There is Beauty, Sorrow and Hope {and cookies}

This icon of the Kursk Root Icon was given to me
by dear friends in BC and then I found a frame for her
at the rummage sale this past October.
She's been deeply needed.
*
I have friends in deep grief;
news of cancers, death, hospice...
*
We desperately need the Mother of God's
Protection and Comfort ~
such sad things can happen so suddenly,
and when it is right before Christmas
it all seems so much harder.

Yet Christmas IS coming
and a light HAS shone in the Darkness
and God IS with us.

We had snow this weekend.

I went out shopping and sending cards to the
post office for mailing.

I made some of the chocolate brownie cookies
with dried cherries.
Sadly the fruit is with sunflower oil,
which means that one of my dear church friends
not be getting this cookie... allergies, so tricky!

Had to be careful with the earth balance margarine too;
used the ones with soy lecithin and not sunflower lecithin
so that the rest of the cookies are for everyone.

Yes, I am making vanilla,
but I really want to make for a really rich taste
and it's only been about 5 weeks now,
so I bought some vanilla on sale, as I was quickly running out of my
old supply; I plan to reuse the bottle, as it is glass,
with my own vanilla when it is gone.
It's a good glass bottle with a durable lid,
so it seemed worth getting,
and it's been used in what ended up being a
two day extreme cookie baking session.

I love my kitchen...

It's the end of the year
which means that Mr. husband is working a lot in
the evening in the home office.
He thought I may like a little rose plant to cheer me up.
I have a kind husband.

I've been burning long thick beeswax candles
for many who are on my heart.

I have a lot of friends right now grieving losses;
some cannot be spoken here but in general it is
enough to say I've had people grieving of Father's dying;
three people from the church I grew up in have
reoccurring cancer;
and the distant relative was found passed away at him small home;
a friend's elderly father-in-law has fallen and broken his hip....
and the list keeps growing
So it's been a bit heavy.
I've been lighting a lot of thick candles...
*
I often bake to process grief or for help in
the processing of what needs to be processed.

I baked vegan sugar cookies;
they taste like crunchy with a hit of creamy.
They are for a loved venerable member of our far-away
parish who is more particular about his cookies.
Of course I am like this cookies; wanting them in
so many different ways.

Many candles burning, comforting icons,
and the little three icons, Christ, His Mother and St. Nicholas.

I made some new recipes that
I will need to blog about sometime in the future
(really busy right now still).

 

I think with the cookies I have made last week
and this weekend most likely total to about 400 cookies.
Now that's a lot of cookie.
~Chocolate brownie cookies
~Chocolate browning cookies with dried cherries
(sunflower oil sadly in cherries so keeping these separate so that
friend with allergy will not encounter them
but instead may other cookie wonders...)
~fasting 'butter'/sugar cookie for a venerable parish member's cookie bag
~4 types of chocolate chip..
*plain chocolate chip
*chocolate chip with fresh chopped cranberries*
*chocolate chip with dried Cranraisens/Craisins
*chocolate chip with cherry juice infused Craisins
All of my cookies were made from
the Food for Paradise cookbook
that has two chocolate chip cookie recipes;
I used the one without tahini.
*
...So saw this lovely blog post
about making homemade chai as gifts.
I am intrigued.
Would love any comments on making chai,
where you would buy the spices for it,
& how you do it!
*
Thank God that He is with us at all times,
and that Christ comes as a Light that comes in Darkness.
*
He is with us now.



*I think my new favourite cookie maybe the ones with the freshly chopped cranberries with chocolate