Monday

I really appreciate it that my blog community

appreciates and sees the beauty

I seek to create in my teas.

*

It is a learning curve for me,

to put together a good tea

and be a good hostess.

**

In time I may read up on the etiquette of hosting dinner parties

and teas, from how to prepare the food,

the table;

am also interested in learning more about conversations

and engaging everyone in the party according to who they are.

***

Meanwhile the tea yesterday was lovely

and I am already dreaming up

other tea / lunch / dinner

party ideas.

At least I am not shy

and certainly not of showing my tea party pictures!

:)

**

In other news, I got an A+ on my quiz!

(I got two wrong verb endings wrong

but still a grade of A+,

I'll take it!!)

*

The test today was a bit more difficult

but I know I passed and did

fairly well.

*

Much more studying to be done this week!

*

Today is the beginning of the Apostles' Fast.

Wishing everyone a good beginning.

Sunday Tea

Cold creamed asparagus soup with leeks.

Chicken and cucumber sandwiches

*

Delicious strawberries and grapes.

Cookies for dessert with

both Chai Tea and Licorice Spice.

**

It was lovely.

***

I am thankful for the opportunity to celebrate

with a few friends.

So glad it is Sunday tomorrow!

Yesterday I made the above pasta;

artichoke, penne noodles, Fia's Pasta Sauce

(from a slower cooker book I have),

mozzarella cheese,

spinach.

Turned out well,

made lots.

We are slowly gearing up for the Apostles' fast!

I am preparing a tea for tomorrow

with a few of my friends;

hope to post pictures of it, of course!

It was a fight against anxiety about the future;

I am glad I have church to strengthen

and encourage us in our struggles.

I am relieve that it will be a fasting time,

I pray that I can quiet my heart...

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday and

for all who are Orthodox,

a good beginning to the Apostles' Fast!

Early Summer

Wow.

I don't think I realized how much I love summer sunshine!

I love winter sunshine but summer is special too.

It cooled down a bit though, to my delight.

(I find the high humidity tiring).

Today I ran into an old neighbour from my last apartment building;

she has cancer and I did not know.

Am so glad I know now - please say a prayer for her.

I am working on staying in the present

and it sure is nice to do this.

Lot less stressful;

my old neighbour talked to me all about this -

how she is not going to worry about tomorrow but just do

what has to be done today.

She got really sick with the chemo;

she was surprised how many people are in the hospital with cancer.

May the Lord have mercy on us all;

in the beautiful days of summer many still suffer.

*

It is a good reminder as I go through

these days of waiting

on applications.

*

Enjoy today.

Pray.

Repent.

Follow the guidelines of the church

(one of my friends jokingly said the Church says we HAVE to have meat tomorrow

on Friday because it is a fast free week!).

**

I am putting together a nice tea for a few of my friends

right before our next fast.

***

May we seek God in all times and in all places.

Application is in!

I went this morning in person,

in the heat.

It is a fast-free week.

I had a hamburger for lunch.

They forgot my ketchup but it was still pretty good.

***

I can tell that many are praying for me.

**

I was reminded of a Donald Hall poem tonight

the ending is that he is

surprised by happiness.

I have felt moments of peace and happiness

lately;

it sure feels nice.

*

Am trying to live in the moment,

in what is true:

I have enough for today.

I even have enough for tomorrow.

I need to file my taxes (note to self).

But I even have enough for the day after tomorrow.

Give us our daily bread.

I have a place to live.

I found Cleo laying on her back tonight

looked so funny.

My A/C is in (but not exactly installed perfectly yet

however it is IN).

*

My Goddaughter called and left me a voicemail.

*

One of my good friends had a baby boy!

TODAY!

at Home!

Sigh.

je suis tres content.

She saw God taking care of every detail

and the Mother of God's care while she was in labour.

*

Goodness,

no wonder I am feeling happy.

*

That said,

I am aware that I need prayers

and I am so grateful for all of yours.

I feel that this summer is a summer of further

decisions

and I am so thankful to be blessed with

such a great blog community.

*

May God help us all!

For today

It is so hot here

these days.

Just got my A/C in tonight.

Still quite warm.

*

Due to various reasons and circumstances,

I have been home a lot these past few days.

*

Too much studying

not enough people interaction

is inwardly difficult for me.

*

I hope to hand in my application

for the University program.

Am finding it hard to wait.

Yet on God

I must wait

and put my trust.

Reflections

Another picture of the restaurant that my Uncle took

my Dad and I too.

*

God really watched over me as I went to Brampton last week!

The train ended up being a bus to Toronto due to some rail damage

down the line.

Then I was given a taxi drive from Toronto to Brampton!

(Over a 30 minute drive).

I showed the taxi driver a picture of my Oma and myself

on her 100th Birthday.

