Eggceptional!

For as long as I can remember, each Easter I've had a niggling memory of winning an egg blowing contest.  I don't know why I was in an egg blowing contest.  I don't know how as the petite little girl that I was that I competed let alone won an egg blowing contest.  I don't know if before the contest I even knew such a thing as egg blowing was a thing.  To be completely truthful... I don't even KNOW that I won... but I did compete.

Anyway... each year I've considered trying to reenact egg blowing and this year I did not put it off.  One evening I knew we needed eggs for dying for our Easter preparations.  What better time to show off my 'possible quarter of a century old egg blowing skills'.  

So we did.  however... we also were ridiculous enough to think it would be fun to blow out the goose eggs.  

LINK to Video

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Miles was on a video call as we all took a crack at egg blowing.

Don't notice the unsightly vein bulging on my forehead.. I really wasn't struggling... I may have been slower than all the rest, but it wasn't a race.  Although someone forgot to tell Patrick that it wasn't a race and he blew it out in just one breath... okay it took him a few breaths but if we'd only watched him it would have looked easy.

 

At a game night I brought up my niggling memory and recounted our recent egg blowing victory.  

Thankfully I'm not completely crazy!  There was indeed an egg blowing contest in my youth.  It was held at a nearby mall, Hillside mall.  I did compete but it was unknown if I won.  

Well all five of us have eggceptional skills.

The eggs turned out better than I could have anticipated.  These were dyed with onion skins and then polished with a dab of olive oil.  It's a Russian tradition to have a red dyed egg displayed at Easter to be a witness of the resurrection of the Saviour.  For many years in Russia, no Easter celebration was allowed, but the displaying of an egg dyed red with onion skins symbolized hope in each household that it was found in.  Tradition follows that on Easter Sunday, the 'grandmother' of the family would put the egg on the mantle and share her testimony of the Saviour and the resurrection with her family.  

Our Easter Display.  It has been a few years in creating the type of celebration that we wished to have.  Each year we've added or perfected our new traditions.  We now have a month of Easter instead of a day.  

Restoring

As I prepared for Easter this year, I was eager to make it special.  I have been excited for our plans.  Even with the world in topsy turviness, our lives have been relatively unchanged.. well our day to day lives.

Some of the Easter preparation was easy.  

• collect some onion skins.  done.
• plant some wheat berries.  done.
• find some pretty ribbon.  done.
• cut some branches of a tree and bring them inside to force buds.  done.
• dig out the Easter basket of eggs and decorations.  done.
• plant the Easter lily bulbs.  done. 
• crochet some Easter story figures... doing in spare minutes... and into the wee hours.
• find the egg cups.... oh dear....

I knew I had some, but where the egg cups were was a definite mystery.

I had a ceramic white one with a cute little chick carrying an umbrella but I didn't want that.. I was looking for my silver ones.  They had a more distinguished look to them.

When I found them I was a little dismayed that they had become quite tarnished in storage.  I had recently read of "43 Uses for Wood Ash".  One of the uses was to polish silver.  

Did I dare?

What if it ruined them?

They were pretty beat up looking... rubbing them with a paste of wood ash certainly couldn't make them worse.. and I have a plentiful supply of wood ash.

so...

I gave it a try.

I was impressed.

I wish that my first thoughts as I polished up the silver egg cups had been about the incredible power of restoring something dull and imperfect to a shiny usefulness.  

I wish that my first thoughts had been about how like Easter this polishing was.. Resurrection over death; Restoration over dullness.  Washing away sin and leaving a luster of peace in its place.  

I wish that my first thoughts had been of scripture that states, Isaiah 61:3 "... to give unto them beauty for ashes.... that he might be glorified.".... but I'm no scriptorian and the only thing remotely scriptorial that would come to me would be, "dust to dust, ashes to ashes..."

However, the thought that did come to my head and became stuck in my head, was a song..

from the movie.. Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang.

"Up from the ashes... grow the roses of success."

It was indeed out of the ashes that the restoring of the sweet egg cups came about.  So although, it may not have been a reverent and deeply profound spiritual moment leading up to my Easter... I did find beauty in the moment of restoring the egg cups for my Easter 'mantle' display.  It made me appreciate my display just a little more.

After enjoying my moment of 'using ashes to create something of beauty, I opted to only polish one.  Now it is a reminder... especially at this time of pandemic, uncertainty and worries... that out of difficult times,

 there is hope... there is beauty... there is kindness... there is peace.... 

I heard this time described as a pause.  An opportunity to reflect and choose what we will decide to allow to return when the 'normalcy' returns.  Choose to look for the hope, beauty, kindness, peace or the panic, uncertainty, worry.  That which you search for... you will find.

Look for the 'roses of success' that are 'growing out of the ashes' of Covid19. 

And take a moment to enjoy these delightful eggs in my silver egg cups.

Egg-stra special Hunting

Easter this year was simple.  As it should be.

We had the missionaries over for supper.

We had a traditional meal.

Not an Easter ham, but a traditional meal from the time of Christ's life.

Broiled fish, olives, flat bread, honey and yoghurt with dates, apricots and figs.

Some food went over better than others.

We had our lesson about the symbols of Easter.

Then the kids hid each others eggs.

Every year they are hidden more creatively.

Sarah's were very difficult to find.

Recently, after a lesson in gentlemanly like behaviour, Miles has taken it upon himself to hold the door for Sarah.  Every day.  Every where they go.  Even if it means having to race her to the door and practically shove her out of the way so that he can do it.  

This Easter egg hunt presented an opportunity for him and Duncan to put their gentleman skills to the test.

Sarah's eggs were out of reach and they dropped to their hands and knees to offer her their services.

While the gesture was thoughtful, she didn't feel the protection or security that their behaviour was intended to offer.  She claims it was terrifying and unnerving to stand on their backs and reach into the light fixture on the ceiling... And all for an empty plastic egg!

As for the egg in the skylight....  

The broom handle was all that was needed.

Spring Conference Easter Break

 When Spring Break is the same long weekend as Easter and the same long weekend as General Conference.... this is what happens.

Our Easter eggs get pictures of Prophets and apostles. (thanks pinterest) The candy eating is spread out over two full days, since they can't be opened until that person speaks.  

The following statements may have been made over the two days.

-Can I eat Holland yet?

-Is this guy an egg?

-Did you eat Oaks yet?

-What candy did Packer give you?

-What should I do with Ballard?  He didn't talk.

-I don't think it's this guy, he's wearing a blue tie and the guy on my egg is wearing a black tie.

-He got old after they took his picture.

-They talked so long my chocolate melted.

I had to come up with an idea for the cub scouts to make for mother's day next month.  I found this idea of an 'I love it when...' message board.  

We've had a lot of messages shared over the last few days... 

these were the nicest.

Some were, I love it when...

- you come when you are called.

- you do what you say.

- you help chop onions.

- you don't roll your eyes.

- when you get up the first time you're called.

- you use the potty.

- it's bedtime.

- Sarah bakes.

Perhaps we need to leave this one for a while.

Some spent the weekend lounging.... like always!