My Mother and I have both been watching for a copy of this cookbook. So far I have not found it where I can buy it at an affordable price for me. This one is going for $150, too much for me to fit into the budget even for this cookbook. Prices vary and most of the time it isn't available.

I first found this cookbook years ago when I was visiting my Aunt Emma (she was my Grandfather's sister, so my great-Aunt). She lived in British Columbia, Canada and I visited her a couple of summers when I travelled out on the Greyhound bus from Ontario. I had a lovely trip and one thing I very much remember still are all the great, traditional Ukrainian dishes we cooked. I wrote down some of the recipes and, when I was home again, I tried them myself. I had great success with one which was basically tomatoes cooked with butter, sour cream and cabbage. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, not what I expected from a dish which featured cabbage.

Anyway, Aunt Emma is gone and I never saw her cookbook again. I don't know who got it, or if anyone actually did. So I have kept watching for it to turn up.

When I was asked to write about a cookbook for Squidoo my first thought was, of course, this old Traditional Ukrainian Cookbook. I found two on Amazon, but one is without the cover and both are pretty over my meagre budget. I'm not giving up hope on finding one for myself. More and more cookbooks are turning up in thrift stores as people are finding recipes online rather than using printed cookbooks. So, I'm sure my cookbook will come.

My favourite recipe...

Hard to pick between the cabbage rolls we have been making for as long as I can remember or the recipe from the cookbook with cabbage, tomatoes and sour cream - which I don't know the name of.

I'm a long time fan of the Russian Matryoshka nesting doll. The Russian doll sets appeal to me as something feminine, historical and cultural. They're pretty too. I've found all sorts of doll sets in various themes and mediums - not just the standard wooden doll any more.

I bought my first Matryoshka doll at the Canadian National Exhibition. I had wanted one for years, since the first time I noticed them at the CNE (or The Ex, as we also called it).

I didn't know anything about the Russian dolls then, not even the right name for them. A lot of people don't know them by anything more than "that Russian doll set". The proper name is Matryoshka (other spellings - Matroishka and Matreshka). They are also called nesting dolls or stacking dolls.

I had seen them here and there and thought they were pretty, but more than that, I saw the history and the legacy to them. I have always been a history fan. Those Russian dolls were far too well known and wide spread to be something without a great history to them.

The First Russian Nesting Doll

The first doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin (a folk crafts painter). The doll set was painted by Malyutin, eight dolls staring with a girl in a traditional dress holding a rooster. The inner dolls were girls and a boy, the smallest was a baby.

Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin were inspired by a Japanese made doll. In turn, I read the Japanese say this doll was inspired by a Russian monk originally.

Traditional Matryoshka dolls have the theme with women and girls in traditional Russian dress. However, new dolls can have any random theme under the sun. Try looking up nesting dolls and anything other theme or idea and see what you find. Chances are there will be something in any theme for anyone who wants them.

I'm more of a traditional type. I like the history and prettiness of the doll in her Russian dress/ costume. Especially those with flowers painted on the skirts. But, I do have a weakness for the winter set too. All blue and white colours with snowflakes instead of flowers.

The first Matryoshka doll set are displayed in the Museum of Toys in Russia.

I like retro, vintage, old things. Choosing to preserve or repurpose is her dilemma - can't change your mind once started.

Paper flowers are more than rolled up newspaper or cut up bits of paper stuck together. There is a trick to getting the right look and shape to form flowers. But, you can use a variety of paper from tissue paper, crepe paper, newspapers to toilet paper even. You can also use paper quilling and origami as techniques in making your flowers.

Toilet paper was made into flowers and used to decorate the car the bride and groom would drive away in at weddings. Now people use tissue paper or fancier paper stock to create the "Just Married" sign and decorate the car. When I made flowers for my brother's "Just Married" sign I used plastic to form the flowers. I guess that's great for weddings which get rained on. But, it wasn't as nice as the old paper flowers we used to make.

Don't forget origami when it comes to making paper flowers. Give yourself some time to practice with different paper folding ideas. Don't expect every flower to work out your first time around. It takes some practice to work out the bugs, especially for the complicated looking flowers. One nice way to get started by making pinwheel flowers.

For pinwheels you need a square of paper and then you cut four times from the corners to the inside. Leave the centre uncut. Take one corner at each cut corner and pull it into the centre. Pin each of the corners to the centre with one pin and fasten them there. Now you need a stick for it to spin from.

Quilling is also known as filigree. I haven't tried paper quilling. But, I know you roll, shape and glue paper together to create flowers and other art.

Consider recycling gift wrapping paper as paper flowers. Magazines, with their glossy pages, make good flowers too.

I often see yards and yards of ribbon at the thrift store. Someone needs to find a use for all of that ribbon. Flowers would be a great way to repurpose ribbon. There are so many varieties of ribbon flowers too. I've seen a lot of carnations, daisies and of course, roses. But, once you get the basic method you should be able to come up with unique patterns for your own style of ribbon flower making.

Once you have made a few ribbon flower heads you can attach them to hair bands, use them when wrapping gifts/ presents and make them longer but attaching flower stems so they can sit in a vase. I've got an old one from days long ago which is still on my door knob, on the inside door where I seldom disturb it but get to see it often.

I've already written about ribbon embroidery. Making flowers out of ribbons is different because it's not embroidery. Instead of sewing with ribbon onto cloth, you are forming the ribbons into flowers, 3-D flowers rather than the (bumpy but mainly flat) 2-D flowers created with ribbon embroidery.

If you want to cheer up a friend, ribbon flowers are a good option. They can be taken into hospitals too because they have none of the qualities of real flowers, other than being cheerful, colourful and pretty.

Be Aware of Pollination and Flower Allergies

Most plant and flower allergies are caused by plants which are pollinated by the wind versus those pollinated by insects. So this is something to consider if you are looking at which plants to grow in your garden. If you plant insect pollinated flowers (entomophilous) you will have less allergy trouble. If you plant wind pollinated flowers (anemophilous) you will probably be itchy, sneezy and all the rest.

There are a lot of different fabrics which can be used to create flowers. Fabric flowers are good for people who can't have real flowers around for some reason, like allergies. I've got allergies and asthma myself. So flowers that don't have pollen at their centres are a good thing.

Not everyone likes or wants real flowers. Whether it's an event (like a wedding) or just flowers for around your home, it's nice having something add a splash of colour. Unlike plastic or silk flowers - a fabric bouquet could be put in the washer on the gentle cycle once in awhile and come out okay. This makes it good for people with allergies who need to keep down the dust bunny population in their home.

Not all fabric flowers will be machine washable. It will depend on how they were made. Chances are anything glued together won't survive a washing machine. But, any fabric flower can be dusted. Or, if you really have to be careful about dust, give them away and make new flowers a few times over the year. Not only will you be making someone else happy, but you will have a new flowers and a great excuse to do more experimenting with colours, shape, styles and fabric for your flowers.

Three Ways to Try Cleaning Fabric Flowers

Try a sink of soapy water (dish soap will do) and swish the flowers in the water. Cool water should be ok for flowers which are glued together rather than sewn flowers. Blot flowers dry.

Try a spray bottle with a mix of white vinegar and water and spritz the flowers to freshen them up. Blot dry with a clean cloth. It may not clean them well, but it will help if they have picked up odours from inside.

Try a dry clean method. Put a little salt or cornmeal in a bag, wrap the bag around the flower and shake it gently for a couple of minutes. The grit of the salt or cornmeal will pick up dirt and dust and remove it. This is one way to clean flowers which can not get wet.