(Days 33, 34 & 35) without Cleo: there and back again ~ a lovely Tolkien adventure!

My Husband and I drove, after liturgy on Friday,

with lunch and a grocery store run,

to Emmaus PA where we went to the lovely

Doxamoot: The Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference

I loved seeing my Husband so happy talking with various 

people about books, authors, Tolkien included of course,

poetry, movies, Japan to England, all was discussed :)

***

A gift and a surprise for me was that a deacon from my church in 

Ottawa was there with his daughter and wife!

We had some really uplifting conversations and it really was 

a gift for me... 

***

I saw this cute meme (below) today and I found

that my God-given gift of fellowship with ones who know

so many I love in Ottawa was in line with it! 

Today is a rest day for me!

While we were so happy that we got home

(we stayed for liturgy, Fr Andrew's serving felt very 'Tolkien' to me,

of course it can easily be said that he is very Viking in stature

so not a big surprise :) it was very nice! ) ...

***

I met a lovely lady there named Lily who I failed to get contact info for -

but I had mentioned my blog to her.  So if you are reading this Lily,

I would love to stay in touch, 

you can write me at my blog email here. :)

***

Oh, the super cute teapot, creamer and tray was at an Antique Mall.

I did not buy it but I love it :) 

***

However, we will see what we find at the VNA rummage sale,

it's this weekend!!! I have been looking forward to this for...well, 

months LOL. 

(if you are new here, the VNA rummage sale is the mother of all 

glorious estate/garage sales and I have found a lot of beautiful dishes,

silver-plate things (silver-ware and teapots, trays...) and I also find stationary

there, beautiful things but so much more affordable!).

***

I am happy to be back home now, thought my mind was filled

of so many Ottawa memories, I was aching a bit that way;

of course I also still miss my Cleo Cat.

found another two 'a year ago' pictures of her:

Cleo Cat: I still miss you!

***

It's strange to have her not here, a bit more normal

I guess however, I will always miss her.

***

I am so glad that God gave Cleo to me for the 13+ years I had her!

***

I ordered take-out to be delivered and am really grateful for that!

I have a lot to be thankful for.

***

I pray where ever you are today and what ever your situation,

you can be comforted by thankfulness to God... 

40

(Inspired by Ramona)

1. I have been married to my best friend for over 4 years

2. I have had Cleo the Cat for 10 years.

3. When I was 18 I had my life mapped out for the next 10 years 

4. I thank God that NONE of my 10 year plan @ age 18 happened

5. I have been a member of the Orthodox Church for over 12 years

6. Madeleine L'Engle and Elizabeth Goudge were incredibly important to me

in my 20s and still today

7. My life is good but so full that I struggle with triaging and how to make

all the things I want to do happen

8. My first quilt is almost done

9. My second quilt is half done and I have dreams of more

10. I love to bake for St Nicholas day and Christmas ~ and Pascha

11. I've realized, it feels, more of a link between the need for thanksgiving and the struggle of 

despair and how thanksgiving can pull one out of it

12. I've struggled with burn out of various types since I got married, in part

because I do not work and had free time to give to other's projects 

and my own.  It took time to sort this all out and it is ongoing. 

13. I lived in Ottawa 7 years, in Canada 15. I still miss Canada and Ottawa.

14. My life in New Jersey is really good.

15. My life in NJ still does not match the level of community / access to community

that my life in Ottawa had ~ in part because of where we live and

the distance from our far-away church. It's getting better, but is a constant

work-in-process.

16. I have never drank coffee and don't plan on starting.

17. I love tea of all kinds.

18. I love beautiful dishes/dish sets 

19. I love anything that has to do with the home

20. My Grandma is a really big baker and I, too, love to bake. 

21. My trip to Holland this past year was a huge dream come true, went with

Mr Husband and my parents. 

22. My Husband loves, if he knows you well, to joke; I get teased 10,000/day.

23. My family trained me well, giving me lots of teasing time.

24. Favourites of my siblings teasing include telling me that gullible is written on the ceiling,

faking a fight so I would run up stairs, tell them to stop it and then go back downstairs

into my room.  They said my door slam was the best part of it. I was a teenager at the time.

I did not know the fights were staged until they told me in my later 20's.  

25. They also would tell me

that the word gullible is not in the dictionary.

 Now I know it's there but why would they tell me such a thing ;) 

26. My Husband's teasing includes suddenly doing a face to surprise me; 

once we were done praying

and doing the short version of forgiveness vespers 

(i.e. we ask each other's forgiveness nightly). 

During this time we also say we love each other.  

I was looking away or down or something and 

suddenly Mr Husband burst out with a bug-eyed quick movement

 and I jumped about 10 feet. 

I would of been mad but by this time 

Mr Husband was doubled up on the futon laughing 

so happily that I only said how much I love to hear him laugh.  

(It's true, I love his happy laugh)....

He still tries to do things like this,

but I am on to him now and rarely jump or react.  :)

27. My Husband makes me happy in being himself 

28. My parents and I have a long running 20-year joke of me calling when

they are drinking coffee.  They will answer the phone saying 'how did you know

we were having coffee?" and on we go bantering about it. 

29. I've been calling my parents, often daily, since I left for Calvin College at age 18.

30. I left Calvin at age 20 and graduated from TWU years later, living in BC for over 5 years.

31. I am a Canadian Citizen and love Canada.

32. I love silence and classical and Orthodox music. 

33. I stopped listening to most / all non-classical/choral music between 2006-2009. I realized it

was not only destroying my peace but impacting my inward life.

34. I became Orthodox in large part because of the first page of Met. Anthony Bloom's book

Courage to Pray.

35. Becoming Orthodox has been one of the most beautiful, mind-blowing, at times 

most hard, best things I could of ever done with my life.

36. Being Orthodox has helped me in my journey to not think

I am a super-good Christian - and I believe this is the way it is supposed to be.

37. I have wanted to be a published author since age 19 when I studied for January in 

New England...I was just 19 by days.

38. I have so much on the go, don't know if my desire of writing will happen but

I am seeking to create a meaningful life/one that God wants for me.

39. I lived in Sweden for nearly 6 months in my 20th year.  This is where I first

encountered silence. 

40. My trip to Sweden was 20 years ago this year, as today is m 40th birthday.