A happy snippet (how I deal with returning from holidays)

 I had written this on as a comment on an IG feed that was dealing with the post-holiday blues and asking waht people do to help with them.  I had said...

I deal with with them by using my prettiest dishes, having celebratory meals, watching old movies with fresh popped popcorn, buying a new-to-me book (or three) and working on projects  (I just got back from holidays last week!) 

It does seem that we need such boosts when returning from a happy time, espeically when the pandemic is still on going.  And this (above) was what I did when coming back from our holidays this past August... 

A quiet Monday and a new friend

A quiet day today.  Leftovers are glorious and today was no exception to that!  I visited a new friend today! And I walked 5K steps so that was wonderful.  God willing I am going to NYC tomorrow to my library! I hope to get some work done on my writing project that is slowly picking up speed again.  I have so much to do just in writing project management and research threads that I need to continue working on.  I felt really derailed by things the last weeks but hope, but who knows, that it will get better again.  We shall see!  

God bless you all and in whatever burdens you are struggling with right now... ❤

 

A Wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving & 10 Year Anniversary of Meeting

10 Years Ago: on Friday: My Husband and I met for the first time in person and had a dinner party that night.  10 years ago my godson was born.  10 years ago we had our first Canadian Thanksgiving together.  It was wonderful, a full weekend of meeting many friends and introducing Mr Husband (then my newly met dating-for-over-a-month long distance boyfriend) to everyone and everyone to him.  

Today we had a lovely dinner (Roast Beef! Mashed potatoes, corn, beans, fried mushrooms with half an onion, salad) and dessert (Junior's Cheesecake! with one's choice of tea).  

And they spoiled us with beautiful flowers from their garden, wine & gifts, pressies as my friend says. I love that about her.  It was a real sense of homecoming and familarity.  We had not had anyone over for dinner in a while (silly pandemic etc) and it was such a blessing.  

We hope to have more in the future but we will see.  God willing.  

Meanwhile, I am so greatful for this evening, it had been such a long time.  ❤

May God bless each and everyone of you...

So that I don't forget that I wrote this small mediation on Larissa's passing

On Instagram HERE

Loving our muffins and tea breakfasts, today with butter.  I am thinking about my dear friend who left us last week.  Larissa's funeral is tomorrow.  She has no family.  I, alone with our priest, went to her Mother's funeral years back.  She will have three mourners at her funeral that I know of, though maybe a few more will come.  Nearly everyone who knows her is middle aged or older.  So when it is our turn to go, no one living will remember her.  I have been thinking about this but am comforted because in an Orthodox (Christian) funeral we ask God that her memory be eternal.  All of us will pass on but we are not forgotten by the One who made us.  And that is my breakfast thoughts today, more serious than some days but comforting.  

Tuesday in NYC: the Met, my Library and Lunch

I got to the PATH train and almost forgot that

I need to take the one to the World Trade Centre 

as I was going to my library and the MET!

The door had just closed when the conductor must

have seen me and opened it again! 

I was not messing around, doubled masked as usual.

The trains were more full than ever,

though still not to the rush-hour full pre-pandemic.

I've just had a slew of people get the virus who

are in NJ so I am doing my best to 

not drop my gaurd (I am vaxxed as they say now days;

however I personally know break-through cases...)

So I've joined this fun bookclub on Instagram

and it is fun to take pictures of one of my favourite 

reads; it was published first in 1970 and it was rather

shocking to realize that this was over 50 years ago.

I have just 4 years,- 4 months before I hit that number.

It's rather startling. 

Anyway the book club is HERE and I posted

my first picture of this HERE,

which I just realized I have not included in the blog post,

so I will go back, look that picture up, before

I publish this, and post it right below:

A fun for-fun picture :) Tea + Books is it for me! 

Two nice pictures of my subscription library that

I took today!

I love this picture by Monet above at the MET.

It's called The Bodmer Oak, Fontainebleau Forest

This is an icon of the Ressurection of Christ,

Christ is in the centre lifting up Adam,

Eve, next to Adam, in the red, is already standing,

which, if you know this icon, means that Christ pulled

her up first, or she would not be standing.

***

And once again, early Christianty shows that the 

misogyny that modern scholars often want to throw at it

IS NOT THERE.

Eve was pulled up first; some icons she is second of course, then Adam is standing and Christ is just going to pull Eve up; 

in some icons both are waiting to be pulled up.

Does it bother me that some icons show Adam being pulled up

first? not at all.

However, it's cool when Eve is first as it seems that some

would never believe that she was EVER first... 

*** 

It was pretty wonderful that I was there in NYC.

The whole leg/back pain thing was not much of a problem

and I was just so happy to be doing something again,

after what was at least 3 weeks of derailment in plans,

though I hope not in what God planned.

***

Larissa's funeral was a week ago tomorrow. 

Two weeks ago Thursday I saw her on the day she died

and read all those prayers.

It is still so meaningful to me that I felt like for once

I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

***

Our local priest talked recently about the fact that

we sin every minute of the day and if God let us 

know the amont of our sin we would be crushed

but our priest also said if we could experience / see 

the full goodness of God we would also be crushed

and somehow I got the idea that God's goodness is so deep

that our sin, that's why it can be forgiven.

I had a wonderful moment looking at the icons at the MET

where I was aware of what my priest said about our sins

and even having one second of remembering what he said

and a hint of understanding of how true it is, about how

much we sin, that was a real gift, just even to have a flash 

of awareness of it.

