Celebrating Anyway
some E-musings for this uneasy Easter...
My sister C has been living through a nightmare on Oahu, Hawaii. The reliable trade winds reversed, causing a “Kona Low,” a low pressure system that has brought heavy rains and rare flooding. Conditions are improving now, but the horrible weather in Paradise IS a metaphor for any reversal of fortune, right? Everything was great—until it wasn’t.
As we approach Easter 2026, in this time of national and international crisis, I invite you, my friends, to notice the joys of humor, poetry, and song, and celebrate anyway…
COMEDY: GARY GULMAN’S FIRST SPECIAL
If you’ve been following me, you know how much I love the Gul. I just found his very first stand-up special, and wanted to share it with you…it is STELLAR.
CARTOON: FUNNY LITTLE BUNNIES
Many moons ago, Walt Disney Studios created a memorable cartoon series called Silly Symphonies. Enjoy this endearingly goofy look behind the curtain at Easter!
EASTER MUSIC…
Easter has inspired many centuries of special music. Here are: Sheridan’s interpretation of a classic hymn, a glorious Rimsky-Korsakov overture performed by an amazing youth orchestra, and a delightful movie classic—Judy Garland and Fred Astaire singing “In Your Easter Bonnet.”
POEM:
EASTER BLESSING BY DAVID WHYTE
This beautiful poem is David Whyte’s tribute to the late Irish author, theologian and philosopher John O’Donohue. O’Donohue died too young, but left a significant body of work (I highly recommend all of it—and Whyte’s work as well)…
The blessing of the morning light to you,
may it find you even in your invisible
appearances, may you be seen to have risen
from some other place you know and have known
in the darkness and that that carries all you need.
May you see what is hidden in you
as a place of hospitality and shadowed shelter,
may that hidden darkness be your gift to give,
may you hold that shadow to the light
and the silence of that shelter to the word of the light,
may you join all of your previous disappearances
with this new appearance, this new morning,
this being seen again, new and newly alive.
RECIPE: Pistachio-Masala Lamb Chops (Deb Perlman, from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
We’re having a smaller Easter dinner this year guest-wise (none of our other kids can make it), but even if it’s just the seven of us (I know, I know, but for the Seyfrieds, seven is a tiny number), we’ll have a nice fancy meal, just slightly adapted…instead of a large leg of lamb, we’re going with smaller lamb chops. But what chops these are! I love this Smitten Kitchen recipe!!
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
2 to 3 teaspoons chaat masala (garam masala will work, too)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
6 small lamb chops (3 to 4 ounces per chop)
salt, black pepper
olive oil
To make the lamb chops, start by grinding the pistachios and spices (chaat masala, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper) in a food processor in short pulses until it looks like bread crumbs. Pour the mixture onto a plate.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season lamb chops generously on both sides with salt and black pepper. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking. Coat a large saute pan generously with olive oil and set to medium-high heat. Don’t let the oil get so hot that it smokes. Add the lamb chops, three at a time, and cook long enough to sear them, 2 minutes on each side. Lower the heat if the pan starts to smoke.
Hold each seared lamb chop by the bone end and dip it into the nut-spice mixture to coat on both sides. Lay out the chops on a large baking sheet. Place in the center of the oven and roast for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove lamb chops from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
BLOG PREVIEW: A FEW OF MY BRILLIANT THINGS
Steve and I saw Daniel Radcliffe in Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway last week, and I have some thoughts about MY brilliant things. You have them too—yes, you do! Join me over at Working Title for more…
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
My dear friend Molly sent me this wonderful quote, which challenges me (and all of us) to do SOMETHING to repair the brokenness all around us. This Holy Week, by God’s grace, I will accept the challenge. Bless you, friends, and bless our world.
Beautiful newsletter, my friend.
Poem and quote are perfect choices for all seasons, especially Easter. Blessing in these times where we are each called to make a difference.