Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.  

Warmer days

Spring has come and Summer is approaching.  Linda says the temps in Florida are already in the 90s and humidity through the roof.  But days are growing longer for everyone.  How does it affect you?

1.  Daylight is getting longer... what do you do with the extra daylight?  Is it useful, productive or not?

I like the extra daylight because sun and light lift my mood from the dreary, dark days of winter. I'm not sure it makes me more productive but it makes it easier to see things indoors when doing handcrafts or cleaning corners of the house. Sometimes in fact, the light is too good when cleaning, lol.

2.  If you live where its more moderate do you spend more time outdoors?  If you live in the tropical climate does it keep you inside?  Does the extra day light cause more heat and more use of utilities for you?

I don't spend more time outdoors when it's lighter. I just enjoy the light inside with curtains and doors wide open until a chill fills the air.  Even though I live in the rainforest we've been having drought like conditions for years over the summer months. It can get super hot and since I don't do well in heat and don't have air conditioning, I remain indoors and keep movement to a minimum. I also have the fans going and lots of water on hand. The utilities usage balances out because I use more heating in winter and more fans in the summer.

 

3. How do you cool your home?  How do you cool yourself off in the heat of the day?

With fans, cold drinks and staying in the shade. If I go out most places are air conditioned. Sometimes it's even a bit too cold in such places so I usually have a wrap or a light jacket for covering. Often though I'm just relaxing at home. I know many people flock to the beaches and parks but I personally don't find it that comfortable especially because you have to carry everything you need with you. I'd rather be at home where everything is at hand including the washrooms which I don't have to share with the public. If I go to the park, I like to go to one that has refreshments nearby and lots of public restrooms.

4. Do you enjoy a good barbeque outside in the warmer months or do you cook outside and eat inside?  What foods do you enjoy on the barbeque?    If you don't barbeque, what foods  and drinks do you enjoy in the warmer months?

I used to enjoy a good barbeque outside but haven't done that for many years.  I enjoy simple foods like green salads and potato and egg salad, cold cuts or cold chicken, the occasional smokies, corn on the cob and lots of fresh fruits like watermelon.  I enjoy a sweeter drink but can't indulge in them too much due to the high sugar content. I do not enjoy stevia sweetened products or artificially sweetened items. That means I drink a lot of cold water. I will sometimes steep some tea leaves in the cold water overnight. I like the taste without sweetener but I sometimes add freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Skywatch Friday ~ May 16, 2025

Hello everyone,

After some sunny but not yet quite hot weather, we are now getting more spring showers. You know the old saying?  April showers, brings May flowers. But it feels much colder than usual at this time of year and though I know there are flowers elsewhere, mine aren't yet at that stage.

Anyway, I take the rain as it comes. I don't mind it as long it isn't raining heavily for weeks on end as it can sometimes do.  We west coasters get out and about no matter the weather.  Today I had to get out for a walk and do some errands.  I don't carry an umbrella anymore and since it was more than drizzling, I stopped to buy a plastic rain poncho at the dollar store.

After running errands I stopped for a Japanese Bento Box of Chicken Teriyaki and tea to warm up.  It was delicious.  

Once I got home, I finished crocheting a set of dishcloths. This is the first time I've made this pattern and actually the first time I've made a crocheted dishcloth. Normally I make a simple knitted version.  I picked the pattern from a YouTube video. The pattern is called Berry Pattern.

I hope you are enjoying the weather and the skies where ever you are. Thanks for stopping by my post for this week's Skywatch Friday.

Staying Put ~ Moving On: Tuesday 4

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.  

Sometimes we live in the sameplace where we were born and remain there all of our lives.

Sometimes we move away and never come back because of jobs, marriage, circumstances of all kinds.

Sometimes we choose where we will live and we have definite reasons for staying there even though we might be far from family.

