Neddy's Palaver

“And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave [him] leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” (John 19:38-42 KJV)

Mural of Jesus from the Crypt at Washington National Cathedral

The chapel that contains this mural is located on the crypt level of the cathedral. It contains New Testament imagery that show the promise of eternal life: Jesus’ birth, his death and entombment, and his resurrection. This somber mural tells the story of Jesus’s entombment following the crucifixion. I snapped the photograph at the CHAPEL OF SAINT JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA. Joseph was the wealthy man who gave his tomb for the burial of Christ’s body after the crucifixion.

The image, Mural of Jesus, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

He died on a Friday, but He danced on the following Sabbath.
He was “The Lord of the Dance.” ~ VOCAL mp3 sample

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame,
So they whipped, and they stripped, and they hung Me high,
And they left Me there on the cross to die

I danced on a Friday, when the sky turned black,
It’s hard to dance with the Devil on your back,
Oh they buried My body, and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and the dance goes on.

They cut Me down, but I lept on high,
I am the light that will never, never die,
But I’ll live in you if you’ll live in Me,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He.

~~from “Lord of the Dance” by Sydney Carter

A Martha Stewart Easter Tradition

Martha Stewart / March 25, 2006

For many years, I have designed new versions of the old-fashioned dyed Easter eggs that I grew up coloring with my brothers and sisters under the supervision of our mother as she prepared the Easter feast. I have dyed them with onion skins, marbleized them, embellished them with gold and silver leaf, beaded them and dipped them in glass glitter.

After a trip to Brussels, Belgium, where I had my first sampling of chocolate-filled eggshells, I came home enthusiastic about trying to devise a system for doing a similar thing at home.

What resulted was the how-to technique that you will find below. (The chocolate needs to be tempered, or heated and cooled to precise temperatures. If you don’t take these steps when melting chocolate, it may become grainy or develop grayish patches, called bloom, once it hardens.)

Made with dark chocolate, the resulting eggs are wonderful decorations, beautiful gifts and lovely fillers for Easter baskets. And they really are quite easy. Here’s how to make them: Martha Stewart’s Wonderful way to make chocolate-filled eggshells

If you do not have the time to drill two tiny holes into each egg shell, puncture each yolk with a pin, blow out the eggy insides with an ear syringe, boil and dry the eggshells, melt gourmet chocolate ever so carefully as to avoid any lumping, and then drip the melted concoction into the tiny holes in the egg shells, all without breaking any of them, here is a much easier task to consider: Make your own Easter egg dye. By the way, what does one do with the chocolate-filled eggshells? How can one eat them?

The image, painted eggs, was originally uploaded by nuanc. It is posted here from