{Around the House} ~ progress and continued effort

We finally got a shelf for above the kitchen 

sink a few weeks back...

The bare wood in front will be stained at a later

time...for now I am just glad to get this up

and to have my beloved

icon of the Theotokos, Virgin of Vladimir,

up in my kitchen...

such a sweet and most-loved icon!

This is what my kitchen looks too many times

during the week...

it's a constant effort to keep things from being cluttered!

So much of our lives is full of the routines

of clutter / cleaning / trying-to-keep-clutter-from-happening

and clutter again...

*

At least God and the Mother of God are with us

no matter what our kitchens look like...

Planning for Nativity in 2014

This year Thanksgiving and Western Christmas

are close together and I can see that this 

Nativity Season is going to be very full!

*

My now annual Christmas Nativity Fast and Feast

planning is in it's second year.

Here's what I came up with...

November 27: Thanksgiving Day ~ go to prayers or liturgy for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving meal with friends and church family.

November 28: Fast begins! Make a joyful fasting meal to celebrate! Locate Christmas decorations.

November 29: order a Christmas ornament for our Christmas tree.  Find lights to put up in our kitchen and living room.

November 30: Sunday Liturgy.  

Begin reading Christmas book with Mr. Husband.

December 1 : This year I need to find an artificial Christmas tree for our home.

I am quite excited about this! 

Put out first of Christmas icons (the one of Christ).

December 2 : Change coffee table to Christmas Colours. 

December 3: Work on St. Nicholas Gifts.

December 4 ~ Thursday: Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God ~ Go to liturgy.  Remember my Oma and 

do something in her name for another person.  Fish day!

December 5: Put out two Nativity Icons.  Put up Christmas tree!

December 6: Prepare for St. Katherine’s Day (meal, find prayers, clean icon).

December 7: Sunday Liturgy ~ St. Katherine’s Day ~ honour her icon, 

light candles by it and pray for those esp with her name.  

Pray prayers to her.  

Make a special meal in her honour.  Fish Day! 

*

December 8: Christmas Knitting for tree ornaments done today. Put out Christmas plate and other decorations.  If we have our extra freezer by now in our new home, begin baking St. Nicholas Day cookies to 

carefully freeze for St. Nicolas Day. If do not have a freezer yet then

look at plans for December 16 and switch out activities (shopping) to this day.

December 9: Work on St. Nicholas and Christmas gifts, plan and shop for special meal for Kursk Root Icon.   Prepare and wrap gifts for friends and family.  

Start praying parts of Akathist for this icon in the evening.

December 10: Kursk Root Icon ~ Special meal for Kursk Root Icon and remembering the healing of St. Seraphim as a child. 

Plan, prepare and shop for Holy Supper and Christmas.

December 11:  Work more on Christmas gift plans.

 St. Nicholas Cookies baking continued DV with freezer ready.

December 12:  Christmas Gift shopping for the short people in our lives. 

Put wrapped gifts under Christmas tree.

December 13: Put out the Nativity Books.

December 14:  Sunday Liturgy

*

December 15: Plan special meal for St. Nicholas Day Dinner. Begin listening to Christmas music.   Bake for St. Nicholas Day.

December 16: Do grocery shopping for St. Barbara's Day, St. Nicholas Day, the Holy Supper and Christmas or bake St. Nicholas Day cookies. 

Best to do the last minute grocery Shopping for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day early! Buy a special wine for Holy Supper and the Christmas Season.

December 17: Great Martyr Barbara ~ put out icon of St. Barbara and pray for those with her name.  Read Chesterton's poem on St. Barbara.  

Bake Saint Nicholas Cookies and prepare treats for shoes. 

Have a special dinner for St. Barbara.  

This year St. Barbara's day corresponds 

with Mr. Husband's 

work's holiday party so we will have 

a festive lunch instead.

December 18: St. Nicholas Eve ~ Finish Preparing for St. Nicolas Day ~ if possible go to vigil for St. Nicolas Day 

or pray the Akathist to St. Nicholas, put out St. Nicholas Icon

December 19: Saint Nicholas Day ~ Go to liturgy and give out goodies ~ Sister’s Birthday

December 20: Begin listening to Christmas music and 

put out coffee table sized Christmas Tree.

December 21: Sunday Liturgy

December 22:  Christmas preparations and planning; plan for birthdays and names days in near future.  Prepare to make Christmas tea.

December 23: Special Baking and Knitting. Look at meal plan for Holy Supper on Christmas Eve, make list of what I will need

 in terms of last minute groceries & look at plans made on Dec. 16.

December 24: Special Baking and Knitting.  Planning special meal for St. Herman’s Day.

December 25: Saint Spyridon and Saint Herman ~ honour these Saints, put out their icons, pray special prayers to them.  Read books on these Saints.  

December 26: St. Lucia ~ Search for icon for her for next year and research books on her.

December 27: Have time spent with ones dear to us, Special baking.

December 28: Sunday Liturgy.  Have time spent with ones dear to us, remembering to pray for those who are far.

December 29: My Birthday ~ special meal with loved ones near by.

