I feel like I’m just gonna leave both of these here.
Sangria & Buddy
Category Archives: Friends & Family
Pysanky lessons!
David wasn’t going to do it but then Evan didn’t want to finish his so David took it over! He did really well and it turned out cute!
Anna swore up and down she was going to suck at this but she did amazing with her very first egg! Now she can’t wait to do some more!
Making our favorite scones!
These are always a top request!
White Chocolate & Cranberry Scones
3 cups flour
½ cup white sugar
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup cold butter
1 cup fresh cranberries (or ¾ cup dried Craisins)
1 cup white chocolate chunks/chips
1 cup milk
1 large egg
- Mix all dry ingredients in first group.
- Cut in butter.
- Add in cranberries and white chocolate.
- Add milk and beaten egg.
- Mix until combined BUT DO NOT OVERMIX!
- Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a ¾” thick circle and cut into six wedges.
- Bake at 375° until golden brown—about 20-25 minutes.
Pysanky Step 1 — making the dyes!
I bought just the right number of dyes when we were at Pysanky On The River! Or maybe I bought just the right number of jars!
Our first hosted Thanksgiving dinner!
I was so busy with a houseful of guests and dinner prep that I barely had time to look at my phone (so most of these are from everyone else)! But it was so worth it to have everyone together — from Georgia (Filipek), Michigan (Schwalm & Coe), and Illinois (Schwalm & Hudson). And our best friends joined us, too…and fit right in!
Then we did some reenactment shots!
I can’t believe it was 22 years between these photos. But we all still look the same, right?! Also: no kids in 2000, six kids in 2022!
Let the family festivities begin!
We excitedly volunteered to host the Schwalm side family thanksgiving this year—Filipeks usually host in Atlanta but they’ve recently downsized and didn’t have room. We had plenty of room for everyone (most even stayed with us—kicking the kids out of their rooms of course)!
Everyone had varied arrival times, but by Wednesday afternoon everyone was here! It makes my heart so happy to see my kids having fun with their cousins.
Dinner for 21 is served! Charcuterie that takes up our entire kitchen island!
Gramma and her lobster
Olive did not enjoy the costume. Plus it was a little small.
GJ enjoyed Olive—and vice versa!
You know she’s really tired when she lays somewhere like this!
Career exploration at the Shedd Aquarium
After some initial super frustrating snafus with actually getting everyone INTO the aquarium, the three boys (and three parents) took a “deep dive into the day of an aquarist—the animal care staff that work with animals ranging from fishes to reptiles to birds—and learned more about this profession.” They all seemed to have fun!
Trick or Treating
Owen didn’t decide until the day before that he wanted to go trick or treating so his choice of costumes was limited… I didn’t even get a picture of Katie because so much was going on.
Olive loved everyone! She would wait patiently and wouldn’t bark or go crazy.
But she loved the attention.
Of course, Katie refused to wear her wig at the last minute, so Tom put it on instead. It looked epic.
And he and Anna made a cute couple.
This is what dogsitting looks like.
Anna and David went to New York so we got their two dogs—Olive’s bestie, Honey, and Kai. Unfortunately you can’t hear Kai barking like an asshole at everything—we had to keep the front door shut or he barked like a madman at every little thing. He even nosed the side curtains out of the way in order to look and bark. And all his barking made both other dogs bark. Good times! At least Olive was kept busy playing with Honey… Honey is so good with her.
She’s so cute when she sleeps.
POTR, Day 4
I bought $20 worth of raffle tickets and put them in a variety of things. Imagine my surprise when I got out of class to discover I won this ostrich egg!!
In case you thought I was kidding about wanting to do Pysanky now… I present my purchase — 10 dozen blank eggs! Already fully blown out and cleaned!! They were cheaper than actual eggs (she wanted to get rid of them so put them on sale!) so definitely worth the cost!! I’m actually debating getting more because they don’t go bad!!
(Yes I know there’s not a full 10 dozen here. Some are still being worked on!)
SURPRISE! A visit with some family who only lived about 20 minutes away from where we were staying!
POTR, Day 3
Group photo day!
POTR, Day 2
Pysanky on the River (POTR) Day 2 started with our first class—Beginner Drop Pull. We practiced on a paper plate first and then moved to an egg. I did better on the plate…but overall I did pretty well for my very first attempt!
The rest of our day was spent working on eggs of our own! These are two of mine!
And then lunch with pierogi, sausage, and sauerkraut!
And then I worked on copying one of my mom’s Halloween designs:
And the finished products!
