Category Archives: Traditions

Nadyezhda’s (Надежда) Kulich (Paska)

This is a historic post that I will probably repost every year during one of the days leading up to Easter. Easter shares the rank with Christmas as my favorite holiday of the year. My winter favorite and my Spring favorite. Easter has more ‘dear to me’ food traditions. Our mom Nadyezhda (Nadia) passed these recipes to us with tweaks along the way. Nadia or Nadya (Надя, accent on first syllable) is the diminutive form of the full name Nadyezhda (Надежда), meaning “hope” and derived from Old Church Slavonic.
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Paska is a slightly sweet Easter yeast bread that is traditional in the Ukraine and Russia. My Russian relatives call this bread Kulich. My mother and relatives always made dozens of loaves in the cylindrical shape using coffee cans or large juice cans.

What many of you call Paska we call Kulich. This is my mom’s Russian Easter Bread Recipe that I quartered because the amount she would make is quite daunting for me. We have cut it in half in years past. What you need to know about my mom and recipes is that she ends up tweaking them from year to year so this recipe is for her Kulich from 2001. I have a 2009 and 2012 recipe, too. This one was easier to quarter. Here’s the link to the original. My dear mom passed away from this earth in September of 2013 so I cherish her tweaked recipes.

I will post her recipe every year about a week before Easter for inspiration. We like it fresh so many years we bake it on the day in between Good Friday and Easter. This is not a recipe that I would attempt on my own. In my mind it calls for company enjoying the process together, like this group of loved ones in 2016.

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It’s always good to pray over your dough!

Kulich

Ingredients:

  • 2 packets rapid rise yeast
    1/4 cup lukewarm water
    1/4 cup lukewarm milk
    1 teaspoon sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
    1 egg
    1-1/4 cups sugar
    3/4 cup butter
    1 cup whipping cream
    1 cup half and half
    1/2 ounce apricot brandy
    1-1/2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
    1 teaspoon salt
    Zest of half a lemon
    About 2-1/2 pounds of flour, sifted (about 7 cups)
    Vegetable oil to coat the rising dough
  • 6 to 7 one pound or two pound cans for baking. You can use loaf pans or large muffin tins if you don’t have the cans to bake them in

Method:

Add yeast to the lukewarm water and milk and sugar in a stainless steel bowl making sure the liquids are lukewarm. Let this mixture dissolve and sit.

Beat the egg yolks and egg together.
Cream the butter and sugar in the large bowl of a stand-up mixer.
Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture slowly mixing to combine and then beat to incorporate well.

Mix the half and half with the whipping cream and heat until lukewarm, not hot, and slowly incorporate into the creamed mixture.
Mix in the vanilla and brandy.
Add the yeast mixture and the salt and beat with a mixer.
Continue beating and add the lemon zest.
Continue beating and add the sifted flour about a cup at a time.
Once you cannot beat the dough any longer using the mixer, put the dough on a floured surface and start incorporating the remaining flour by kneading the dough.
The dough should be kneaded very well, approximately 10 minutes.
You should knead the dough until you can cut it with a knife and it is smooth without any holes.
Place the dough in a stainless steel bowl.

Take some oil and pour a little on the dough and spread it all over the dough making sure to turn the dough so it is coated evenly.
Cover with plastic wrap right on the dough and a dish towel on top of that.
Place in a warm place away from drafts to rise.

(My sister usually puts it into the oven that has been warmed slightly).

It is now time to prepare the coffee cans (1 lb. and 2 lb. cans are the best)

Cut circles the size of the bottom of the cans out of wax paper. You will need four circles per can. Make sure the cans are well greased. Put the 4 circles in the bottom of the cans.

Use a empty and clean coffee can like the ones above. If there is a label make sure to take it off. If the can has a lip at the top you’ll need to use a can opener to cut the lip off the can. I hope these pictures will make the process easier to understand.

After putting the circles in the bottoms of the cans, cut sheets of wax paper long enough to line the sides of the can and tall enough to be 2″ above the rim of the can. Use Crisco to seal the ends of the paper.

