Sunday, March 31, 2013

What Was Easter Without Easter Eggs?

It seems as if we  dyed Easter eggs every year that I can remember.  Fortunately, on the farm, eggs were usually to be had in abundance.  Mother would hard boil the eggs in her big aluminum kettle, and we would drop the little colored pills into a variety of cups, along with a little vinegar and water, count out the eggs, and then the fun would begin.  I suppose we were not always in harmony in our activities, but I just remember the fun of  it all.  There were little transfers that you could put on the egg before coloring it, or use the little holder that came with the kit for dyeing eggs to dip one end in one color and the other end with another color.  Then, when the eggs were all completed, we would have Easter egg hunts, where one person would hide the eggs, and the rest would hunt for them.  We never needed a prize for the most eggs - it was just the fun of the whole thing.  The picture of Judy and Ann, intently at work, is one of the few Easter-egg dyeing pictures that I have.   You can see the old kettle at the edge of the picture.  But the important thing is that Ann is patiently waiting her turn as Judy contemplates how to do the egg.  Where was Steve?  I do look at the old kitchen table, which had such a hard life.  Mother was confronted with the question of the best finish to resist the depredations of eight people sitting down together to each meal. One time, she glued down vinyl place mats, and then varnished the whole thing so that we could wash the table easily.

2 comments:

Ann said...

Happy Easter. There is one more photo that was taken at the same time that has all three of us (the younger three). When I look at this photo I can smell the vinegar concoction that held the dye. In my treasure cabinet I have one of the white cups we used for the dying process. This was a very serious time. I do remember how discouraging it was when the colors from the little rub on's would all run together. Easter egg perfection was always longed for.

Judy said...

Ahhh Easter. A special time for us. I wonder where the kitchen table would fit in the line of antiques. Thanks for the reminder of what transpired in the old kitchen.