2nd &y 3rd day of Christmas

On the 2nd day of Christmas,

we had one chocolate treat each, opened gifts

and decided that we would have special reading times for

part of the 12 days of Christmas this year,

where we would just take time to companionably read together. 

I began reading the first story from 

Elizabeth Goudge's 

Icon on the Wall and it was wonderful.

She knew a surprising amount about Orthodoxy and

it's a lovely short story (the first one in the book).

The second part of the 3rd day of Christmas was hard 

but had blessings too, in small things.

I thought that Mr Husband sounded much too congested when he coughs,

so over breakfast we were companionably having,

I called the nurse. Then he talked to a doctor and had an appointment made

for that day.  So Mr Husband ended up in NYC for much of the day,

and is now on more meds and will find out more on Friday.

So that was all quite worrying.

The lovely parts of today were getting the silver plated silverware I ordered

a week ago, the picture has additional silver-plate flatware that we had from a rummage sale previously...I ordered the additional silverware before we got the flu, 

for what I hope will be my belated

birthday party.... in just under 2 weeks time... we will see about that...

other lovely parts were loving a new to me tea - Trader Joes chocolate mint 

flavoured tea; it was lovely...

and I had my favourite beef sandwhich from a local bistro delivered,

which I savoured over lunch and dinner...   

I also enjoyed 2 small Trader Joes hot chocolate cookies,

had decaf Christmas Chai and enjoyed using the Christmas Tree Spode China,

now that I have enough energy to hand-wash dishes again.... and tonight 

Mr Husband and I watched part of a Walton's episode! 

And tonight I finished

Elizabeth Goudge's short story 

The Ikon on the wall

such a good story and encouraging to me personally...

and I also was remembering these prayers,

which when I am all a flutter are about all I can focus on,

and these prayers brought this day to a peaceful close:

"“My dear,” he said, “love, your God, is a trinity. There are three necessary prayers and they have three words each. They are these, 

'Lord have mercy. 

Thee I adore. 

Into Thy hands.' 

Not difficult to remember. If in times of distress you hold to these you will do well.""

 ~From Elizabeth Goudge's the Scent of Water 

Encouragement and Thanksgiving

We went to liturgy this morning... 

Tomorrow is my husband and I's 4th wedding anniversary!

I hope to write more about this later, but for now, 

these two things:

This happened today:

"The Lord always blesses me for our anniversary + St Phanourios celebration! 

This year I ordered 2 fillets of salmon as we are unable to have a full Slava this year.

 Only one of the fillets was in the package! Ack!!! I was going to prep them today. ... 

called our grocer immediately and the person could see 

that the mistake was indeed made. 

They not only are they crediting the cost, t

hey are giving us an additional credit and 2 new fillets tomorrow! 

What a blessing! Thanks be to God!"

***

And a bit more from my latest essay, for your encouragement:

"Elizabeth Goudge also speaks of what faith, in such moments, can look like. She describes, in The Middle Window, a man fighting in the highlands of Scotland, who nearly died before a kindly couple took him in, nursing him back to consciousness and health. He, having thought his life over, now had to come back to life, and realizes what troubled him most is his loss of faith. It is then that he realizes, “[f]lames may die down but nothing could rob one of the ashes” and that, perhaps, “he was, for the first time in his life, actually experiencing faith. This fighting with no certainty that there was anything to fight for, this going out into the night with no belief that dawn would ever come, was…the real thing…”(Goudge, 200-201)5."

Read the rest here.

When all seems dark and silent...

I first wrote, a month ago, about the often painful and confusing

times in our life when it seems that we are in utter darkness,

and God's presence is no longer felt.

***

This has happened to me at various times in my life.

It's never easy.

I wrote about this in the beginning of August,

and have written a longer piece now, on this and hope it will be

of help to others...

This piece is published at Conciliar Post today!

***

Elizabeth Goudge's books are a great help to me and

I used two of her books in this essay... Here's part of what I wrote,

including Elizabeth Goudge's wonderful book, The Dean's Watch . . :

"Elizabeth Goudge’s books also speak of this experience of God’s absence and even His abandonment. Goudge’s book The Dean's Watch is one. In this book, the root cause of the feeling of desolation, the experience of being forsaken by God, came in part from great grief and personal loss. This grief was coupled with the physical depletion of, Miss Montague, leading to extreme fatigue, what would be called “classic burnout” in today’s self-care/self-help milieu. I have found that this experience of feeling forsaken by God is often in relation to both deep personal loss and illness, as Elizabeth Goudge writes.". . .

***

If my essay encourages others to read Elizabeth Goudge and/or

encourages them in their life,

then my essay truly 'achieved' something! 

