Tablescape Thursday ~ Easter Revisited

For some of you that visit my blog regularly this will be a repeat. It’s time for Susan’s Tablescape Thursday so I wanted to post my actual Easter table for this week. Were you aware that tulips continue growing even after they are cut and placed in a vase?

I just realized that about all my tulips as I trimmed the stems each day when I added fresh water and they were taller the next day!

My centerpiece is the Traditional Russian Easter Bread (Kulich or Paska), Colored Eggs, and hollow Chocolate Russian Matryoshka dolls.

The china is Royal Albert Moss Rose.

We used our International 1812 Sterling. The stemware and napkin rings are Target clearance. Napkins are from a thrift store and the tablecloth is from Goodwill at $4.99. The runner is also from Goodwill but I forget what I paid.

Our traditional molded sweet cheese spread that is called Seerney Paska in Russian. The XB is for Христос Воскрес (Christos Voskress), Christ is Risen!

We squeezed 12 around the table and had a wonderful time celebrating the Resurrection of Christ!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

I Love Easter Tablescape!

Many tables will be set for your viewing enjoyment so click on over to Between Naps on the Porch to get an eye full and to join in the fun! I’m posting this early because I’m just so excited for Easter!

This is my practice table for our meal on Easter. We will have 10-12 sitting here then but I’m practicing with just 6 settings. I’ll be pulling out a different tablecloth to fit the extended table. My centerpiece on Easter will be the Russian Easter Bread my sister and I will bake on Good Friday. By then I’ll also have real hard boiled and colored eggs for the table with some Easter grass.

I’m pulling out my Royal Albert Moss Rose China for the main course and for dessert I’m using cut glass plates.

My bunnies are announcing the reason for our celebration in Russian! Christ is Risen! Xpucmoc Bockpec Truly He has Risen Воистину воскрес!!

Wish I had my crosses to grace my Easter table but they are still at my condo in California…

Have a Glorious Easter everyone!

Outdoor Wednesday ~ Saturday in the Northwest

It’s time for some outdoor shots wherever you are. I happen to be in the Western Washington which is part of the Great Pacific Northwest area of the U.S.A. Thank you to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for hosting this weekly event…

My girlfriends and I walked the Burke Gilman Trail on Saturday morning for about 4 miles and it was nice and sunny.

The blossoms are gorgeous and prolific. This tree was at Blyth Park in Bothell. So many blossoms that they look like snow when they fall.

The tulips are beginning to bloom, too.

My apple tree will soon be in full bloom. I’ll take more photos when more of the buds open up…

Hope your Easter week is filled with the wonder of Jesus and what He suffered and accomplished for all of us…

Mosaic Monday ~ Holy Week is Here!

What does Holy Week have to do with bunnies, especially the stuffed variety? Not much but we are sorting out and Spring cleaning around here in a major way. That’s not particularly holy although it could be. So my daughter brought out all her stuffed animals and then put together all her bunnies for an Easter shot. Then she asked, “should I bring out the lambs, too?” My reply to her was “If you are still a Christian you should.” We like to concentrate on the Lamb of God at Easter time. :0) I hope you can appreciate my sense of humor…my daughter chuckled. We are very seriou about Jesus. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”

This week we’ll be busy preparing for our Easter celebration. My sister Lana G! and I will be making Russian Easter Bread (Kulich) and a soft sweet cheese spread (Seerney Paska) to spread on the bread. My daughter Katie will color Easter Eggs. We love our traditions.

We’ll observe Good Friday. On Easter morning we’ll attend an Easter Service and greet each other with the Easter Greeting “Christ is Risen”…response “He is Risen Indeed”. My little bunnies are holding this greeting to grace our table. Any phone call we get on Easter Sunday will start with this greeting in Russian of course. Our Easter meal after church will have lamb for the main course with side dishes I haven’t decided on yet.

Hope you all have a blessed Holy Week.

Please visit Mary at The Little Red House to see more mosaics…

Friday’s Fave Five ~ Seattle

So it’s time for Friday’s Fave Five and all of mine come to your from the State of Washington this week. Dear and I will be heading back to Southern California on Sunday. Boohoo.

