Because 2 days is never enough.

In celebration of easter, Mindy came over and we spent hours making pysanky, Ukrainian easter eggs. Pysanka come from the verb pysaty, (to write) as the designs are written directly onto the egg with melted beeswax using a kitska, an implement with a small brass cone attached. The beeswax is used to mark off sections of the egg to resist additional dyes. This admittedly tedious process yields great results, even for amatures like us.

After nearly 5 hours, we had 9 finished beautiful eggs, three cracked masterpieces (so depressing), one pair of jeans with egg yolk down the front, and one giant burn mark on my kitchen table.According to Yaroslova Surmach in Ukrainian Easter Eggs, the pysanky are presented to priests on easter morning and young women give them to boys as an indication of fondness. No offense priests and boys, but I worked hard enough that I think I’ll keep mine, thanks.

Pysanky are made with raw eggs and are not eaten. We were fascinated by what happens to the actual egg inside. I remember when I made these in college, Kelly kept them for years. The book that came with my kit insists that the eggs “dry out” over time. But what does that mean? Any ideas?