Yarn Along: Ramona Quimby, Age 8...

 

I began Sugar Plum's Tiny Tea Leaves sweater in the car on the way to the March for Life and only got as far as the first 5 rows...  then it got too busy and I needed a different sized needle (7).  I'll pick that up this week along with another skein of the gray wool to finish off the Edith Shawl.  I can't wait to get cracking!

We're reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 as our read aloud and I just finished Drawn from New England:  Tasha Tudor, a Portrait in Words and Pictures.  It was a quick read, but I tried to make it last by only reading a few pages every couple of days.  I just picked up Jennifer Worth's final book, In the Midst of Life, and read the first chapter.  It is heavy and I'm not sure if I want to read it right now...  especially following a fluffy book about a quirky woman who dressed as if she lived in the 1800's and played with dolls.

Jane!

Have you seen Jane G. Meyer's Bread Experiment?  She is our favorite Orthodox Children's Book author and it was so amazing to see her and her home and listen to her voice!  Enjoy!

A Wedding...

 

 

 

 May God Grant the Servants of God Vladimir and Olga Many Blessed Years!

The Enthronement of Metropolitan Tikhon...

Photos by Sugar Plum

We were stuck in the back for Metropolitan Tikhon's Enthronement, so the photographs that we took are from a terrible view!  Check out the OCA Website for gorgeous ones!

The March for Life...

 

 

 

 

The March for Life Rally...

 

If you missed the Rally on EWTN, it was broadcast on C-SPAN.  You can now watch the rally in it's entirety on the C-SPAN website, but I created a clip of the Orthodox Hierarches and Priests singing Memory Eternal to Nellie Gray (the foundress of the March for Life who passed away this past year).  I wish that I could embed it!

Home Again, Home Again...

  Ukrainian Wedding Bread (Korovai) given to us by a parishioner...  

it is excellent sliced thinly, toasted, and spread with butter!

 We're home!  We were fortunate to enjoy a long weekend away this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Our destination was our Nation's Capital, Washington D.C.  We went for the March for Life on Friday, Saturday was an excursion to Mount Vernon, and we were able to celebrate two big events on Sunday:  Metropolitan Tikhon's Enthronement at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral and a parishioner's wedding at Saint John the Baptist Cathedral!

There will be a lot of rest and recuperation after such a long weekend today (we call them Pajama Days here)!  The washing machine has been humming away since we woke up this morning, there is a fire in the grate, and the little ones are playing (mostly) happily with their toys.  We'll try to muster up the energy to work on our lessons this afternoon and pop out to the market to get a few essentials, but it should be a low key day for the most part!  I'll post pictures as soon as I sort them all out...  hopefully by this evening!

Writing!

 

I love the Lord.  The Lord is good.  I love the Lord.  I will see the Lord. 

 The Lord is the Son of God.  The Virgin Mary had the Lord.

Sugar Plum, Age 6

:::::

Father John was shoveling a little path from the church to the coffee hour room yesterday afternoon after a little snow fell in our area. When he came inside, Sugar Plum presented him with this little paragraph that she wrote all by herself!  Writing and reading have been a struggle for our little girl, and I am so happy that it is all finally clicking for her!

Broadcast of the March for Life...

The March for Life will be broadcast tomorrow, January 25th, on EWTN begining at 9:00 am EST.  You can view live streaming on the EWTN website if you don't have the channel on your television.  The Orthodox Church in America will have the largest number of Orthodox Heirarches in attendance in history.  In past years, the Metropolitan usually addresses the crowd at the rally.  It is exciting to see our beloved Metropolitan and bishops on television!

Yarn Along: Country Living...

My shawl is nearly finished!  I used up the two skeins of wool that I had and am waiting to find out if our yarn shop has one more in stock.  Hopefully they do and I can cast off this week.  I am looking forward to blocking so that the lace pattern is a bit more prominent! 

I have all of the yarn for my next project ready to go.  I am going to knit the Tiny Tea Leaves Cardigan for Sugar Plum in MadelineTosh Clematis.  I am nervous and excited all at the same time!  I'm not sure when I will begin.  I downloaded the pattern and Sugar Plum and I wound one hank into a ball today (a swift and ball winder are officially on my birthday wishlist!).  All that is left to do is to pop over to Monika's and get my needles!

We have one more Felicity book to finish (just in time for a little trip that we have planned this Saturday!).  I bought January's Country Living UK Edition this past week and just need to find a few moments to enjoy it.  Perhaps this afternoon with a cup of tea in front of the fire?

Better Than I Could Write...

I wanted to post all day today, but could think of nothing to say!  However, I read this at Like Mother, Like Daughter and thought it was excellent! 