1. Are you far from family and if so why? Would you like to have them closer and have you discussed that with them?

When you say 'family' I assume you mean immediate family. I have some of my immediate family near me and some far away.  I haven't discussed being closer with the far away family members. They have their reasons for living where they live and I have mine. In fact they have their own family members too and are rooted in their various locations.

2. How did you come to live in the state you are in? How about the city/town.

I was born in the Province of British Columbia (BC).  A province is similar to a state.  My birthplace is and where I grew up is about 1200 km north of Vancouver, BC which is where I live now. I first moved here for university and then work.  I have lived and worked in other parts of Canada but have been in Vancouver the longest of any other place I've lived so it is my home.

Signage at Mile "0" of the Alaska Highway

3. What good things keep you living where you are?

What's good about your state and town?

Now that I am retired I remain in my city because it provides the best access to health care and there are many things one can do here to stay active and entertained.  I consider myself fortunate in that I've had no issues accessing the health services of a family doctor or various specialists.  This is a major problem for so many others, especially those that live outside of the Greater Vancouver area.  Sometimes I've considered moving to a quieter city which is marginally less expensive to live in.  It's the place where several of my immediate family members grew up and where several of my loved ones are laid to rest.  The key impediment is lack of access to a family doctor.  In fact, the issue was highlighted on the news just the other day.

A walk in Stanley Park

False Creek view to downtown

Granville Island

Granville Island Aqua Bus

So I stay put to access health services and all the other wonderful things in my city.  It's a terribly expensive city but it is in a very beautiful, scenic setting.  There are so many cultural activities, festivals and concerts to take in.  If you are a sporty person there are also a plethora of sporting activities to enjoy such as running, hiking, walking, skiing and other sports.  Vancouver is a very walkable city and has a variety of malls and neighbourhood shops where one can enjoy a variety of foods and shopping.  One of my favourite activities when I have a bit more time is to take a walk in a particular neighbourhood, have coffee or lunch and take photos whether it's raining or sunny.

View to downtown Vancouver from Spanish Banks

Lights of Hope fundraiser for the St. Paul's Hospital

Trout Lake for the Aboriginal Day festival

I also love the province because by and large, the scenery is spectacular wherever you travel througout the province.

Going north on the Coquihalla Highway

Kits flying in Steveston's Garry Point Park

4. What things might convince you to move to another state or just another town?

Better access to health services. 

Downtown Hospital, a new one is being built 

Right now the provincial government is streamlining the process for health workers in USA who want to move to Canada and, in particular, to the province of British Columbia (BC). The government and relevant authorities have dramatically reduced the wait times for credentialing and the requirements for credentialing to help expedite the process for those who want to move to BC and work here.  It's likely this will improve health care staffing across the entire province including smaller towns and villages.  

Since March 2025, over 1200 doctors, nurses and health professionals have expressed an interest in moving to BC.  The government says that number includes 573 physicians, 413 nurses 133 nurse practitioners and 39 allied health professionals.  Since April 177 nurses have applied to work in BC and 113 have already been registered with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives though it isn't clear how many have actually been hired. 

The government and health authorities have tried a variety of things to increase the number of doctors in particular including opening new medical school.  However these initiatives take a lot of time to increase the number of health care professionals. Hiring people from other countries would increase the numbers more quickly assuming the province will have the flexibility to hire immigrants. I believe that these numbers were recently reduced by the federal immigration minister before our last election (pre-April 28, 2025).  The federal government has been trying to reduce the immigration numbers overall due to the housing crisis. I sense that things are on the right track to improve both housing and health care.

Drive to Kamloops, BC

Near Seton Lake, BC

Kamloops, BC to the North Shore & Bachelor Heights

Skywatch at Daybreak

 It's been awhile since I caught the morning sunrise. It was a spectacular one.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for dropping by! 