Back to the dough…

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it over.
Let it rise a second time until it doubles in size. Punch it down again.
Now the dough is ready to put into the prepared cans.
You will take a portion of dough about 1/3 the size of the can. Knead it and form it into a smooth ball that you can easily drop into the can.

Let the dough rise again inside the can until it is at least double in size.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown on top.(approximately 30 minutes or more depending on your oven.)

Let them cool slightly in the cans. Remove them from the cans and then cool completely standing up. Some people cool them on their sides turning them often to keep their shape. We found this time that they cool just fine and keep their shape standing up so we didn’t bother with that step!

This recipe yielded 7 loaves.

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To go with this bread my mom always made a wonderful sweet cheese topping that is formed in a mold in different shapes.  I’m adding the recipe here.

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 Seernaya Paska

Ingredients:

18 – hard boiled eggs /
3 pounds Farmers cheese /a dry curd cheese like a dry cottage cheese can be substituted.
1 pint whipping cream /
3 cubes unsalted butter (12 oz.) /
3 cups sugar /

Press the Farmers cheese through a sieve. (This is the hardest part of the recipe) If you find a very small curd cheese you won’t have to do this to the cheese. I usually use a wooden spoon and press it through a wire strainer a little at a time. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. (You will not be using the whites).

Press the egg yolks through the sieve. Cream the sugar and butter together. Beat in the egg yolks. Beat in the cheese. Add whipping cream and mix well. You will place the mixture into a strainer lined with about 3 layers of cheesecloth. You will need enough cheesecloth to wrap up and over the top of the cheese. Place the cheese mixture into the cheese cloth lined strainer, or flower pot with holes in the bottom. Bring the ends of the cheese cloth up and tie the ends on top of the cheese in a knot. Place the sieve or flower pot into a larger bowl suspended with enough room for the cheese to drain without sitting in the drained liquid. Place a plate on top of the cheese an place a heavy rock, brick, or other weight on top of the plate. Refrigerate over night.

This recipe is enough to feed an army. If you don’t have to feed an army here’s a scaled down version :0)

If you just want a normal amount, cut the recipe in thirds. (6 cooked egg yolks, 1-lb. cheese, 2/3 cup whipping cream, 1 cube butter and 1 cup sugar.) Enjoy!

Farmers Cheese or Hoop Cheese can be hard to find. There are Russian-Ukrainian delis that sell a dry curd cottage type cheese that will work. If you can find a dry cottage cheese at the grocers that will work too.

I found a site online that sells the cheese that I use for this yummy spread.

The cheese spread in the flower pot in the refrigerator with the stone on top to help release as much liquid as possible.

We like to serve the kulich with the spread and strawberries.

When the Mennonite Girls Can Cook had a Paska demonstration at Lepp Market in Abbotsford I brought a completed Seernaya Paska, sweet cheese spread molded from home since it has to sit in the refrigerator having all the liquid pressed out for at least 24 hours. I plated it and showed one of the flower pots I use to mold the cheese and the heavy stone wrapped in plastic wrap to weight the cheese and force the liquid out. We used fresh viola blossoms to decorate it.

Because the class was all about Easter I have to explain what the X and B on my Russian Sweet Cheese Spread is all about. On Easter the greeting that we always express to one another is

Christos Voskress! Voistinu Voskress!

Христос Воскрес!

Воистину воскрес!

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

So the X (the first letter of Christ in Russian) stands for Christ and the B (the first letter of risen in Russian) stands for Risen, Christ is Risen. This is what Easter is all about.

I made an error in the pronunciation of this dish in our first cookbook. It is called seernaya paska not seerney paska . I’ve always had a hard time with my Russian. I’ve found these plastic flower pots work well to mold the cheese. Make sure you add holes in the bottom of the pot so the liquid can escape easily.

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You do not need old coffee cans to make Kulich/Paska. This next photo shows individual sized portions using paper baking cups that were baked for our cooking class at Lepp Farm Market years ago.