A Nation Rises: The March for Life...

This year the March for Life is on Friday, January 25th!  I hope to see you there!

Reading...

Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places.”

Anne of Green Gables

L.M. Montgomery

Sanctity of Life Sunday 2013...

 Sanctity of Life Sunday is on January 27th 2013

To the Hierarchs, Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America
Dearly Beloved in the Lord:

As we make our way into the civil New Year, we continue to grieve over the tragic loss of the innocent lives at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Those directly affected by this most recent act of violence, as well as those who have suffered through the many other examples of inhuman brutality during the past year, undoubtedly will require a long period during which they can find healing for their broken hearts and answers to their questions concerning the providence of God and the goodness of humanity.

Our society is increasingly weary of the sting of death and human sin and wary of the proclamations of hope and life coming from religious circles. Young people, unconvinced by shallow theology and hypocritical sermonizing, are increasingly identifying themselves as unbelievers, atheists, questioners or simply confused. People of all ages are losing faith or becoming critical of it, in part because they do not seem to find a satisfactory Christian response to tragedies such as the Newtown and Aurora massacres.

As Orthodox Christians, we too dwell under the shadow cast by every assault on the sanctity of human life, whether it be against the unborn, the infirm, the terminally ill, the condemned, or innocent school children. We, too, wrestle with the same questions with which society wrestles, since every one of us faces the same reality of death. But unlike those who have no hope, we know that, just when death seems to have gained the victory, life blossoms forth, as seen most clearly in Christ’s arising from the tomb on the third day.

The same paschal confirmation of death being swallowed up by life is revealed in our most recent celebration of the feasts of the Nativity and Theophany of Christ. The months of December and January are the richest in commemorations of some of the most venerable saints of the Church: Prophets and Ancestors who pave the way for the birth of the Savior and Hierarchs, Confessors and Monastics who shine with the glory that was revealed at His baptism. But no less proclaimers of His glory and His life are the martyrs, including those little ones who suffered incomprehensibly—the Holy Innocents.

We proclaim, as Orthodox Christians, that all life is a participation in and reflection of the One Who is Life Itself. And we do so, even in the midst of the insanity of this world, knowing that human passions and human sin may cause destruction in our communities. But Christ Himself, by His example of voluntary suffering, reminds us that we have our part to play in proclaiming life. If we are to transform the collective heart and mind of our society, we must begin by transforming our own hearts and minds.

Heeding the Gospel, let us remain faithful to the vision of human life as a sacred gift, recommitting ourselves to defending the lives “of all mankind,” as we pray at every Divine Liturgy. And let us commit ourselves to bearing witness to the life of Christ in all we do, say and think, so that even in small ways, we might proclaim the glory of the Kingdom not yet fully revealed, but already fully present in our midst.

Sincerely yours in Christ, 
+TIKHON
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada 

Snow Cream...

Snow Day!

It snowed just the teensiest bit last night!  This morning we were outside before we had even changed out of our pajamas!    

Christmas Tea...

Years ago, when we were newlyweds, I found Twining's Christmas Tea in the market near our little apartment.  We enjoyed it so much and looked forward to buying more when Christmas rolled around again.  Unfortunately, I never found it in any other grocery store I went to.  This year, I idly checked the Twining's website on December 26th.  There it was!  On sale!  Hooray!  Now we have boxes and boxes (and boxes!) of tea tucked into our cupboard ready to enjoy on these chilly days of winter!

Yarn Along: The Constant Princess...

I finished the Honey Cowl for my sister the other night (just in time for her birthday!) and so I am working exclusively on my Edith Shawl now...  I would like to give it as a gift to a friend who is getting married on January 27th.  I have about 50 more inches to go, so I have my work cut out for me! 

I am reading a lot right now:  The Constant Princess (which is feeding my interest in King Henry the 8th and his wives), Drawn from New England:  Tasha Tudor, a Portrait in Words and Pictures, Ramona and Her Father, and The Felicity Story Collection (we're about to start the third book in the series).

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries...

A friend reminded me of these little videos...  Enjoy!

Reading...

Why do women want to dress like men when they’re fortunate enough to be women? Why lose femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get more accomplished by being charming than we would be flaunting around in pants and smoking. I’m very fond of men. I think they are wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don’t want to look like one. When women gave up their long skirts, they made a grave error…” 

The Private World of Tasha Tudor

 Tasha Tudor and Richard Brown

The Blessing of the Atlantic...

Waiting for the Blessing to begin

The police presence

One of the two doves released by Metropolitan Evangelos

The boys going after their cross

The girls going after their cross

Metropolitan Evangelos giving the winners of the Cross Dive an Icon

Metropolitan Evangelos with the Police Horse