Little by Little

 I washed and dried 

my dusty rose pink table cloth

that I got years ago in Halifax,

my friend negotiating for me for a better 

price for it, as it had a bit of sun damage.

 

A Psalter and some library books.

My Oma's blankets and pillow...

Our new lamp and stool now as a table for books or

journals we read... 

At some point we will get an ottoman for

this corner.

Currently we use a box and a pillow.

It works.

*

Well, today I did a lot of online ordering of things, 

including for our church bookstore that 

I manage.

*

I am already thinking of fall and a summer sale in the middle,

not to mention that my niece who I was corrected 

gently by her Grandmother, is 7 not 6 and she is coming next week.

*

Question for all interested:

Please share your ideas for things to do with children

 ages 6-7 in terms

of crafts, quiet activities and the like. 

Do share your ideas!!! 

I have the less quiet activities already covered :)

I am putting together a list of ideas and schedule for her visit... 

*

Also, if anyone knows where to get the black and white outlines

of icons that kids colour, I would be grateful to know.

Please comment or email me! 

*

Exciting to see progress of one mother who

I admire via her blog and the website

she just finished!

She also has Katherine's work linked to 

(by permission of course) and it's enough to make

me just want to build a library for it!

Sigh... I love building libraries! and I love

kids so it is quite natural that I would wish to do this one :)

*

Now if I could just get some more boxes unpacked...

Our chapel's library or our library's chapel or a peaceful guestroom...

The futon for our 

chapel/library/guest room is put together,

as is some additional shelving for the library.

Mattress DV arrives this Thursday.

A small CD shelf is now assembled and in use.

I love our little icon corner...

St. John, the Lord's Pascha, and His Mother

entering the temple, the feast

that my Oma was taken on...

*

Little by little, 

things are coming together.

*

Today included an impromptu breakfast, swim and 

now some reading, cleaning and organizing.

*

I am thankful to God.

Our Friday ~ Rest, Rain, Storm and Pie

By late afternoon/early evening 

it did more than rain, it stormed! 

I am reading more of Kathleen Norris' Dakota...

I can see how this was one of her earlier books...

she is learning a lot and putting it into words...

you can see the seeds of both

the cloister walk and amazing grace: a vocabulary of faith...

I put together some IKEA boxes...

Mr. Husband came home the other day with this

sweet wild flower bouquet :)

I made pie.

Trying to replicate what I did here.

But I did not have the whipping cream, the third

cream cheese or as many strawberries, so

it's a different pie.

I used half and half and sour cream, two things of

cream cheese... I like the other one better,

but this is still good, if a bit too sweet....

I hope to do it again after the fast;

It was good to make something though and 

this pie is the first thing I made in our new home!

*

I am still doing lots of resting;

in someways I feel like I am in a slump, 

all this resting and not getting as much done...

but I know if I don't rest, 

then nothing will get done or I will get sick

(the mono last year was enough for me, thanks)

or I will just stay tired.

So rest it is. Reading. Simple things.

*

Clean laundry is piling up. Mr. Husband is helping with dishes.

I really need to research dishwashers.

We are having the last fast-free week food...

dominos and their chicken too;

we call it mordor meat ;)

Well, at least it tastes good...

*

Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend!

Progress in the Kitchen

I managed to get the kitchen clean.

Plant our first 'new home' gift 

(from our realtor) :).

Spice racks:

One on left was my Oma's 

and one on right was my Mom's.

The icon of the Mother of God that I always have in my kitchen.

St. Euphrosynos the cook is also there!

My Mom and I organized this kitchen together

and I really like what she did!

I love the cheery red canisters done this way!

New teapot from IKEA, replacing the one that broke;

actually the replacement is better than the original

one I had, I think! 

It's a spacious kitchen...

I am hoping to get a pretty print 

to go over the kitchen sink and have it

laminated so water splashes will not 

ruin it...

*

Of course I miss our last kitchen sink but

I just try to dwell on the beauty of everything

else in our home!

*

All in time...

I really want to do some baking again,

I miss it!

We thought we would have pantry shelves built

before we moved in but we had no idea

that the company we had come give us an idea

on pantry shelving via their 'free consultation' would

give us a price of THOUSANDS of dollars.

So we are waiting on that, my goodness!

It's a pantry, not a model home!!!

*

But boy, do I want my pantry shelves.

And two graham cracker pie crusts while I am at it.

The grocery delivery service does not have them,

I bought all ingredients for pie and have to make it this week

(before our fast starts on Monday) and the store 

being a 20 minute walk or so away

 just seems too much in my current state.

*

Mr. Husband is fully open to getting some temporary pantry shelves

but we have not had time to even get them.

(We would later use them in the garage).

IKEA was a no go on that, the local home depot did not have

them in stock and we are short on time.

*

We did have a handyman here yesterday and he put together

some of our IKEA things.

Will blog about that later... when I take pictures, etc.

*

For now, today is going to be a 'rest easy' day as I am,

as many have been gently warning myself about,

quite tired...

I've tried to pace myself in all of this, but it's hard.

IKEA was exhausting and I am unpacking pretty much

the whole house by myself.

Mr. Husband is swamped with work.

*

At least we have the basics now: all the blind are up,

I have a clean kitchen (but no dishwasher, missing that),

and Mr. Husband and I's relationship is 

miraculously well intact in all this craziness of boxes, 

which I know is in part due to the prayers of others,

the mercy of God and a little bit from just how 

super-hero-like my husband can be!

