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Tag Archives: spring

Easter preparations

The internet is a great source of inspiration for me, as is for anyone, of course. Yet, inspiration can be found anywhere. Nature—God’s gift to us—is beautiful and therefore ever inspirational. Especially now, with the short and dark days gone, shrubs bursting with new life, the air gentler than long and smelling like spring, I myself feel like I am waking up from an hibernation.

(c) 2014 by hs

(c) 2014 by hs

Visiting a local easter market, I found myself inspired to haul out my easter decorations and prepare my flat for the upcoming holidays. Every year, my mom buys me an easter egg, bearing the year date.

easter eggs

(c) 2014 by hs

To purfle eggs like this has a very long tradition. The ornaments are old, as is the technique. I know of two techniques coming to the same result. One is to dye the egg and then to scrape off the colour again with a very sharp knife. My eggs, however, are done the other way round: the ornaments are brought on in form of melted wax, then dyed in cold colour, and after that, the wax is melted away so that the eggshell is visible where the wax has been.

Every one of my sixteen eggs so far, has a little verse or saying which the 86 year old lady who makes these works of art writes in old German letters. Fortunately, my grandmother taught me to read these characters as a child. But the lovely old lady always reads the inscription out aloud for me when we buy the egg. They are not blown, by the way, but raw and heavy. One would think they would begin to smell but they do not, of course. They dry very, very slowly over the years until they get as light as a blown egg at last.

Lately, I saw a knitted egg cosy on the internet and tried my version of it. What a cute little easter present this will make.

(c) 2014 by hs

(c) 2014 by hs

Farmer’s wife: Tulip

With tulips in full bloom right now, it is easy to write a post about this flower.

In our garden, we have not as many tulips as I would wish. But the small number we have can be devided into two groups: one half is growing because I planted them. They are light pink to pink and really look like spring itself. The other half is growing because the former owner of our house planted them. They are red and yellow and look like little sunsets or like burning flames. Completely not to my taste. But still, they are tulips, and they bloom in spring, and I love looking at them.

© 2012 by Heike Scharmann

We had a number of days with many clouds and some rain, but with mild temperatures. For me, this is the best time of year. Not cold, and not hot. That is the way I like my food and my drink—and the weather. This weather teased out the green in almost every tree or shrub. The leaves on the trees are not yet fully grown, but they already make such a difference—a wonderful sight.

Tulip

© 2012 by Heike Scharmann

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© 2012 by Heike Scharmann

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