Hair, Birds, Baby, and Seeds...Spring Must Be Afoot!

Thank you to all who have given love, concern, and prayer during Kat's illness, she is on the mend and I am certain it is nothing short of your care that she did not get as bad as it was looking there for awhile. She has recovered to nearly her old self again and is looking forward to her first haircut since spring, which will be around lunchtime today. I have explained to her that, since she has such thick hair, she is not able to have a simple, blunt bob like many of her friends, much to her chagrin, but she is content to know that whatever she chooses, she just has to have it layered. She thinks she will go with a short, layered, a-line bob. Sounds like a lot for an eight year, but she has more hair than I have ever encountered in a child! Her hair isn't coarse, just fine, like mine, and tons of it, like her dad! Anyway, I hope to take pictures while we are there and maybe I can share.

We went out and about to the thrift stores yesterday to find some deals and were rather successful. I was hoping to find more that could be used as a gardening tub, or makeshift sort of thing, but we did well in other ways. Jay found some things for the cold weather, including some Smart Wool socks for .50 cents a pair. I found a couple shirts and Kat found herself a Pascha dress! It is her size, with a full skirt, white with really pretty polka dots, and it fit! She will have to wear a shirt underneath because its neckline is a bit plunging (especially for a kids dress), but she has a narrow frame, so things don't fit like they were intended. She loves it and so do we, which is what matters, plus it was $4!! Score!

I can't believe it is cheesefare week again...already! Well, in our house, since cheese and all dairy is always out, it is just eggs, eggs, and more eggs, which is fine by us, we love eggs! I have promised Katherine crepes/blini all week long, since the next eggs we have will be after the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Pascha, in the wee hours of the morning, when we receive our dyed red, blessed eggs from Fr Boris at the veneration of the Cross! Phew! That is a mouthful and so we eat eggs this week...and some fish. This sunday will be Forgiveness Sunday, which I always love, but I anticipate little, compared to usual, the impending lenten cycle. I always love it, don't get me wrong, but things are so different this year, it is hard for me to wrap my head around it all. I have been taking a little girl to her daycare on weekdays, will be attending the birth of our friends newest addition, trying to read a lot more, work on projects, etc. My focus is so shifted that I am trying to keep myself grounded and looking to the reality of things, while firmly realizing just how contrasting this year's reflection is finding me.

I am anticipating things greatly, but until our friends baby is born, I am suspended in a purpose outside of myself. I hope to be prepared and readily available when the hour comes. My excitement is beyond me, to the point of surrealism. It is almost disbelief that it can be happening, and that it was only yesterday she told me they were pregnant, but that was ages ago, in reality! I look at the ironing board that houses the partially finished diaper bag I am making for them out of an old wool sweater from Goodwill, that I have felted down and cut into shape. I hope the end product is lovely, but I am sure she will be happy with whatever. For them, I pray for good weather, low-traffic times to get to the birth center, good health day for her husband (he has similar symptoms as Jay many days), and the most perfect midwife in attendance, someone who really puts them at ease.

On a completely different note, there have been tons and tons of Robin Red-Breast birds around this winter. I have seen trees filled to the brim with more birds than I have seen in one place in my life. I have noticed that every year around here there seems to be an influx of a certain creature, be it snakes, caterpillars, in this case, birds. I marvel at the perfection in it all, as I am sure there is great purpose in it.

We ordered some seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds yesterday and I can hardly wait to start them! I think I have mentioned before that we like to start seeds during the first week of great lent each year, when we can get it together. We are gathering supplies and things appear to be on course. Among the seeds, we have chosen dragon tongue 'green' beans, two carrot varieties, wild strawberries, purple Russian tomatoes, dwarf pak choy, various herbs, lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, radishes, and nasturtiums! Where will be put it all, you may ask!?!? Well, we are devising ways to grow without taking up too much space, among which, we found an upside down tomato hanger at the thrift store for $2, and we are always on the lookout. We are trying to maximize our space to yield the best production. We will also be giving some of the seedlings away, since I love to watch things sprout and grow, but my heart of greens is bigger than my own garden! I am particularly looking forward to what we get from the beans and tarragon this year.

Well, I think that is all for now, but I will be back again soon, Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, as a friend says. :)

Church and My Punky Princess

Tomorrow is meat fare sunday, also known as Maslenitsa in the Russian community. There is meat galore, as it is the last day before Christ's Resurrection that the faithful will partake of meat. There will also be blini in abundance, as it also begins the Butter Week, or Cheesefare, since everything besides meat is allowed for one more week, until we arrive at Forgiveness Sunday, the day before Great Lent officially begins, which is always on a monday. I have been asked to make some gf/df blini for the merrymaking tomorrow afternoon, but I don't know how much I will get done with my girl being sick. When I am finished writing this up, I will go mix up a batch to sit, so by the time I get to cooking them up, Jay will be out of bed and with the land of the living and I won't be on call for Kat.

