Yarn Along ... pinks and blues... and tea! and beauty!

I have made a lot of fun royal blue wash clothes...

knitting on the PATH train to NYC, the subway in NYC,

at my friend's house in Pittsburgh, 

at this conference which I highly recommend listening to 

the various talks, esp. this one by Fr Stephan Freeman

so insightful, powerful and such love... 

I met a lot of dear ones at the Conference,

though I was careful not to get too peopled out, 

as I wanted this to be something fun, 

not an overwhelming experience for me, 

a cross between introvert and extrovert. 

So there were a lot of people who I know from them being online,

but I did not introduce myself to them as it would have

been too much in such a short time.

That said, I really enjoyed myself, felt it went really well

and between that and an earlier visit to the 

Elwood City Monastery, so beautiful ...

God gave me this feeling of peace, of joy, of love, 

that I had not felt like that in a very long time, 

as in that abundance, like I was floating along by God's mercy... 

one of those rare times of blessings,

I am so grateful for that. 

So it's been nice to be knitting simple 

wash clothes... and in so many places! 

I have a few more I need to weave ends in...

I think I will not start any bigger projects until the Fall as

the heat makes it hard to do much else!

***

I am hoping to sew more though, 

and began the beginnings of a simple pillow,

the picture below is of the front of this pillow...

As for reading, 

I am dipping into this Psalter, which is so lovely,

reading slowly this book of letters,

which I am pondering and learning so much from;

read this novel (blogged about here, ended up being a traumatic unexpected ending,

still a bit in shock about it),

and am reading tons of cooking things, including this new to me blog,

and ordered new stack of cookbooks and memoir cookbooks 

to enjoy in the coming months! 

***

I am so glad Ginny is doing the Yarn Along once a month now,

even though I have not been able to join for some time!

I have met some wonderful blog friends through Ginny's Yarn Along

and am grateful for it and them! 

***

If you create with fiber/yarn,

yarn along with us! 

Tuesday: NYC, +Patrick's 1 year anniversary, Wednesday:Valentines Day, A blessed Day

Yogurt with dried cherries, dried cranberries, pistachios, roasted shaved coconut, cinnamon and honey.

It was so incredibly good. With side of scrambled eggs and half of a cinnamon raisin bagel with PB.

Yesterday I had a breakfast date with Mr Husband! 

After going to Trader Joes I got a scoop of ice cream and tea... 

butterweek after all! 

Then, back home for lunch, I nearly had margarine instead of BUTTER on my 

English Muffin during Butter Week.

My Ortho-friends agreed that this would of been tragic... LOL... 

***

A year ago our dear warden +Patrick died.

I had forgotten so many details of this time and it was good 

to read of them again today.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of +Patrick... we see things from 

his home everywhere in our home, esp. in the kitchen-living room- dining room areas. 

Though really in every room of our home and the hallway going up to our home.

It is such a blessing.

I made a new sour cream cranberry and orange cake.

Orange extract in the batter... cranberries, vanilla sugar, raw sugar and brown sugar 

with cranberries for filling. 

I am probably going to play around with this recipe again after Lent...

I liked it but it needs

1. more cranberries throughout the cake (perhaps still first mixed with the sugars)

2. I think more orange extract

3. shortening instead of sour cream

maybe lemon juice or OJ like the other cranberry cake I have made... 

It was fun to make, regardless! 

Today was a really full and good day for me.

I had decided that I could not go to sewing group;

I also decided that I was not going to take the tree down until the Feast tomorrow.

So I ended up taking some time in the later morning to write the first

essay I have written in a while!

I have a working first draft now and am really happy about it.

Then I worked on bookstore orders and was inspired, after that, to look

again, for the book that I had not been able to find for months....

I wrote about this search earlier today:

So, because of my bedrest this summer due to the fractured fibula bone, and that I ordered a bunch of books to read while on said bedrest, my previous book piles got moved around and books stuck in various places. (We were all just trying to survive, proper book placement was not on our list of worries!)... in the process I could not find for MONTHS (I was walking by September and now it's February) a book of letters by Elder Sophrony published recently by the Essex Monastery. This book, to me, is pure GOLD. Today I decided to take the later afternoon to look again for this book (I had looked and looked and LOOKED). Then, as I was moving books onto the bed from the bookshelves in the bedroom (because of course we have them there too), I grabbed a book and suddenly looked down and saw that it was THE BOOK I had been looking for for MONTHS, the reason I decided to move 8 shelves of books (basically switching 4 shelves in bedroom for 4 shelves in library/chapel/guestroom). I was so excited, I must admit I did a little bit of a 'snoopy happy dance'! Elder Sophrony's letters are really great as his books are very deep and the letters help make a lot of his thought clearer + really encouraging reading + learning so much. Well, I guess you know what book I hope to be relishing this Lent!!! Thanks be to God that I found this book again, at last! (ps: I do have the dust jacket also, I read them without them unless I have covered them with mylar protective covering, which I think is the next thing I will do for this book, God willing!)

***

Needless to say, I was so very grateful and I can't tell you

how glad I was to find this book... I had been waiting, in a lot of ways, 

to find this book so I could start working on essays again, as this book

was one I was working through in order to write...

I feel that part of what I am doing in my essays is sharing what I am reading

and perhaps expanding on it, or pairing it with other authors to discuss a 

certain topic or idea.... 

***

I felt that this past year was a continual stripping of my life and what I was doing.

I had to stop writing, the summer I was not walking, the fall I had to 

let go of my Sunday School class (thank God it is still going on with great 

teachers as I can't do it at present), sewing for months ceased, my reading 

and studies for writing ceased....