December 30: Mr. Husband’s Name Day ~ special meal planned.

December 31: Enjoy civil holiday with Mr. Husband either at home or at a monastery.  If home make special Lenten food.

January 1:  New Years Day.  If possible be at a monastery.  If not then spend special time with Mr. Husband and others; have a special meal. 

Do prayers of Thanksgiving for the new year (on the civil calendar).

January 2: St. John of Kronstadt’s Day ~ Honour his icon, do prayers to him, read his book.  Plan Christmas Dinner for Second Day of Christmas.

January 3: Review list for Holy Supper! Enjoy the anticipation. 

January 4: Sunday before Nativity.

*

January 5: Pack things for Holy Supper including special table cloth, candles and candle holder. Print prayers for Holy Supper.  Bake. 

Prepare borsht for the Holy Supper.

January 6: Prepare Holy Supper ~ table cloth, candles and meal.  

Have Holy Supper and Christmas Eve Vigil.  

January 7: Christmas! Spent at church and with special friends. 

January 8: Second Day of Christmas. 

Special dinner and opening gifts if not opened on Christmas night. 

Bake special Christmas cookies for this season to pass out to friends.

January 9: Third Day of Christmas. St. Stephen's day. Have a special Christmas Dinner with friends.

January 10: Fourth Day of Christmas. 

January 11: Sunday ~ Fifth Day of Christmas.  Church Christmas party!

*

January 12: Sixth Day of Christmas. 

January 13: Seventh Day of Christmas.

January 14: Eighth Day of Christmas.  Circumcision of Christ and St. Basil’s Day ~ make cake for St. Basil and a special meal.

January 15: Ninth Day of Christmas. St. Seraphim's Day ~ clean and honour his icon, read from a book on St. Seraphim,

 do prayers for his intercession. 

Pray esp. for all those known whose name day it is.

January 16: Tenth Day of Christmas.

January 17: Eleventh Day of Christmas.

January 18: 12th Day of Christmas. Vigil for Theophany.

January 19: Theophany ~  Liturgy and Meal with friends. 

Friday, oh Friday...

I woke early this morning, insomnia.

I feel like I am in the middle of a million things

and my heart is having a hard time containing it all.

As if my heart is at once both joyful and light

but yet on the floor weeping.

*

I've had the joy of finally baking again.

I accidentally bought too many apples

in the confusion of weeks and last week's fridge adventure.

I baked up an apple cake.

It's in the freezer safely wrapped up tight.

*

I have been using my new measuring cups

and just love them.

They are easier to clean, can mix cinnamon and sugar in the 

measuring cup, pour easily...

just have to be careful not to drop them or put them

near the edge of the counter when baking.

*

I baked the apple cake on Wednesday

and Mr. Husband asked if it was fasting, but no, 

it was not so I quick whipped up a so all

batch of apple crisp from Katherine's recipe
that is now taken down...thankfully I had Mr. Husband print it!

(I miss her blog, but just know she needed

to go 'underground' for need of silence)

I hope to blog about this recipe in the future

so all is not lost...

The apple crisp was lovely with coconut oil,

raw sugar and maple syrup.

*

Then after dinner, I cut up more apples and made

two loafs of Dutch Apple Cake.

Both in freezer as well.

*

The house has smelled so good with baking...

*

Yesterday I baked two loaves of

cranberry orange bread.

 In the middle of that,

while the bread was rising,

I went on another 1 hour driving lesson.

Half of it in normal city driving, speed limits

generally slow from 25 to 35 mph.

Then I did a good 20 plus minutes on the NJ turnpike.

I need to get used to highway driving and did so 

during rush hour.

It was intense, hard to keep my speed up, and I was

rather miserable side instead of enjoying it.

I just could not calm down/get over my nerves.

*

At least I got to go back home and finish baking

the bread....

*

And then my boots came!

And they fit!

est miracle!

*

I've been listening to these sermons and 

thinking of Ottawa.

I've been missing French and wishing I could take it again.

But seriously, I have too much going on to do it.

*

I am still working on building a life here

and once again it takes so much time and energy.

I am a person who is an introvert but who in Ottawa

had a good amount of friends,

some of who are no longer there either,

and I am really missing these.

*

I am thankful for my new life,

but just aware that I am still in the building stage of it

and it's hard and tiring at times.

*

I really appreciated this article on loneliness

and what to do about it.

*

I ordered a Christmas tree last night.

YES, that early.

A reviewer of it posted this 'real life' photo of it:

It was well under $$100.00 mark and I got three strands of lights for it.

My very Geeky Mr. Husband helped me with how many lights for it.

The conversation went like this:

How big is it?

He then asked me to look up circumference formula ...I googled it and found:

and right away Mr. Husband uses the formula, just standing there and says,

Ok, it's going to be :

120 inches to go around at bottom, at top, 24 inches (or less) around at top

and with cord length two strings will be:

6 times around with two of them, 1 every foot 

So I got three strands, as I want it more than every foot 

and we will go from there.

*

I got one strand of hanging twinkle white lights.