The taxi driver ended up taking me right to my Oma's place

instead of the train station;

it was so joyous to meet my Mom, who was waiting for me outside the doors.

We both thanked the taxi driver for his generosity...

Oh if only I would remember at all times what care and attention

God gives to us His children!

**

I am trying to work more in French;

with my two new classes I have found it a challenge.

***

Am reading things, including this great blog post

about accepting that we may be in

a state of confusion

but by accepting it and doing what needs doing

we can have a sense of peace

in the midst of it.

*

I am really struggling to organize my time so that I

devote enough to French studies.

Lord help us all!

What time is it?

My time away was good;

it is as it always is; my family is routine oriented;

we spent a lot of time together; my Mother is the youngest

of a family of 8 children

so lots of remembering.

Asked my Oma about what her advice about marriage was

(figured I better ask while I can since by the time I may or may not

get married, she will be, I pray, in heaven, since she is

101 years old currently).

She said to be nice to him and he will be nice to you

and to know when to speak and when to not speak.

Lots of truth in these simple things.

Years ago my Mom's family lived in the house pictured above;

painted then with the wood in yellow and green

and a porch the whole side of the house...

My Uncle took my Dad and I to a cool restaurant

with tons of Victorian decorations.

I love the unexpected restaurants way out in the countryside.

A large part of me still belongs to the countryside

of both Ontario and Michigan...

Cleo missed me.

She always lets me know the night I am home sleeping

about 2 Am

she wakes me up.

If anything I will have lots of experience of waking in the middle of the night

if I ever do have a family.

That cat of mine.

She had two people visit her -- my one friend even texted me pictures of her!

and Cleo always had plenty of food and water.

***

I am wondering what time it is for me.

Reprogramming for sure.

Rethinking

redoing

re-something else I'm sure.

Changing my eating habits

figuring out what I need for exercise (and how to have the time?)

***

I am trying to not be on my computer as much;

I know I need to reorganize my life and time.

**

Moved a shelf unit into my closet,

purging myself of more stuff

being patient with the process.

*

It can be hard to wait

but the process has to be gone through before I will be

where I will be next

(school, job, other yet unknown).

***

May God have mercy on us all.

And tomorrow, the train...

Okay.

Have researched online as much as I can

for this program

French as a Second Language.

*

Vacillate between feeling excited about it

and scared about how much work it would be.

**

However I am saying no to anxiety

and worrying about something or

feeling scared about it

does not mean one does not do it.

***

Finally,

I am going to Brampton tomorrow!

My Oma is 101.

All of my life she has always been here.

Can't imagine her not being

and am so glad I get to see her again.

**

I hope to savor each part of this small

vacation.

***

I have ordered the transcripts to apply to the program

and am going to fill out the application on the train.

Somehow I feel, overall, excited about this.

I think part of it is I always feel excited about school;

must seek to guard my heart also;

I have already had to blog about my dreams being

based in what was not really true.

Like thinking a perfect apartment or job

would give happiness

or

anything else that I really need.

***

After all, the purpose of life is not in having my dreams

of a family or good job or living space.

No.

The end and beginning must be

my faithful Saviour

Jesus Christ.

Oh, well, then...

I know.

Cleo looks too cool for her own good.

Rest assured, she is looking quite normal now

and is resting on the top of my afghan-arm chair.

My new salad meal.

Spinach, boiled egg, non-died cheddar cheese

(cheddar with orange = dyed colour)

a radish, some tomato and cucumber,

avocado.

I dress it up with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Have to come up with a new variation though

or I will get tired of it

(I know my consumerist self too well, sigh).

I made some phone calls today.

I am going to apply to do a major

(a second BA without the electives that my first BA has)

in French as a Second Language

at one of the two local Universities.

This would give me the time and structure

to continue learning French.

It would also give me more debt in student loans;

but not more than I can pay off

(especially if I get a professional library position afterwards).

I don't know the economic future two plus years down the road.

It would be a big investment of what our current culture

considers to be important:

time and money.

Please pray for me that I will make the decision

that God wants me to make

and that I will be able to read and obey His will.

Thank you.

Monday / a Lundi

A Close up of Cleo.

:)

After waking me at 6 am, I find I still love her!

Lucky for her...

A really beautiful day today.

And I achieved my goal of studying this morning in the library.

But OH MY GOODNESS do I have a lot to review

and learn.

Lord help me.

I cannot express how encouraging having my

lampada lit

day and night is.

Light in the darkness;

the light will never be overcome by night.

*

It was recently St. George's Day

(old calendar)

and this year I discovered that there is a

St. Elizabeth the Dragon Slayer

the day of after St. George's Day.

Wow.

*

I have a lot to do to get ready for my short trip away.

Balancing trip-planning, French studying...