They’re pretty bad (compared to the more experienced eggers) but they’re pretty good for what I’ve done thus far. I’m learning that no one draws freehand and everyone uses (what I used to think of as) cheat methods. But after starting to use them myself, I totally get it. And can’t wait to do more!!
Pysanky on the River 2022
We were up early this morning to hit the Ukrainian Museum Archives in Cleveland. Surprisingly the bathroom lighting was pretty good—I love Hampton Inn!
I bought a new necklace there (because I broke my necklace on the way here).
With my mom at the museum.
Then it was off to State Meats and eating lunch at Mama Maria’s Ukrainian Kitchen!
Then we visited a Ukrainian cathedral (to see the gold spires in the sun), grabbed a donut across the street, and then some ice cream at the Honey Hut!
Then it was back to the hotel to grab our stuff to setup for the event!
OMG all the “naked eggs” for sale… Typically you’d have to blow them all out yourself and it’s not complicated but it is a lot of work. These were already blown out and cleaned! And on sale! For less than it would cost to even buy them in the store! Turns out the vendor was getting out of the egg business and just wanted them gone. Stay tuned to see just how many I ended up buying!!!
And then I bought my Christmas present! A goose egg from Pysanky Master Lorrie Popow! It’s absolutely stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it!
I asked her how she could even see to do that and she said “When my eyes were younger!” I eventually looked through her Facebook page to see if I could find it to see when she did it…and it was 2012!!
Lorrie Popow: LorriePopow.com and on Facebook
Cleveland(ish), I am in you.
A few months ago my mom asked me if I’d go with her to a 4-day Pysanky Retreat in northern Ohio. I jumped at the chance—I think I said yes even before she finished asking! I’ve long been wanting to get back into Pysanky—and I never get to spend any alone time with my mom—so it was a no-brainer!
So this morning I was in the car and on the road by 9am (in a super quick and easy road trip look) to Middleburg Heights/Berea!
Tom always does the driving so it kinda stunk not being able to work while on the road, but I did listen to an audiobook (which eventually made me sooo tired I took to eating popcorn to stay awake)! But I made it!
After we got settled and visited for a bit it was off to find dinner. I found a local Chinese place with really great Yelp reviews (Little Hong Kong) about a mile away…where we had some of the best General Tso’s chicken I’ve ever had. Highly recommend!
Then it was back to the hotel to make 65 goodie bags for the event…
And take a Covid test to be able to attend.
Resting Besties
We took Olive when we went over for dinner and of course they all go apeshit bananas for a long time…but then they do eventually settle down.
A beautiful wedding day!
An outdoor wedding in Michigan on October 1? It was a daring move but it was the most amazingly gorgeous day to watch my cousin’s daughter (I googled and that makes her a first cousin once removed or I can call her a niece) Jessica marry…a marine!!
Gee Olive, make yourself comfortable.
Two of today’s naps.
Waking up…
Baseball. Brrrr.
Ope!
Our foursome went to Charlie Berens tonight and he was hilarious. If you are from the Midwest and haven’t seen him, you’re missing out! Stop what you’re doing and go watch some of his videos on YouTube (and you can get merch here).
She does sit with Anna sometimes.
Cute but a creeper
Olive was so cute cuddling with Grannie…
And then she was a creeper when Grannie was eating lunch!
Forced cuddles!
Too Many Zooz
We took the kids to their first concert! Anna and David and the kids also went—and we took one of Owen’s friends (Lucas).
The planning and prepping was exhausting (trying to figure out what we need to pack and take to eat since we’d never been there) because apparently the thing to do at Ravinia is arrive early and picnic and hang out)! Plus we had an early access pass (but only for four people!) from a neighbor…so Tom and David went first with Owen and Lucas to get everything set up and our spots staked out!
The boys started with their fancy drinks. (Yes, David brought glass glasses!)
As Anna and I were on our way with the other three kids, we got this pic via text:
Owen was in heaven!! He got to meet Leo P of TOO MANY ZOOZ before the concert! He’s been listening to their music for years and playing their songs on his bari sax for months! Tom had seen him walking around and told Owen to go meet him! We were all so excited for him!
The kids went up to sit right in front of the stage. We ate our charcuterie and drank our drinks. The boys made more drinks.
I thought I took one more with everyone looking…but apparently I didn’t.
Our view from our seats. The kids were right in the front row!
Overall everyone had a great time and Anna and I decided we would maybe do it again.
Here’s a video of the band:
Anna couldn’t resist buying Olive a new sweater.
Kudos to David!
David surprised me and Anna with purses we adored (but didn’t want to splurge on!) at the craft fair in Eagle Harbor!
