These antique postcards are all from the early 1900’s. They were sent to Dear’s Great Great Aunt Emma from friends and family.
This one was hard to read so I added the wording.
Getting ready to think on and celebrate Resurrection Sunday and the days leading up to it like Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
May He who rose on Easter morn descend in love and keep and bless all who visit here.
Maybe even grandfather or grandpa.
Time will tell what Addy decides to call him but in the meantime they are having some nice conversations.
I’m reading many of your posts because that is easy to do while holding an infant but I cannot leave a comment easily because that involves two hands and my hands and lap are occupied several hours during the day. Here in Eastern Washington we’re making plans for Easter day and when Dear and I return home we’ll have a belated Easter celebration with our other kids.
For now I’ll leave you with an Easter postcard from Dear’s Great Great Aunt Emma’s stash from the early 1900’s.
Come Ye That Seek the Lord
Come ye that seek the Lord,
Him that was crucified,
Come listen to the Gospel word,
And feel it now applied;
To every soul of man
The joyful news we show,
Jesus for every sinner slain,
Is risen again for you.
The Lord is risen indeed,
And did to us appear,
He hath been seen, our living head,
By many a Peter here:
We, who so oft denied
Our master and our God,
Have thrust our hand into His side,
And felt the streaming blood.
Raised from the dead we are
The members with their Lord,
And boldly in His name declare
The soul reviving word;
Salvation we proclaim
Which every soul may find,
Pardon and peace in Jesus’ name,
And life for all mankind.
O might they all receive
The bleeding Prince of Peace!
Sinners, the glad report believe,
Of Jesus’ witnesses;
He lives, who spilt His blood;
Believe our record true,
The arm, the power, the Son of God
Shall be revealed in you.
Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
It’s time to ponder Joyce’s questions and find the answers. This Cafe is on the main drag that runs along Lake Washington through Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and Lake City. This is the 522 bus route that goes to downtown Seattle. We haven’t tried the cafe yet but Dear has read many a book on that 522 route to Seattle and back.
1. April is Lawn and Garden Month. On a scale of 1-10 what’s the current state of your lawn and/or garden. (10=a showpiece, 1=send in the professionals). Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.
Haha! As I was mowing on Monday of this week the thought came to my mind that we really could use some professionals to come in and totally redo our lawn. We have more moss and weeds then actual grass. I had the thought that it would be great to meet that guy at the big box store who would come up to me and say “can we come and do a yard project for you?” So I’m saying 1!
We have made some improvements on the walkway and planters since this photo was taken but the lawn remains a mess! This next photo is what things look like since 2016.
2. “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.”~Thomas Fuller What does this quote mean to you?
I’ll take it literally and say I never sowed those weeds but there they are.
3. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?
Almighty
4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?If I was talking too much.
5. Do you like the color yellow? Would I find any in your home or wardrobe? Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black eyed susan…which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?
Not much yellow in my home or wardrobe. I do like lemons. Daffodils are my favorite yellow bloom.
6. Flip flops or bare feet?
Bare feet. Flip flops don’t agree with my feet.
7. Tell us about any Easter plans, celebrations, or traditions you’ll carry out this month.
This Easter will be different because we are headed east to spend time with our kids and our granddaughter Addy. We will celebrate but not in the usual way. We love Easter and we generally have a baking day before Easter to make Russian Easter Bread, Kulich/Paska and our yummy sweet cheese spread for the bread called Seernaya Paska. Lamb is the protein of choice for our Easter meals. We are going to have a post Easter celebration when we are back on this side of the mountains and we will celebrate our son-in-law’s birthday, too.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I owe everything that I am and everything I will ever be to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for my robe of righteousness afforded to me because Jesus took on my sins and the sins of the world. I am washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Linking to Hodgepodge Wednesday with Joyce From This Side of the Pond.
I’m recuperating today from 2 days of hard labor. Monday was yard day and yesterday after a nice walk with Katie, Dear recruited me to help him finish a shed project at our son and dil’s that took us till 7:30 last night. They are very happy with their spiffy new shed and we were happy to put it together. I’m a bit behind this morning. Hope to catch up with everyone shortly. Happy Wednesday!
Again the Lord of Light and Life
Again the Lord of light and life
Awakes the kindling ray,
Unseals the eyelids of the morn,
And pours increasing day.
O what a night was that which wrapped
The heathen world in gloom!
O what a Sun which rose this day
Triumphant from the tomb!
