Eggsactly What I Wanted!

I love eggs. No, not eating them – I mean, eating them is fine, so long as they’re not fried. Cannot abide them fried – but, rather, what I love is just the egg itself…the oval, Humpty Dumptyesque shape. (Though if they’re so broken that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put them together again, they might not bring me quite the joy that their whole counterparts bring me.)

The whole collection!

When I was young my mom had a wooden egg within-an-egg-within-an-egg. Kinda like the Matryoshka dolls I love but in egg form. Perhaps this is the root of my love of Matrioshkas? (I posted about them here: https://afinedayforanepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/horror-show-aka-tanyas-most-forgettable-student/)

I loved that egg of Mom’s.

I also loved the few egg cups that she had. Now, I admit: the egg cup has become a forgotten item in the kitchen today. Perhaps this is due in part to the “raw eggs are evil” teaching we’ve received in recent years – and egg cups, let’s face it, are ideal for soft-boiled eggs…ie: evil eggs.

The yellow Lego egg cup - how could I resist?!! It's the only duplicate egg cup I have - as they came two to a package! The cup to the right of it is, I believe a toothpick holder, as is the one next to it. That one was my husband's when I met him.... The red polka dotted egg is in a cup from an antique store in Iowa. There are wonderful egg cups to be found in antique stores, as no one today really uses or makes them compared to long ago. And, usually, they're aren't too expensive.

There’s just something about the sweet little egg cup that I have adored for years. So, when I was in high school, I began to collect them. On a school trip to London we stopped for all of about 15 minutes at Harrod’s…and I found myself in the china department. Oy, vey! That was a lovely 15 minutes.

From there my collecting obsession grew. And, of course, like any collector, my friends and family discovered that I like egg cups and they now enable me in pursuing my fun.

My chicken egg cups - the white one I bought in Chinatown in Vancouver, B.C., in December. The middle one is from Vic's Corner in Millford, Iowa. They have a wonderful outdoor antique flea market on all 3 of the major summer holidays. The egg in that cup is a rythm shaker that I swiped from my kids years ago. They never noticed. The blue egg was from my oldest sister - I love that color of blue. The wee cup in the front holds my smallest matryoshka doll...because she just seemed to be begging to masquerade as an egg in honor of that wooden Matryoshka-esque one my mom had years ago.

I decided a few years ago that I needed get more serious about collecting actual eggs to go with my egg cups. Most of my eggs are just ones I’ve blown and dyed…a craft I actually make time for. But I have also begun to find wonderful eggs in surprising places…and my collection is slowly beginning to take shape. (Ovoid-shape…ha ha.)

One of the things I really enjoy about my collection is that I don’t limit myself. If something looks like it’s the right size to hold an egg…I’ll use it! So I have toothpick holders that have been repurposed, a plastic goblet of my daughter’s…yes, I asked permission…I think…and even a miniature coffee mug. I also, this year, began using a couple dried gourds in the place of eggs…so fun!

Bird’s nests are a related passion…and they come into my collection as well.

A nest I found a few years ago - can't remember what kind of bird - it was in a tree right beside our deck. The acorns just seemed perfect as ersatz eggs!

I have a picture of the entire collection, though I am not including close-ups of all of them. How could I skip over some of them? I don’t know. Now I’m all sad that I didn’t take more pictures because they’re all wonderful. Perhaps next year…

All in all, they are my favorite decorations for Easter.

Two Russian eggs - the red one my husband bought me (here in Minnesota) and the black one my mom bought for herself in Russia, but then gave to me when she learned of my obsession!

Though, to be sure, there is much more to Easter than eggs and adorable holders.

And that, my friends, is truly what Easter is all about. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

Soli Deo Gloria

The four eggs in the bowl were from my mom...I think they're meant to be like Ukranian eggs...though they're paper mache. The tin egg inside the half egg in the background is the only antique tin egg I have - I'd love more but they're hard to find.

These funny egg guys go perfectly - I love them. The red cup is from an Iowa antique store and the egg in it is another shaky toy of my kid's. The two ducks in the background are from a junk store here in town...

Three eggs I made - none of them pefect, but they're fun. The first cup is one my mom gave me - it's so sweet! The second is, I think, my favorite. It's form an antique store in Red Wing, Minnesota, and the third is made by a local potter on Orcas Island, Washington. It was my mom's...emphasis on the was.

The first egg cup is from Harrods in London, circa 1986. It's the first egg cup I bought! The middle one is from the KaDeWe department store in Berlin last year, and the end one is made out of olive wood and is from Israel - my mom bought it for me there years ago. The egg in that cup is a cedar egg from a tacky tourist trap in North Platte, Nebraska. I love mixing and matching!

A blown brown egg in a plactic goblet of my daughter's! And a gourd in an egg cup that my best friend from college brought back from Africa for me a few years ago. Thanks, Rose!

The three eggs in the basket I bought in Berlin a year ago - the blue painted wooden one that is loose on the cabinet is from there, too. The polka dotted one I blew out last year - put stickers on it before I dyed it and then peeled them off. The egg cup that one is in is from Crate and Barrel. The blue stone egg in a wire nest is from Orcas Island and it rests on a piece of beach glass - a round bottom of a coke bottle - though you can't really see it in the photo.

A real bird's nest I found this spring while I was cleaning up from winter - it was waiting for me all winter long! The egg and bird are from a Swedish shop.

The two smaller bowls were from my oldest sister and the bigger bowl was a baby toy that I pilfered from my babies. The birdie and many of the eggs I bought in Germany. The other eggs are just cheap ones from a local department store...but mixed in with the others, they're adorable!

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