Guest fest

My Passover dinner plate

I am so tired. We've had company all week with no time to blog or even read blogs. But that's not the source of my fatigue ... no, I've got some sort of stomach bug that's getting me down. At least it hit at the end of the week. Though with more company coming tonight, I hope it doesn't linger too much longer.

We've been busy entertaining my husband's mother and sister, who traveled here from the East Coast to spend a week with us in the Pacific Northwest. We've done a bit of sightseeing and hanging out.

Monday was the first night of Passover, and we celebrated with a family Seder. There were 11 of us around the table, and after the service, we enjoyed a festive meal prepared by two of my sons and me. We had matzoh ball soup, roasted asparagus, potato stuffing, chickpea croquettes, cranberry-apple sauce, salad, and carrot-coconut macaroons.

This was the ceremonial Seder plate with a couple of vegan substitutions. There was an avocado instead of an egg, and a roasted beet subbing for the lamb bone.

Here we are reading from our Haggadot, or Passover prayer books. Mr. Easy Vegan conducted the service and we all took turns reading. Lest you think we are very religious, we're not. But I love maintaining some of the rituals I grew up with, and which tie us to our history.

Here is my youngest son and his girlfriend, attending her first Passover Seder.

One of the things we did during our family's visit was to take a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, and you can see the Seattle waterfront and skyline as we pulled away from the dock. It was kind of sunny and pleasant, and I was really hoping we would have a clear view of the mountains as we headed towards our destination, but it wasn't quite clear enough. We spent a pleasant afternoon wandering around the Bainbridge Island downtown, poking into stores and having tea.

Tuesday evening we went to a vegan Chinese restaurant, and there were so many of us that they put us into a private room with a huge round table. I really enjoyed the dinner, and all was well until I went to bed, and started to experience stomach distress that kept me awake most of the night. The next morning I had tea instead of breakfast, and at the point where everyone headed out for a walk at the lake, I headed up to bed. Later, as our guests enjoyed a tour of the Theo chocolate factory, I alternated between hurling, the big D, and sleeping. I made a brief appearance before dinner, but once they began to eat, I headed back to bed. I managed to consume a banana and drink water, but that was it. I feel a lot better today but my stomach is still not happy.

So with all the sightseeing and pleasant outings, what was the most entertaining aspect of the visit? I think our guests would agree that the always cheerful and ebullient Miss E wins hands down.

Except for the stomach bug, it was a pleasant week. My brother arrives this evening for round two of guest fest. I hope I feel better soon!

For all those celebrating Easter, I wish you a happy holiday!