Happy Easter!

easter

I had a draft of this post ready for publishing when I heard the tragic news from Brussels. Christian world has been targeted once again. My heart goes out to all the people of Belgium, and the families of the victims. The Evil wants to destroy everything that is good in this world with word and weapon. You can use religious or philosophical, or even scientific terms to give a name to that evil. It exists, and it is feeding on fear and its derivatives.

Fear not!

This set of Easter Eggs is dyed and ready for painting. Two pairs of little hands took care of that, and did a splendid job. When I was young, we used to dye eggs with onion skins. The skins were collected all over the winter.  “Don’t throw out the onion skins!” I heard this phrase often enough to always remember of Easter. When the time came, the skins were placed in a huge saucepan, and the eggs carefully arranged so that each egg was well covered. There was always a smaller saucepan for ‘special’ eggs. My mother tied different flowers and leaves to these eggs to create patterns. When she got older and lost her creativity, she only used the flowers and leaves from her Geranium plants.  Here is a link to a blog that will give you a good idea of the process.

Easter has a nostalgic feel to me. It even has a fragrance – my aunt who stayed with us every winter, always baked a special cake with rum and raisins. All the house smelled divine. I also remember some chocolate eggs and bunnies in shiny foil, but they didn’t taste great, and were mostly used as toys first. We would also receive postcards from our distant relatives – pictures of fluffy bunnies and cute lamb.

Some ‘old style’ pictures seem appropriate for the memory flood.

lamb

Another aunt always came over for Easter. She has never been married and never had children. Every summer she would take me home with her for a couple of weeks, and staying in her house in the dunes is another bright memory of my childhood.  We exchanged letters since I learned to write until her death in 2000. In this photograph, we are holding wild anemones. We would walk about a mile into the woods, to a special place, a blue lake of flowers. Our Easter dinner table was always decorated with wild anemones  – they are in bloom from March to the end of April.

Our house is on the left, and the lake is on the right, down the hill.

anemones

These photographs from my 2013 project were taken in the place very similar to the one where I used to spend summer breaks with my aunt. All these houses were built in the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the beautiful summer houses are restored and with certain investments turned into great modern homes.

home home home home home home

What is memory without music!

One of my beloved pieces of music is a chorale prelude Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ by J.S Bach. There are many brilliant interpretations, both for organ and piano, but I want to share the one of a Russian pianist Tatiana Nikolayeva. A slow tempo (almost one minute slower than any other interpretation, for such a short piece of music!) has an expressive and poignant effect.  Every note breathes and lives.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUSK68yi-fw&w=560&h=315%5D

And this one is a truly magnificent piece of music. 2500 individually submitted videos of singers are combined with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the virtual performance of “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah. Among the submitters are Donny Osmond,  Alex Boye, Tiffany Alvord, Madilyn Paige, Maddie Wilson, Firefly, and various vocal ensembles. The finished video premiered on March 12 this year.

Nestle and Cadbury have  removed the word ‘Easter’  from their chocolate eggs. I don’t know about Nestle, but Cadbury have removed something else from their Cremes, because they don’t taste right anymore.  Here you can learn how to make your own Easter Chocolate Eggs 🙂                                    

inesemjphotography  Happy Easter! Love and hope to all!

121 comments

  1. Happy Easter wishes to you Inese. We live in sad times indeed, but your little Easter recollections, and music do much to alleviate such feelings. All the best to you..

        1. Oh Marje, I have got a virus and cancelled everything 😦 I don’t like to spread infection on others. Spent the day in bed, with a book.

    1. Olga, I would love to see a procession! It is an old tradition, I guess, a part of the history of humanity. I am totally fascinated with the tradition of baking the whole egg in the cake, of which I learned from your link. If people don’t keep traditions, they develop a ‘one day’ mentality and don’t care of the future either. Say Hello to Barcelona for me! I hope all is well, and you are enjoying your stay.

  3. Happy Easter, Inese. Saddened to hear about the word Easter gone from the chocolate eggs. Sad about Belgium.
    However, this is a lovely post, and has brought Easter memories to me. My mom painted gorgeous Easter Eggs using the lost wax technique to create traditional Polish designs.
    The music is lovely. Thank you!

    1. Resa, I have some Polish friends and they have posted the pictures of traditional painted eggs on Facebook. It is a real art! I see where your love for the murals comes from 🙂 Absolutely stunning, and it has so much meaning to me that people make such effort to decorate something as short-living as a boiled egg. It really speaks volumes. Happy Easter!

