A fun busy weekend + VNA rummage sale finds

Friday my husband and I went to the VNA rummage sale!

(It's 2x year).  We got there about 9:30 and left about 2:45 or a bit earlier!

A lot of fun, a lot of things seen, a lot found.

We were tired by the end and drove to outside North Philly afterwards,

going to a toy soldier show (my beloved Husband's super fun hobby).

Before and after!

The tea strainer I have had for years, found at an antique store in Halifax....

this strainer was how I knew that both 

the butter dish ($1) and small jug (2 or 3$) would polish up well.

This gem of a find, a 8 piece silver-plate silverware set,

(it's actually 42 pieces, there are 8 soup spoons!)

We are saving this for my Christmas present DV 

for this year! 

I think it's a most perfect Christmas gift.

We are trying to do things (for our definition of it) simple this year

and this is just wonderful, I love the anticipation of it! :)  

 And it's only $1.19/item (excluding box!) so it's a really good deal!

A blurry picture (I have them wrapped up to be sure there are no bedbugs... 

of course having them open in my house quickly I know defeated this purpose

 but I am not that worried!)... I am so excited for these! 

 Found this darling toy silver tea set for our goddaugther!

I just have to get a gift box for it and will send it for her birthday in August! 

New cake stand! it's perfect as it is low to the ground,

as it were, so easy to store! Our other cake stand is wonderful

and much loved...and can be inverted to be a punch bowl...

I am dreaming of having a summer party with punch bowl

and cake! Wouldn't that be fun!

Pretty new spoons as well! 

I am really pleased with this vintage Hazel Atlas depression glass juicer / reamer!

I had been wanting a good one of these, with bowl and handle all in 1 piece for 

years! So really pleased with this! 

We found 2 of these for 5.00/each ... one is being used

for the base for a set of 4 special toy soldiers and 

the other one (at least for now!) is mine to use + the 

other dome as well...

Found these non-crystal wine glasses.

I did not realize, however, how thin they are

(i.e. very breakable) so I may look to replace these at a 

future VNA.... Not that they are not nice,

I am just looking for something more durable... 

I am rather excited about this cake stand! 

I had been wanting another one for a few years

and this one is perfect as it is without the pedestal stand,

making it easy to store! 

And look!!!! I found this pretty three tiered tea tray for $6.00!!!

I had 2 from IKEA and both broke, so this is a real find! 

I am super pleased! 

I also broke my juice jug.... (can you believe I forgot that one can NOT be hasty and

try to make frozen OJ by pouring just boiled water on it? the thick jug

I had for years broke instantly, OOPS!) ... so finding this one was a real blessing!

I had a whole list of what I was looking for and this was on it!

So I have a dream of creating a picnic basket inexpensively....

So these stainless steel cutlery (middle above) was 1$ each and

is the beginning of this endeavor! 

I also found the darling punch/soup ladle... however, it has

a bit of a flaw towards the back of it, a tiny piece is sticking out

and actually cut my husband's hand, so (hard to see in picture 

as my Husband used packing tape) it is taped up for now

until one of our Dad's can fix it! 

(We are hoping it can be filed or something put on top of it .... food safe of course)...

we would not have gotten this if we had known but had already paid for it

when we realized the flaw and decided to keep it simple and try to get it fixed.

I hope it can be fixed as it's really a darling piece and I had been on the look out for a 

low wide ladle for a few years! 

Also, that heart cookie cutter is actually to make 

the Belgian Vol-au-vent pastry... I don't quite understand the instructions yet

but will look at them again soon... 

These 4 bowls are really beautiful! 

I believe they are new/unused as they still had store stickers on 

the bottom of each one and were individually wrapped... 

These were 10.00/each or 40$ for the set.  

They are Noritake White Palace... they are still made today,

from what I can see and one bowl is selling for about the price

that I got the 4 bowls! Wow. 

So these I am keeping for very special events and will keep them 

separated with a clean white napkin...

I have put these away as they are going to be our anniversary gift 

 in Septemeber!

Isn't it such a nice gift! I am so pleased 

and it will go so well with our other white gold-rimmed China pieces!

And for bigger than 4 people dinners, I have other bowls that are white with 

gold or white with a nice design... I love mixing and matching....

