Daily Diary

 A young man dropped by this morning, asking if could chop some wood for us to which we readily agreed, although he soon had to leave because of a large tree being cut down in that vicinity and it would have been dangerous for him to remain there.  Naina tends to the perpetual burning lights […]

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 I had a terrible shock early this morning when I heard a loud dull sound, like something crashing and, as I leapt out of bed as quickly as possible, considering my physical condition, I feared the worst, that Vladika Lazar had fallen and perhaps upset a piece of furniture and possibly injured himself.  My mind […]

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The tree cutter continues his work, even in the heavy rain. The snow and heavy winds did not develop, for which we are grateful.  I was pleased to see that Vladika Lazar is progressing in his therapy, lifting 70 pound weights, whereas he could only do 40 pounds earlier.  As well he is walking more […]

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The day seemed to be uneventful until Vladika Lazar glanced at the calendar and suddenly realized that he had a doctor’s appointment and we had only thirty minutes to get ready and to drive into town.  But, we made it, with even a couple of minutes to spare [and no speeding on the road]. The […]

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The first day of 2019 has come and gone, meanwhile, we are not fully recovered after last night’s Moleben for the new year which was celebrated in tranquility and deep serenity.  I did not get to bed until about 4:30 in the morning and, in about an hour and a half, I was attacked by […]

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This last day of 2018 was ideal, warm by winter standards, enough sun and many thoughts about the entire past year.  In a few minutes we will be going to the new church to celebrate the new civil year, remembering, meanwhile, that the Church’s new year begins in September.  It has been a good year, […]

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 It has been another nice day with the weather nice, warm enough, and the sun coming out in the afternoon.  What more can one ask for?  Misha is still not feeling well, so Andy started a fire in the hall, just enough to keep us comfortable for the Agape meal.  The Liturgy was combined with […]

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 Once again Andy was feeding branches into the wood chipper which made a lot of noise, although it was a welcome sound, since there is a little mountain of these branches gathered from the previous storms, waiting to be turned into mulch.  Some sympathetic Roman Catholics came for Vespers and they seem to have appreciated […]

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 Our first visitor this morning told us of the snow that had begun to fall not far from us.  I did not want to hear that, but when the snow reached us, it was mixed with rain and, in a while, there was no snow at all.  I had more than enough of my share […]

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 The first visitors arrived before noon, our friends from Washington, whom we have not seen for many years.  Such reunions are joyful as we can renew our relationship.  They spent most of the time with Vladika Lazar, as I was engaged with other visitors.  Davey brought along a tree cutter who had done work for […]

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I was awakened early when an acquaintance phoned to say that he would like to drop in for a few minutes, so I had to hurry to receive him.  Indeed, it was a short, but pleasant, visit.  I photographed a number of flowers that were still thriving, before they succumb to winter’s cold, and I […]

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 As much as I would have liked to sleep a little longer this morning, I could not, for we had to get ready for a baptism.  Father Shio and Subdeacon Andrey were present to help us and, after greeting the baptismal group and explaining the the procedure to all of them, we went to the […]

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 My monthly trip to the chiropractor this morning might be the last one, as I am not certain that the spinal decompression is needed.  If it is, I can always return for more treatments.  This is Christmas Eve for the heterodox including those Orthodox Christians who follow the papal calendar.  I can scarcely wait until […]

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 Winter solstice has come and gone, the days be coming longer each day, although it is yet too soon to notice any change, still, knowing that we are on an upswing, so to speak, makes us feel better.  The Divine Liturgy, at least in my opinion, was served well with the greater part of the […]

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We had the coolest day temperature today at about 3 degrees Celsius, but it really did not feel that cold.  In fact, we were promised some snow which did not appear, yet sooner or later we will have a snow storm.  For the first time since last winter, I had to turn on the heater […]

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 The night was spent in almost total darkness, with only a little lamp giving off a tiny bit of light.  Morning came and there was still no power, so we drove to town, mainly to have something hot to drink and a smidgen of food to eat.  It was interesting to watch how carefully all […]