1. Spending some one on one and one on four time with our children in Washington! Our oldest son took me to a soccer game last Saturday which was so much fun. Katie and I did some shopping on Monday and she found her strappy gold shoes she needed for an upcoming wedding she’s in. Working around the house with our son Dan. Having Easter Brunch together and Taco Night. Good times.

2. Easter Tradtions! I love Easter and it’s always fun to do the traditional things each year. This year my sister Lana G! and I even made the traditional Russian Easter Bread and Cheese topping. Ok, I keep mentioning that but it was a big accomplishment for us and now we know we can do it and we’re so excited we can have fresh Kulich every year if we want it! Coloring Easter Eggs…it’s so much fun to watch Katie get creative with the colors on the eggs. Going to Easter Service. There’s something special about Easter Sunday at church. We go to church most every Sunday but Easter Sunday always stands out to me. Repeating the traditional Easter greeting to everyone we see on Easter…Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

3. Spending time in Downtown Seattle with Dear. We had a hair appointment together and then headed downtown to have lunch at the Pink Door. It happened to be one of the sunny days in Western Washington so it was nice to walk around and enjoy Downtown! The Market and all the fresh flowers, the tall buildings, our yummy lunch and buying dessert for the taco dinner we were having later that night with our kids.

4. Fresh mowed grass! I really enjoy mowing the lawn at our home here. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a freshly mowed neat looking yard! Dear does the weed-wacking and I do the mowing. The first Spring mow is always a bit time consuming and I had to empty the bag more often…

5. Flowers! It was great to see flowers blooming in the yard when we arrived. My Lenten Rose was full of blooms which made me smile. I love the shape and colors of this plant. Seeing all the fresh cut flowers at Pike Place Market was great, too. So many beautiful varieties of tulips and daffodils. I bought a bunch of yellow with orange daffodils to bring home for Taco Night!

Thanks to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story was hosting this weekly event. It’s good to look back and think about the good times and blessings we enjoy each week.

Sweet Cheese Spread for Kulich ~ Seernaya Paska

My Russian heritage affords me some really good Easter eats. Every year we look forward to having our Easter Bread which we call Kulich in Russian and my Mennonite Friends called Paska.

We also make this yummy cheese spread to spread on this Easter Bread!

Seernaya Paska for Kulich (Russian Easter Bread) The X and the B are for Xpucmoc Bockpec (Christ Arose)

Seernaya Paska (Сырная пасха)

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 another container to mold into shape. Bring the ends of the cheese cloth up and tie the ends on top of the cheese in a knot. Place the sieve 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.

I have used different shaped plastic flower pots to drain and mold the cheese into a higher domed result. If you choose to use a flower pot make sure there are enough holes in the bottom of the pot so the liquid can drain well.

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 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.

Here are examples of the Seernaya Paska I have made over the years.

Good Friday 2007

From C. J. Mahaney’s, Living the Cross Centered Life

Knowing the hour for His death is fast approaching, Jesus has come here in need as never before of His Father’s comfort and strength. Instead, hell – utter separation from God – is thrust in His face.

We hear Him cry out: Father – is there an alternative? Is there any way to avoid this? If there’s a way this cup could pass from Me, would You please provide that to Me?

Silence. We can see it in His face – Jesus receives no answer to this desperate entreaty.

A second time He pleads for an alternative to that horror of abandonment by His Father. If such an alternative existed, the Father would most surely provide it. But the obedient Son’s plea to his loving Father is met with silence. Why?

Listen to this verse again for the very first time: For God so loved the world…that He is silent to His Son’s agonizing appeal.

This is what bearing our sin means to Him – utter distress of soul as He confronts total abandonment and absolute wrath from His Father on the cross, a distress and an abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp.

In this, our Savior’s darkest hour…do you recognize His love for you?

~~~~~~~~

The following song by Stuart Townend is so fitting in describing what God has accomplished for us through His beautiful Son, Jesus. May God fill all of us full and fresh with these truths this Easter weekend and let us “recognize His love for us”. Blessings on your thoughts of Him!

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

by Stuart Townend

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

It was my sin that held 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 powers, 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

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Easter