What a scorchingly hot day today was at the monastery. Today I was especially thankful for the new heat vent which has been installed on my roof for the expelling of excess heat from the attic; I can’t imagine hot hot the attic must be.
The usual prayers were read at the start of the day and then there was time for working on completing the icon of St Dmitri, by doing the varnishing. This requires a lot of patience and time because the ink for the lettering on the icon sometimes bleeds, depending on the type of varnish that is used. With tiny, thin brushes, the varnish must be applied all around the letters and once these are dry, then varnish can be carefully placed on the actual letters by softly tapping the brush onto the letters. After this has been completed and fully dried, then the entire surface of the icon can be brushed with the varnish and set out to dry.
In the afternoon, lunch consisted of buckwheat kasha which was put into the microwave after it had been mixed with mixed vegetables and Danish blue cheese. This was followed by a Rye Crisp with hummous and all washed down with a large glass of iced tea and an orange for dessert. Nice lunch and a wonderful way to cool off in this incredible heat.