This day be grateful homage paid,
And loud hosannas sung;
Let gladness dwell in every heart,
And praise on every tongue.
Ten thousand different lips shall join
To hail this welcome morn,
Which scatters blessings from its wings
To nations yet unborn.
Jesus, the friend of human kind,
With strong compassion moved,
Descended like a pitying God,
To save the souls He loved.
The powers of darkness leagued in vain
To bind His soul in death;
He shook their kingdom when He fell,
With His expiring breath.
Not long the toils of hell could keep
The Hope of Judah’s line;
Corruption never could take hold
On aught so much divine.
And now His conquering chariot wheels
Ascend the lofty skies;
While broke beneath his powerful cross,
Death’s iron scepter lies.
Exalted high at God’s right hand,
And Lord of all below;
Thro’ Him is pardoning love dispensed,
And boundless blessings flow.
And still for erring, guilty man
A brother’s pity flows;
And still His bleeding heart is touched
With memory of our woes.
To Thee, my Savior and my king,
Glad homage le me give;
And stand prepared, like Thee, to die,
With Thee that I might live.
Words: Anna L. Barbauld, (1743-1825).
There are so many beautiful hymns for Easter that I’m starting early and will probably go later in posting them. Thank you Jesus for all your sacrifices for us!
Forty Days and Forty Nights
Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.
Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed.
Should not we Thy sorrow share
And from worldly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Strong with Thee to suffer pain?
Then if Satan on us press,
Jesus, Savior, hear our call!
Victor in the wilderness,
Grant we may not faint nor fall!
So shall we have peace divine:
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.
Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
Ever constant by Thy side;
That with Thee we may appear
At the eternal Eastertide.
Words: George H. Smyttan, March 1856.
I’m linking this post to InSPIREd Sunday. The Angel statue was on a tomb in Italy at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan.
This Easter we were blessed to have a table of ten. Five couples including Dear and me. It was good to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ together at an Easter service and around our celebration table. On Saturday before Easter Sunday we had a baking and creating day that you can see here. And if you are interested in seeing the table we sat at you can see it here.
Jamie and Dan traveled over 5 hours to be with us for the weekend. They were married last summer. Dan is our second son.
Dan with his dad.
Steve and Lana with a stand up daffodil photo and a silly one, too. Lana is my youngest sister and the only sibling of mine that lives in Washington State.
Laura and Josh are the longest married of our children. Josh is our firstborn.
Dear and me.
Katie and Andrew were under the weather on Easter day and we didn’t find a time to get them to stand behind the daffodils so I pulled up this great photo of them as they were on their way out to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago. Katie is our youngest.
And here’s my new Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) bunting that Katie put together for me including making what the kit called radishes that look like carrots and flowers. Josh and Laura gifted me the bunting kit on my birthday.
I’m linking up with Amy for Five on Friday and with Susanne for Friday’s Fave Five even though I added #6!
I’m happy to report that I’m feeling well again with enough energy that I conquered the lawn today with the lawnmower. No fooling! But because I was spent after doing that the king of this old house had to take his gardener out to dinner! It got up to the 70’s today and it is going to be up to 70 degrees on Friday, too, woohoo!
Hope no one tries to fool you on April Fools Day.
…was a first for us. We always have had Easter lunch or dinner and served lamb. This year our kids from across the mountains joined us for the weekend and had to get on the road earlier on Easter day to head home. We went to an early service and came home and started on brunch. We decided on Biscuits and gravy which was easy to have ready for 10 in a short amount of time. We used our electric skillet to make side eggs for anyone who wanted one or two.
The tablecloth and runner were purchased at HomeGoods.
We used shrink wraps for the eggs that I purchased at a Ukrainian market.
I bought the glasses that are tinted on their base in green and blue from Dollar Tree.
This is Seernaya Paska which is a sweet cheese spread made with cooked egg yolks, butter, cream, and sugar mixed well and then put in a mold with weight on top to force all the extra liquid out of it. This happens overnight in the fridge.
This is one from a couple of years ago that I made using a larger amount and larger mold.
The signs that the bunnies are holding are in Russian and they say Christ is Risen and He is risen indeed.
I used little blue and green egg cups for place cards and let each person take theirs home so each household took home a green cup and an aqua cup. I bought the egg cups from World Market. The napkins were a thrift store purchase a few years back. The pearl napkin rings were a Target clearance purchase from several years ago.
