Over the Top…

Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy is hands down the most over the top cemetery I’ve been to yet. I’m breaking down the photos I show into categories. I’ve already shown you a few like the last supper sculpture. This post will be all about angels…

In general I feel angels are depicted too mellow and sweet. I like this one for it’s more rugged style and many more of the sculptures we saw at this cemetery.

Looking at all these statues reminds me of the Amy Grant Song from a few years ago, Angels Watching Over Me.

Got his angels watching over me, every move I make,

Angels watching over me!

Angels watching over me, every step I take,

Angels watching over me!

Now from the past to the present…

Lovella from Mennonite Girls Can Cook and What Matters Most along with her dear husband were camping for one night in our neck of the woods on their way home from Cannon Beach so we were able to get together for breakfast at this old house on Sunday morning. What a fun treat to have them in our home for the first time. I did not take one photo. Can you believe that!? I guess I was just too excited. We had blintzes with fruit topping, bacon, sausages, coffee, and fresh orange juice with maybe some champagne in it. I’m not telling.  Here’s a photo of what the table looked like after the fact…

I have a couple of weeks of quiet on my calendar. The end of April really heats up into May. Hope your week ahead is a good one. Blessings.

Oh and while I’m thinking of it head over to our MGCC blog on Monday to get the recipe for Aebleskivers!

Sweet Feast of Love Divine ~ Hymn

Sweet Feast of Love Divine

Sweet feast of love divine!
’Tis grace that makes us free
To feed upon this bread and wine,
In memory, Lord, of Thee.

Here every welcome guest
Waits, Lord, from Thee to learn
The secrets of Thy Father’s breast,
And all Thy grace discern.

Here conscience ends its strife,
And faith delights to prove
The sweetness of the bread of life,
The fullness of Thy love.

Thy blood that flowed for sin,
In symbol here we see,
And feel the blessèd pledge within,
That we are loved of Thee.

But if this glimpse of love
Is so divinely sweet,
What will it be, O Lord, above,
Thy gladdening smile to meet—

To see Thee face to face,
Thy perfect likeness wear,
And all Thy ways of wondrous grace
Through endless years declare!

Words: Edward Denny, 1839.

Celebrating Sixty Two!

This year we celebrated my birthday on two different continents and 2 states! We arrived in Milan on my birthday but after being airborne for many hours and arriving in Amsterdam and then Milan, Italy I had to be reminded it was my day. After we arrived back to Seattle our oldest and our lovely DIL decided we should head out to celebrate after the fact.

Josh and Laura picked a restaurant for brunch in Seattle close to Queen Anne Hill. They offered several great dishes to choose from.

The name of the restaurant was Toulouse Petit Kitchen and Lounge. There was a long line up but it was worth the wait.

This is the front door to the restaurant. I’m not sure what the story of the cross in the door is. I like it!

We headed to Kerry Park after brunch to get a view of Seattle from above.

Someone was blowing bubbles at the park and I was happy to catch this one on the bottom of the photo!

Before my birthday we celebrated a wee bit early with my family in Southern California along with celebrating Katie and Andrew’s 2nd Anniversary at Julienne in San Marino.

This is my brother Steve with Katie and me.

My nephew Joe, nieces Michelle and Melissa, and grand nephew Jack.

Katie, niece Debbee, and Laura.

My sister Kathy. My sister in law Kelly and grand niece Avery were at breakfast, too, but I failed to capture them in a photo.

Here’s what my kids ordered for my birthday gift …

They delivered it to me on Easter. I thought that was so appropriate bringing our celebrations full circle from the birth of Christ to His death and resurrection. Now my nativity scene with Wee Forest Folk is complete except for one wise man.

We are looking forward to a weekend of celebrating with friends at a wedding on Saturday evening and a breakfast on Sunday. What do you have planned?

The Other Side…

I wanted to finish sharing my photos from the Duomo (Milan Cathedral). These shots are taken of the back and some from the sides.

This shot captures the lift that is used by construction crew to get to the top of the Duomo where restoration work is being done.

There are 2245 statues on the exterior of the Duomo, 96 gargoyles, and 135 Spires.

This is the one figure that I recognized on the outside of the Duomo. Have you read the account of David and Goliath from the Bible? Here are excerpts from 1 Samuel 17…

4 The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was over nine feet tall. 5-6 He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armor to protect his chest and legs. The chest armor alone weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back, 7 and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed more than fifteen pounds. A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.

8 Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:

Why are you lining up for battle? I’m the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul’s army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me! 9 If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves. 10 Here and now I challenge Israel’s whole army! Choose someone to fight me!…

…11 Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn’t do a thing…

…16 Goliath came out and gave his challenge every morning and every evening for forty days…

…26 David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He’s making fun of the army of the living God!”…

…31 Some soldiers overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul sent for David, and David came. 32 “Your Majesty,” he said, “this Philistine shouldn’t turn us into cowards. I’ll go out and fight him myself!”

33 “You don’t have a chance against him,” Saul replied. “You’re only a boy, and he’s been a soldier all his life.”

34 But David told him:

Your Majesty, I take care of my father’s sheep. And when one of them is dragged off by a lion or a bear, 35 I go after it and beat the wild animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it.