Really all of last year was my Husband and I going 

through various trials and trying to survive.

Much of this I can't write of here and some of it is still unbloggable.

A year ago we were still so weak from the flu that we took a cab

to +Patrick's funeral both ways...

***

That I have found the Sophrony book of letters, that I have written a new

first draft, that I had the strength to move 8 shelves of books 

(plus carry over 60lbs of candles up Monday), that we don't 

need to depend on a dear friend for a ride to church, 

that we hope to go to church for the Feast day,

that I am finishing up 2 orders for the bookstore, 

and hoping to do a book sale...

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to just

do things that are/were my normal NJ life here with 

my Husband... I am really hoping that this year

will be a period of creativity for me and that I can get 

more writing done that will, I hope, be honouring to God and

encouraging to others. 

***

I had a lot of support through my blog and other forms of

online communication and I can't tell you how much

this has meant to me and what blessings I had

during the many difficult months of 2017...

***

I am really praying that this year can be a year that is more

peaceful and restorative...

***

A friend posted this on social media the other day...

It seems to be a painting and I find it very beautiful.

I hope that it comforts you as it has me! 

By the prayers of the Mother of God!

***

God bless and keep you all.

So many are going through really difficult times

and we must keep in prayer for all.

***

Lord have mercy!

The why of writing, of life, of what is sought after

I have been thinking about what I read, listen to and watch.

More and more I see that what I want to write,

what I want to offer the world, 

is beauty, words of encouragement, both of which are

ultimately only of worth if they point to Christ, 

to the Church and to the hope we have...

I find that I am more and more aware, 

in these last years, that everything I look at,

I am searching and I am especially searching for help.

I am constantly looking for icons, for spiritual help, for that peace

that I lose so easily, for that guidance that I have a hard time hearing.

Beyond this, or rather, in this, I am looking for that reason.

That age old question, why am I alive? 

What is my specific purpose? 

And I am finding that I want to offer words that are

beautiful, pictures that speak of warmth, of sharing life, of 

substance, of that something more.

We are all looking for it.  

I hear people saying and even commercials saying:

it changed my life.

I don't think most people know what change they are even looking for.

I guess that is one thing that I understand a bit more,

though putting it into practice is another question.

The change that everyone really needs is to have more of Christ in them

and to be united with Christ.

As an Orthodox Christian I do not hesitate to say that two of the most

integeral ways of this is through the sacraments that are like twins,

one before the other:  Holy Confession and Holy Communion.

After this, and in this, is prayer. 

****

I wanted to write this down as I hope to get back to my writing again,

and reading.  I wanted to remember why I want to write,

what I want to offer and what I see as the deepest 

points of the change that all of us want

but most of us don't even know 

that it is offered to us, 

or even that it really 

exisits

and many of us don't know if we want it,

if we are willing to change our lives so that

our lives can be changed.

****

May the mercy of God be with us and 

save us!!! 

We made it there and were with...the Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God

I am so so thankful.

Liturgically it was the Church New Year,

yesterday, on September 14th.

***

The Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God is so special.

The first time I saw it was in 2011, late December,

my Husband and I were dating long-distance and

it was when I entered the Church with this icon 

visiting, that I knew that I could marry the man

who is now my Husband.

The Mother of God made it very clear to me.

So this icon is so dear to me.

My Husband, years before I knew him,

had this holy icon in his house,

and once he stayed overnight in a home that this icon was

staying for the evening.

So we both care very much about this icon.

Here are some links about it,

here is a bit of history, here is more and with miracles, 

here has a picture of the icon without the covering and here is more stories and 

here is another story and history and this one tells of how it survived

a direct attack against it. 

***

I was able to pray for so many on my heart

plus for my Husband and myself,

as this past year has had so many difficulties for us.

***

I would say both of us have colds now.

I am trying to balance my life, 

in terms of rest, making food to help us heal and

keep the house in order. 

***

My Husband is working from home today,

we are planning on staying local for Church

and trying to rest.

***

I am so very grateful to see this icon in the Church New Year.

Bishop Nicholas spoke of patience, of the will of God,

being willing to bear our Cross, to have a new beginning,

to forsake our sins and leave them behind,

of the consolation and help we can have from the Mother of God,

to beg for her help.

***

Indeed. 

***

I love this line in the service to the Mother of God:

"Brought low am I, O Virgin, in a place of sickness and in a dwelling of anguish. 

Grant healing to me, transforming all of my illness into full healthfulness."

Challenges, part of life...

I had such a good visit with my quilting friend today!

She is moving soon to the West Coast. 

I am really going to miss her.

We hope to have tea in NYC before she leaves,

soon I will be able to do this!

***

We had such good tea, vegan chocolate and take out for lunch!

It was fun to visit with her!

***

So, some new challenges have arisen for us.

I can't write about them here yet,

but one we are able to fix soon and the other,

well, we will see what happens.

***

My foot still is continuing to heal.

I have been so very grateful for all the love, 

support, prayers, cards and care packages I have 

received! Such blessings!!!

***

Please do pray for my 'unbloggable' prayer request. 

God is with us and that is what matters.

***

I have been watching this short video again today,

it's so beautiful. 

This one encouraged me years ago in Ottawa

and I am appreciating it again now.

I've watched this video a few times now

https://vimeo.com/224390260

it's really beautiful and encouraging. 

***

There are so many of us who are in such difficulties. 

But God IS with us and will help us.

Lord have mercy on us small ones!