The poor girl started out thursday morning not being able to get warm so she had a bath and, by the time I returned from a couple errands, she was flushed with fever. I dosed her with elderberry syrup, vitamin C, garlic, and echinacea/astragalus kids blend and by that evening her fever had nearly vanished. She had an epsom salt bath, with a little bit of oil (to keep her skin soft) and lavender added, to promote relaxation, but is also anti-bacterial and anti-viral. My biggest concern was whether she would sleep the night, or if she would get sick then. She had eaten breakfast that morning, but not nearly as much as usual, but then nothing else the rest of the day. Night is usually when it is the worst, who knows exactly why, but she always has hard nights, it seems. She did have a moment where it threatened to get icky, but nothing came of it and she slept the whole night without much trouble. She spent most of yesterday laid up, watching movies and sleeping, while sipping water, bit by bit. She was doing pretty well and asked for her tummy tea and then thought she might be ready for some yogurt, which she stomached fine, but that was it for the day. Her body is fighting hard on this virus. She says her legs are sore, she's tired and completely without appetite, but is more worn out than sleepy tired, however, she has just fallen asleep again, after waking at 5 a.m.

All in all, Glory to God for all things! It is a jumbled weekend, but I am grateful for all of our resources, friends, and my little family. Jay is really helpful when it comes to his girls needing him, so I count my blessing, of which are more than I have fingers; let's hope I never forget it! I think that is all I have for now, especially since the computer already froze up on my once while trying to post this. A blessed meat fare to all!

While She Was Out Playing, I Was Inside Creating!

After we slept in, had homemade cocoa, she was out in it again!



Nearly up to her hips in some of the drifts! WOW!



I love this flop in the snow :)



While she was out in the snow, I was putting on my veggie end pieces from the freezer to make stock :)



I got the idea from a friend to save the pieces from the veggies I chop for other meals in the freezer to make stock in the future. It makes perfect sense, if you think about it, especially when you have to imagine that broth/stock companies don't likely use the very best pieces of veggies and such when making theirs. Not to mention that I paid just as much for the tips and tops of my veggies as I did for the central parts, so why not save them and use them again. Some of this is even made from $1 bags that were on quick sale at the natural grocery store because they were needing to get used.



I need to get better about making the broth/stock as soon as the bag gets full, because I have enough for 2 large stock pots FULL, so my system needs a little tweaking, but I will get there, I think. In this batch of stock, it is made from kale, cabbage, celery, onion, carrot, and fennel. Mmmm, good stuff! Just think of all the possibilities!

Not Quite 24 Hours From Its Beginning, We Ventured Into the Tundra

Getting ready for a walk in the snow with the family and dogs.



Kat loves the snow!



Neat snow drifts on the rooftops nearby.



Kat, Buttercup, and me walking along together.



After Kat got some more time to play in the snow, we warmed up inside with nice split pea soup, which was just what we all needed!

A Cocoa Kinda Day

Kat's cup of cocoa, made from chocolate sauce from scratch by her papa, So Delicious coconut milk, and all natural marshmallows!



We had a pajama day, since it is snowing regularly outside, without a sign of stopping :)



Mmmm, cocoa first thing after morning prayers...NOM, NOM, NOM!

Such a Life

I suppose that purposeful morphing is somewhat better than sporadic changes, but I am such a person of such long periods of living in a decidedly internal dimension, that I find myself emerging without having known I entered. It is somewhat odd, I think, to be submerged into oneself in such a way, even when you are certain that the same aspect of you is still you, however distorted. It is an interesting life, that is absolutely certain!

I look around and see how constant so many other people are, how they appear to stick to themselves in ways I have not known. I cannot say for sure whether that is a good thing, I have simply made the observation. In one way, being a more seemingly steady person in this world shows a stability that is highly desired, in some cases. What gets me is how I know the constant current that runs through my heart that calls for the ebb and flow of the envelopment of transformation on whatever level it is needed. What is not seen in me is the perpetual and vibrant life song that courses through my being, though I am changeable to this world.

As I have said, I cannot say whether it is good, but I am sure that it is perfectly suited to me and my journey in this life. I am assuredly blessed beyond words and imaginations, therefore my gratitude grows in the maturation of such times of contemplation and self-discovery. What mercy I have been given, what blessings are abundant, what life that God has given me. It is a blessing to see the wonderment and magnificence. Glory to God for all things.

Eine Kleine Beethoven

These past few days I have been listening to the classical music station on the radio, which I have always liked. It is particularly hitting the spot lately. I was sewing on the cloak project for our reader at church yesterday, while listening to the sounds wafting from the airwaves and found myself so peacefully contented. The whole house seemed to harmonize with the beauty of the music. It wasn't anything particular, but it was surely lovely. I am listening to it right now and am moved to write its current influence in our lives, but that is about it, I just wanted to share. This moments' selection is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in C#, for piano, and I love it.