One Misty Moisty Morning ~ Ладушки, Ладушки

On mornings like today this old Mother Goose nursery rhyme pops into my head and I say it again and say it again and say it again and again…

One misty moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man,
Clothed all in leather.
He began to compliment
And I began to grin.
How do you do? And how do you do?
And how do you do again?

When I was a school teacher we had a training session on how important nursery rhymes were to a child’s language development and future reading skills. So take that baby on your knee and have fun with all the nursery rhymes out there. Sing them instead of just saying them. I remember bouncing my kids on my knee with this one, too.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes

There’s also a rhyme we would repeat in Russian that goes something like this…

Ладушки, ладушки
Pat-a-cake
Clapping Song
(Russian)
Ладушки, ладушки
Где были?
У бабушки!
Что ели?
Кашку!
Что пили?
Бражку!
Кашка масленька
Бражка сладенька
Бабушка добренька!
~
The loose translation into English
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,
Where were you?
At granny’s!
What did you eat?
Porridge*!
What did you drink?
A little home-brewed beer**
The porridge is buttered,
The home-brewed beer is sweet,
Granny is kind!
~
The version we sang was a bit different at the end. I’ll need to talk to my mom today and update how we ended this rhyme.
~
*In Russia porridge is very famous, it can be made from wheat (millet), oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, fine-ground barley, etc.**This probably means kvas, a Russian home-brewed non-alcoholic drink, or it means that Granny gave the children some beer to try, she indulged her grandchildren. (and actually if it sits long enough Kvas turns into an alcohol drink)
~
I updated this post with photos from our trip to Banbury, England in July of 2014.
ht: Mama Lisa’s World for the Russian Rhyme.

Fun Monday ~ Quotable quotes and words that inspire

Robin at Pensieve has chosen this theme for today’s Fun Monday.

Quotable quotes and words that inspire.

Here are a couple of quotes for you. One from a Russian and one for an admired American.

“How easy it is for me to live with you, Lord!
How easy it is for me to believe in you!
When my mind is distraught and my reason fails,
When the cleverest people do not see further than this
evening what must be done tomorrow
You grant me the clear confidence
that you exist, and that you will take care
that not all the ways of goodness are stopped.
At the height of earthly fame I gaze with wonder at
that path through hopelessness-
to this point from which even I have been able
to convey to men some reflection of the Light
which comes from you.”

-Alexander Solshenitsyn

Solshenitsyn: A Pictorial Record, 1974

“All the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow. A happy life is not one filled only with sunshine, but one which uses both light and shadow to produce beauty.”

Billy Graham

Day by Day with Billy Graham, 1976

To read more Fun Monday Quotes click over to Robin’s.

 

The Wind in the Willows ~ Grahame

road to Henly day11 142

I read this the first night in Washington from California and in a way it spoke to my situation in life right now…

From the Wind in the Willows ~ by Kenneth Grahame

“The weary Mole also was glad to turn in without delay, and soon had his head on his pillow, in great joy and contentment. But ere he closed his eyes he let them wander round his old room, mellow in the glow of the firelight that played or rested on familiar and friendly things which had long been unconsciously a part of him, and now smilingly received him back, without rancour. He was now in just the frame of mind that the tactful Rat had quietly worked to bring about in him. He saw clearly how plain and simple – how narrow, even – it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him, and the special value of some such anchorage in one’s existence. He did not at all want to abandon the new life and its splendid spaces, to turn back on sun and air and all they offered him and creep home and stay there; the upper world was all too strong, it called to him still, even down there, and he knew he must return to the larger stage. But it was good to think he had this to come back to, this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome.”

 

Litera Tea ~ Anne of Green Gables

I just recently read Anne of Green Gables for the first time. I had seen and enjoyed the movies. This is a great quote from the book during a conversation with Anne and Marilla as Anne anticipates going to tea at the manse (a clergyman’s residence).

“But all things have an end, even nights before the day on which you are invited to take tea at the manse. The morning, in spite of Matthew’s predictions, was fine and Anne’s spirits soared to their highest.

“Oh, Marilla, there is something in me today that makes me just love everybody I see, ” she exclaimed as she washed the breakfast dishes. “You don’t know how good I feel! Wouldn’t it be nice if it could last? I believe I could be a model child if I were just invited out to tea everyday. But oh, Marilla, it’s a solemn occasion, too. I feel so anxious. What if I shouldn’t behave properly? You know I never had tea at a manse before, and I’m not sure that I know all the rules of etiquette, although I’ve been studying the rules given in the Etiquette Department of the Family Herald ever since I came here. I’m so afraid I’ll do something silly or forget to do something I should do. Would it be good manners to take a second helping of anything if you wanted to very much?”

“The trouble with you, Anne, is that you’re thinking too much about yourself. You should just think of Mrs. Allan and what would be nicest and most agreeable for her.” said Marilla, hitting for once in her life on a very sound and pithy piece of advice. Anne instantly realized this.

“You are right, Marilla. I’ll try not to think about myself at all.”

Enjoy a little tea in my library in celebration of Litera-tea!
My first Litera post about Russian Tea is here.

For more Litera-Tea click over to Gracious Hospitality.

WFW ~ Hebrews 10: 19-23

 

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday click here.

Legend of the Dogwood ~ Easter

 

~~~~

The Legend of the Dogwood

There is a legend, that at the time of the Crucifixion the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber of the cross. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree, and Jesus, nailed upon it, sensed this, and in His gentle pity for all sorrow and suffering said to it: “Because of your regret and pity for My suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross. ..two long and two short petals. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember.”

I recognize that this is just a legend but I wanted to post this entry because I’ve always loved the Dogwood blooms. If I look at them and think about what my Savior did for me that’s a good thing. He created the tree, the beautiful bloom, and you and me to enjoy it! Praising God this Easter season for His sacrifice on behalf of us.

Here are some interesting facts about the dates that Easter falls on;

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox. This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman Calendar.

Here’s the very full moon from last night 3-21-08 that caused Easter to be so early this year!

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will see for the rest of our lives! The next time Easter will be this early is in the year 2228 (220 years from now).

The earliest calendar date on which Easter can fall is March 22nd and the latest date it can fall is April 25th.

Next year in 2009 Easter will be on April 12th!

Happy Easter Everyone…

Sky Watch ~ Good Friday

 

Luke 23: 44-46 ~ “It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said thus, He breathed His last.”

For more Sky Watch photos visit Tom at  Wiggers World.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

WFW ~ Hebrews 12: 1-2

 

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday click here.