Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A Few Weeks in Pictures

I haven't been up to my usual schedule for the past few months so I've just been trying to take things slowly.

 There is always time for reading. I like many different types of books.

Always too many books to try and read. I do love to read but can't keep up to what I'd like to read!
...and for a good cup of java or two.


I started practicing knitting on smaller needles. I was making good progress on this baby sweater for my great nephew/niece who will be born in June.  Then I noticed a dropped stitch and had to do some "frogging" (rip it, rip it). Some day I will learn to pick up dropped stitches rather than rip everything out but for now I find the frogging too finicky.  I'll need to learn this helpful skill before I ever start on a  much larger project!


The national taxes are due at the end of the month and I've prepared 4 sets of taxes as a favour to a friend and family members.  I do them on line each year so it is much faster.  But tax preparation is really not my favourite thing. At least none of us owed any more taxes. That is something.

I've still gots lots of paperwork to sort and sift through and action before the month of April is over. This time of year is always a busy time.

We've had to suffer through a lot of inclement weather. But now and then we get some sun and it (almost) makes us forget.

I'm finding the inclement weather a bit tiresome and I long for more sunny days. Over a two day period last week, the city got almost half of it's normal monthly rain fall for the month of April.

Easter weekend was very pleasant at my home with some work done in the patio garden to clear debris, purchase of a new (rectangular) patio table that has yet to be put together, vacuuming and rearranging in the dining area and a nice Easter dinner with family. I wish all weekends were as productive and relaxing.

Whether it is unpleasant or not, sometimes you just have to do errands. The time for running errands is also a time to get a bit of walking exercise in.  If I have time, I like to stop at a coffee shop and read a good book or read the (provided) newspapers.

We have so many great coffee shops here in the city and I try a different one each time.  The cafe in the photo below is popular with students and meet up groups.  I think because it has a big room at the back with plenty of plenty of large tables and chairs and is open all night long. At least it used to be open 24/7.  I'm not sure if it still is.


My favourite time of year is when the sakuru (cherry) blossoms come out. I totally missed it this year. There was just too much rain for me to go gallivanting around looking for cherry blossoms. They didn't even come out that well in some neighbourhoods like mine. I think it was just a little too cold and the rain would have made it less enjoyable for me. I love to gaze at the sakuru blossoms when the sun is shining, the sky is blue and all feels at peace in the world.

Now we are nearing the end of April and we have these pretty pink blossoms (in the photos below). I'm not sure if they are plum or apple blossoms but they sure are pretty and I snapped these photos today. The deep pink tones are lovely, aren't they?

You can see the big garbage bins for collection and the blue recycle bins for paper.


As you can see, the sky is nice and blue.  I'm not getting overly excited because we are back to 80% chance of rain on Thursday.  When I look at the forecast for the week ahead it looks like there will be mixed sunny and cloudy skies. I'm excited about that!



I hope your Spring is a good one wherever you are.


9 comments:

Terra said...

Those pink blossoms sing of spring to me. You have a nice routine of trying new coffee shops.

Jo said...

Oh Penny, the trees in blossom are beautiful ! I never knew that the word for trying to pick up a dropped stitch in knitting, is "frogging"! Thanks. BTW I never manage to pull/pick up a stitch either and always end up ripping it right down to the offending area! Hope your day is going well. Blessings. Jo xxx

Joyful said...

Hi dear Jo, yes, the blossoms truly are beautiful. I'm sorry about the confusion with the knitting terminology. It is called "frogging" when you rip out stitches not when you try to pick them up. My day went well though tiring. I'm off to lala land now. Have a wonderful day. xx

Joanne Noragon said...

Your trees in bloom are quite a delight.Our residential streets of maple are budding pink; they haven't gone to green blush yet.
I bought a new patio table and chairs last year. Took two men all day to put it all together!

Joyful said...

Oh I do love maple trees too. So colourful!

Ceil said...

Hi Joyful! I love those pink blossoms! We are not very sunny here either, there is a chance of rain today as well. My little hyacinths came up, and look beautiful! The jonquils are just popping open now. At least I know that warmer days will come soon.
Hope it's not raining on you today! I love those coffee shops too...they smell so good :)
Ceil

Unknown said...

Our spring has been pretty cold. I guess I am thankful that the snow has stopped falling.

Joy said...

The cherry blossom is gorgeous Joyful, thank you for your lovely pics. You are having a busy time what with one thing and another, but all good. I do hope you have some nice sunny weather soon to brighten things up a bit! Joy x

Denise said...

Thanks for sharing.

It Was a Spectacular Day! ~ Skywatch

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, It was a spectacular, sunny day where I live. It's still rather chilly from my point of view but the ...