Thanks be to God

Orthoman and I had cause
to be concerned.

For reasons that ultimately were
unfounded
we were suddenly worried that Cleo could
not join us in our new home
God willing this fall.

We can all breathe a bit easier now.
The situation has been beautifully resolved.
 

For what would of my Cleo Cat done
if she could not join in on the fun?!
*
Thanks everyone who has been encouraging me.
I got a few emails done tonight
for wedding prep
and even doing that feels
like a real accomplishment.
*
I fly on Wednesday.
My job continues to go well
and they are fully understanding about the time
off I am taking and they like my work.
So much to do still
but
I am thankful...

And onward it goes

I was given some very beautiful gifts
for my wedding and future home.


A very intricate hand embroidered Rusnyk
that will be tied around
our arms
just before we go around the table
at the wedding
(a Ukrainian tradition)

This woven blue and white one
will be the one we stand on in front of the table.

I went to a very nice baby shower.
Love that the mother to be got icons
for her baby's room.

 

Today is tax deadline day
here in Canada.
Um, I didn't make it.
My to-do-pile is still toppling over. 
I am not sure but I may have to revisit
my work/wedding prep/moving prep
balance as life just keeps bringing
unexpected things and I have no idea
how to keep up with it.

Beauty, transitions and struggle

 

I love my ring.
I miss my Orthoman.
I will God willing see him soon.
We're having some challenges that we are
facing together;
it is wonderful that way, the together part.
*
I am still recovering from the very
sad news I heard
a few days ago
and my spiritual father confirmed
that it is something I will have to grieve.
*
I know we really are all longing
to be with Christ in Paradise,
where there is no more sorrow, grief or sighing
but life everlasting.
*
I am really looking forward to going
God willing to the monastery
late in the coming month.
*
It is really wonderful how animals
sense one when is sad.
Cleo was especially sweet today.
*
Vespers is so life-giving.
Christ is Risen and the world rejoices.

Closing another week

The end of another week.
This week had its share of
sadness and stress.
But I did confirm about going to the
monastery
and am so glad about this.

Little steps in the right direction

Well.
Work is going well.
I have lists of to be done miles and miles long.
Did I mention that I am traveling much of May?
Yep.
First to see Orthoman
and then to be back in Ottawa
and then down to Michigan.
Lots of family and wedding prep going on
while I am in Michigan.
Basically I will be traveling somewhere
God-willing every month until October.
October
as far as I know
I won't be traveling.
Sometimes I must admit
I just want a break
as do we all;
I am hoping to go to the monastery while I am in Michigan.
Now if I could just find time to call them...

Noah is very ill

Noah is very ill.
Please pray for him.
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy.

After Pascha

I heard some really sad hard news
about people I knew when I was young.
Sometimes the tragedy in life
seems to outweigh the beauty and the hope.
But Christ is Risen
and I am blessed to have friends
who pray and love
and my Orthoman who also
prays and loves.

Saturday after Pascha

 

I ate the last two Pascha cookies
this morning with a cup of milk.
I made at least 108 cookies
this Pascha.
Other than a few I saved for
Orthoman and myself
all of them were consumed
at our church feast
on Pascha day.
*
I have a list of things to be done
three grocery lists long
and today is a day for
laundry
cake baking for a birthday
cleaning and hopefully photocopying stuff
for taxes...and other things,
like switching out my winter clothes
for spring and summer.
*
Vespers tonight.
Thank God for the continued rhythms
and prayers that the church cradles us in,
giving structure, hope, direction
and a deepening way forward.

Happy Progression

Orthoman and I got engaged on
Pascha Day in the afternoon.

We went to the Greek monastery on Bright Monday
and got beautiful handmade crowns
made by the nuns.

 

Pascha was wonderful.

Soon...

 

Pascha is soon.
Holy Friday was beautiful.
Our beloved priest is still sick.
Please if you can,
say a prayer for him.
I think we are all on the exhausted side.
It's been wonderful to have Orthoman
with me during this intense
and Holy Time.

Prayer Request for a very beloved priest

This icon was a gift to everyone
in my parish a few years ago
from our beloved priest.
Please pray for him
as he has fallen ill.

Holy Tuesday - Part II

A hard day
was made a little lighter
by seeing leaves on the trees.

The scent of water
the helps the plant to bud.

Tomorrow
my beloved comes
and we will go to the rest
of the Holy Week services
together.

After Pascha I hope we

can go back to my favourite tree.

Everything is beginning to flower.

We must not lose hope in God's goodness.

Stress on Holy Tuesday

 

Saw the decorator yesterday.
A dear close friend accidentally
opened the window screen and
suddenly Cleo was there
with wind blowing her fur
and I had to grab her -
she has no concept of windows and
I am 8 floors up.
If she would of gone forward
I would of lost her;
she would of fell 8 storeys down.
*
Planning a wedding
when you have no family at all
within many many miles of myself
is really stressful.
*
I am struggling to de-stress;
The pressure of it all
is ridiculous.
*
It's hard when one feels that
they have virtually
no one with them to help or
delegate with.
That I still have to pack and plan my move
is something I am merely trying
unsuccessfully to ignore.
*
I tell you this though:
the answer is still the same for my struggle.
thankfulness
rejoicing in God
repentance
asking God for help.