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 Today’s entry is being written on Friday, 21 December, because it was impossible to get it ready yesterday.  We had our first [and let us hope the last] Pineapple Express of the season.  This occurs when there is a powerful disturbance in the southern areas of the Pacific and hurricane strength winds come rushing toward […]

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 Memory of our Holy Wonderworker Nicholas remains as strong as ever, and especially on this day when we celebrate his remarkable life and what he has handed down to us over the centuries.  We were unable to have a Divine Liturgy served today, although people did come to pray and light candles in the church. […]

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 What can I say about today’s weather? We had intermittent sun, clouds, drizzles, heavy rain, light winds and much more, but fortunately no snow.  Actually, we were wondering if there would be enough water in the stream for the Theophany blessing and immersion that so many look forward to.  That is more than a month […]

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 As I had mentioned previously, Father Moses does not celebrate his birthday, only his name day, in the traditional Orthodox Christian manner but this year it has been different.  Last night a small non birthday supper was served, while today a number of people came, again to prepare  a large supper for him which he […]

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We were told that the installation of new windows in the hall has made a great difference in the retention of heat.  A small fire was started in the stove and even in later afternoon, there was still no chill in the large space.  Thinking back on past years, the cold seeped right through the […]

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 This day began and ended on a bright note.  After a stormy night, we were prepared for a pleasant event in the morning, the baptism of seven month old Diomid who was cheerful throughout the service, except for being startled by the triple immersion in the baptismal water. His sister Elena was baptized here two […]

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  A strong wind has arisen and there is a possibility of a storm, so I hope that we do not lose our power once again, although the lights did blink a couple of times.  This is becoming a nuisance but there is little that we can do about it.  There has been a good […]

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It has been a repetition of yesterday, only today we spent much more time at the hospital. I will not complain because all these procedures are necessary. In between appointments we had lunch at the hospital coffee shop where the woman in charge has always been kind to us.  While sitting and waiting, there were […]

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 Even though it was drizzling, we greeted today with joy, after last night’s experience without power. Much of the day was spent on appointments at the hospital, the Wound Clinic and therapy. I am glad to say that Vladika Lazar’s infection has greatly improved.  While he was being examined, I found time to visit my […]

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 Some of you have wondered what happened to Tuesday’s entry and I shall explain. The day began as usual, with another trip to the hospital for another antibiotic procedure, then back to the monastery to finish the calendar and to tidy up several other minor matters.  All went well until about six o’clock when we […]

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 I dropped Vladika Lazar off at the Emergency Room at the Mission Hospital, not that there was any emergency, but that was where he had to go for another antibiotic procedure.  Meanwhile, I drove up and down, around and around, looking for a place to park. Finally I found a spot behind the hospital and […]

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 A steady drizzle of rain the entire day did not keep the people away, although Vladika Lazar was absent because of his injured foot.  It was touching to have two babies, Roman who was baptized last week and Sergey, baptized yesterday, held by their parents at the front of the church as people came up […]

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We were prepared for snow and other forms of bad weather but nothing materialized.  Andy started a fire in the stove in the hall, also the old church was warmed up for the baptism that was to take place.  Soon, the guests arrived and we baptized little Sergey who was joyful throughout the ceremony although […]

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 We have been warned that there might be some snow overnight and, worse still, freezing rain tomorrow.  What else can we expect, after all, it is winter.  It has taken almost a year to cut up the trees and branches that were knocked down by the last freezing rain storm we had and only this […]

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I had hoped to go to bed early last night for a good night’s rest but, as usual, I retired late.  Since I am a light sleeper, I could hear Vladika Lazar getting out of his bed and walking to the bathroom.  Suddenly there was a cry for help from him and I arose as […]

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The wind blew heavily throughout the night causing the outdoor chimes to ring out clearly and sharply. There seemed to be nothing to indicate that we would have a repeat performance of yesterday’s power failure.  I scarcely stepped out of bed this morning when we once again lost our power. At least it was after […]

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  On this day’s feast of The Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple we had a quiet  and simple celebration in which Vladika Lazar not only served the Liturgy, but even the proskomedia which he has not done in over fourteen months, another major victory.  It was cold in the church, as no heat […]