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This blast from the past was probably our first Easter in Washington State, 1989.

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True Confessions: I have not attempted to make Kulich here in Colville. I have made Seernaya Paska to go with Kulich that I purchased at Kiev Market in Spokane. The market Kulich was only good for decorating the table. It does not compare to our mom’s recipe.

Are you preparing for Easter?

Dohany Street Synagogue

On Sunday, March 1st, after another delicious breakfast at our hotel, The Matilde Palace, we packed up our belongings and left our suitcases outside our hotel room door to be collected by AmaWaterways. They would be curried to the boat and deposited in our room onboard. We would board AmaMagna later on this Sunday for the beginning of our cruise on the Danube.

But first, we had another walk ahead of us to the Jewish District in Budapest to visit the Dohany Street Synagogue.

The Dohány Street synagogue is one of Budapest’s touristic highlights as it is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The synagogue was built in 1859 in the Moorish style and it can seat 3000 people. Its huge size demonstrates the significance and the high economic and cultural standards of the Budapest Jewry of the age.

It was another beautiful winter day in Budapest.

After we purchased our tickets for entry we had to go through security. This was the only place we visited on our entire time in Europe and England where we had to do this. I wasn’t surprised of this added security as the history of antisemitism around the world seems to be continuous.

The plaque and memorial reads; In memory of the 440,000 Hungarian Jews deported to their deaths between 15th May and 9th July 1944. Theodor Herzel Square, 5 May, 2024.

That is sobering and brings such sadness.

We got to the synagogue early and waited for it to open to visitors.

The temple was designed by Ludwig Förster (1797-1863), a German architect, professor of the Vienna Academy. The clerk of works was the architect Ignác Wechselmann (1828-1903) who later bequeathed his entire wealth to the Institute of the Blind. After Förster left, Frigyes Feszl, the famous architect of the Budapest Vigadó designed the temple’s inner sanctum. The official consecration of the synagogue took place on 6 September 1859. 

The interior of the synagogue is 1200 square metres, the towers are 44 metres high. There are 1497 seats for men downstairs and 1472 for women in the galleries, altogether the seating capacity of the flat-ceilinged inner space is nearly 3000 people.
The Synagogue is the temple of the Neolog Jewry. It was built in Budapest’s former Jewish quarter where many people of the Jewish faith still reside today.

The building is a holy place!

  • The building and the cemetery are holy places. Please comport yourself accordingly.
  • Men are forbidden to enter the synagogue without covering their heads. If you have a hat or cap, please put it on. After ticket validation you will be given a kippah at the entrance that you have to wear in the complex at all times.
  • Entry will be denied if you wear clothes inappropriate for a temple (e.g. sleeveless tops, short skirts or shorts). In such cases the ticket inspectors of the Synagogue will not grant you entry. Tickets are valid for 2 days. Clothing items can be purchased from the ticket inspectors.

The memory of the Holocaust is strongly connected to the old Jewish quarter where the Synagogue is situated. Dohány Street constituted the border to the ghetto during World War II. The area which was planned as a garden is the burial place of nearly 2600 Jewish people who perished during the Holocaust. 

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat, and humanitarian. He saved thousands of Jews in German-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust from German Nazis and Hungarian fascists during the later stages of World War II.

According to Jewish tradition it is our duty to remember. To remember our martyrs and those non-Jewish people who did not fear for their lives but helped Jews during the holocaust, saving theirs.
The Emmanuel memorial tree was envisioned by Tony Curtis and completed by the sculptor Imre Varga. You can find memorial plaques of Hungarian and other nationality rescuers of Jewish people in the memorial park.

The cemetery in the synagogue’s yard is of particular significance as it is not usual in Jewish customs to situate cemeteries next to synagogues. The cemetery overlooking Wesselényi Street, however, was created during World War II, out of necessity.
When the ghetto was liberated on 18 January 1945, thousands of unburied corpses were lying in the streets, more than 3000 dead bodies were found on Klauzál Square alone. 1140 known and 1170 unknown martyrs were buried in 24 common graves in the yard of the Synagogue.

