Preparations

This is cheese Pascha in the wooden mould.  

We have healthy lettuce growing between bricks!  That glass block window has a vent where the dryer lets out hot air and lint, as you can see... I think the warmth from the dryer vent helped this lettuce grow.

View of the full moon from our kitchen window in the morning.

Jungle Jim's international market...one of our favorite spots to buy exotic items.  I got salami, smoked gouda, a bottle of rosé for Pascha, Annie's cheddar bunnies for the kids, quality chocolate, a few gifts, like the Swedish sponge cloth with puppy on it.  Didn't get a ukulele, they were $40 and up, but let the boys both hold one and try it.  

Hiked on Monday morning with a few friends.

Beautiful cloud formations early one morning.

Hannah had clothes to pass on to her cousins.  It was fun to see them go through and pick out what they wanted!

Palm Sunday craft with friends after church!

Reading Tintin at home with Dad.

Made a few more amazonite bracelets!

He made a Lego round table and chairs, like Jesus and His disciples (well just 3 of them) at the Last Supper.

Extra church services this week in preparation for the feast and midnight Pascha service this weekend for us!  

Making and baking

I crocheted this!  The easiest part was when I made the tassel, on the zipper ...and gave it to a sweet 3 year old girl I know.

Talking about Palm Sunday and the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, with the two younger children while they color.

I've baked a few batches of kulich!  I have 11 that are in the freezer. I plan to give away half of them and have a list of friends who prefer it with raisins or not.  I have one more GF kulich batch that I plan to do.  And then on to making cheese Pascha next week!

This morning we woke to fresh snow.  Can you see the video?  Very unusual for April in southern Ohio, but so pretty.  That's my mom and (baby) me below.  She taught me how to whistle with grass.  And more bracelets I've made!  I just mailed another one out to Sophia in NY.

Painted rocks just for fun!  After all, we got a load of rocks last week...

Olivia had her 3rd indoor colorguard competition, which was filmed and sent in to the judges.  I thought it was great! 

Now, I plan to start on making another zippered fabric pouch with crocheted cover.

Quality time

How do you show you care for someone?  Showing them respect, calling them by their name, or doing something meaningful together?   A friend gave me this pretty green, white and pink plant  

Many many violets this year!  I intended to make jelly, but we made violet lemonade instead!

It was good!  Pour 3 cups of boiling water over 2 cups of violets (or enough to cover the violets) in a glass bowl and let steep for a few hours, until cooled, then strain.  We added 1/2 cup lemon juice to the violet water and like magic, it turns from a blue to pink!  I added about a cup of sugar and mixed well.  Then it was SO sweet, we added more water to taste.

We went to three parks so far this week.  

Spending quality time together is important and we do have the quantity, but it's often not quality.  An emphasis on what we can do together, whether it's a chore (we watched the movie Mary Poppins last week and singing while tidying can make it enjoyable), or something the child or adult chooses.  We take turns deciding who gets to choose, maybe reading together.  In my opinion, watching a movie doesn't count!  Also, it can be as quick as 2 minutes, or maybe 2 hours.  Like making bread together, as we are today.  

Spring blooms

I smelled our lilac before I saw the blossoms!

This is a pear tree and green leafy thornless blackberry growing by it's base (it wasn't planted there, but they both seem to be growing well, so we'll leave it).

Our plum tree which we planted to provide friut and shade over the sandbox.  Last summer we realized it had black knot fungus and trimmed it back drastically, it was pretty invaded!  So we'll see what happens, if it's okay or more fungus appears.

Our peach tree blossoms up close and from a distance behind my dress, below.  Of course I just washed it and took it out to dry and it starts raining.

Also, I just spotted a tear!  I will mend it.  I've worn it a lot in the year and a half I've had it.

We have a lot of violets and dandelions, too.  The parsley seedlings that were covered in ice last week, with the snow that arrived, is growing well still.  It was 82 F yesterday.  Just 37 F as the high a week ago.  This is Ohio weather!

Every day our 5 year old colors in one day!

What is blooming near you?