Wednesday ~ Surprised by Sunshine and Many Other Things

Whew.
Just 1.5 weeks left of Lent.
I realize every time I think of Pascha
I am thinking of Pascha in Ottawa.
I have no categories for how it will be at my
new church
other than that it will be the same joy
the same liturgy
and the same
Risen Christ who has overcome it all.
*
That said,
I am realizing once again that I miss Ottawa
or rather that there is grief in moving places
even when for the most joyous of reasons.
This book review unexpectedly tipped me off to
this realization again.
*
So the quotation that
I blogged about earlier today
and that I re-posted as the next picture
really caught my attention:
the sentence towards the end
A great deal of work is needed in order to build 
the house of our soul...
*
It was back in the earliest days of
Mr. Husband and I's still young marriage
that I first came across this,
when the monk told me via a translator about
how frustrating it can be when trying to make
the house of one's soul and seeing
it crumble again.

It is a really incredible quotation;
I read this book usually late at night and
often it speaks to what I need to hear.
Such a gift.
Not all letters in it apply to me directly
as he writes to all sorts of people
but yet I learn from each one. 

I did not know of this concept
but with Christ I am being taught
that I can at least endure to the end and
strive to keep going in the right direction...
My spiritual father in Ottawa,
once when we were discussing
St. John's Book,
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
told me
when I could see no progress in my own self:
it is a blessing to just be on the ladder.
*
I really miss my Ottawa spiritual father.
*
So, the meal I made last night was wonderful!

Tasty
Simple
and enjoyable!

And with leftovers!

We had almonds for protein together...

 

Lastly,
I made this dish cloth a while ago,
just wanted to mention. :)
And the ones I made for my Aunt J.
were received this past weekend
for her and Uncle D's 50th wedding anniversary in
Ontario!
I wish I could of been there
but I talked to my Aunt J. twice recently and all
of my Aunts on my Mom's side said
that Oma would of been so proud.
*
I hope to make Koek today or tomorrow
and must go on a walk as I was not expecting sunshine
again today!
*
This cake looks wonderful for the Bright Season -
H/T: Mary.
Loved this tale of one of my new blog friend's
first time knitting in public.

Getting Ready...

 

Pascha is less than 3 weeks away!
*
This picture is from
Last year's Pascha basket blessing in Ottawa...
(the two baskets in the back were
mine and the yet unmarried Mr. Husband).
*
My Pascha outfit still fits!
(I was not sure if it still would as I only wear it once/year).
*
I got outside today ~ took a long rest before I went out
and it was so WONDERFUL to get outside.
I went to the grocery store for the first time in
2 months!
YAY!
*
This short video was really encouraging to me
and maybe it will be for all of us
who are struggling through the last weeks of Lent.
*
FYI, here's an Orthodox journal in PDF that
Mr. Husband just forwarded to me...
*
I am starting a list for all the things we will need for
Holy Week and Pascha.
I just found this really lovely white embroidered
cloth from Mr. Husband's Grandmother
that will be wonderful on our buffet under our window.
*
It is wonderful to me as a woman that there are so many
things that we can do in the home to bring
the fasts and feast of the church into our daily lives.
*
Of course the most exciting of all is Pascha:
Pascha is all about coming to meet the Risen Christ.
*
This is the first Pascha that Mr. Husband and I
God willing will go together to church as a married couple
for this Holiest of days.