My Great Aunt P.'s home ~ going back a month

I have been in my Great Aunt P's house various times in my 

growing up years, and I love how it has stayed the same, and that I got to 

see it again this past July.  My Great Aunt P is 90 now and still living 

in her own home; she was widowed when I was 9, so about 30 years ago.

She kept busy volunteering at a school (she is a teacher),

 delivering flowers to hospitals (she said this volunteer job ended 

because hospital stays now are so short,

that if anything, a florist would deliver flowers right to one's home!), 

and she still volunteers at a Christian thrift store

 (the GR MI area has several, 

one for a Christian mental hospital,

one for a Christian adoption agency, many for Christian schools, 

one for Bibles-for-Missions,

another for a Christian shelter and soup kitchen, 

not to mention Good Will...)

****

I just love kitchens; Aunt P's kitchen is so nice, with so much cupboard and counter space,

gas oven, window over the kitchen sink!... 

It's pretty much my dream kitchen!

I love her dining room area as well... such a lovely beautiful big window, wall space and 

place for dinner with guests!

My Great Aunt P is a knitter!

She is doing a sweater with lots of cables!

I love it.  She's really good!

She says she has to be careful what she tells her kids she likes,

as they will surprise her with it later!

Sweet tray, near to her cottage that I wrote about here.

Polished petoskey stones, from Lake MI, found years ago... 

I also have that pewter tray, for our daily bread.... such simple beauty!

Whenever I think of my Aunt P's place, I think of her books; she loves to read,

has been part of a book club for many years...

such a fulfilling life she has lead! 

I treasure it and every detail therein... 

She said that this print was a set of prints that she used to trade out 

every so often, but it was her Mother's frame and got too delicate to be 

touched / used this way, so now this print stays in all the time...

my Mom has the same one... Rembrandt's I mean Vermeer's Milk Maid... 

(thanks Lisa!) 

I had to memorize this when I was a child, as did my Mother....

a cornerstone of CRC/Dutch Christian culture...

 Paintings that my Aunt P's daughter D. did years ago,

when she was a teacher in a town with little to offer...

she's lived in CA now for decades and does not paint as much now,

but reads, teaches math to high school teachers; she is at retirement age,

but is still teaching; she loves it; how wonderful that is!

My Aunt P told me that her husband, my Uncle P, built her these bookshelves, with tile

on top so she could have flowers there...I love this tangible act of love he did for her...

she said they designed a few houses a before this one,

 and they got exactly what they wanted by this 

house, which they had for a few, maybe 7,

years together, before my Uncle P got sick... he died when I was 9

of an adult form of leukemia, 

I still remember being at a park at a picnic table with them all,

the last time I saw my Uncle alive...

it was summer time...

if I remember rightly, My great Aunt B's husband my Uncle H died first, 

then my Uncle P, then my

Grandma, Aunt P and Aunt's B's Dad, 

and the newly widowed Mother of overcome by 

the sorrow of losing two sons-in-laws and

 her husband within about 3 months time; 

I think there were other deaths around that time too; 

so much; so quickly;

I think my Great Grandmother lived 

about another year after this.

Yet, they will all tell you of the goodness of God....

My Great Grandmother did the embroidery on this chair. 

She collected dishes, having 3 sets I think; she did embroidery like this for various

family members, apparently the flower pattern was set on there and one only had

to do the background colour; I can see I am like her; this sort of simple crafting is often

what I do, not wanting or having the brain space to do all that counting that

knitting patterns call for.

Look at all the pots of tea my Great Aunt can make!

So many tea parties could be done! :)

I love her simple canister set, next to her eat-in kitchen... 

I loved seeing her house again, it had been at least 10 years or more since I was there....

And, there, is my Aunt P's home!

I loved seeing it again!

"Do not be afraid"

I am nearing the end of reading a really 

beautiful book, called

Dimitri's Cross

and right now I am reading the letters he wrote his wife

from his first place of imprisonment;

we already know, from reading the book before the letters,

that he is later sent to Dora,

where he is forced to work in horrid extreme conditions,

ages very quickly, becomes very ill

and at the end, speaks of feeling the abandonment of God,

and the next day he dies, with

a man kind enough to move Fr. Dimitri's hand 

to cross himself, right before he dies.

He is now a Saint of the Orthodox Church,

as he was in the camps because of his work to save

Jews and others during the Nazi regime in Paris.

***

Mother Teresa suffered, after having very close, real, felt

intimacy with God, a deep sense of God's absence, 

abandonment; yet she radiated such joy and peace to others;

it's as if she was submerged in God so much that others

received the light by being near to her, 

while she felt herself in darkness.

***

I have read about this before,

also in Eizabeth Goudge's book 

the Dean's Watch

and other books....

***

Where by God's will, by physical illness and exhaustion,

or by a season in life,

we may still be quite near to God, as in God is everywhere present,

filling all things,

but we may not sense God's presence,

we may, who were once sustained by His Presence in difficult afflictions,

later be cut off from the sense of His Presence, even when the situation gets

more difficult.... 

***

Met. Anthony Bloom writes of a woman 

who wrote him (she had cancer, was dying) that she was sustained

by His Presence, but later she only found God's absence

and her only prayer was not to try to create/fabricate a sense of God's

Presence when He choose to only give a sense of His absence to her.

***

Did not Christ Himself cry out to God about such 

a sense of abandonment,

right before He filled Hades with His light, His Divinity,

and the next day rose from the dead, Resurrected, with a new body

and hope for everyone? 

***

To me this tells me to be persistence in prayer,

not give up no matter if I feel God's Absence or even a deep sense of 

abandonment from God

and not to give up hope, but to trust that God is still near;

in the end to me it means,

do not be afraid...