  4. Inese – The situation in our world holds so much hatred but I know I can come home to your blog and find beauty, light and hope for a better future. I know you’ll also give me a visit into the past [and you know, I recognize the past hasn’t been all thata bad]. Your work is among the best. I know I don’t get around as often as I once did but I’m in hopes of life returning to some sembalance of normal [whatever that is] in the next few months.
    In the meantime, I’m off to the hospital. Have a wonderful Easter and thanks for sharing your beautiful and thoughtful blog with us. Sheri

    1. Sheri, thank you so much for your kind words! I am following the events on Facebook, and you two are always in my prayers. Delighted about Tom’s progress. I know that a wheelchair isn’t something exciting, but it is only a mean to give Tom more mobility without getting exhausted. Hope you have a lovely day, and enjoy each others company. Every little victory is still a victory. Happy Easter! Sending my love xx

  7. Your precious memories brought back the first impression of my own favorite Easter’s, Inese. I really enjoyed the way you shared your parents’ celebration with family. Then memories of wonderful fun while spending time with your dear aunt.
    There is something mystical and spiritual about the history of Easter, the stone being moved and new Life promised.
    Children make every day so special! While being a grandparent feels even more connected, in some ways, to the little ones. I liked the way you have the girls at a small table where they are enjoying this process of dying eggs naturally with onion skins.
    Happy Easter to you and your family!

  8. Lovely memories – Happy Easter! Yes, Cadbury has definitely changed the chocolate on créme eggs to something quite nasty. However, look on the side and back of your boxes and they still mention Easter and Easter activities (mind do anyway!)

  9. Happy Easter Inese,
    A lovely post, and photos. I can’t make out if all the old buildings are somewhere in Ireland? The architecture looks very different to anything I’ve seen in the UK… not somehow what I’d expect, and on a grand scale.
    And the Tatiana Bach is stunning – I’m not normally a great Bach fan…perhaps her slowing down of the tempo does indeed add extra emotion to the piece,
    Best wishes
    Julian

    1. Happy Easter, Julian! No, it is not Ireland. It is one of the Baltic states – Latvia. I am not sure, but I think it is Jugend, or Art Nouveau style. Most of these buildings are summer houses situated in a beautiful, 150 years old park in Liepaja ( Libau). Some of the images are taken in other places. The houses were built in the end of the 1890s or beginning of the 1900s.

  10. Happy Easter to you, too! Have fun!
    My Easter is so far away. I am Christian Orthodox and my Easter is on May 1st ❤

    1. Thank you so much! Oh, it is such a big difference this year! Very unusual! Well, you know that we are celebrating the same Savior, so the more holidays the better 🙂 xxxx

  11. Happy Easter, special lady. These photographs of the houses are truly stunning. As for the one of you, it’s amazing though your aunt looks sad. Inese, the world is always a brighter place with people like you in it sharing so much that is good and beautiful, just as you do in this post. xxxxxx

    1. Thank you so much, my special friend! Indeed, my aunt looks sad – that sadness imprinted on her face when her fiancé was executed and she run for her life. My family history is a sad place, but it is all in the past, and we are doing our best to live happily and let others live. Happy Easter! xxxxxx

      1. I can see she has this dead look in her eyes but you can tell this woman had great love in her. The happiness of having her own children is something she knows will never be but she does love you both. So sorry to read what you have written. I know your history is a sad place. I admire you for living the way you do xxxxxxxxxx

        1. Thank you for your kind words! Of seven sisters, my mother was the only one who grew old with her husband – only because she got married in her late thirties. Each of these beautiful women had a story of loss and loneliness.
          Hope you have a lovely day tomorrow! xxxxxxxxxxxx

  13. Thank you for the pictures and for the music Inese. I hope you have a wonderful Easter.
    Though these evil people shut Brussels down they didn’t stop the people.They can’t win.
    You’re right, Cadbury’s chocolate is no longer the original recipe and doesn’t taste the same any more.I think it tastes more American now.
    xxx Gigantic Hugs xxx

    1. Thank you David! Nothing is the same I guess 😦 But I loved my Cremes! They used the same recipe until last year. Now I don’t bother to buy them anymore.
      Have a great Easter weekend with your sweet grandchildren. Many hugs!!! xxxxxx

  18. A very celebratory post, Inese…..I especially liked sitting quietly and listening to Tatiana Nkilayeva and the Bach….very beautiful and meditative.

    1. Thank you so much, Cynthia! This chorale has some cosmic quality when performed on the organ, but I cannot find an interpretation slow enough for my liking 🙂

    1. Thank you Bruce! I love it too. It is slow to compare with the other pianists, but it is exactly how I feel this music. I love her interpretations of Bach. She was famous in her days and died during the concert somewhere in California.
      Happy Easter to you too!

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