Easter means different things to different people. Whether or not you're religious (and if you are religious, whether or not you're Christian), Canada celebrates Easter Weekend by blessing everyone with a day off on Friday, and for some, Monday off as well. Here I am looking at all you with government jobs jealously. Neither M or I had Monday off.
M and I always drive up to Barrie for the holidays. Since his family is Serbian Orthodox, their holidays fall after the calendar ones. This means double the Christmases and double the Easters. Score.
On Easter Saturday, Barrie was hit with a bit of an ice storm. The trees and ground were covered in a thick layer of ice, which made for a beautiful photo opportunity.
Photo credit to my dad for some of the above shots. He was brave enough to venture out into the skating rink that our backyard had turned into.
Isis wasn't a fan of the slipping and sliding, but Zoey, the eternal stick chaser, didn't mind gliding across the ice in pursuit of the chase.
One of my favourite Polish traditions is Saturday basket blessing, Święconka. The tradition apparently comes from 7th Century Poland, with the more concrete rules originating in the 12th.
Each family puts together a basket with samplings of traditional Easter food such as bread, eggs, kiełbasa, salt, as well as a lamb figurine and greenery. The basket is lined with lace, and according to Wikipedia, "observing the creativity of other parishioners is one of the special joys of the event."
Ellen and I often meet up at the Basket Blessing each year. It's always entertaining to us how the entire church sanctuary fills with the smell of Polska Kiełbasa. It sure made me anxious to get back home and eat all the goods in my basket!
Here's our Saturday dinner - gołąbki (cabbage rolls), bigos, chicken, and three different salads. I didn't grab a photo of Sunday's display, but we had rabbit, which I find to be super ironic.
On Sunday, while waiting for our Easter Rabbit to finish stewing, M and I took the dogs out to Lake Simcoe, the lake that Barrie is built around. Most of it was still covered in ice, but we were also welcomed with the first signs of spring - Canadian geese returning home!
There were dozens of people who had the same idea as M and I - walking along the trail beside the lake. I'd say the average age of those we passed was ~65, which is honestly pretty representative of Barrie's demographics.
After our walk, Isis is tired and ready to bask was the sun. Zoey, on the other hand, was on high alert and quite disappointed to be leaving. Don't worry Zozo, we'll be back for many more lake walks in the summer.
