Especially-good Friday

It's Good Friday and the weather is perfect. We had some high winds earlier this week, but those seemed to have passed.
I stayed up literally all night last night baking kulich (Russian Easter cake) and syrnaya paskha (Easter cheese).

The kulich is not as it should be. I think I probably should have gone and bought some fresh yeast, because the dough did not rise like it's supposed to. The yeast was a little slow in foaming up, which caused me some concern. Everything else was going so well that I decided to risk it.

By the time I realized that my risk had failed, it was nearly four in the morning. I gave up and went to bed, leaving Vova to watch the cake in the oven. Not only did he do an excellent job (see photo at left), he cleaned up the kitchen, too. 

The syrnaya paskha, on the other hand, was a brilliant success. Well, we'll know for sure in about another four hours. It's sitting in two Easter molds in the refrigerator now. If they hold their shape, it will be a complete success. If not, the taste is a definite success.

This is the first time I've ever made it, so I'm really tickled that it tasted just about perfect. For those of you who have not had it, it's sweet and slightly sour. The dairy ingredients mixed with sugar taste pretty yummy by themselves. Then when you add ground almonds, lemon, vanilla, nutmeg and cardamom, you get something that tastes heavenly. As I put the molds in the fridge, I had that slightly elated feeling of pulling something off perfectly. 

The kulich not rising brought me back down to Earth. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. Besides, it's been a good week otherwise here at Klein Waldeck.

Vova's daughter, Anna, spent a few days with us during her Spring Break, which was a lot of fun. We all went to church together last Sunday, then out to brunch. 

Then we went to Macy's for Clinique Bonus Time. We both got some skin cleanser and I decided to try out the Dark Spot Correcter. I'm soon to hit the age where everything dries up and starts falling off.

Anna asked if she could get some foundation, but wasn't really sure what would be best for her. The nice lady at the counter spent a lot of time helping us figure out what we wanted.

Out in the car, we swapped out the things from the bonus bags that one of us didn't use and the other one wanted. The process was very easy and efficient. Anna systemically went through all the items and organized them into the bags as we agreed on who was getting what. 

Monday, I went to work and the two of them hung around the house. Vova made us a nice Lenten supper when I came home. 

Tuesday, they did chores while I was at work. Anna worked really hard out in the yard raking up all the dead leaves from last fall. She did a great job.

Next time, she's going to learn to drive the lawn tractor. Exciting! And I'm not being sarcastic. I'm all for anything that makes chores enjoyable or, at least, less of a chore.

On Wednesday morning, Anna left with her mom to go visit her grandparents for Easter. 

The last couple of days have been kind of a blur. I took today and Monday off to prepare for and recover from Easter.

Speaking of that, I'd better get to it. Happy early Easter, everybody. С наступающим празником всем!