Easter Blessings!

Most holidays for Graham and I are spent on the Island, and Easter is no exception.

It's 4 AM on Thursday morning, April 1, 2010. April Fool's Day...and our travelling day. So far, everything that can go wrong has...our primary travelling vehicle bit the dust yesterday and won't be fixed until today sometime...but we will have taken our little commuter vehicle and will be long gone.

I booked the Dog sitter.  But I screwed up the dates, and we'll have to return a day early. So Lucky and Nate will have a long day in the house on the day of our return on Monday. We will hope for no accidental pools and piles when we enter the house, but with Nate's kidneys and his age, we can't be too sure of that!


No matter.  We're off to visit the family.  My daughter and her husband have planned a full weekend for us...Easter dinner and Graydon's birthday party.  Graydon just turned three on March 27 and he has graciously decided to wait until we arrive to celebrate.


I have a surprise for Bree. The camera we bought her for Christmas a year ago had broken. I'd bought her another, but she was attached to the little underwater camera and so we had it fixed.  But she doesn't know and I am looking forward to her reaction when we give her the old one.

I am looking forward to the Easter Egg hunt.  This year, I plan to find more than anybody else...but then, each year I plan to do this, and I haven't won yet...


I have offered to make Scalloped potatoes for Easter dinner. I found a recipe which uses smoked Gouda cheese and Parmesan and one other cheese, which at this early hour, escapes me.


Graham has a second cousin who is visiting his mother. Nineteen years of age, he has decided to travel the world. I shall look forward to meeting him and enjoying his Scottish accent.


It will be a weekend crammed with people, food and most of all, love. 


My dearest wish is for all who read this blog to have a very Happy Easter, one that is filled with people, food...and great love.


May the Easter Bunny bring all of you much joy, in this season of renewal and rebirth.


And, on my return, I will let you know how the scalloped Potatoes turned out...the one with the smoked Gouda, Parmesan, and that other cheese.


A blessed, joyous Easter to you all!

Pysanky

        "In the folk life of Ukrainian people, the pysanka possess talismanic powers.  Receipt of a pysanka is not only a token of friendship or esteem but also brings with it protection from harm.  Ukrainian ancestors believed that pysanky in the home would bring good fortune, wealth, health, and protection from lightning and fire.  Pysanky are said to possess curative powers for both men and animals.  With the acceptance of Christianity in 988 A.D., the pysanka has been part of the Christian tradition and Easter ritual.  The pysanka came to symbolize the rebirth of man, as represented by the Resurrection.  Beeswax was considered  as a magical ingredient of the writing process. This was entwined with the sun cult.  The wax was made from honey; the honey was collected from flowers; flowers grew because of the sun."    Olga's Eggs-Files

Years ago, I inherited 8 Pysanky. The number 8 has significance for me, since it is my life path number. I have not felt the urge to decipher what each Egg means until now... but considering my fear of Fire, I see from reading the above website they have offered me protection from it for all these years.

The designs of each Egg is linked to Egyptian ceramics circa 1500 BC and to symbolism of the Trypilljan culture in the Ukraine around 3000 BC.

Trypilljans lived peacefully...a matriarchal, artistic and creative society who linked themselves strongly to Mother Earth. Hence, the symbolism on an Egg closely resembles elements of Nature.

A symbol on a Pysanka is a word picture or code which contains the secrets of a culture. Very like my Tarot deck, in my mind, the symbols also contain revelations on emotions and feelings such as love, hope, fear, anger and so on. Pysanky involve a trinity of symbolisms...the Egg itself,  the design, and the colours used.

I discover in my research the most magical Pysanky are those with four or five colours. I look through mine; even the Egg which I considered to be only golden has four other colours intertwined throughout. Each Egg is considered to carry a message of good will, luck and well-being for its owner.

Let's see...I have a predominantly black Egg, a golden one, two red or reddish Eggs, a brown one, two green and one very lovely blue Egg. My favourite is the brown Egg, which has Stags, Rabbits, a Wolf, Pine Trees, a Willow Tree and green and gold vegetation placed in strategic spots. Oh, and tiny golden dots are painted upon the upper half of the Egg...

This one, after peering at it (these images are small) for some time, I've decided is celebrating Spring. The Stags show leadership, victory, masculinity and joy. The Rabbits show the humility of Man as he listens to the lessons of Nature.  The Wolf denotes loyalty and teachings of wisdom. The Willow Tree is said to hold the Sun in the Sky, bestowing happiness and benevolence.


The Pine Tree symbolizes strength, boldness, growth and eternal life, while the greenery situated throughout the bottom half of the Egg symbolize the rebirth of nature and life. The golden dots represent the Stars in the Sky, tears or fixed points which have no beginning or end.


The colour of this Egg is predominantly reddish-brown. This colour signifies Mother Earth, bringing forth her bountiful gifts.


I have meditated with this one, not realizing it was a harbinger of Spring, and have had visions of Apple blossoms. Now I understand why.


Blue is used sparingly on these Eggs.  I have a totally blue one, with some gold outlining the Chrysanthemums and Roses and Leaves. This Pysanka signifies blue Skies or Air and is a talisman for good health.  It also represents truth, fidelity, higher life and trust.  I was not able to find out why blue is used less often...everything about a blue Egg sounds wonderful!


The golden yellow Pysanka I have has most of its gilt flaking off...it still shines, though...I had difficulty taking a photo of it with the flash on the camera. It has golden oak leaves and acorns on it, outlined with red dots, and a meandering golden line all around it.

