Monthly Archives: April 2009

Trio of Pretty Eggs

art, church, Pascha, , ,

While shopping at the supermarket this week I came upon a package of these darling quail eggs. Grown commercially, of course, but still so Spring-y I had to bring them home and take their picture, even if I don’t do another thing with them.

During our decades of homeschooling, twice we joined or formed groups to decorate eggs in the pysanky style. This week I dug the remaining creations out of the cupboard to show you.

It is a wax-resist process. You apply your design with wax, and in multiple dips in the jars of dye the eggshell takes on the color where there is no wax. In the end you use the candle to melt off the wax and reveal the layers of the design.

Another egg-dyeing process is what I helped with today at church, to prepare red eggs that are traditionally given out to the whole congregation on Pascha night. We boiled and dyed these at the same time in one red bath, but then decided that they weren’t red enough, so we dipped them in the bowl of stronger food coloring.

(That crock in the background has nothing to do with the eggs – it is said to hold Russian pickles curing in brine.)
After the service, when we have gathered in the fellowship hall to break the fast together, we will two-by two hit our eggs against one another, to see who can keep his egg whole while cracking his opponent’s. After all the elimination trials, one person will emerge as the winner. Whether they win something besides admiration, I can’t say.

The Bridegroom

church, garden

“Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and behold, blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching….”

This is the theme of the Bridgegroom Matins of Holy Week, which my church serves at 6:30 these first three mornings. Very sweet. After Palm Sunday the church is full of palm branches and calla lilies. Dawn hasn’t broken yet, and in the dim light the lilies in their whiteness
decorate the temple, as do the Eritrean ladies in their white gauze that flows with them in their worship ballet of bows and prostrations.

On the home front, the Cécile Brunner roses are opening! They are sweet as well, and give glory to God.

Beloved Jars

food and cooking,

Let’s see if I can write a blog post that is actually about something that happened today…a cold and rainy day on which we got a fire going. In April! Yes, those are Christmas lights in the picture. Until Spring has settled in more securely I will continue to enjoy them shining against the dark and dressing up my bare window.

The most satisfying part of the day was cleaning out the container cupboard. You’d think I grew up in the Depression, the way I save every jar and yogurt container until they are overflowing their space. No, it’s really because in the first decades of married life, I was always cooking army-sized quantities of soup or rice or whatever, and at times I actually used up most of those receptacles to squirrel away batches of Comfort Soup or pasta sauce against the days when we were too busy to cook.

During that period we also ate a lot of peanut butter, which resulted in me collecting these most practical glass jars, now true Collectors’ Items, I’m sure, because in this size, most food items these days are sold in plastic. Adams Peanut Butter was sold in approximately 2-quart jars that are more slender, and therefore fit better in the refrigerator, than what I have been able to buy as dedicated food storage containers. They were perfect, in the Old Days, for storing in the fridge enough soup for a large family. Or for cooling the stock before taking off the fat.

I’ve had them well over 20 years, and the lids aren’t even rusty. As you can see, I have begun using them to store dry foodstuffs. My kitchen is always evolving. But now, if these break or get lost, the younger generation can look here for a memory jog.