Ash Wednesday Traditions

We have Ash Wednesday traditions

Following eating our fill of pancakes yesterday,

we decorate the house for

Lent and Easter

Pared down decorations

And no bunnies

are on tabletops or mantles

Instead, the winter potpourri in the blue and white bowl

is replaced by

My great great grandmother's china eggs

I'm not sure how old they are

They could be anywhere from the 1870s to the 1930s

They were treasured by my mother

And now they're treasured by me

And they're a perfect Lenten decoration

And although they're not hidden in a drawer or a closet

the rest of the year,

I find myself smiling as I pass the bowl of eggs,

Perhaps touching them in passing.

And thinking of Elvesa, my great great grandmother

Who also handled the eggs

All those years ago.

And now a 22 year tradition at Linderhof

The Easter Egg Tree

The eggs, real hens eggs, brought back from a Lenten trip to Germany

Where Easter Egg trees graced the dining rooms of our bed and breakfasts.

I was enchanted and went to "Woolworths" and bought a dozen.

Like the Germans, our tree is always in the dining room.

We've had some "accidents" but we still have the original dozen eggs.

Two have "holes" but those holes are also memories.

The branches this year came from a friend,

curly willow

Which actually are the perfect branch for an Easter egg tree!

And since our paperwhites are late this year,

they are the centerpiece of both the dining room

And breakfast room tables

And as slow as they've been,

the rest that are planted and not growing all that fast,

should keep those tables well supplied with flowering bulbs until Easter!

If not, grocery store tulips are a good fill in.

And I love forsythia, inside.

It's bright yellow color screams spring!

This, however, is faux for I lost my source

My mother-in-law's huge bush

When we sold her house.

I console myself with these silk blooms.

It's now Lent.

We'll go to church tonight for the Ash Wednesday services.

And we've decided what we'll give up for Lent.

Husband Jim has given up food!

(He's seriously dieting)

And I've decided to give up afternoon tea treats.

However, you do realize that Sunday is not considered Lent

And, therefore, you can indulge!

Since I've brought so much outdoors in, I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.