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 It was of no purpose to think about a quiet and peaceful morning, as we had to drive into town where, after dealing with some necessary tasks, I wanted to quickly drop into a newly opened store for some purchases of groceries and dry goods.  It was difficult to resist the bargains, as many of […]

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  I was not anxious to see what more damage the ravens might have made, but it was something that had to be examined.  They seemed not to have done much more mischief, yet they might be back to do more. Alas, no one has offered any advice on how to get rid of them.  […]

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  This first day of December has not been typical for this time of the year, with a warm sun beaming down upon us, and nature all about us so fresh and energizing.  I mentioned the other day that a raven was tapping at the church door while we were filming and I felt that […]

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  Once a week the Mission Community Services sends a woman to help in cleaning up our quarters and this is of great help.  Today, however, for the second week in a row, the vacuum cleaner refused to be obedient and so the carpets could not be dealt with.  To avoid further problems we bought […]

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 Today’s pleasant weather brought us plenty of energy and optimism and thus, we were able to accomplish things that had been neglected for a while.  Readers of this diary are probably tired of reading about the last of the flowers in the garden, and I shall try to refrain from writing more about them.  Just […]

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Today is the first day of the Nativity Fast, also known as Phillip’s Fast, and it is a time when we have to consider our priorities because everywhere we go, there is commercial Christmas music blaring and we suddenly feel trapped in this commercial holiday, almost unable to break free.  This season is filled with […]

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  I drove Vladika Lazar to Mission to pick up some toner that was needed for the photo copier and, what was most remarkable, was that he walked, with the aid of two canes, for a great distance in the shopping centre. That was encouraging progress.  We were visited by our dear old friends from […]

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To avoid two trips into town, both Vladika and I first went to my chiropractor for my monthly spinal decompression after which  Vladika had his therapy session, not of course, at the chiropractic clinic.  It had been raining fairly heavily all day and we got quite wet merely going from the vehicle to the buildings.  […]

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We had a bit of a struggle with the Slavonic Matins because some of the readers were absent and, when the Liturgy began there was scarcely a soul around.  How saddening it was, I thought, but then the main door kept opening with more and more people entering to fill the church. Saint John of […]

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It must have been at least three o’clock in the morning before I could fall asleep and there was nothing to explain this unusual situation.  Today, however, I was told that many people have difficulty falling asleep when there is a full moon. Whether or not that is true, I shall sleep soundly tonight, as […]

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VLADIKA VARLAAM’S DAILY DIARY With the new heading, it will be obvious to everyone that these entries are written by me, not by someone else, as it has been confusing for many people, wondering who exactly has written them, especially when noted that they are posted by Vladika Lazar.  Now that you are aware of […]

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Although I stepped outdoors only once today, it has been busy with many people coming and going.  Andy took Vladika Lazar to Abbotsford where he bought a new video camera and, since today was the beginning of Black Friday, he got an excellent discount.  Andy later dropped in a couple of times to do various […]

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As I mentioned yesterday, rain began this morning, but at least it has showered more than steady or heavy rain and, as someone said,”It is November, after all.” The daily temperatures for this week are from seven to eleven degrees Celsius, while many parts of Canada are under snow with temperatures of thirty degrees below […]

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  Father Moses accompanied me for my appointment with the specialist where we waited for at least forty five minutes before being called into his office. This is quite normal for him, as he is overloaded with patients, but an excellent specialist.  He acknowledged that I am still alive and should be for some time, […]

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 Many, many thanks to all of you who phoned to congratulate me on my nameday today.  I was touched by your sincere good wishes.  Our monastery has tried for decades to wean people off the practice of celebrating their birthdays and instead concentrating on their namedays, but I feel that it is a lost cause.  […]

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A few people thought that we would have had a fire in the wood burning stove in the hall, as it was chilly early this morning, but I have not allowed it yet, because it would have been unbearably hot by the time we came for the Agapi dinner. Perhaps we shall start using the […]

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Where has this week gone? It seems that it just began and already we are entering into a new week. Some men arrived early in the morning to continue reorganizing the workshop, which will no longer be a storage area but a place where one can actually work. Some women came to clean the church, […]

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