Easter Eggs in July


Tonight I had dinner with . Moments like this make me so happy to be home. One of my favorite things to do is sit and talk with friends over food and drink–those meaty conversations that nourish your whole person. Sometimes the conversations are mundane and earthy, sometimes they are provocative and philosophical. They are always treasured.

And speaking of treasures, [info]swampwitch brought me a gift–an egg that she purchased because it’s a "Valya Egg."

It was actually labeled as a Valya Egg! And it’s purple and sparkly, and it opens like a Fabergé egg. The egg has already been claimed by this mini steampunk poppet (one of Lisa Snelling‘s creations) seen gazing longingly above.

Because I have an uncommon name, I was never able to find any of those personalized gifts that kids sometimes had in the 80s: bracelets, bookmarks, or mugs. There may have been a Valerie or a Val, but I was neither of those. A friend once made me a wooden sign of my name, I have it to this day because it was the only thing with my name.

And now this egg.

Plus [info]swampwitch knows me well enough to know that I am fascinated with eggs as symbols, a part of folklore and tradition, and as a storytelling tool. Eggs by their very nature hide something precious inside. They connect generations. They hold their stories hidden inside the shells. They are a perfect symbol of potential.

(Painted eggs, called pysanky, are an important (and one of my favorite) part of Ukrainian culture. To read more about them from a previous LJ post, click here.)

I wanted to write more about friendship and hidden treasures, but I’m falling asleep on the keyboard.
More later.
Night all.

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

3 thoughts on “Easter Eggs in July”

  1. hollyheartfree says:

    what a great post! Pysanky would be a great Ostara type group activity.

    I love the way you tied your personal egg into hidden treasures and friendships.

    Life is a great and complex mystery. I love watching it unfold in my own life and in the stories I read here.

    Blessings on your return to Chicago.

  2. traveler64 says:

    That is indeed a beautiful egg. I’ve always found the Faberge eggs fascinating. They were so much a part of the the last Tzar’s intimate family circle, it’s part of history.

    Ah… the little poppet. I’ve never gotten around to obtaining one–I did see one time one that was a lady bug poppet; very cute. I guess I must be in ‘too much stuff’ phase. Every time I have to dust I feel like screaming. So, no more ‘stuff’ for me.

  3. swampwitch says:

    I Never Come Here Anymore…FaceBook has Claimed Me.

    Oh it was SO good to actually give you a hug instead of telling you I was sending a cyber one… and to catch up a little. There’s still so much more to talk about! I’m glad you love the Valya Egg… and I haven’t forgotten that we had you scheduled for the pysanky a couple of years ago for Srping Equinox…before you knew you’d be moved back to Germany by then. So 2010?
    Love you Sweetie~ !

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