I mean 8 hours in IKEA and we are still friends?! :)

Serious domestic miracle there.

*

We are still finding out about our new condo;

it seems that the owners who sold it to us well,

let's just say did not tell all.

So do pray for us as we go forward in things.

I don't foresee huge problems, FYI but would not mind prayers.

*

Now if I could just get two pie crusts, some bottled energy and

more chocolate :)...

another super-hero quality of my husband is that he does not 

mind that I eat a lot of our chocolate :) :) :)

~ Instead of a yarn along post ~ our bedroom icon corner ~

I am working on one knitting project

that is a surprise so that's all I can say on that! :)

*

Sadly feedly is down, apparently attacked.

So if I usually read and comment on your blog,

know that I just don't know you wrote at present.

Nasty attack :(

*

So I thought I would show the making of my icon shelf/corner

in our new home.

I've used this shelf for a few places now,

so it's a little battered at the back...

It's a struggle every time to get the second 

smaller part in just right;

the shelf will slide onto the longer piece

and then goes over the second small wood strip

and has to be positioned accordingly.

*

It is a challenge and while I had it all level,

I had to change it a few times and

finally, once it's as good as it's going to get,

shove the shelf into place.

*

I think the corners are just not matching up to the 

corner shelf, so it's a bit uneven.

Not fully level but actually up and

I just called it good after many tries and prayers

(of desperation but real prayers of some sort!)

It was so good to see all the icons again!

They had been carefully wrapped in boxes and 

small suitcases... 

it's like having all your friends, but the best 

and most holy kind, come out to visit!

*

Of course the icon of our Saviour Jesus Christ came out first!

This was the second mounted icon I ever had

and was given to me by S. at my first church,

10 years ago now... 

This time it just happened that I was doing the long wall

first and it was all Man-Saints... so I just kept it that way!

His and Hers sections :)

*

Someday I would love to do posts on each individual icon

as they all have a story of how they came to be in my life

or how I was helped...

but for now I will just focus on making our house

a home where we can be reminded of our Lord Christ

and of the Great Cloud of Witnesses that surround us!

Did it! {Our New Arm Chair}

Our delivery of IKEA furniture arrived!

Of course all but one in flat boxes,

waiting for assembly...

I however was quite excited about the arm chair and 

making our window corner more finished...

so I opened the box and saw the pieces...

Of course they would have put in the sofa instructions not armchair instructions so

I googled and printed the right instructions...

All accounted for!

Easy construction.

I think I did in about 1 hour...

I think getting on the cover took just as long as the assembly!

Added one of my two small lap blankets 

that my Oma knitted and a new pillow

to both chairs and now the corner is done 

(well other than a lamp which is somewhere in a box 

and a table cloth!)

It's comfortable and completes our corner!

Now we just have to find 

Mr. Husband a new recliner to replace

the one we got rid of...

Preparing...and Cleo's love of plastic

Felt circles on bottom legs of coffee table...

I cleaned the area where our new arm chair

from IKEA is going...

Did I ever tell you that Cleo the Cat just loves

All Things Plastic?

Including it seems the handle of the hammer :)

Our day at IKEA or how my husband is both my best friend and nearly a super hero :)

We headed out to IKEA and got there about noon.

We ate lunch and began looking for the many things

we had researched, discussed and chosen for our new home.
I was so excited to have this time with my husband!

By 3 pm I was in need of a snack/half-meal and was feeling a bit tired.

By 5 pm we were frazzled, eating dinner there, after 

finding out that the mattress we wanted was not in stock

for the futon we have since purchased for the library/guest room/ chapel.
*

After some misadventures, we realized we needed to just go home,

rather than to another IKEA for the said mattress

(there are a few in driving distance in this part of the heavily populated US world)

and went home, unpacked some of the small things, prayed, slept.
We were just plain exhausted!

*

I saw a woman there who was putting together some fake flowers and vases.

She had commented that IKEA is so tiring; I agreed and said that we'd been there since noon.

She quickly said, oh my goodness, God bless you! :)

*
Later, when we were home, I told my Mother or admitted that
I had eaten 32.5 meatballs.
She commented that perhaps that as a bit excessive...
Well, yes, I can say it was... I just felt a great need to have food
to keep energy going...
*

My husband was a real trooper, gathering the information on site for the various pieces and knowing what I do about husbands and IKEA 

(generally what I see is that husband's dislike it quicker than the wife),

he is not only my best friend but a super hero for enduring such a long time there!
*
Here is one of the things we took home
(main delivery is today, anytime now...)

It's so vivid and beautiful!

A new rug, soft and scrunchy-squishy, for the kitchen area!

The floor had no rug and with it being wood,

we were constantly cleaning up water spills...

(the faucet is another issue, as sadly is the 

dishwasher, that works but really does not work,

as in it no longer cleans and we need a new one,

my Dad spent hours trying to fix it).

*

I am coming to about my limit on things,

as in the exhaustion and the constant mess.

First packing and now unpacking.

*

Little things like not finding a peg for a bookshelf

(so the shelf can't get up and I can't use it to put things away)

and waiting for the new IKEA things to come and 

DV tomorrow be assembled...

*

I know I am making a lot of progress,

and since my parents left and my husband is at work,

I am unpacking everything.

So I am tired and ready for our home to be a 

more organized restful place.

*

It's just taking a long time, as things in areas did

not go as planned and that is just the way it is.

*

But I still love our new house and I know when we are all done,

it will be quite lovely 

and I thank God for His mercy...