And now Holy Week Begins!

My cake was a success.
First time I used cherries with it.
I had help with the inspiration of it. :)

 

And now Holy Week begins!
Wishing all of my Orthodox blogging community
a blessed Holy Week!

A beautiful Annunciation and Lazarus Saturday

It is almost here!!
Holy Week!!!
The Best Week of the Year.

There was a chrismation at my
church today.
I took lots of pictures with my camera.
I am pleased with how many of them
turned out.
I can get a better focus by
manually focusing
and I am really pleased.
As a rule I don't post pictures of people on my
blogs so you'll have to trust me on this one.

Today was also Annunciation.
I did not eat fish,
but will tomorrow.
My church has a bigger church meal
with fish, wine and oil.
I am experimenting with a new
lenten chocolate cake.
I hope it turns out,
or the kids
(okay and adults :))
will be disappointed!
*
Tomorrow is the newly illumined's
first communion.
This is such a joy to behold.

Hard to believe this night was the last presanctified liturgy

Liturgy was beautiful.
My sister-friend and her family came;
I got to take my godson to communion.

Another beautiful cake.
Lenten with a Lenten cream and kiwi.
So good.
*
It was a beautiful evening.
Was so wonderful to have my close friends
with me this night.
They are so warm and hospitable.
It helped ease the sense of loss of this evening
being my last full lent at
my church here.
*
It was a beautiful night.

 

My humble cake.
Recipe here
and photograph here.
*
My Orthoman comes this Holy Wednesday!
God willing I will make him a special
cake for his arrival;
pictures forth coming! :)
*
It is so hard to believe that Holy Week is almost here!
My spiritual father says that
if you were going to live 7 days
Holy Week is the 7 days you would want to live.
How I look forward to this week.

End of Great Lent is at hand

I met the cater today.
Wrote about it here.

I am glad that the Saints are always
praying for us and that we are protected.

I love that everyday we can read a bit
more and try to seek God
in the midst of our daily lives.

 

I have much to do today.
Flowers to bring to church
 from the retirement party.
Cake to bake.
Friends to help.
Presanctified liturgy tonight.
Already cleaned house a bit.
I am so tired.
Really I just want to rest and read books,
like the one above
which I got at the Greek monastery
on my 35th birthday.

Hoped for Progress

After work and the retirement party
I bought my new camera.
It's a lot different than my small one.
I still admit that I would like both
and hope that my old camera continues for a while
though it is showing signs of dying.
Here's some of my first pictures.
I hope to continue to improve.
I have a lot to learn
but not at a lot of time at present.


St. Ephraim the New

Our Holy Lady and Mother

 

As if I was not going to do Cleo pictures. :)

She has such great whiskers.

We are almost to Holy Week.

May we be protected as we go towards Pascha.

Seeing and Experiencing Transitions

 Went to a retirement party
for a library staff person
who had worked in that library
for thirty years.

I am really seeing the end of an era.
Slowly those who got a full time job in
the late sixties
early seventies
are retiring.

It's the last it seems of those
who had one job their whole life
and stayed in it
and did well.
At the same time I saw some old familiar faces
of people I used to work with
at my first job in Ottawa.
It indeed felt like a transition also for me.
For I too am in the process of saying goodbye.
 But like Madeleine L' Engle's book
certain women
the wave goodbye can also mean hello.

Sometimes a conversation can turn everything around

Picture from earlier this year.
I had a seemly simple
conversation
at my workplace
yesterday.
About work places and change
and acknowledging that with change
comes pain and loss
but I was encouraged to also
look at what is being gained.
It helped me reorient myself as
I continue in the midst of the
transition of
marrying and moving.
I see my Orthoman in a week's time
and let's just say
we're both counting down the days.
Doing things long distance is hard.
As I said on my other blog today,
I am blessed to have
been given
my
dear loved delightful
Orthoman.

Tuesday, Lent Week 6

Today was a good day.
I am thankful.

And so Monday Lent Week 6 is gone

 

Someday I will miss this time.
I remember when
I tried to buy my first
real camera.
It was the year after a
death of a loved one.
I talked about it for days and weeks
until it was settled.
I don't remember why the urgency
other than my old camera died.
Anyway.
I know I am just having
 a hard time processing
the amount of transition I am in.
I am aware that I am very much
a first world girl
as someone who loves me said today.
It's the artist in me
who sees the beauty, the drama, the grief
and wants to make something beautiful from it.
My very best poetry was written
out of sorrow.
It is the sifting sands that
I feel under my feet and I
want to capture the colour, feel
 and shape of each grain.
Began my research today.
I don't think I will
get the camera before
Pascha.
And in the end,
the camera really does not matter.
How much really we all
want to be with Christ
at His feet.
This is really the stillness
that we need to capture
and be captured by.