{Preparing for Nativity} ~ cleaning and changing out the lampadas

I woke early again today.

Lots going on these days; many friends on my mind,

joys, sadness, losses, sudden upsets: life. 

*

I am so glad for the life I have and that I am 

building traditions for our home.

One of these is changing out the clear votive candle holders

for red ones, both kinds I use to burn oil in as lampadas

 by my icons in our dining area of our home. 

I was sure to keep some tall candles lit while I was in the 

process; I always want candles or lampadas lit in my home

for prayers that are for many people and needs...

I find esp. with the big fasts, 

the 40 day Nativity Fast and the Fast of Great Lent,

that once they are here I am so relieved. 

A chance to clean, to make better,

to look into one's soul a bit more,

to ask the Lord to make all the crooked strait in oneself,

to ask for mercy as we look towards the great Feasts of Christmas,

Theophany and Pascha...

All the lampadas are changed now,

the clear ones are clean and drying on the counter.

*

Today is a day that my heart and mind are so full of so many things.

I hope to do more baking today; the Saint Nicholas cookie baking has begun.

I am working on bookstore orders for my church,

thinking of the many feasts we have coming.

Next Sunday is St. Katherine's day already! 

*

I am so grateful for this season of the year!

God is merciful to us!

God Immanuel comes at Christmas time...

*

Here's how I do my lampadas, FYI.

*

What are your traditions in this Nativity Fast/Advent time?

Would love to hear!

Today ~ a creamy chicken dish and continued preperations

I made a new chicken dish last night.
Things were running behind
and I have more on my list
than I can do in one day it seems...
but I did make this dish which I really enjoyed!

It was creamy, warm and soothing. 

Based on this recipe from this cookbook...
I used Campbell's golden mushroom with 1 can water
and did not use peppers or parsley.
Cooked up organic chicken thighs first with a bit of
butter, salt and pepper.

More-with-Less Cookbook.
I had learned of this cookbook when I was in BC.
I think I found my used copy at a library book sale
in London Ontario years ago.
I told my Mom that I used this cookbook
and she said she remembered it,
rummaged in her cookbook cupboard
and she found her copy...
Our school made a cookbook when we
kids were in elementary school;
My Mom cooked with it a lot during those years
and our one regret is that she did not buy a copy for us kids.
But that's how it is and I am just glad she still has her copy!

I could not resist eating my breakfast this morning
with my new willow bowls. So pretty.
I also finished reading the help today.
Still mulling it over...

I finally changed out and cleaned my lampadas.

A few layers of cheese cloth to catch
the burnt wick pieces. 

An old peanut butter jar that was well cleaned
before it became the lampada oil jar,
where our big metal funnel lives...

Wick holders cleaned and taken care of.

It is so good to have the red lampadas back!
I always intended the red ones to be for
'ordinary' time and the clear ones for
the very festive times of year,
such as Christmas, Theophany, Pascha and Transfiguration.

Cleaned the little plates that my buffet lampadas
rest on.

Used one of my special washcloths
that was a wedding gift;
this one is only used for cleaning lampadas. 

 

I cleaned my red lampadas really well before
using them again.
*
I am slowly getting things ready for Thanksgiving.
The lampadas were long over due;
I did a grocery order that we will get late Saturday night
and have put both my crock pots to use
making a chicken bone broth.
I got all the many frozen chicken bones and parts
that were waiting to become chicken broth!
A good friend of mine in NJ gave me the recipe
and I am so glad to try it out!
*
I am also ordering some gluten free things for
experimenting with GF bread
as one in our book club seeks to be
gluten free and so I am going to learn this as well.
I used Ginny's post to think of some things I may want to get.
*
Tonight Mr. Husband and I will be at the farmer's market
getting many things for Thanksgiving dinner!
And of course vegetables for ourselves...
We are really excited and grateful!

Bright Thursday

Still recovering from last night.
Whew.
*
When I switched my red lampadas for clear
for Pascha and the Bright Season
I put all the oil in the old lampadas
in this jar.
I used layers of cheesecloth to strain the
oil through as black burnt wick pieces
were in many of the lampadas.

Somehow it seems lovely to be able to reuse
oil in this way...

I am still really tired
and Mr. Husband is home again today
as to not spread his cold at work.
Thankfully he can work at home.

I am slowly using up all the old oil.

So wonderful to have these icons of Pascha with us.
I am still so tired that even
lampada lighting is taking some time.

 

My broken egg.
I still hope to fix it.
I am wondering if cotton balls inside would work.
Any thoughts?
*
Regardless of the normal ups and downs of life,
Christ is Risen
and His Mercy does not leave us...

New small oil lampadas

The package with the
new wick holders came for my
red votives/lampadas.
I cleaned up my tea light holders
and have put them away.

I got the red votives out. 

Here are the new wick holders.

These are the wicks I am using for now.
I got these at the Greek monastery in Quebec.

These wicks I gently
pull apart, into two pieces.
Sometimes when I do this, the
threads can get a bit loose,
so then I twist them back together.
In the picture above,
you can see that the bottom wick is twisted
back together.