The Russian Easter Bread ready to go with our favorite toppings…
A nice layer of Seernaya Paska (Sweet Cheese Spread) on top of the Kulich/Paska (Russian Easter Bread) and then top it off with lightly sugared fresh strawberries. Delicious! And on the morning after this next picture shows my Easter Monday breakfast…
My next post will be all about the people we enjoyed this meal with.
Here in the Pacific Northwest we are enjoying some glorious sunshiny days! I will have no excuse not to mow the grass. It’s getting a little wild out there with dandelions! I’m feeling better, too, and using less tissues everyday. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
I’m linking up with Laura at Decor to Adore for Thoughts of Home #8.
I love Easter and all that it holds and all that it means. I like the idea of new Life, a resurrected Life. The greatest Love that was demonstrated on Good Friday and the Life that was resurrected on Easter Sunday.
Here are photos of our Easter weekend labors of love and celebrations.
This was the end result of our labors on Easter Saturday. Top left an Russian Easter sweet cheese spread called Seernaya Paska. The X and the B stand for Christ is Risen. On the right is the finished and frosted Russian Easter Bread called Kulich or Paska surrounded by Russian shrink wrapped eggs. The sign in Russian on the bottom left says Christ is Risen so you see where the X and B comes from. Now I’ll show you some of the process of getting here.
First you gather your labor force. This is my sister Lana who arrived early so that we could get the Russian Easter Bread (Kulich/Paska) started.
The rest of the laborers arrived and were donned with their aprons and head scarves.
At one point in the process of mixing the dough I thought I made a big boo boo so we prayed over the dough and Lana and I laid hands on the KitchenAid. I didn’t want to start over again. All turned out well…
Lana showing how her slippers match her apron. I am behind in giving a shout out to My Mother’s Apron Strings after I won this Christmas apron giveaway without knowing I even entered the contest. My sister is wearing it on the reverse side since this is Easter and not Christmas. Thank you Susan for sending the apron to me.
The other photos in the collage are of kneading the dough and shrink wrapping the boiled eggs. While the dough was rising we enjoyed lunch together. Home made tamales and beans with guacamole, chips, and Dan and Jamie’s home made salsa.
After lunch it was time to prepare the cans and to punch down the dough after it’s first rise. The Peter Rabbit bunting was completed by Katie and hung by Laura and Katie. Josh and Laura gifted me the bunting kit for my birthday last week.
After the second rise we punched again and prepared the dough by hand for the cans pinching off enough or almost enough for each can we picked for this time around. Short, medium and tall.
The guys were busy outside in the sunshine solving several world problems.
The finished eggs and kulich on Easter day. I’ll show more from our Easter table in another post.
When the baking was done and the cheese mold was in the refrigerator setting up for our Easter Sunday meal the kids went out to dinner with their aunt and uncle. Dear and I stayed at home and crashed…
All of our kids together enjoying each other and extended family fills us with joy and not having to make dinner for them after a full day in the kitchen was a bonus!
We love and treasure these traditions and hope to carry them on through the years and pass them on to the next generation.
I’m linking up with Tuesday’s Treasures hosted by Tom the Backroads Traveler and ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and the ABC team for L is for Labors of Love. I noticed several L’s in this post like Life, Love, Lana, Laura, Lunch, and Labor force.
Hope you all had a good Easter Weekend and some of you got the bonus of Easter Monday holiday which is brilliant!
I’m also linking up to Thoughts of Home #8 with Laura at Decor to Adore.
I like that Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand have Easter Monday. Here in the U.S.A. it’s not a holiday. I’m getting my Easter fun posts sorted and hope to have a cohesive way to store them here for my memories. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Hope all of you who have an extra holiday today will enjoy it to the full!
Here is how our festivities started on Friday…
We decided to hide eggs for our adult kids to find.
The hunt began…
It didn’t take long for them to find all the eggs. There were 6 large plastic eggs with each of their names on them and one large golden egg. Then there were several little plastic eggs filled with candy for them to find, too. The large eggs had cold hard cash in them. The golden egg had cash, too. Our new daughter in love found the golden egg straight away!
For dinner on Friday we enjoyed a Raclette meal together. Our whole little family all together. We don’t take these times for granted since Dan and Jamie live 6 hours away from us with a mountain range between us!
It was a wonderful start to a full and beautiful weekend despite some of us falling into tissue mode because of the head colds going around!
Hope the drip drip drip hasn’t caught up to you! Happy Monday everyone!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 