Long ago, when the Eggs first came to me, I knew a lady who understood the symbolism behind each Egg. She asked me to randomly pick one...no thinking about it, just choosing one out of the eight.  I picked the golden one, thinking...ahh, a golden Egg, just like the one in the story of the Goose who laid the golden Egg. It must mean wealth...


The lady said...You are strongly connected to the Light. You have persistence and are hospitable and benevolent...you are eternal.


There was no mention of wealth. Not of the material kind, at any rate!

At the time, I really did not know how to respond.  Flustered, I almost dropped the Egg when I placed it back in the bowl with the others. I wondered if this wonderful Romanian lady knew that I was intent on Wealth. 

She didn't say anything as she picked up each Egg and looked closely at it. She only sniffed when she saw the black Chicken Egg. I've looked it up. From the site Olga's Eggs-Files, I find black is much the same as any other definition of the colour...it represents the absolute, constancy, eternity or the womb, and death.

We spoke no more of them, as we drank our Tea and exchanged news and gossip, as if the whole Egg incident had never happened.


I had no idea when I began this post I would become so involved with each Pysanka. I have found the stories which are embellished on each to be very inspiring and evocative. Perhaps one of these days I will be able to pick up a strange to me Pysanka and know immediately what it is telling me.


These Eggs I have are old...close to being  an aged 50 years.  I am amazed at how well they look, since my granddaughter loved them when she was young and played with them constantly.

It is a complicated art, taking time and patience to paint each Egg. They are made with an ancient wax resist process.  A stylus is used for writing on an Egg with hot Beeswax. A flame from a Beeswax candle is used to melt a piece of Beeswax which has been placed on the tip of the stylus. There are some instructions here.


However they are made, they stand up well. One of the Eggs is from the Chicken, some came from Duck, and some are Goose Eggs.  They are available in every conceivable type...from Ostrich to Quail.  Mine are heavy, which makes me think they were not blown out.  There are only two of them which have the residual hole at the ends.

I keep them in a bowl, with the Marble Egg my parents gave me as a birthday present years ago. And now that I've learned a bit about them, it makes much more sense to me when I pick one up and meditate.  Understanding symbols will help if a vision or two should come my way.


All in all, with newfound understanding of the Pysanky, I have found a wealth of knowledge.


It may not be material wealth but...


I believe it's a better kind.





 

Pantry Raid

With Graham on a very restricted diet, I felt it was time to raid the pantry...to find all those foods that were forbidden items and relegate them to the trash bin.

A few years ago, when the kids were still at home, it would have been easy to find junk foods...the kind of foods that add calories and little else. Like potato chips, cheezies...and horrors!...chocolate and candy.

During that time, too, I would find opened packages of food haphazardly thrown back onto the shelf, never to be tasted again. In the pantry, it was mostly dry goods, so those packages usually did little, other than grow stale. It was the foods that went into the fridge, opened and tasted, and then hidden behind another item...to be found by me, weeks later, when the green mould crept out from behind the pickle jar...

Those days have ended...a long time ago. When the kids left, my diet changed too. No longer was the pantry filled with KD or dried noodle soups. Beans, grains and fresh local or organic foods became the order of the day.

But Graham can have no sugars, fats, wheat and/or gluten, or dairy. OK. That meant a whole lot of the foods I have in the refrigerator and in the pantry would have to go...elsewhere. Anything unopened, of course, would be donated...but there was not a whole lot unopened.

The Coombs Country Market has a good selection of dried pastas; Graham and I had just stocked up on all sorts of different pastas...varied shapes and sizes, some egg, others whole wheat. Gray can now only have rice pasta. OK. No rice pasta in the cupboard, only some delicate Asian pasta.

But there's lots of organic whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour, oat flour, oat bran, Scottish oatmeal, organic brown sugars...and these are all forbidden. Graham is a Scot; oatmeal is in his DNA. The cultural food preferences will be hard to overcome. There is no rice flour.

There is white rice, brown rice, sushi rice, basmati rice, wild rice...these, finally, are kept. Graham can have anything rice.

I find the nut cupboard, and say a silent prayer of gratitude...there are many packages of nuts available here...pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews. He can eat these, too.

And there is a good selection of dried and frozen fruit available. Also allowed.

Hmmm...honey, not allowed, maple syrup...allowed in moderation, brown sugar, cane syrup...not allowed. We have about fourteen different kinds of honey in the cupboard, gathered from various parts of the country, most unopened. This might be a slight exaggeration; there are a lot of jars, however.

Why do we have so much honey? I must be attracted to something there...since I rarely eat honey!

OK. I accept that I overdid the honey thing. But there are preserves, all made with sugar, many given as gifts. I decide to keep these, to serve to guests. It is getting harder and harder to decide what to keep and what to discard, but we are overflowing with food that cannot be eaten. It goes against everything I believe in...to discard food. But I cannot just waste it, either.

I have only olive oils and grapeseed oils, which are deemed OK. But the cheese drawer...oh my! Graham and I are attracted to various kinds of cheeses...and these are definitely not allowed. Along with the milk and cream, these will have to go. And all that frozen bread...

So now I will replace. Neither of us care for buckwheat...but I can find brown rice flour. I can find different kinds of rice pasta. He can eat as many eggs as he wants. And the fresh vegetable bin will remain the same, except he is not allowed potatoes in his diet.

Suddenly, my cupboards are fairly empty. I imagine the whole grains I can try. I fantasize that I will find a great recipe for rice bread...the kind we tried is, to be frank, disgusting. I realize I am about to embark on a new adventure in cooking, which is more of a joy than a chore to me.

It will be a great challenge. And it will feel even better when I get over the fact that I am discarding food.

The pantry is empty. But the raid was required and necessary. It was all in the interests of good health...and Graham is very much worth it.