Kulich

This is the traditional Russian bread made and enjoyed on Pascha, or our Lord's Resurrection. I went to the store and got all the ingredients today and plan to bake tomorrow!
Click on the box to see the recipe up close...then, if you've never made it...consider it...tastes rich and delicious, a bit like the Italian panettone.

Next week, we'll dye eggs, I've successfully dyed my eggs with yellow onion skins to a reddish brown, I like to rub the eggs with a bit of oil on a paper towel to give it a little shine. I'm going to try some new colors this year.

Natural Dyes

Color	Ingredients
Lavender	Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice Red Zinger Tea
Violet Blue	Violet Blossoms Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Hibiscus Tea Red Wine
Blue	Canned Blueberries Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled) Purple Grape Juice
Green	Spinach Leaves (boiled) Liquid Chlorophyll
Greenish Yellow	Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
Yellow	Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled) Carrot Tops (boiled) Celery Seed (boiled) Ground Cumin (boiled) Ground Turmeric (boiled) Chamomile Tea Green Tea
Golden Brown	Dill Seeds
Brown	Strong Coffee Instant Coffee Black Walnut Shells (boiled) Black Tea
Orange	Yellow Onion Skins (boiled) Cooked Carrots Chili Powder Paprika
Pink	Beets Cranberries or Juice Raspberries Red Grape Juice Juice from Pickled Beets
Red	Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Canned Cherries with Juice Pomegranate Juice Raspberries

found here: http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/eastereggdyes.htm

Saint Patrick

enlightened the people of Ireland using a 3-leaved clover, one God is three beings, like the petals, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It's a great way to explain this to your children, too!
Did you know I was going to be Patrick if I was a boy?

My parents had a trip planned to Ireland, but canceled it... My mom and dad came over yesterday to give Olivia a gift...March 18th is the day we remember Saint Oliva, of Brescia, Italy, one of the early martyrs for her Christian faith. Dad seems to be doing okay, but mom said that he's not...getting sick a lot lately...so please pray for him!

Flax Pancakes

(adapted from Vegan Planet, their recipe is called Flax-Berry Pancakes)

1 1/2 c flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c water
dash of nutmeg and cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine flax, vanilla and water and mix until thick.
Mix wet ingredients into dry until just combined. We like to top ours with real maple syrup!

This is enough for 2 adults, or 4 children...unless they're really hungry.

February just flew by...

I hope you are having a nice March so far. Warmer weather this week...today it was perhaps 60'F and sunny...had a little picnic in the park with some friends before heading to karate.
Hannah has been reading "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis. I got some new pillows for $10 each at the Frontgate outlet...regular retail price $119!
Saturday we went to the zoo, it was a lovely sunny day for walking and exploring. The 4 tigers cubs are getting big...they were born March 21, 2009...so they're almost 1. The reptile house is one of our favorites, looking at the snakes, small alligators, turtles and tortoises, poison dart frogs, etc. I had a dream about a cobra last night...and that it was in the campground where we were camping. Seems like I always have vivid and crazy, yet funny dreams.
The sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is fascinating...
The girls climbed their favorite tree at the zoo (it's near the picnic pavilion behind the carousel) and ate pears.

I love maple syrup!

We spent the afternoon at the Cincinnati Nature Center, helping collect sap from maple trees and watching it boil down to a sweet syrup. John and my little niece, Emma...I took LOTS of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed this outdoor learning adventure. I wish we lived on a piece of land with a lot of maple trees!
Drilling a hole...
Tapping the spile in...
My littlest sister with her husband and son, Isaac. He's always smiling, has long eyelashes and just learned to sign for "more."
It smelled so good all around the sugar shack...and it was really warm there...look at the steam coming out the top.
Yum. It was really good.
Andrea carrying Emma and Susanna (whose belly is getting so big, but you can't really tell here) walking up to the cabin.
Olivia and Juliana peeking out one of the windows in the cabin.
The cousins...the 6th one will arrive in about 50 more days!
Look at that gymnast...it's been like having the Olympics in our house this week!
I've been growing wheat...to juice. My mom mentioned it and I thought I'd give it a try! Have you tried it?

The letter C...

has been kausing lots of problems. Why kan't we just stik with the letter "K" or "S" instead of letting "C" make those sounds when it wants....well, I'll keep it just for "CH." Olivia has been having a hard time with it. She's been writing so much lately, but all phonetically.

We've loved having all this snow. Spending hours outside...learning about the science of snow and temperatures, watching it melt and move. It was fun to watch the snow melt and under the trampoline was LOTS of icycles. Today the girls cleaned off the trampoline. Going down the back deck, we have a few steps and turned it into a ramp. It was wicked fast to slide down, Hannah, Olivia, Rob and I each took turns....we threw snowballs at each others.

The girls have been enjoying reading Shel Silverstein's poetry and have each memorized a poem by him. His illustrations are so funny. While Rob and I were dating, he bought me a Minka fountain pen...I have been buying ink to refill it and just love using it. It's my favorite pen. Do you have a favorite pen? I think everyone does. Tell me about it...or what kind.

The best winter ever...

I bought each of the girls a new headband...just $1.50 at XXI, pretty satin bows on the side. Hannah wore hers to see the ballet, Cinderella with Galina.

It's like the winter I remember as a child... our years in Vermont were wonderful! I liked to make snow forts from the piles accumulated after shoveling our driveway. I sat in there, read the Sunday funnies, wrote notes, ate Lemonheads... Sledding down the hill in our backyard, from the top where we had the blackberry bushes and garden to the bottom near the old grape trellis and crab apple tree was always fun...I liked to stand on the sled, that was before I ever went skiing. I am so happy to be doing those things again...with my own children. I'd love to have an ice skating rink...my dad made one with a tarp and several 2x4 in our driveway.
Friday, was the Russian Winter's Night fundraiser for our church...an elegant dinner, auction and concert. Irina Mozyleva came from NY to sing...you can hear her opera-like voice if you click on the link! It was in the beautiful house on the Peterloon estate in Indian Hill. There is beautiful art there by Charles Dana Gibson and John Singer Sargent...you can see one behind me in the photo at the mirror. I love that rose wall paper.

We are now upon Great Lent...the 40 days, plus Holy Week in which we fast and prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Every day this week there are services at church. Tonight, however, I will not go, as the snow is still coming down, like crazy... I will read the Canon of St. Andrew at home. I wish you all many blessings and peace of soul during this time!