**

A friend offered to help me network;

I reworked my resume

and carefully crafted my email to go with the resume.

***

I am reading some books by Christian Protestant author

Archibald Hart;

I admit that I find his website to be a bit overwhelming,

not to mention that he has, with his daughters,

created an Institute.

However,

regardless of my inclinations to want things all tidy

and artistic

(I did a BA in English Lit)

I found my friend's suggestion to take a look at his books

worth while.

As you may remember,

I declared war on anxiety

and part of this war was getting books.

Hart's books (and one that his daughter co-wrote)

are one of the tools I am

using to fight.

I hope to do some book reviews on them,

but for now suffice it to say

that I am trying to build new habits in my life

as part of this effort.

First up is improving my eating habits.

More green and other vegetables.

I tend to eat lots of bread

and not as much in the area of vegetables,

unless I make a good soup.

So far, so good.

It is tricky to understand all the areas

that need to be examined;

and how blessed I am to have such good food

easily available to eat.

***

Second is to get more sleep.

On that note, I better do so presently!

*

Christ is Risen!

Sunday Evening

One never knows where Cleo will be found.

Today it was inside the pillow on my chair.

Quite amusing.

One of the buildings near by City Hall...

My Mother, on Mother's Day,

gave me a good bit of encouragement.

Sometimes I suddenly look at the waves in my life,

I forget, like St. Peter, to look at Christ.

I must keep trying to learn French and see how far I can get by the

end of the summer.

***

I must develop a new routine,

cut out all and any self-pity

and try to work hard at French.

If you could pray for strength for this resolve,

I would appreciate it.

***

I am

Lord Willing

going to Brampton Ontario this week to visit my Oma

who is 101 years old

and my Mother who will be visiting her Mother.

I am grateful for God for giving me such a great

Mom and two wonderful Grandmothers!

*

Christ is Risen!!

Cleo and the week as it winds down

Thanks everyone for your comments

and show of concern for my Cat Cleo.

*

She has been fine the past two days;

little sneezing fits

and lots of meow-give-me-what I want

communication

but okay over all I think.

**

Called a Vet.

The person who I described the situation to

thought that she was okay so far

but to watch to make sure

she does not get worse.

She is eating, drinking, litter-boxing (if you know what I mean!)

and acting her normal self.

Like the picture below?

Ha!

Bet you did know that Cleo is practically fanged.

Always talking, that's Cleo.

She is currently lounging on the gold chair,

napping.

Alana's comment in my last post made me laugh,

thanks!

Here is a link to last Springs huge pre-hairball treatment,

bet your daughter Alana would like the picture! :)

The other day there was a freak down-town rain storm;

two of my friends who live in Ottawa, but not downtown

did not get the rain at all!

The rain lasted a good 10 minutes

and kind of blew in and then blew out.

The sun came out again suddenly

making the newly wet ground beautiful.

***

My one French class is hard

a bit over my head

as I have had very little chance for listening and speaking

(which is why I switched French classes).

I am struggling to find time to study

even though it is the main thing

I am to be doing.

May the Lord help us all.

*

Christ is Risen!

Cleo Question

Warning - conversation about cat and hairballs ensuing.

I admit,

I should brush my very furry cat

more often.

And it is spring.

Hairballs are a comin'.

But I have a question and concern because...

some of the time when Cleo is throwing up

hairballs

(sorry if this is gross but I gotta ask

my friends who may know)

the non-hairball part is, as of late,

discoloured.

Should I be concerned?

Do I need to bring her to the vet?

I have not called the vet yet

due to business

and also that I am trying to conserve money.

Any thoughts?

Settling in for Spring

Had my first French class today.

Taking two part time classes;

ended up doing Mon-Wed nights

and Tues-Thurs mornings!

But one thing at a time.

I must try really hard

but

have some relaxation time as well.

A tough balance.

We had Cemetery Day at my Church's Cemetery

yesterday.

One of our beloved parishioners

who died in 2006 in her very early 40's

is buried there.

So every year for Cemetery Day

I bring my Mexican blanket and spread it by her grave

and myself and others sit on the blanket

and eat by her grave

and sing Christ is Risen to her.

I will always miss her and I know I am not alone

in asking now for her prayers.

For a beautiful example of asking the prayers of those

who have gone to the Lord before us,

I encourage you to listen to this podcast about Fr. George Calciu

by Fredrica Matthewes-Green.

I am reading some great books -

The Jesus Prayer by Fredrica Matthewes-Green is one of these.

***

The trip to the monastery was really wonderful.

So much so that I don't have a single picture!

I got a lot of wise counsel from one of the Sisters there

that I will be pondering over the next days and weeks.

I find it so important to go to monasteries

for counsel

for refreshment

and to be surrounded by the monastics' prayers.

***

Christ is Risen!