I am hoping to have a Slava for our wedding anniversary and hope to use these

bowls then! :)  It would be so pretty! 

Cleo of course had to join in the fun!

I am so excited to have found these scoops!!! I had been wanting more for 5 years,

as I love them for my canisters of flour/sugar ... also that little scoop I got for 25 cents!

It's the 'perfect scoop of tea' spoon that I had been wishing I had since I saw it online....

you know me and the weakness I have for anything related to tea! :)

Also, I did not have a biscuit cutter (I thought I had one once but may have been 

merely remembering my Mother's) and was so excited to find one!

Also got these lovely cheery yellow napkins...
I think it was 10 of them for 5.oo which is not bad

and they wash up so nicely!  I just love cloth napkins... we invariably spill food or water or

what-have-you and these are great and are not wasteful! 

We still use paper towels for some cleaning jobs that necessitate them

but it's nice to do what one can in terms of waste/environmental concerns.... 

Also the glass 'shaker' bottle and spice jars always come in handy... 

so pleased to have found these!

 ***

I also got some cute scarves and skirts for 30.00 

and some other odds and ends... I never did get to the book tent 

this time around, but I did go to stationary and got a ton of cute

things there, including stamps, all of which are being bagged up

for 3 months to be sure no creepy-crawlies come in the house.

So August 7 will be DV a fun day when I get to use this 

new to us stationary! 

Oh yes, also got the above pictured cream coloured teapot!

It is so cute and made in England! Pours really well!

We did not realize it had crazing on the outside so handwash only 

but the inside is great.... it's been a joy to use, as the one we had 

in our dutch (pillowed suitcase like with handle) teacozy from IKEA had broken

a month or so ago... 

We stayed at a hotel overnight (had a swimming pool! was so nice!

Shared the pool with 2 cute little girls and their parents) and 

had a nice time at the toy solider show before going back 

to our far-away church vigil...before church my Husband

had the fun idea of having an ice cream date

and then we ran into the lovely Romanian priest and daughter who 

are here for a short stay (almost up!) to study in the Princeton area... 

so we had dinner with them before vigil!

***

Yesterday was cleaning day...and taking care of all the VNA treasures...

Of course, life could not be simple, right?

Our AC is acting up so a man is coming this afternoon to look at it... of course

that meant I had to spend yesterday late afternoon and evening

emptying out the pantry, a huge job!

So our chapel/guestroom/library is now our pantry LOL....

Oh well, at least it will re-organized... 

And Mr Husband is home and that's super fun for me,

as I got to have lunch and breakfast with him....

So, that's a lot of what's been going on...

I still want to blog about the epic brunch I put on when my

goddaughter and her Mom were here... hopefully sometime soon!

These days are so busy that it's hard to keep up....

I have to accept that I still don't have sewing time or even a lot of reading time.

It was nice however to finally get this blog post done and record the special times

and special things we had right now.

It's so important to remember the blessings and not just the hard times one is in

and that is what this blog post is all about..... 

Praying for an unknown man

My Husband was working late and walking to the PATH station in NYC tonight

and he saw a man have a heart attack. 

He called 911 and stayed with the man until the ambulance had come

and the man was on the stretcher.

He called me with the sound of ambulance sirens swirling around him,

he was trying to flag the ambulance down

and I could tell was overwhelmed but yet valiantly with the man

who was suffering all alone with no one he knew!

My Husband is now in NJ and nearly home.

Please pray for this suffering man alone in ambulance in NYC!

Feast of Mid-Pentecost 2018

Liturgy was so beautiful.

The sunlight on the small dome and Cross.

The light.  The expanse.  So beautiful. 

***

I had lunch with a friend, went to NYC after

on the PATH train and got some bins for linen closet.

***

I wish I could articulate though things that I feel inside more clearly;

the deep wish for some many I know who are struggling and in need of

deep physical/mental/spiritual rest. 

The suffering.

***

I saw a homeless woman today, sign said words about homeless because of

domestic violence. Her name is Andrea if I remember right (I asked).

It was so hot today.  So much suffering. 

***

I have a lot of nice things right now,

new bins and containers to organize things.

A nice little jewelry box too; 

And soon to VNA where I will probably find something nice,

as usual.

***

Inside though, I feel this surrounding sadness, seeing the suffering of others;

I can get tripped up sometimes by this and have to step back.

