This day was a mix of cool and cloudy, then sunny and relatively warm. In the evening, the clouds returned and it became cooler by the time we had the Vesper service.Following Vespers, we had a Pannikhida for a Romanian family. They brought two beautifully woven breads (kolach) and a koliva which was made of ground wheat and nuts, also topped with chocolate coated peanuts and the surrounding wall was of pecans; quite delicious. All this was accompanied by a large bottle of red wine which has been taken into the altar for use during the Divine Liturgy.There were a number of visitors to the monastery today: a large man whom I have never seen before, wanted to light candles and pray in the big church. Then we had the Romanian family who came specifically for the memorial service and Masha Grountseva who is preparing for her marriage in only a short time, to a really interesting man from New York. Any way, Masha stayed for tea after Vespers and told a bit about her future plans but she then had to depart because the family is living in Richmond which is quite a long drive from the monastery. Father Markel, Dima, Ludmila and I continued with tea and a variety of snacks until it was time to bid farewell to one another and take our evening rest in preparation for the long day on Sunday.
