Despite the harsh realities of the COVID-19 virus, Spring is in the air and Easter is fast approaching. Even though my husband Jim and I are mostly staying home and social distancing, I wanted to pay a small homage to the season. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I have a wooden trough that sits on my kitchen table most of the time. It gets changed out for special seasons, and the rest of the time it contains some teaberry balls and candles.

A month or so ago, we were in the nearby town of Prosser, visiting a cute little shop that I love called Sister to Sister. While there, I found two potted cabbage plants and a pair of bunnies. Not that I need more Spring decor, but sometimes it is nice to freshen things up a little with some new purchases. Because all of our lives have been turned upside down with the Corona Virus, the bag just sat in a guest room, unopened. The other day I saw it there and decided to do a little Spring upgrade to the trough.

First, I should mention the recent change to the candles. I found these vases at the Dollar Tree and had used them for table decorations for a church dinner in February. I took three of them and put the white candles that are always in the trough inside and it looked so much better. It gave them more height and elegance, and when they are lit, the candlelight reflects on the glass, making them sparkle. Not bad for a $3 investment!

To prepare the table, I put out a Spring-like table runner, replacing the old standby. I tried the yellow one with white dots and took several photos with it, but the way it wrinkled up bothered me. So I got out a thick woven blue and cream runner that I had gotten a few years ago at Home Goods and it worked much nicer.

Next, it was just a quick swap of the pine cones for a bundle of pink hydrangea that were cut off the stems. I placed those on each end, and put the cabbage in pots where the teaberry balls were. I just love the way the pink in the cabbage pick up on the pink of the hydrangeas.

Finally, I placed the pair of bunnies on the runner in front of the trough. Funny story about the bunnies. When I was removing the price tags from the underside, I noticed that there were plastic plugs there, like what there are on salt and pepper shakers. I thought, “that’s weird…” Lo and behold, when I looked closely at the top of the bunnies, there were holes for sale and pepper! No wonder they were sold as a set:) I don’t think I will fill them this year, but it’s nice to know they could be put to functional use if need be. They would be pretty cute on a Spring tea party or Easter table someday.

So there you have it; a five minute refresh for the kitchen table and a small nod to Spring that, even in the midst of a pandemic, managed to brighten my day. This year there will be no attending church on Easter Sunday, no dinner with family and friends, and no egg hunts for the children. It will be an Easter like none in recent memory. But even though our lives are different this year, the Easter story remains the same; timeless and promising for us all. He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Good tidings,

Diane