Prayers, unexpected gift and candles

Today is St. Seraphim's Day!
The icon of St. Seraphim I have in my kitchen is from
the Kiev Lavra
and I light candles by it daily...
*
I need to do some reading on St. Seraphim again...
I was given this book by a
dear friend who I hope to see soon
for my bridal shower in Ottawa...

So you all know by now
that I love candles
and lighting them for prayer.
*
Mr. Husband and I found out where to get
wonderful bees wax candles.
But first about my table setting...
*
The middle bees wax candle above was a gift
from my Ottawa bridal shower
from another dear friend I hope to see soon.
And the candle holder above
(first time I am using it is today!)
is from my Aunt who hosted my
family bridal shower this summer in Michigan.
It was the table display and then she gave it to me
at the end as part of my shower gift!

The table cloth itself is a surprise belated
wedding gift that I and Mr. Husband
got yesterday!
Wow!
You can see the beautiful detail on it in the
picture above...
what an unexpected blessing!
Literally yesterday morning I was just
thinking it was time to change the table cloth
and then the I got this one in the mail.
It made my day! 

Now I just have to do another dinner party...
hoping to do one when I return from Ottawa...
*
As you can see,
I cover my table clothes with a plastic
table covering...
I can't tell you how many stains and
water spills it has spared my beautiful table cloths!
*
Now about those candles...
We got them from
Holy Nativity Monastery
that is affiliated with Holy Cross
both in West Virginia.
*
They are beautiful hand-dipped bees wax candles
and if you buy a bigger
(i.e. more than 1-3 pounds)
the shipping is quite affordable.

We got a lovely collection of their
taper candles for prayer candles
like the one you see in
the first picture.

 

We also got a few of their bigger
3/4 inch base
bees wax candles
for our table.
*
It is so nice to have these candles!
Not only are they beautiful
but they are better to burn.
You can get them here.
*
I love having candles from monasteries,
things for my table from family and friends
and monastery music to listen to as I go
about my day.
*
It can be a bit lonely at times as I
am trying to lay low a little bit to be sure
I beat this cold
(I am on the mend)
and have the best time I can in Ottawa.
*
I am putting together some specific goals
for when I return again to NJ
and my beloved Mr. Husband.
*
It takes time to build a life
rebuild community
and establish routines.
Little by little,
it will be accomplished...
by God's mercy.

Nesting and making a home

Praying for loved ones. 

Washing the kind gifts of others
(cute red sugar and creamer).

My Mother had found this tea pot for me
a while back at a sale.
*
A wedding gift arrived two days ago-
the lovely tea cozy and
two packets of Bridgehead tea.

Isn't it lovely?

Tuesdays I water our plants.
I am really lovely them.

 

Cleo is very much at home here.
It has been a bit of an adjustment for her
but she is doing well.
*
I saw my professional wedding pictures for the first
time yesterday!
They are on an online gallery and
I can't post them because they are
password protected but
when I get them in the mail in a digital format
I will share.
I can assure you that they are all that I wanted and dreamed of!

Yesterday ~ One Month

Last Thursday I made crepes for the first time.
My husband and I had Breton crepes in
Quebec City
twice.
*
Later we were graciously gifted a
crepe pan, recipe book and mix
after the giver heard of how much
we loved the crepes
on our honeymoon.
*
Above is my first successful crepe!

It took two goes to get the batter to fill all
of the pan at once;
I realized that I needed more batter than
the instructions were telling me.

It took a while longer to learn to make
and fold them while cooking...
This is my savory crepe with
mozzarella and egg.
It was good and quite filling.

We also had the dessert crepes
that we had in Quebec City:
crepes with French Vanilla Ice Cream
and Strawberries.
*
We loved these so much that we went back
to the same crepe place the last day of our honeymoon!
*
Hard to believe how much has been done since we got home
and that yesterday was our
one month anniversary...
*
I have recipes for similar things from my
Ottawa-Ukrainian mother that
I hope to make soon as well.
It's a great pan,
a French blue steel crepe pan
and is a very unexpected blessing and gift!
One I hope to make use of for years to come.

Thanksgiving Day Proper - Dinner Party II

Lids on bowls is my new delight in
keeping things warm.
*
So many new and lovely things for my table.
Such as...
Two glass little standing bowls of cranberry sauce
that I got in July from IKEA as part of the gift
from my church.
*
The table cloth is also part of that gift
and what a gift it is;
it was wonderful to use it for the first time on
Thanksgiving Day.
*
The napkins my Mom found for me
at a thrift store;
they are a beautiful damask.
*
Napkin rings part of a gift from one of my Aunts
at my family bridal shower
in Michigan.

Silverware ~ a new rummage sale find;
my DH and I went to a large sale on Friday
and we found two incomplete sets of plated silver
silverware for less than the cost of a
an additional set new.
I am so delighted with it and how it glows.
It was a delight to eat the meal with that fork;
made me think of who had it before
and the many meals...

My DH ran out on his way home to get
more salad and apple cider...
it was such a delightful evening...

The apple and cherry pies.
Slowly and delightfully being eaten.
*
And you saw correctly:
my wonderful wedding gift from many people
combined is the red stand mixer.
It just came today...
*
I've been wishing for one for over ten years,
since my undergrad days when I went to a Bible study
at a professor's house and hung out in the kitchen
while biscuits for soup were made
from such a beautiful machine.
Never thought I would have one.
I am hoping to use this for many years to come
and make many pies, cakes, cookies and
various breads...

Je suis canadienne.
*
I got this little tray from IKEA in Ottawa
on that same July trip
and planned on using it for Canadian Thanksgiving
and Thank God this little detail too came to pass!

Beautiful bowl with mashed potatoes a recent
housewarming gift.
It fits my table perfectly,
with the white with blue accents!

I am really loving this table cloth.
My dear friend who is now in great grief
found it for me with another special Ottawa
church friend.
It is stunning.
Please I ask again prayers for my beloved
Romanian friend and sister-in-Christ.

 

Flowers a gift from our dinner party guests.
*
It was lovely dinner.
Similar menu to my first dinner party on Sunday night
but roasted vegetables
instead of cooked beans and carrots.
*
I added a bit too much oil this time around
so need to remember that for next time...
My close friend and I talked about
reheating food for dinner parties;
all went well but next time I am going to
remember to turn the heat up on the chicken
a bit sooner than I did;
it was okay but could of been a bit hotter.
My meat thermometer that I finally got to use
failed completely to work!
But all in all it was a great meal.
*
And the pies with vanilla ice cream
and black tea to drink
a wonderful way
to end the evening.
*
Two great evenings of fellowship, conversation,
laughter and sharing.
*
I got some emails and FB messages from my Ottawa
and Canadian friends and family
that made my first (Canadian) Thanksgiving in the States
in many years a special day.