My information comes from the Synagogues website and from our Tour guide who was a practicing Jew from this Temple.

I was surprised by the interior of the Temple and especially the presence of an organ.

Unlike traditional, intimate synagogues, the Dohány is vast and longitudinal, resembling a Christian cathedral. It features a large, decorated ark and a massive organ designed to be played by non-Jews on the Sabbath.

I will save the Jewish Museum and the Heroes Temple for another post.

Back to the Present:

We are still experiencing freezing temps in the early hours. More blooms have opened up on our daffodils.

In our neck of the woods it is always a treat to have a new eatery open up. This month Buck 25 Roadhouse in Kettle Falls opened up. We decided to try lunch there after our church workday this past Saturday. We were pleased with the atmosphere and the light and friendly new spot to enjoy good food.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and our service was good with a sermon from 1st John. This is the beginning of Holy Week culminating with Resurrection Sunday. It is a special week for Christians around the world. We are looking forward to our Good Friday Service and Resurrection Sunday service. Easter preparations are commencing here.

Pancake Hodgepodge

Rise and shine, it’s pancake time!

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Wednesday Hodgepodge questions.

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?

This will be an as per usual time during Lent as in… morning devotions, reading through the Bible, Women’s Bible Study, Daily Spurgeon, and Daily Doctrine.  Growing in my love and devotion to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is an everyday thing and includes the 40 days of Lent.

From Spurgeon: ‘God, you see me.”  “May the Lord be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life.”

We have 17 days of travel during Lent this year which is very unusual for us. I will be absent from the Hodgepodge for at least a couple of Wednesdays.

2. Pancakes…are you a fan?

YES! All kinds of pancakes are enjoyed. These are yogurt pancakes. Potato pancakes at the top of this post.

Every time our whole family gets together we enjoy Greg’s Swedish pancakes. It’s a long standing tradition at our house and we always serve them with Little Smokies.

Greg has also made Aebleskivers, Danish spherical pancakes.

Syrup or no syrup?

Yes, please, real maple and fruit syrups.

Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? 

No to chocolate chips or bananas. Yes to blueberries or strawberries and always sour cream!

Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

Yes, in the blintz form, we had them last night for dessert since it was Pancake Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday!

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt ‘spread too thin’. 

I haven’t felt this way recently. I might feel that way after today as we are getting ready for an international trip so I’m getting all our ducks in a row starting now!!

4. What’s your favorite jewel or gemstone?

If I have to pick a favorite, I’ll choose a Ruby.

In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

My wardrobe isn’t well planned and is a combination of all of these.

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

Being a mom is a very hard responsibility, one of the hardest. Being a grandmother is so much easier.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I finally finished this most difficult puzzle just before Valentine’s Day. The pressure was on to get-er-done since we would be using the dining room table for company on the night before Valentine’s day and then again on the 17th of February. This was one of the hardest puzzles I’ve ever completed because of the very random shapes of the pieces.

See you in the middle of March, Hodgepodgers! I will try to post daily postcards of our journey here on my blog.

Everyday Images ~December Prompts

December Prompts – Everyday Images #77
I’ll be linking up with Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee.
(at home, collection, love, white, traditional, pine)
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at home (monthly)
collection
love
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
white
traditional
Christmas cards are a tradition that I enjoy and cherish. Hope it doesn’t completely die out!
pine
Pine bough garland around our front door of our former home.
Currently at our home we are surrounded by evergreens but they are more of the fir variety and not pine.
~~~~~
Hope all is well in your corner of the world as you anticipate Christmas and all that it means to humanity.
We’ve had this little tin for years and the scenes go well with the Bible verses from Luke.
~
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:8–14, ESV)
This last scene comes later in the Christmas events before Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee to Egypt to escape King Herod’s evil plans. The Wise men and Joseph are warned by God about Herod.
My little tin also has a scene with a Little Drummer Boy which comes from a popular Christmas song but isn’t in the Bible.

A Thanksgiving Hodgepodge

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this great day here in the United States! Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving week Hodgepodge has been dished out by Joyce From This Side of the Pond! Thank you!

1. Do you feel like you have a ‘full plate’ at the moment? In what way? 

 Yes, yes I do have a full plate at the moment. The calendar is as full as can be with Thanksgiving festivities, both spare bedrooms full for a few days. Monday after Thanksgiving ladies ministry meeting plus decorating our church for Christmas. Tuesday escape to Idaho for an overnight to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary (December 6th is the actual day). Ladies Christmas party on Friday the 5th. I’ll fit in some Christmas decorating, too.

2. How did you learn to cook? If you have children did you teach or encourage them to cook? Do you like to follow a recipe or is your cooking style more ‘let’s wing it’.  

Mostly I learned the basics in my Home Economics classes. I didn’t cook with my mother growing up. My learning was hands on after I got married and it became my responsibility. My kids have the skills on their own initiative. Our sons are both good cooks. Our daughter can tackle any recipe. We modeled openness to invite people over to share a meal and our kids picked up on that. I follow recipes for baking but wing it a lot for spur of the moment meals.

3. Last time you bit off more than you could chew? Elaborate. 

Winterizing our property, namely the planters, this is more than I can chew. I’m hoping to bring in some help to complete this task. It’s more than my back can handle.

4. When did you last say ‘the more the merrier’ and mean it? 

Anytime my kids or family or friends want to travel to spend time with us I feel like the more the merrier.

5. Write an acrostic using the word T-H-A-N-K-S. 

Thank you, LORD God

Hope of Heaven

Acceptance you give me in Jesus

Nothing to doubt

King Jesus my Savior

Salvation assured

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Last Saturday we attended JJ’s promotion at Taekwondo. He did very well and received his Tiger Badge.

He answered all the questions the Grand Master asked of him.  One of  the Tiny Tiger Creeds is “Tiny Tigers will obey their parents”. The Grand Master asked JJ why he should obey his parents and JJ answered, “because it is written in the Bible, Sir!” Well said, JJ!

Later on this day our Colville kids enjoyed their yearly tradition of a Christmas lights boat cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Thank you to all who stop by here. I’m thankful for visitors to my blog and fellow bloggers!

Handel’s Messiah 2025

On Friday November 21st, I joined three ladies from our church for a trip to Spokane to hear Handel’s Messiah performed by Spokane Symphony and Chorale. The Performance by the orchestra and chorale was hosted by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

Handel’s Messiah is an oratorio that tells the story of Jesus Christ through three parts: his birth and miracles, his passion and death, and his final glorification in heaven. Composed rapidly in 24 days by George Frideric Handel in 1741, the work uses verses from the King James Bible. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, or text, (not Handel) comprising passages from the Bible. It premiered in Dublin in 1742 as a benefit concert and has since become a holiday staple known for its religious narrative and powerful choruses, like the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.

Messiah was originally conceived as a work for Easter, and its world premiere was given during Lent.

In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, who had written the libretti for two of Handel’s oratorios wrote the following in a letter to a friend–the earliest mention of Messiah:

“Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope that I shall persuade to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own Benefit in Passion week. I hope that he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah…”Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.”

We found our general admission seats and then we wandered about the cathedral which included climbing the spiral staircase to the gallery below the Rose window and some of the pipes of the organ.

While Messiah is a large-scale oratorio that takes almost 3 hours to perform in its entirety, it is not Handel’s longest work.

Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.

The U.S. premiere of the complete Messiah was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society on Christmas Day in 1818 at Boylston Hall in Boston.

I’m adding a couple YouTube videos to give you a hint of what we heard.

No. 17. Chorus: Glory to God

The presentation we enjoyed did not perform all 53 movements in the original Messiah but performed 45 of the 53. The Hallelujah Chorus is movement #44.

The performance on Friday did end with the last movement, No. 53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 5:12, 13]

It was a grand location to enjoy this God honoring, Christ proclaiming Oratorio. Hallelujah to our Risen Savior!

I was thankful that Bethany drove for the majority of miles and that I only had about 5 miles to drive home at the end of our evening.  I pulled into our garage at midnight! That is late for me.

In October of 2017, Greg and I ventured off of our usual route from Kenmore to Colville to view this church. We were pleased to find the doors open so we could explore the inside of the church. Click here to see this beautiful cathedral and some of the stained glass windows.

 

Feis Day Two

Day Two of the Feis was Deirdre Haran Abeid Day.

The Haran School of Irish Dance was founded in Kettle Falls by Deirdre Abeid over 45 years ago. Her daughters Caitlin Trusler and Claire Worley have continued in her footsteps, running the Kettle Falls and Spokane branches of Haran for the past 25 years.

All signed in and ready to dance

 

There are breaks between the soft shoe dances and hard shoe dances.

Both Addy and JJ appreciated Uncle and Auntie being at the Feis on Sunday. I appreciated it, too, as Laura could get up close and take photos and videos that I was not able to.

Soft shoe, hard shoe and then it was time for another soft shoe competition.

There is a trick to lacing the soft shoes!

When all the traditional jigs and reels and treble and Hornpipe were completed it was time for the creative water/sea dance. The dancers who wanted to participate in this dance had to come up with their own costume and dance.

This is the outfit conception that Addy came up with thinking about water, ‘under the sea’. Here was the completed outfit Addy and her Mom created.

It is so good to have the support team of mom and dad in the dancers corner.

Waiting for their solo performances. I wish I could share the video Auntie Lolo took of Addy’s dance but I’m unable to on my blog. It was a wonderful performance and we found out while we were out to lunch that Addy had received a 1st place for her outfit and dance!

We gathered for lunch before taking Uncle and Auntie back to the airport for their flight home.

After lunch on their way home Dan and Jamie stopped by the convention center to pick up Addy’s prize for her creative under the sea dance and costume.

Her 1st place trophy!

After getting home Addy donned all her awards from her first Feis!

Well done, Addy. Your hard work was rewarded. Hmmm, I wonder if she’ll want to sign up for another Feis?

Thanks for coming along and for all your kind comments.

Cedar + Elm at The Lodge

Before I move on to today’s post I wanted to let you know that our home is safe and evacuation levels have stabilized but the fire is still burning.

On Friday September 5th Laura and Katie treated me to tea at Cedar + Elm at The Lodge at St. Edward Park.  

There was live music and the artist had a beautiful mellow voice which made for a pleasant background of music.

When we were done with our leisurely tea we walked about the Lodge.

Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend.

Thank you to Laura and Katie for the nice treat and lovely afternoon together. Thank you, too, to Josh and Laura for always being so hospitable to us.

We spent last Thursday on the road to travel to Bothell then spent the next three full days on the Westside. We met up with friends on Thursday and Saturday.  On Saturday morning we attended a conference with Paul Tripp on Suffering. It was such a well spent 2-1/2 hours! On Sunday evening our westside kids treated us to dinner to celebrate Greg’s birthday a couple days early. More about those events at a later date.

It has been a relief to be out of the smoke filled air in Colville for these few days. We are on the road back to Colville today and hope the air quality improves each day to come.

Choo Choo Train Hodgepodge

Our second born, Dan, enjoying his Choo Choo Train engine at his 3rd birthday celebration.

It’s time my friend for another Hodgepodge thanks to Joyce From this Side of the Pond.

1. What do birthdays look like in your house? How are they celebrated? Any special traditions?

We always tried to have a special celebration for each of our children on their birthdays. Their first birthday was an extended family and friend event with lots of adults and kids. As the years progressed birthdays morphed. After having the inspiration to have a Choo Choo train cake for Dan’s 3rd birthday, it became a special tradition for him.

The photo above is from his 5th birthday celebration.

From Dan’s 19th birthday celebration.

When Dan met Jamie and before they were married, she made him a Choo Choo Train cake for one of his birthdays. This next cake was her idea, too, at his 40th birthday celebration in Arizona.

Dan’s 40th birthday Pokeman choo choo train cake.

What about birthdays growing up? 

Birthdays were celebrated growing up but they were not the over the top brand of today. Simple cake and ice cream. Sometimes there was a gift and sometimes there was not a gift. One unique thing my parents did for my older sisters and me was to buy us a special birthstone ring for our 16th birthday.

2. Someone is sending you a dozen roses…what color are you hoping for?

I enjoy roses with subtle color, not the bold reds or yellows. You don’t have to send me roses but do bring a bouquet from your garden, please.

 Are you someone who gets accused of seeing the world through rose colored glasses? Is your accuser correct? Elaborate. 

I would say that I lean toward black and white, not rose colored. I’m more of a realist and less of a poet. Saying that, I do choose joy and am filled with hope for a future in heaven that far exceeds anything on this earth. I will be upbeat and have a smile on my face in many circumstances of life.

3. June 4th is National Cheese Day…will you celebrate? What’s something (besides a burger) you make in the summer months that calls for cheese? 

There is nothing specific that calls for cheese but we’ll add cheese to egg scrambles, burritos, tacos, and some salads.

Summer reminds me of Bible Camp and Bible Camp reminds me of the classic grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup!

4. ’tis the season…any weddings on your June calendar?

No June weddings on our calendar.

What’s the first word that comes to mind when I say marriage? 

It was a jumble of words because of our current climate where the marriage covenant has been so mistreated and undermined and attacked. It’s not a surprise since marriage was ordained by God and the model is His model. The original is the standard, a man and a woman, leaving mother and father, becoming one in marriage. I believe in the Word of God, the Bible, and what it has to say about marriage.

Mark 10:6-9

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.

This is a great month to celebrate and affirm marriage as God intended. Marriage reflects Christ and His Bride, the church.

Ephesians 5:31-33 ~Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

5. What are you most looking forward to this June? 

Having our epic garage sale behind us. The dates for this sale keep shifting but we hope to get it accomplished by July!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The above photo is from a Happy Birthday meal on the Westside for Greg in 2024 just before we flew to Scotland for more celebrations.

From September of 2024 through April of 2025, we celebrated all 10 of our ‘family’ birthdays.

We sing, we blow out candles, we eat cake or pie, we gift, and most of all we love and affirm one another on birthdays and other days, too.

“The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

V is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Friday April 25th and we are on the letter V.

V is for Vareniki or Vareniky~ A Russian traditional cheese filled dumpling. I will add a recipe at the end of this post.

The first sets of vareniki day in Southern California are when our mom was still on this earth.

I think this set of photos is from 2004.

In 2008 while Greg and I were living in Camarillo I was able to join in for the family day of making Vareniki for our Christmas celebration.

This photo above is from 2012, the last Vareniki day with our mom. Our mom was promoted to heaven in September of 2013.

The next set of photos are from Vareniki day in 2020.

Vareniki are a Russian treat we’ve enjoyed at Christmas for many years. Vareniki can be enjoyed any time of year but our family has made it our Christmas dessert tradition. This year the crew included my two older sisters, one sister-in-law, 4 of our nieces and one grandniece. My mom would be so proud of them all!

My oldest sister Kathy with the finished product which is first boiled and then ready to freeze and then bake in half and half and butter on Christmas Eve. Our family tradition is to stuff these dumplings with a cheese filling and serve them as a dessert or for breakfast in place of pancakes. We serve them with a dollop of sour cream and maple syrup.

Pierogi and Vareniki are actually the same thing. Again, stuffed dumplings, they are common throughout Central and Eastern Europe and most of the old Eastern Bloc states. While Vareniki is the more commonly used term in Russia, pierogi are the national dish of Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Here’s the recipe from our family cookbook that our sister Vera created.