Insert wick into metal tube on wick holder.
For the red lampadas,
I carefully bend the wick and put them
in the votive.
Another way,
that Mr. Husband pointed out to me,
is to keep the wick holder strait,
put long cloth wicks in
as they will burn for a longer time.
I may do this in the future,
but for now will use what I already have.

I make two wicks out of one of these
wicks as the single wick is too
thick to go into these long
wick holders.
To try to force it in will only
ruin the wick.
These wicks come with the floating wick holders
pictured above.
I prefer the wick holders as they will say
up in the glass and not
burn down or burn out the oil if left for hours.
*
However,
one of my good friends uses the floating wick and
what they do is put some water in before the oil so that
if it does burn down,
it will not shatter the glass as the water will
keep it from harm.  

This is an example of putting the wick
in the wrong side.
I realized after I put oil in them,
that a few of the lampadas I inadvertently
put the wick in the long end of the tube,
which actually is the end that is supposed to be in the oil.
Oh well,
it is an easy fix.

Here they are all done
but not yet lit for the first time. 

The ones I tend to keep lit
all the time are these three:
Christ
The Mother of God
St. Nectarios.

I am really grateful for them!
With the little saucers under them
to catch any oil that spills
I think they will work wonderfully
here on my buffet. 

 

I use the short oil cruet for filling
and the tall one,
which I also use for salads,
I admit,
is great for carefully refiling an already lit lampada.
*
Through our wonderful
Sweet Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ
and the prayers of His Holy Mother
and all the Saints
may the Lord
have mercy and save us! 

Weekend - Butter Week is almost here

I found Cleo sitting on my seat
yesterday
somehow hoping for something... :)

Thankful for little things
like ice...
had a bit of a very minor mishap
in the household and ice
has solved the problem...

Mr. Husband and I are
so glad we had our
half-year anniversary yesterday.
I continue to pray that
he does not fall ill in anyway...

I ordered these last week
and they arrived yesterday!

Amazon,
so helpful for so many things.
I have long been wanting
another option for my
buffet icons
other than paraffin candles
which are not the best for health and
then there is the waste of all the small
tins that they are in...
I have used small tea light candles for a long time
and it was something I could do and afford
in Ottawa,
especially with my sister-friend and I's
occasional trips to IKEA;
thought she was concerned about all the
paraffin...
I was just glad to have the candles
as lighting them for help
and to honour the Saints and
ask their prayers
is such a blessing.
*
However,
I had been wanting to change them out
for some sort of table top
oil lampada
but I also wanted to protect the wood shelf
on my buffet from tons of oil spills.
And with me and oil and lampadas,
there is always a bit of spillage.
*
Mr. Husband and I thought about it...
I wanted some sort of saucer to go
under glass votive holders...
but where to get saucers that would be small enough
for the icons that we use
and the size of the shelf?
Normal saucers would really be crowded...
and so it went...
*
Until I thought,
wait a minute: I should use Google
to see if Amazon has smaller saucers.
And then sure enough
it turns out that there are
saucers used for Turkish tea.
So I ordered them....
they came right away,
from Brooklyn it turns out.

4 inch saucers.

I love that they are very small
and curve up so much.
They will keep the oil from spilling
on the wood shelf...
*
I am still waiting for an order
of the wick holders that I will need.
Getting them from
Holy Cross Monastery.
Mr. Husband had their catalouge from last year and
I ordered something for Pascha as well...
to be shown I hope to all
in the bright season.
*
Speaking of Pascha,
I ordered some clear votives as well
to use for the seasons of
Christmas, Theophany and Pascha.

 

I think they will work really well.
This icon of Christ
is Mr. Husband's and is the
first icon he ever had;
before he was Orthodox years ago
from Greece
where he was on business...
*
It is wonderful to be building a home
with Mr. Husband and merge things
like our icon collections...
I must say his book collection is also quite lovely.
*
As a parishioner in my Ottawa parish said
once about his own marriage to his lovely wife,
I know when I've been blessed.
*
Meanwhile,
Mr. Husband and I are looking forward to
our last meal together of meat and dairy tonight.
Left over beef-roast and vegetables. :)
*
I continue to be grateful for popsicles,
my throat is still on the mend...
I made it to our local church today;
Mr. Husband had to go to our not-so-local
church today as he is involved in
service there and was needed.
So a very gallant and kind friend who lives
near by took me with her to our
closer church and it was such a blessing
just to sit in church
(I am quite fatigued and had to sit,
mono,
it really takes the stuffing out of one)
and have Holy Communion.
*
I am so thankful.
*
Lent is going to be really different for me,
as I can't go to as much as I would normally.
But yet I feel God's protective and merciful hand.
That I needed a quieter lent and to just be home.
That said...
I am praying that our lent is not too much heavier
than our current sufferings with my mono.
May God have mercy and bring us
through to Him;
may this lent be for all of our healing of soul and body.
*
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy!