Wednesday, March 31, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER BARGAIN-RATE CAR INSURANCE WITH BARGAIN- RATE SERVICE IS NO BARGAIN. Don't trust just anyone to insure your car, see me: «-r™» H a l M ayer 2861 Sherwood Heights Dc 829-5200 ■•Sr Focus OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR O F TOE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Oakville Beaver Focus E d ito r : W I L M A B L O K H U I S 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 ( E x t 2 5 0 ) Q J h e Aloha Sp'ring Sole! W ByOorsigrn^vvevegoreTioptel Come and see Ihe new dand cctaus in d the latest st̂ es Tote E% off one tem b he(p you get storted on hot new goring boW sale runs until Apnl 3rd ^ By Consignment ... ; 115 Trafalgar Rd. 338-3474 upscole. resole, todies wear ■bw accepting spring dolhes by appointment % t A f t e r By Lorna M artens-Lanza SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER ^ r ' ~ f all the foods connected with the celebration of Easter, none is £ B more closely entwined with the season than the humble, but K B almost perfect egg. The long-standing and successful mar- V riage resulted from joining pagan traditions with Christian beliefs - the renewal of life on earth because spring had come again and the promise of life after death because of Christ's Resurrection. Through the ages, the egg has symbolized not only spring but the miracle of new life. It goes back far beyond any one religion and belongs to all mankind. The practice of colouring eggs is not, as you might think, solely a Western phenomenon. It seems that almost every culture had the same idea of painting something on the symbol of life that would represent the sun, days lengthening, and nature bursting into glorious bloom. Exchanging gifts in the spring was a common tradition even before the time of Christ. The early Persians dyed their eggs bright colours and gave one another "egg" gifts during joyous spring festivals. Christians adopted the custom, and we still practice it today. Decorating eggs for many has become an art, espe cially in Eastern Europe. In Hungary, white eggs dominate with patterns of red flow ers. In Poland and the South of Russia work begins weeks ahead of time. Intricate designs of tiny checker boards, patterns of dots plus plant and animal shapes are most common. No two eggs are alike, but the same symbols appear continually - a sun for good luck, a hen or rooster to make wishes come true, a deer for good health, and flowers for love and beauty. In North America, we love to exchange chocolate and candied eggs with the wish for a joyous Easter. C oloured and painted eggs are reserved for the dining table centrepiece with all the other traditional Easter dishes taking second place. Wherever Easter is celebrated - cus toms have sprung up surrounding it. Today, the egg stands for the miracle of life, just as it always has. Some things never change. E A S T E R FU N W ITH E G G S Egg colouring and decorating can be fun for the whole family. Coloured and decorated eggs can be raw, blown hollow or hard-cooked. Hard-cooked eggs are easier for small children to handle, because they are not as fragile as raw or blown. To colour and decorate eggs, all you need is an egg, a little imagination, and some simple craft or kitchen supplies. Tongs are a handy tool to use for dipping raw or hard-cooked eggs in and out of the water. Teaspoons work well for small children. An easy way to colour a blown egg is to thread a thin piece of wire through a hole made at both ends of the egg. Bend the wire at one end so the egg won't slip off. This makes a handy tool for dipping the egg in the dye and hanging it to dry. A wire cookie rack is also useful for drying eggs. H o w T o S e l l Y o u r H o m e F o r T o p D o l l a r i n 3 0 D a y s o r L e s s ! C a l l © Colleen Pickett. S a le s R e p r e s e n ta t iv e Eggs that have aged about a week in the refrigerator work best for hard-cooking. W hen you want to enjoy them later in an egg salad, they will peel more easily than eggs fresh from the grocery store. C O L O U R IN G E G G S Food colouring, natural colours, commercial Easter egg dyes, water-based felt pens, and acrylic paints can be used for colouring eggs. To colour eggs with food colouring, follow the method below. You can experiment with adding different dyes to create your own custom colour. M ethod: Combine 1/2 cup (125 ml) water, 1 tea spoon (5 ml) vinegar and 20 drops of desired food colour in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Dip hard-cooked eggs until desired shade is obtained. Place on a wire rack to dry (or use an egg carton to hold your creations). After the dolour has dried, it will not rub off. To marbleize eggs, add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) veg etable oil to each colour. Stir water vigorously. Using spoon, tongs or egg dipper, immediately dip egg in and out o f the water once. Place on wire rack to dry. For a multicoloured effect, repeat procedure with second and third colours once the preceding colour is dry. * Before displaying, eggs can be rubbed with a little vegetable oil for additional shine. Pearlized nail polish gives decorated eggs a lustrous shine, as does several coats of podgy glue. To display your creations, show them off in a pretty Easter basket or bowl filled with coloured Easter grass. Egg cups, small clay pots, small twig wreaths or dry pasta nests can also be used. A small plastic curtain ring glued to the bottom of the deGorated egg makes an idea stand. Other items such as buttons, corks, bottle caps, small stones, pieces of wood, or toilet paper rolls cut to appropriate size also work well. To make our Easter Eggs, we (my four children - Francis, Paula, Angela, Michael and myself) used a combination of food colouring to dye the eggs, acrylic fabric paints to decorate, spray paint, glitter and ribbons. Both eggs shown in this pho tograph were painted by Francis The purple egg sits inside a wicker egg cup which converts into a straw chicken, part of a collection of egg cups. Photo by Barrie Erskine 7 Y \ Y 338-9000 WHO 5AY5 You HAVEf TO W^AR A 5UIT TO CARRY A CETlL PHOnJET? Introducing Digital PCS .NATIONAL iCELLULARi P erso n a l C o m m u n ica tio n s C en tres E r in M ills T o w n C e n tre M is s is s a u q a (905) 820-9200 422 S p e e rs Rd. O a k v ille , (905) 338-9200 O a k v il le P la ce . O a k v il le (905) 815-9200 S q u a re O ne . M is s is s a u g a (905) 276-9200 W o o d b in e Cen tre . E to b ic o k e . (416) 679-9200 3105 U n ity Dr, U n it #29 M is s is s a u q a (905)828 9200 1490 D u n d a s S l. 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