Prayers, unexpected gift and candles

Today is St. Seraphim's Day!
The icon of St. Seraphim I have in my kitchen is from
the Kiev Lavra
and I light candles by it daily...
*
I need to do some reading on St. Seraphim again...
I was given this book by a
dear friend who I hope to see soon
for my bridal shower in Ottawa...

So you all know by now
that I love candles
and lighting them for prayer.
*
Mr. Husband and I found out where to get
wonderful bees wax candles.
But first about my table setting...
*
The middle bees wax candle above was a gift
from my Ottawa bridal shower
from another dear friend I hope to see soon.
And the candle holder above
(first time I am using it is today!)
is from my Aunt who hosted my
family bridal shower this summer in Michigan.
It was the table display and then she gave it to me
at the end as part of my shower gift!

The table cloth itself is a surprise belated
wedding gift that I and Mr. Husband
got yesterday!
Wow!
You can see the beautiful detail on it in the
picture above...
what an unexpected blessing!
Literally yesterday morning I was just
thinking it was time to change the table cloth
and then the I got this one in the mail.
It made my day! 

Now I just have to do another dinner party...
hoping to do one when I return from Ottawa...
*
As you can see,
I cover my table clothes with a plastic
table covering...
I can't tell you how many stains and
water spills it has spared my beautiful table cloths!
*
Now about those candles...
We got them from
Holy Nativity Monastery
that is affiliated with Holy Cross
both in West Virginia.
*
They are beautiful hand-dipped bees wax candles
and if you buy a bigger
(i.e. more than 1-3 pounds)
the shipping is quite affordable.

We got a lovely collection of their
taper candles for prayer candles
like the one you see in
the first picture.

 

We also got a few of their bigger
3/4 inch base
bees wax candles
for our table.
*
It is so nice to have these candles!
Not only are they beautiful
but they are better to burn.
You can get them here.
*
I love having candles from monasteries,
things for my table from family and friends
and monastery music to listen to as I go
about my day.
*
It can be a bit lonely at times as I
am trying to lay low a little bit to be sure
I beat this cold
(I am on the mend)
and have the best time I can in Ottawa.
*
I am putting together some specific goals
for when I return again to NJ
and my beloved Mr. Husband.
*
It takes time to build a life
rebuild community
and establish routines.
Little by little,
it will be accomplished...
by God's mercy.