On this day in between we are preparing for our Joyful Resurrection Sunday service. “It is Finished”
It rained most of the day yesterday but it looks like we have the day off from rain today.
I’ve not been on my computer much as we are busy here at our Country Bungalow preparing not only for Easter Day but some other events this Spring.
Hope to be around soon to see how Spring is unfolding in your neck of the woods.
Today we remember Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified on a cross and when he breathed His last and was laid in a tomb.
Were the angels looking down from heaven to see all that would transpire?
Growing up there were Good Fridays when we would fast until our church service in the evening with Communion breaking our fast and then having a meal together.
We are so fortunate to be able to attend a Good Friday service this evening in Colville.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Thursday April 6th ~ Maundy Thursday
On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Galatians 1:3-5
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:23
…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Galatians 6:14
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 5:8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
From Vera:
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
From Leonard:
John 3:15
“so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”
From Karen:
Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Happy Easter Week Hodgepodgers and thank you Joyce for the questions. Find Wednesday Hodgepodge here.
1.What would you say is the most difficult task when it comes to spring cleaning? Have you completed that task this year? Any plans to get it done?
I would say that the most difficult task is washing the windows and screens inside and out. We have not completed this task but we have the window washing guy coming on April 26th and I will gladly pay him to do the task.
2. Your favorite pastel color? Favorite thing you own in a pastel shade?
I really enjoy the combination of pink and green. My Moss Rose dishes by Royal Albert are a favorite thing that I own.
5. Something that makes you feel hopeful amidst all the chaos and confusion this world brings?
The message of Easter, that Jesus conquered the power of sin by His perfect sacrifice and was raised from the dead which is what makes me hopeful no matter what. I’m a sinner. Jesus died on the cross for sinners. I couldn’t pay the price for my sin but Jesus did. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners. Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, and Christ’s perfect life satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him.
Even in the chaos God is in control and we know the end of the story. God will bring us through any suffering we have to go through on this earth and our hope is in our eternity in heaven with Him because we put our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Easter two years ago.
I’ll be gone all day today so I’ll be late in coming around to visit your Hodgepodge posts.
While we were outside during our granddaughter’s birthday celebration this eagle graced us with it’s circling flight above us. It stayed for a while and we were thrilled.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles;
They shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle’s.
We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday as we enter Easter Week culminating with celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ next Sunday. As Christians we celebrate Christ’s resurrection every Sunday and it’s because He lives that we can have peace and joy in our lives everyday with a special hope for our future with Him in heaven. I pray that those who read this post will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again. Jesus died in our place for our sins and because of His perfect sacrifice we can have all our sins forgiven and be at peace with God on earth as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the One who sacrificed His perfect life for us.
O for a Closer Walk with God
O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus, and His Word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.
Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
Words: William Cowper, 1772.
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.
It’s always good to pray over your dough!
Kulich
Ingredients:
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.
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.
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. 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.
This blast from the past was probably our first Easter in Washington State, 1989.
True Confessions: I have not attempted to make Kulich here in Colville. I have made Seernaya Paska to go with Kulich I purchased at Kiev Market in Spokane. The market Kulich does not compare to our mom’s recipe.
Are you preparing for Easter?
Thursday March 30th
On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!
Mark 1:14-15
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Daniel 4:3
How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.
From Vera:
Joshua 1:9 ESV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks the questions for us to answer and get our brains engaged with Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce.
Camarillo is where I started blogging. We were close to the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed many hikes along the coast. The photo above is from Sycamore Canyon just south of Point Mugu and north of Malibu in California. This was in the Santa Monica mountain range.
1.Why do you blog? Have your reasons changed over time?
I started blogging in March of 2007 when we lived in a very small condo in California for a couple of years and I had lots of time on my hands. I enjoyed the weekly challenges like Blue Monday, Ruby Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, Tablescape Thursday, Friday Fave Five and many others. It was also good to journal the events going on in our lives and our family life. Through blogging I’ve met so many good friends over the years. Some I’ve been privileged to meet in person and others I cherish without ever meeting them face to face. Through blogging I became one of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. What a joy that has been. It’s a creative outlet for me and lately has turned out to be a great tool for recall in my lapses of memory.
2. What’s a typical Friday night look like at your house?
Typically it is pretty boring unless we have our local kids over for dinner or if it’s a weekend that our Westside kids drive over.
3. Do you like donuts? Yes.
Your favorite kind? Cinnamon twist or maple bar or Jelly or Glazed or….
How often do you treat yourself to a donut? Not often but every time I step into Super 1 (one of our local grocery stores) and the donut aroma hits me I’m tempted.
Have you ever made homemade donuts? No
4. How do you feel about shopping? I like to shop when I have something in particular that I’m looking for.
Are you an online shopper? Only because I have to, not because I enjoy it.
Catalog shopper? Rarely
Brick and mortar shopper? Yes, because I like to see something and hold it in my hands before I buy it.
Do you order groceries online or prefer to select items with your own two hands? No online grocery shopping. I like to check dates on the products and make sure I’m getting the freshest loaf of bread, etc.
5. Next week’s Hodgepodge finds us somehow in the month of April, which just so happens to be National Poetry Month. Sum up (or tell us something about) your month of March in the form of a limerick. You can do it!!
We celebrate March with cake
Not too early or late we bake
One young, one old
With joy behold
We celebrate March with Cake
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our two family birthdays in March are 6 days apart, one in Winter and one in Spring. I’m the old one and the oldest one in our family of ten. Addy is the young one but not the youngest in our family. So thankful that we can celebrate each other. So much joy to behold. We’ll celebrate two more in April, the youngest of the males in our family. Birthdays celebrated four days apart and birthyears 30 years apart.
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.”
“This has been a wonderful day!” said he, as the rat shoved off and took to the sculls again. “Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat in all my life.”
“What?” cried the Rat, open mouthed: “Never been in a – you never-well, I-what have you been doing, then?”
“Is it so nice as all that?” asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leaned back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.
“Nice? It’s the only thing.” said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing.”
I read The Wind in the Willows for the first time in 2008 and that same year Dear and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market where I saw and purchased this teapot by Sadler from their Classic Stories series.
While we were in Oxford in September of 2022 we took a stroll through Holywell Cemetery.
The friends of Holywell Cemetery need some more friends to help keep up this cemetery.
The reason I’m adding photos from this cemetery in this post about Kenneth Grahame is that we stumbled upon his gravestone in this cemetery. We saw a few gravestones of note. This one is Kenneth Grahame’s. His son is buried here, also. He died tragically when he was just 20.
To
The Beautiful Memory
Of
Kenneth Grahame
Husband of Elspeth
And
Father of Alastair
Who Passed the River
On the 6th of July 1932
Leaving
Childhood & Literature
Through Him
The More Blest
For All Time
And of His Son Alastair Grahame
Commoner of Christ Church
1920
Another headstone we took note of was this one for Charles Walter Stansby Williams.
Charles Walter Stansby Williams was a British poet, novelist, playwright, theologian, literary critic, and member of the Inklings, an informal literary discussion group associated with C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien at the University of Oxford.
Have you ever read The Wind in the Willows? I found it to be very entertaining and heart warming. I’ll leave you with one more quote from this children’s classic.
“Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!”
Enjoy your horizons!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 