Part 1 of the Feast of Transfiguration, Lunch, Cleo and a small dinner party

We were at our local church this Sunday.

Then simple lunch of pizza, salad and blessed grapes!

A friend was coming for dinner, we ordered 2 takeout dishes 

(which leftovers will tide us over through tomorrow).

I added a fruit salad, green salad, the blessed grapes and we had a bit of 

plum + peach torte for dessert!

I was still enjoying my black tea with milk!

I've been savouring the days of tea with milk; our Julian Calendar 

Dormition Feast starts soon! 

***

While I am wanting to do more of my own cooking,

and last week I managed 2 things,

I was really tired this weekend, and we have lists

unending of things to get done,

so Saturday night was diner food

and last night was wonderful take out!

***

I am hoping to get more quilting done this week,

maybe some in-advance baking,

as well as a trip to NYC later this week.

I hope for 2 mornings of swimming...

***

Today will include cleaning and doing 'at home' errands...

***

Heard a really beautiful sermon/homily yesterday,

about the Feast of Transfiguration, how

there are very few moments in Christ's earthly life that

were joyous and luminous, and that this was one of the.

But that even then, Moses and Elijah were speaking to Christ of

His upcoming Crucifixion...

And how Christ's life on earth was being plunged into darkness,

He being with sinners to bring them light, healing ....

I was deeply consoled with the words of how our lives

have such much darkness in them, but that Christ chose to 

plunge His life into darkness, so that He would suffer with us

and save us, bringing us to His light...

***

Much to think on and to remember.

I felt like these words were like a musical score for one's life,

of hope amidst the many struggles we have,

of a Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who

dwells with us in the midst of the dark to bring us to light.

May it so be! 

Silver dollar pancakes, pizza and lots of tea

Lunch: lots of tea, pizza, fruit salad, green salad, watermelon and tomatoes!

Dinner.

So good.  I saved just over 1/3 of it for later.

So nice to have summer food for dinner at the diner!

I think I have had at least 3 pots of tea today,

all decaf, with milk...

being on the 'old calendar' our summer Dormition fast does not start

for another week...

***

I am slowly doing bookstore orders for a fall/early winter book sale.

We realized that it is best to do the ordering in the summer so that I don't have to 

scramble in the fall, which is invariably are most busy time of year.

***

I am hoping to enjoy much of August and go swimming a few times a week

for the rest of the summer...

And so it goes!

Yarn Along ~ books, blankets and beauty

Yesterday I took the train to Princeton!

 I worked on my many squared blanket, sewing on squares with

blue yarn... it is coming along!

 This is a beautiful book, touching, poignant and
inspiring in how one can live in very difficult times.

Fr. Dimitri and Mother Maria of Paris, with others,
were all killed during the 

Nazi period in France....
they are all considered Saints, martyrs for Christ.

The book is written by Fr. Dimitri's daughter,
who was 4 the last time she saw her father. 

Her memories of her father,
from the eyes of an adoring 4 year old daughter,

are really beautiful and Fr. Dimitri was a very kind man,
incredible in his love.  

I had a really good talk with my quilting friend about this author

 and feel more settled in accepting the struggles Hall had after Jane Kenyon died.

I am looking forward to reading this book, hopefully soon. 

I am hoping to finish this blanket in the next month, if possible.

I have so much to do, that we will see...

I went to a lovely kitchen store in Princeton, 

my kind of 'window shopping' and I love this picnic basket! 

***

Leaving you with 2 pictures of Princeton... 

it's a very beautiful place. 

And that is my yarn along for today!

I hope this post finds whoever reads it

having a peaceful day!

Feel free to join us!

A Really Fun Lunch ~ Chicken Baked in Cream and other simple wonders

Finally, this super easy, delicious and simple chicken recipe is being blogged!

I keep forgetting to do so,

then look for it in my recipe page to no avail!

So here it is, at least for me :) 

***

So my friend who lives in upstate NY (about 1.5 hours from me) came down to see me today!

She has known me since she was a life guard at camp and I was a

young camp counselor, 18 years old, 21 years ago.

It's nice to reconnect with friends who knew me so long ago...

***

I got tea ready first,

with wonderful black with lavender and rose tea,

various cookies (that I forgot to picture!)...

then I got busy making the chicken... 

so easy...

the only variation to the recipe is that I use a whole small onion, 

chopped up.  I add the ingredients as they are listed.

I brown the chicken in butter first in the same pan and then 

add things in order; I opened the new carton of cream not by

the little 'screw cap' but wide open, like an old milk carton

and poured it all in; perfect.

There was enough to make a cream gravy without having to add anything.

Used chicken breast tenders I think they were called, organic by Coleman. 

About 2 pieces of this were just perfect per person.

Enough for perhaps a 4 person meal,

if one is hosting and wants to be sure about amounts. 

***

Rice, baby spinach salad, fruit salad with sour cream dressing.

***

We had a really nice time touring my home,

seeing fun details of our home,

I was surprised at being complemented for my home

organization and something I really appreciate about my friend is

how curious she is about things; we had a nice conversation about the 

differences between Protestant and Orthodox churches;

I always feel that while we have a difference in opinion, that she

still respects me and I really enjoy our friendship,

which always seems to continue right where it was before...

A real delight!

***

I gave my friend soap and handmade knitted wash cloths. 

As per usual for me :)  

She gave me wonderful vanilla scented votive candles 

and the Christmas dish shown above!

Perfect for me,

I am already thinking of Christmas and making plans!

How could I not,

when it's such a beautiful time of year?

:) Not that I am not enjoying summer, I am and plan on

savouring August....

But here's two Christmas pictures that I am dreaming of recreating....

Something to look forward to,

while still seeking to appreciate what is here,

right now, in the present!