Ingrid and me is that, finally, after twenty-something years of promising ourselves, we have "done" a Marriage Encounter Weekend. This is a weekend for married couples who wish to enrich (rather than repair) their marriage relationship. In addition to using a cash gift that the kids had given to us last year, Ingrid and I gave this to each other as an anniversary gift - our anniversary was in the middle of February and the weekend was about a month later. We went off straight after work on the Friday and came back home "encountered" on Sunday evening. It truly was a remarkable weekend for us and worth every minute and every cent that we felt led to donate. Apart from telling each other a few things that were long overdue, we've identified some ruts to get the wheels out of, and some gaps which we are both eager to close up. There's no doubt this marks the beginning of a new period in our relationship and I'm looking forward to the rest of our life together.
Easter weekend was all that it was supposed to be from my point point of view. Good Friday, but not Easter Monday, is a public holiday in Canada.
I took Thursday to Monday off from work and am very glad I did. On Thursday I fixed two chairs that Ingrid has been going on at me about, leaving me feeling very virtuous. In the evening we had our family Passover Meal which we have every year on the Wednesday or Thursday before Good Friday. As in previous years, we split the ceremony to go to church before eating the meal. We use a little paperback book by Joan Lipis. Good Friday was a quiet day at home other than the Good Friday service. Saturday night we went to the Easter Vigil service at our church. It began outside with a service of light around a bonfire with the Easter Candle. I have often experienced wind and rain during this part of the liturgy, but having some serious snow blowing on and around us was a first for me.
On Sunday morning Miriam joined us for family brunch which has become a McCann tradition on Easter Sunday. Before sitting down to eat I hid about 80 small easter eggs outside in the garden. While chatting at the table after the meal I noticed a bluejay nosing around in a flower box where a couple of the Easter eggs were hidden so we decided we had better begin the treasure hunt. 
After we had totalled up we worked out that 40 eggs had been "stolen" from our loot. I believe that the culprits were a combination of blue jays, squirrels and, especially, a flock of Brewers blackbirds. Here is a picture that I took of them foraging in our back yard. 
I cannot believe that they actually ate all that chocolate - it must be stashed somewhere. The other picture is Miriam and Judith foraging for Easter eggs in the front garden. Just for good measure I have added a picture of two Easter bunnies in our back yard taken last week.Quick Roundup
Sean, at home with us, has changed his job and is now working for Cachet Restaurant in Newmarket which means that he does not have to travel so far. It also promises him new experience in catering when that side of the business launches in a couple of months time.
Stephen, 300km away in Kingston, is finishing off some varsity projects and getting ready for exams.
Mark... Yes. Well, I have difficulty convincing myself that he is actually working over there in Holland. Right now two of Luisa's sisters and a cousin (female) are visiting them in Breda. So does one feel sorry for Mark or envy him ?:-)
Judith is putting in a lot of energy to try and get the best marks possible for university submissions. She is hoping to go to either Queens University or University of Toronto and study something in the line of kinesiology. Some of you have been asking about her health. Her last round of tests at the end of last year were clear. She will have more tests every six months for the next five years. We'll let you know mid-year how it goes with the next lot of tests.
Sport
Cricket. Bangladesh always was a wild card team. Let's hope the Proteas get themselves back together for the rest of their World Cup matches.
Rugby. Being from Durban I'm glad to see the Sharks doing well. The bonus points system means they are currently only third on the log, even though they have more wins than the Crusaders whom they are trailing.
Hockey (Ice hockey for non-Canadians). Toronto Maple Leafs. R.I.P. Very sad. Oh well. Maybe next season?
In case you haven't heard this one
Sister Delphinia was testing the children in comparative religion class. She asked Patrick, "What is Easter?" The child replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful and stuff..." "Wrong!," replies Sister and proceeds to ask another child the same question, "Anna-Maria, What is Easter?" The second child replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and drink eggnog." Sr Delphinia looks at the second child, shakes her head in disgust, tells her she's wrong, and then peers over her glasses at the class and asks, "Can anyone tell me, What is Easter?" Ahmed smiles confidently and looks Sister Delphinia in the eyes, "I know what Easter is." "Oh?" says Sister, incredulously. "Easter is the Christian holiday, that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper. Then the Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." Sister smiles broadly with delight. Then the boy continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."