I am thinking of the two big windows

perpendicular to where the tree will be.

I bought a wreath for our door.

Simple.

*

I told Mr. Husband before that if I ever had to 

choose what a church would be named for,

it would be Holy Nativity.

*

It's the beginning of our salvation,

it is God Emmanuel,

God with us.

*

It is the hope of all the earth,

of all the heavens and the deep...

*

God is with us,

let everyone understand, 

that God is with us...

I can still hear my Ottawa spiritual father sing it in 

Great Compline for Christmas...
*
It will be my DV third Christmas here...
I still can't think of what the music for Christmas sounds
like in my new church, but I know
it will be beautiful and Christmas Eve
esp. special...
*
I am grateful:
God is with us.

A Wedding in Early November

Mr. Husband and I were

so glad to be invited to a wedding where we live!

It was beautiful, as I find all Orthodox weddings to be...

I always find the crowning at the end

to be the most moving parts of an Orthodox wedding.

 At the reception there were three

'first dances' that were quite moving,

the bride and groom,

the father and bride

the mother and groom.

Very beautiful!

The 'sweetheart's table'

Their wedding icons.

This rusynk was made by a dear friend

of theirs and the couple was hand-tied with it.

It was a lovely afternoon and evening!

In This Mountain ~ Textured Blanket & a Prayer Request!

I got Jan Karon's

In This Mountain

at the Princeton Library Book Sale a while back

and read this quickly over the last days.

So good, such an enjoyable read!

My blanket is coming along!

I just got a new yard order as well

so I will have enough to finish it off!

It's meant to be a long lap blanket and 

I am hoping just a few more stripes 

and I can then do the boarder! 

In your charity... a Prayer Request:

My Father-in-law is in the OR as I type for

a Cochlear Implant

please pray!

*

....& for those keeping track of my three prayer requests this week...

~My Uncle's eye surgery went well, thank God!

He will have more check ups and surgeries to come however.

My Grandma's small surgery was postponed to Friday.

*

I am so blessed by all my blog friends

and pray I can be a blessing to you too!

If there is something/someone you want pray for today,

please let me know!

*

And let us know what you are reading and creating!

Yarn Along with us!

A small dinner party

Mr. Husband and I were delighted

to have a dear friend visit for dinner!

She brought wonderful red wine!

Meal:

Roast Drunken Chicken

Mr. Husband's parents canned green beans

salad

orange heirloom tomatoes

cranberries and goat cheese for salad

Gravy of pure strained chicken juices

Water, oil for dressing, basmati rice.

Dessert...

 Mint Tea & 

Juniors Cheesecake.

 It was a really lovely time!

Prayer Requests...

My Uncle's eye surgery was postponed until today, please pray!

We hope to hear good news and that his eye can be saved!

*

My Grandma has a small surgery tomorrow, prayers asked!

*

My Father-in-law has Cochlear Implant surgery Wednesday,

a fairly major surgery, prayers most heartily asked! 

{Around the home} ~ Pantry Progress

I was able to finish almost all of 

the pantry as the labels finally arrived! 

Other than a few things that 

I did not have jars for,

I am totally done!

Of course, I would find more Bridgehead tea!

It's working very well and I am very pleased with it.

I hope to make Christmas tea again

And it is so great to be able to have all my spices 

properly stored, labeled and ready to use!

Now if I could only find my 

new coffee grinder to make this process

easier...

something are just not unpacked yet,

moving and unpacking does indeed take months!

Fridge Here and working great!

Yay!

The fridge saga is now done,

other than getting food back from neighbours.

Speaking of that, we are really blessed in our neighbours,

two of whom lent us freezer and fridge space!

Last picture of old fridge with broken-when-we-moved-in

ice machine.

Both Mr. Husband and I agree that we'd rather

have more space in our freezer than 

an ice or water machine and are so glad

we found one that did NOT have this feature!

(We only had one choice for the side by side model

that we wanted to keep as it works well with the 

tight corner and dish washer).

The people, Spanish speaking, who delivered it,

were very kind and worked quickly.

 The only time you will see this fridge without magnets :) 

I decluttered while I was putting things back.

I love all the family pictures...

*

So I am happy about that!

And SO HAPPY that the fridge is magnetic!!!

*

I am glad I started my posts on 

when one is in times of desolation.

I know this can be a hard topic;

blogs often are seen as 'fun' or 'beautiful' but life

is life and hard times are very real.

So I am happy to start writing on

the things I learned during the years of struggle I had.

*

None of us knows the future or what struggle may

come again in my life;

while I wish only for the inevitable (people dying)

we really do not know what each day will bring.

*

But we have a God who loves us

and who can help us get through the difficult times...

*

Now I just have to clean house and get things in order;

I got laundry done but the folding and putting away is mounting;

I found this to be inspiring in my search for

how to manage time, from MamaBirdEmma.

*

It's when things are all pulled out from the normal that is so challenging;

between plans falling through, funerals, fridges dying and other things

that all make up our lives,

it's hard to get in a routine and stick to it.

*

But I will keep trying...