I forget these things so quickly 

which is why I wanted to write it here.

***

So, now it is getting late.

Tomorrow is another busy day; more PT.

And I am getting my hair cut.

***

May the Lord have mercy on us

and save us! 

Sunday beauty, pain and hope

 

We went to our local church today.  A blessing.  We suddenly have a growing list of people who have the virus right now.  My friend and his Mother are the worst that I know of; he is on oxygen, the Mother is not improving, even worsening.  

Sometimes all of a sudden things spiral out and one has to remember that God is still here, that in the middle of the storm, as Elizabeth Goudge writes in Gentian Hill, is where the calm is, the fortress.  

May God have mercy on us.

prayer request

 A young man I know and his Mother are both in hospital with the C-virus and his Mother is not doing well at all.  Please I beg you to pray for them.  My Husband and I are friends with the Mother's son and have had many delightful conversations with him.  (I don't have permission to share their names but God knows). 

Dreaming of Tea and Productivity

A friend sent me this the other day, today we were going to go to the VNA rummage sale but after more people we knew got the virus or were exposed to it, we decided not to go.  I am disappointed of course but at least I got the nice plates and cake pan this week, which were the biggest things I was hoping to find. 

Today I went to liturgy for the Protection of the Mother of God.  That was really good.  

I am really wishing that I could just resume my life as it had been going, and get back to my writing project and have some sort of routine.  

Lord have mercy. 

A Beautiful Day for Larissa's Funeral + Mercy

Larissa's funeral was attended by her dear friend, myself, Mr Husband, and K from church; our priest and his wife did the service itself.  It was sung beautifully and the memory eternal (a song towards the end) was sung in a very loving sing-song like melody that sounded very old and very dear and intimate; not a setting I had heard before.  The sun was shining with a brillant blue sky and cool tempatures.  Afterwards we went to A. B. back near church for dinner; Larissa's dear friend and my Husband and myself.  We talked a lot about Patrick too, as Larissa's estate needs to be concluded and we were involved in Patrick's estate and have experience with it.  

Larissa is now buried next to her parents.  In 2014 when we buried her Mother, Mat Tatiana, the leaves were golden; the leaves were mostly green this time; I was so glad to be there. 

Earlier this week we realized that we really can't go to the VNA rummage sale as we had long hoped.  We concluded that it is just too risky with the pandemic and I am very much at peace about that.  

I had been hoping to find especially 2 items there, a small cake pan and some pretty salad plates.  So earlier this week I got plates, beautiful ones, from Etsy and also my new 6 inch cake pan.  The pan came earlier this week and the plates, which were to come today, came yesterday.  It was a comfort to have them, beauty always lightens and comforts me.  

My cousin H said that, when I texted her a picture of my new plates, they had blue rose plates when she was growing up; that seems very familar to me; I remember our visits to Ontario and her home back then... 

I got the pansy plate to match +Patrick's teacup that I got from his kitchen when he died.  It matches so well, I am really happy to have this.  

The 2nd of September marked 4 months before I turn 45.  Time goes so quickly.  I started this blog before I was 30 years old! I think I was 28... what a difference in age is that! 

I remember Larissa, when she came to our home for Thanksgiving in 2018, saying how she used to be able to do stairs easily; old age and the infirmities that she felt were very hard for her.  Her Mother lived much longer than she did; I think at first she was expecting to have the same trajectory but she was not as strong.  And she had no living family to stay for.  It was a blessing that she is no longer suffering; when I last saw her she was bright and at peace.  I will always be glad I was able to read those prayers.  

Doing the prayers was the one of the few things that I felt that I was really supposed to do; a lot of daily life seems not as clear; but those prayers, they were as clear as the clearest lake where you see into the depths. 

God bless you all and keep you in His care!

The Day Before (the Funeral)

 

Tomorrow is Larissa's funeral.  At 10.  We will be there before to help set up and make sure all is well.  We are slowly praying this beautiful Akathist for Larissa, Akathist to Jesus Christ For a Loved One Who has Fallen Asleep.  If you pray for the departed and don't know of this particuar resource, I highly recommend it.  It's helped me numerous times grieve in hopeful, healthy ways.  

I have gotten the house clean.  I made a lovely small 6 inch vegan chocolate cake.  I will try to share pictures later.  I don't have them downloaded yet on my chromebook to do so. 

I am still having some hip/leg pain issues (and was not able to go to PT this week for various reasons) so if you pray for me, please pray for me with the funeral and cemetary.  It's going to be at least 4 hours between being early and by the time we have lunch outside at a resturant after the funeral.  I know one thing.  It will be a holy precious time and I am so so glad we can go to Larissa's funeral.  I can't tell you how glad. 

May God have mercy on us all and save us! 

I keep meaning to write...

 

...more about Larissa.  She has no family left now.  No one at all.  I was the only one, other than our priest, who went to her Mother's funeral.  She had one other person in her life who is missing her termendously.  ... 

Her father was a priest named Fr Nicholas.  He got cancer decades ago now and died of it.  Larissa went all the way to Boston with him for treatment; some monks there helped them a lot.  Her Mother, Mat Tatiana lived a long life and she is how I met Larissa when I was a new Bride and needed something to do.  So my priest told me to visit Larissa's Mom in nursing home.  And so the years went, and now Larissa is gone too.  

I want to write more but I know I need to go to bed now.

Life has a lot of grief and loss in it.  

For now, good night dear ones, God bless and keep you in His care.