I am the type of person who is aware that if I buy clothes made in a non-affluent country,

the person making the clothes may be suffering; I feel guilty (why them, why not me)

and so I pray for them, I think of them, weary and struggling.

And I am thinking a lot about death,

about my +Aunt Karen, about the mystery of life, the mystery of death;

how our life is important to the Lord but is yet a vapor and we will be gone

soon like the flowers of the field and so we pray 

Memory Eternal, may God remember us when no one else on earth does.

How is it that one day I can be young and then in my 20s and now in my early 40s 

and someday, if God so grants, will be elderly and perhaps a widow,

since my Husband is over 10 years older than I and it is all a mystery

and then death, the door to the new life, eternal life that I want to spend forever 

with my Lord Christ and my family, all those I know, all those I love or struggle to love.

***

My Aunt Karen's death has thrown a lot off for me and I am still trying

to grapple with it all and come to a better understanding

and it's just going to take a lot of time...and I have to accept that...

and trust God with this...

I buy big candles for her to light for her as newly departed in church...

***

The store I bought the pretty outfit in the day after my Aunt's funeral

is closing and that feels like a big loss.

The restaurant in my hometown in MI where I would see my Aunt Karen, her husband my 

Uncle L, my parents, my Grandma and others, has been closed for 2 weeks

for a family emergency. It does seem that they are reopening.

I can't tell you how glad I am of this.  I felt like I was surrounded by loss of things

that were very familiar to me at home for many years...

***

And yet here I am and the unbloggable is tiring and there is not end for it yet.

We are doing the best we can and we thank God that this year,

so far, we have not been sick and that alone is a huge improvement...

yet somethings are still quite difficult...

***

And so in many things there is this sadness,

and trying to deal with it in the right way and knowing that I am not fully

dealing with it the right way but yet God forgives....

And I keep wanting to quilt, to sew, to make something,

maybe next week. It is pushed off and off.

I have barely been to quilt guild, have not sewn in months. 

I am behind on a lot of things, the travel I did,

the loss, the business of this season. 

I have something significant the next 3 weekends...

***

Well... that is that and I have to keep trusting God for His mercy.

***

I read this just now and it is spot on and very encouraging.... 

A little about today

It's another busy week.

Always lots to do after a whirlwind weekend.

And this afternoon I put together a corner shelf 

for our master bath.

It was frustrating until I understood how it worked.

Directions were not that great.

I am glad to have this shelf, humble as it's contents are!

The top shelf almost did not work out

as I misunderstood how it was put together

and the little plastic brackets got stuck and 

thank God there was 1 extra and I was able to use

packing tape to help the one that broke...

**** 

Tomorrow DV I am going to NYC after liturgy

for Mid-Pentecost. 

I am picking up DV some organizational things

for the linen closet. 

Thursday I am going to try to organize the linen closet better

and also our freezer/s... we will see how that goes!

***

Friday we are going DV to the VNA rummage sale!

We always manage to find some treasure there.

****

As usual, our personal unbloggable is still 

with a lot of ups and downs. 

We just try to be thankful for everyday and do our best in them.

Tonight at vespers I was given a beautiful icon of the

Mother of God and also of St John of Rila, a little one, 

and this is a comfort. 

Slowly we are making continued improvements to our home

and in organization... 

My parents hope to come DV in October and we hope to do a bit more

in terms of home improvements then.... 

we are making progress and our home is a real delight.

I thank God for it and for my life with my beloved Husband! 

Saturday Night Dinner with my Goddaughter and her Mother

Description of dinner that I wrote up last week:

1. Chicken dish with cream mushroom gravy with garlic and pearl onions
2. Not made by me but instead pre-made (fresh direct, they are super) mashed potatoes
3. Crudités (red/orange/yellow pepper + carrots and a broccoli) chopped and in clean cold water in fridge
4. Need to make: spinach salad which I have small chopped peppers ready for  (edited to add, that salad was never made!)
5. Above mentioned fruit salad

Also for dessert...

1. Pound Cake ice cream from local ice cream shop
2. Blessed Pascha (Easter) cookies, waiting in freezer
3. Strawberries and cream
4. Tea, etc!

Pictures from Saturday Night Dinner 

It was such a lovely time!