***

You can read the rest of this essay here at Conciliar Post or here, at my blog with

my published essays!...

A Glorious Sunny Day in NYC ~ with a newly met but dear friend!

After emailing about meeting for Tea and visiting Purl Soho, 

the day finally arrived, last Thursday!

As we were getting ready to meet and texting,

I realized that Purl Soho did not open at 11 AM but at 12 PM!

We did an impromptu tea before our actual tea-lunch

in the meantime! It was fun to discuss teas! 

***

Afterwards we walked a little way to the hotel restaurant where

Heather and I had a lovely GF high tea!

Discussing it later, we agreed that it was a

perfectly balanced tea...

some high teas, being based on tea sandwiches, are very

'carb heavy' and with many sugar-laden treats.

I had one tea once which was only sugar-things, was a disaster to 

my system! I knew I would NEVER again want such a thing,

and actually had not wanted it in the first place,

as I always think of a high tea having more balance to it.

***

It was such a joy to talk to a fellow

sister-in-Christ about life, books (we both love much the same,

CS Lewis, Elizabeth Goudge), yarn and fabric crafts... and it is wonderfully uplifting 

to share with such a friend! 

***

I had known about flowering teas, and had my first one there,

a white tipped marigold tea.  

It went perfectly with the food that was served.

Heather and I both agree that the chicken curry with salty rice wrap

was the high light.  The quinoa bread with tart white dip was also 

really good.  The sweets were not too sweet and it was 

a real culinary delight, along with a good time to talk about

so many things. 

***

I find such encouragement from teas like this and am so thankful!

The Beauty of Sewing Brightly Coloured Squares

Yesterday was the leave-taking of Theophany... while the Christmas period will last

in ways until Candlemas in February, and my Christmas tree is still up,

bright and beautiful,

We are beginning the shift.

The business of Christmas decorations-present-wrapping-baking is over. 

I am almost done with our Christmas cards.

I even wrote Thank You cards. 

Still need to address them.
The Christmas dishes are put away,
the Theophany ones, about to be back in the buffet...

And I finally have time to think about knitting and sewing.

And I had time to sit and sew knitted squares together,

beginning the blanket that began months ago, in sunny June.

I can already see that I will have more squares to knit,

but that is wonderful, as I hope to finish this blanket up in the next month or so....

 Reading lots.

Loving the first story in Goudge's The Lost Angel, so beautiful, so much hope....

Reading Wish You Were Here - good but heavy, well written for the genre.  But you know,
grief, it's heavy ~ esp. when it is also a journey towards, and a journey to continue holding on
to, faith in light of great personal loss.
Recently finished an Orthodox book by a Greek Taxi man who goes from being
indifferent to the Church to loving it - and monasteries. 
I learned a lot, really appreciated the stories...
A good read, but not one that I would recommend to everyone.
But then, I am not sure what book I would recommend to everyone,
expect The Bible Itself....
I am also reading a book on Elder now Saint Porphyrios
Re-Reading the First in the Mitford Series....
*
What are you reading and creating?
Yarn Along with us! 

A shard of light from Elizabeth Goudge

From Herb of Grace by Elizabeth Goudge 

6 books + white wash clothes

The First Four Years*

On the Way Home*

The White Witch*

The Herb of Grace*

The Heart of the Family

Go Set a Watchman

*

I have been on an Elizabeth Goudge reading kick.

The list above, the ones with "*" I have completed.

I've needed it; first Laura Ingalls Wilder and esp. Elizabeth Goudge.

I fell into a state of unexpected

fatigue lately and needing the buoying. 

*

I have only begun H. Lee's book,

verdict TBD.

It's a bit jarring to read after dwelling in Goudge's

English Countrysides. 

*

I am realizing that in the heat of this late July

that this is my time to rest.

*

I am taking some new vitamins and trying to 

restore myself to a greater sense of health,

as I accidently depleted myself of energy.

.*

I am on the mend and Elizabeth Goudge is 

a great tonic.

*

I've been working away on the white

wash clothes that will go with

a nice set of soap as a gift.

*

What are you reading and creating?

Do yarn along with us! 

The Bird in the Tree, Remains of the Day & Blue Textured Blanket

I was in Ottawa for nearly a week!

I made two wash clothes or so, the one shown below is

the third one this week...

 I am also almost done

with the first colour repeat in the blue blanket!

Re-reading Elizabeth Goudge's The Bird in the Tree

and continuing to read Remains of the Day.

My main goal in this blanket is to get the length I want done

so I can start on the next section.

I am hoping for some good weekend knitting as 

Mr. Husband and I hope to go to our 

far away church this weekend!

*

What are you reading and creating?

Yarn Along with us!