Ostara

Ostara was a beautiful sunny, if cool day. We gathered at Dawn's house for potluck and conversation. Sophie enjoyed using her new bubble toy and 3D chalk.

my bohemian hubby's painted nails. :) I love that man.

Egg Trees and Waking Mother Earth

Today was a busy day. Sophie and I decorated the egg tree that she wanted after seeing one in a neighbor's yard. She had a lot of fun.

It was hard to decide where to hang each egg, she gave it lots of thought.
Our finished egg tree, with a very happy little girl.

Also today, we had our simple ritual that I posted about yesterday to awaken Mother Earth. Sophie really got into this and enjoyed it very much. Here we are with our "staffs", last winter's gifts from the trees. Sophie ran to each point in our yard and yelled, "Wake up, Mother Earth, Spring is here!". What fun!

Hot Cross Buns

On Sunday, Sophie and I made Hot Cross Buns, recipe link below. I have wanted to try these for several years, and just never got around to it. After my son, Joshua, began learning the recorder in music class, and playing "Hot Cross Buns", I decided it was time. So I found this recipe and we went for it, accompanied on the recorder by Joshua. What fun we had! Sophie helped mix the dough, which is very sticky. We did not wait overnight, as the recipe suggests, and they turned out wonderfully! I used fresh lemon rind and juice, in place of the lemon extract. It gave it a sweet/tangy lemon zing. Yum!

A little history from Fabulous Foods; " A traditional favorite on Good Friday in England, Hot Cross Buns are a spicy currant or raisin studded yeast bun, topped with a "Cross" of lemon flavored icing. While Christians have adopted the cake and the symbolism of the cross, it wasn't always so. To Pagans then as now, the cross was symbolic of the sun wheel, which symbolizes perfect balance at the time of the Spring Equinox. Hot Cross Buns were probably originally used in ceremonies and rituals and the Christian church attempted to ban the buns, although they proved too popular. Left with no alternative but defeat, the church did the next best thing and "Christianized" the bread with Queen Elizabeth I passing a law which limited the bun's consumption to proper religious ceremonies, such as Christmas, Easter or funerals."

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/breads/yeast/hotcrossbun.html

I had thought to have some left over for breakfast the next morning, but they did not last that long. Everyone loved them!