Friday, November 14, 2014

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


 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:
Inline images 1
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.

6 comments:

Nancy said...

I empathize with the struggle in building a life in a new location. I struggled with that for years (still do, but less than before) since leaving our dear Ottawa parish. I enjoyed the article on loneliness, it's good advice. I'm also early for Nativity prep, I bought my lights tonight. God is truly with us, even if we sometimes forget.

Anonymous said...

My goodness, you *have* been baking. It's a blessing that it is soothing to your nerves to do this creative and homey activity that provides for your meals, too!

Lisa said...

Oh, your bread looks so good - you have much to keep you busy.

elizabeth said...

Nancy, thanks so much. Yes, it takes minimum 3 years to rebuild community in a new place. Add to that the fact that NJ is a big state made of lots of small towns, that my main church is 1 hour 15 miles away and I can't drive to it yet on the crazy highway (more practice needed). Our other church is on town but we are not there much and the in town one is on the new calendar and our main church is on the old (as we are at home) so lots of liturgical disconnect and fasting times difference etc. With all of that, plus mono in my first year of marriage, and the fact that everyone works and has busy lives here, it's taking a bit longer. But I am seeking to focus on contentment and thankfulness and that can lead to being more in a pool of sunshine than in rain (the actual sunshine outside has helped too admittedly!). And I am slowly meeting people, it just takes time and effort...

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

That's a super tree, and I am in absolute awe of Mr Husband's ability to work out the calculation about the lights! :-O

Nancy said...

Agreed, maybe Elizabeth can loan out Mr. Husband to help those of us struggling to figure out how to hang lights. Elizabeth, how is he for outside work? ☺