Today has proved to be a glorious day, at least as far as the weather is concerned. It has been sunny, though a bit cold and a slight breeze has been noticed.
One of my friends just sent an email warning about a new problem that has appeared in the state of Washington, near the Canadian border. It is a large Asian wasp which is about 2 inches in length and can harm a human, though their usual target is honey bee hives. It isn’t known how these wasps came to Washington state but it’s believed that they came in cargo containers. Gosh, first we had “killer bees” to look out for and now we have “killer wasps” to be aware of. I only mention this because Blaine is nearby and it is good to be aware and careful, though these wasps are believed not to have come into Canada.
On a more pleasant note, after reading the Pannikhida, I turned on the computer and was searching for several sites dealing with iconography. The good news is that I found a site dealing with a school of iconography from a city in the Ural Mountains, called Nevyansk, which is what the school of iconography is also called. Oh, yes, the good news is that these icons require only 10 pigments so are an excellent example to follow. For many years the iconographers created their icons in secret so have many years of experience in creating some beautiful and rare icons. As a result of the need for secrecy, these icons are rare and highly valued in Russia and probably will be in the rest of the world, now that they are becoming known. The iconographers used bright and primary colours and fine brushes so also included tiny brush strokes on their icons. This has encouraged me to try imitating their methods, though using acrylic paints instead of tempera.
Last of all, Kirill and his good friend George, came to the monastery today and helped me with what is called a “wireless mouse”. Can you imagine, a wireless mouse. I’ll never understand how it works without being connected with a wire. They had me sit down at the computer and actually use the mouse and, yes, it works just fine.
With that bit of information passed on to you, let me close by again reminding all of you and myself that, “Christ is Risen!”