36 Sir, I have killed lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn’t have made fun of the army of the living God! 37 The Lord has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.

“All right,” Saul answered, “go ahead and fight him. And I hope the Lord will help you.”…

…David took off the armor 40 and picked up his shepherd’s stick. He went out to a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward Goliath.

41 Goliath came toward David, walking behind the soldier who was carrying his shield. 42 When Goliath saw that David was just a healthy, good-looking boy, he made fun of him. 43 “Do you think I’m a dog?” Goliath asked. “Is that why you’ve come after me with a stick?” He cursed David in the name of the Philistine gods 44 and shouted, “Come on! When I’m finished with you, I’ll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”

45 David answered:

You’ve come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I’ve come out to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have insulted him too!

46 Today the Lord will help me defeat you. I’ll knock you down and cut off your head, and I’ll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. 47 Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.

48 When Goliath started forward, David ran toward him. 49 He put a rock in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.

51 David ran over and pulled out Goliath’s sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath’s head.

Hope you made it through my longer than usual post. There’s more and you can read the whole account in the Old Testament in the book of First Samuel. Reading this again makes me want to sing “Only a Boy Named David”. Did you ever sing that song?

Tuesday got away from me. Now I’m doing some scrambling today to get reconnected to my brain. Our glorious sunshine from the weekend is hiding away for now and hopefully will return soon. What are you enjoying this week?

Celebrations Giveaway!

We are celebrating today because it is only one month until our book is published. We are offering you a chance to win a copy of our Celebrations book.
If you haven’t had a chance yet to take a peek inside the book…
Amazon is offering you a chance to see inside here.
Contest rules: Share this post on at least one of the following … Facebook, Twitter, or on your own blog. If you are not able to share on any of those options, share it with your family and friends!
Leave a comment on the post at the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog (not here on my blog) and in your comment, tell us how you shared.
Contest closes April 4 at 6 pm PST.
We’ll draw one random winner and announce that winner on April 5 at 4 am PST!

It was all about the Son and…

…the sun on Easter Day!

We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s son early on Sunday morning and then came home to prepare for our Easter meal and the sun shone brightly on us.

I walked about the yard and brought in some color from my Forsythia and Lenten Rose.

We had our traditional lamb barbecue (Shashlik) and sides for our meal. We were so happy the weather was perfect for a barbecue.

I have a confession to make. I did not bake our traditional Russian Easter Bread (Kulich/Paska) this year.
When I was in Italy I saw these in all the grocery stores advertised for Easter and decided to buy one to bring home. It worked perfectly with a texture and aroma very close to Paska.
 

 

Lombardians came up with colomba pasquale (literally “Easter dove”) and its popularity spread throughout the country until today it is an unofficial national Easter bread.There are several stories about its origins. (We have to say “of course” again; we’re talking about poetic Italians, after all.) One version has the colomba dating back to 1176, commemorating the Lombardian victory over Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. During the deciding battle, according to this version, two doves representing the Holy Ghost miraculously appeared on the battle standards.

After our meal we headed out into the sunshine to enjoy some much needed Vitamin D!

For us fair skinned people a portable umbrella was needed to shield our skin from the hot rays! It’s a bit too early for our patio covers to go up here in the Northwest. We usually pull out the patio equipment for Mother’s Day weekend or Memorial Day weekend.

Here we are in April and today I’m checking the calendar to see what’s coming up. We have 2 weddings to attend, one local and one that involves travel the end of the month. We are also getting plans finalized for a 90th birthday party for my parents the end of April. How does April look for you?

 

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Christos Voskress! Voistinu Voskress!

Христос Воскрес!

Воистину воскрес!

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Good Friday ~ How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

~Stuart Townend

Luke 23:44 ~ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Luke 23:49 ~ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

All these images are from Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy taken 10 days ago.

Maundy Thursday

I took this photo just 9 days ago at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan. Today and this whole week Christians around the world remember the events that led up to the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection over 2000 years ago. I always look forward to celebrating our risen Lord who is alive today. The Last Supper and the Washing of the Disciples Feet are both remarkable events. While in Milan I was also able to see Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of the Last Supper. The original mural is on a wall of the refectory (dining hall) in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. No photos allowed. This next sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet is at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California.

GOTW-practice035

 

Excerpts from John chapter 13…

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

On Top of Old Duomo…

…all covered with marble.

For 7 euros you can climb to the roof of the Duomo. For 12 euros you can ride an elevator up. I believe there were just over 200 steps total to get to the roof.

On a clear day you can see as far as the Alps and Apennines.

Dear was intrigued with the design of this building that we could see from the rooftop of the Duomo.

The Duomo is decorated with an amazing number of beautifully sculpted statues and spires. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 Of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires.

The most famous of all these statues on the Duomo is the Madonnina (Little Madonna), a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered with 3900 pieces of gold leaf. It was cast in 1774 by goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego. The statue, almost 14 feet high, was placed on top of the cathedral’s tallest spire and until 1959 marked the highest point in the city at 108.5 meter.

As with many old structures like this there are ongoing restoration projects. You can see the scaffolding surrounding the spire of the gold statue.

The views of all the architecture from the roof was worth the trip up those stairs. This post is a photo overload but after all the effort to get to the top I didn’t want to stop clicking away.