I Forgot it Was Time for Skywatch

Hello everyone, 

It's now the wee hours of Saturday morning. I'd forgotten all about Skywatch Friday hence this late post.  Of course I knew it was Friday but it was a very busy day.  I was waiting for 3 deliveries, 2 of which came very late in the day and the 3rd came not at all. It's been that kind of week; very busy and some things not going to plan but all is well.

Friday was a spectacular day before the rains started late in the day. Too bad I had to stay indoors waiting for deliveries.  But I did manage to get a few photos.

From the balcony

On West Broadway Street near Heather Street

On West Broadway near Michael's Craft Store

Broadway, the street above, has a new underground subway tunnel. Construction is currently underway for the six new stations that will serve the new line.  See the yellow line in the map below (click to enlarge) and the red dots or circles. The circles represent the new stations.

Extending the line to the west (left side of the photo) from Arbutus to the University of BC (the green space) is one of the priorities for the Greater Vancouver region.  Continuing the line is basically down to a question of the funds required to do the remaining work. At the same time, the Translink Authority which manages all the public transportation in the Greater Vancouver area, has approved a significant number of improvements to existing services and additions to current services through new bus routes and more frequency on the busiest of bus routes. I'm not sure yet whether my route is affected but I hope we will get more frequent buses since it takes so long to get anywhere even though I don't live so terribly far from most places I need to go.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch post.  I hope you're enjoying the weather and the beautiful sky wherever you are in the world.  Note:  Over the past several weeks I've had issues trying to link up with Skywatch. I've tried several times this morning and will continue trying until I can post. Thanks for your patience.

Question Variety ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4

This week just a variety of little questions for you to ponder.

 1. What's on TV for you tonight?  Alternatively do you have plans for Tuesday night?

Canada has a national election Monday for the new government and our new Prime Minister. Tuesday there will be a lot of political coverage so I'll likely be watching it.

2. Is there a TV program you hate to miss? Why?  And if not TV is there a club or activity, get together you would hate to miss out on?

There is one indulgence I've had since I was a teenager. It's the popular soap opera, 'Y & R'. When I first started watching many years ago, I was enthralled by the lavish lifestyles, homes and fashions. But I was actually watching another soap opera first called 'The Edge of Night'.  Does anyone remember it?  However it went off the air maybe a year or two after I began watching it and 'Y & R' became it's substitute for me. Where I grew up absolutely no one had that kind of lifestyle. These days I like the family values and the ups and downs of long term relationships (family, friendships, business partners, arch enemies). Some things have never changed, just like real life. I probably started watching these shows as a way to fantasize about a different life. I grew up in a small town with no real services or amenities and it was always my desire to leave to go to university and experience other cultures and lands. I enjoyed many different programs on television in my younger years but only Y & R seems to have lasted all these years.  Update:  After a bit of research I realized an error. It wasn't 'The Edge of Night' I'd started watching. The soap was instead called 'Another World'.

3.  Do you belong to any clubs or societies or organizations?   Odd Fellows, Elks, Moose, Eastern Star or anything like that?   Can you tell us about it?

I no longer belong to any clubs. When I was working I was sometimes a member of various professional organizations and did a bit of volunteering with grassroots community groups and Big Sisters organization. Today I only have memberships in a couple of local community centres.  It allows me to hear about some fun community activities and classes and gives me a reduced cost to participate.

4.  The internet is filled with ads.   Are there any ads that you enjoy seeing or ones that you hate to see?

I'm not sure if you are talking about ads on blogs such as the ones appearing on my blog, or if you mean ads in general. I don't mind some ads but I really don't like 'pop ups' ads. They are too distracting and make it hard to navigate a blog or website.  I pay more attention to ads on Instagram than on any other social media site. I've learned about some local services and organizations through these ads and have actually used them. I likely would never have come across them otherwise. Even so, one has to take precautions when following up on advertisements on line.

Easter Weekend ~ 2025

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Another Easter has come and gone. I hope yours was a special one.

We had our Easter dinner on Easter Sunday or what many call Resurrection Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from his grave after being crucified on Good Friday.

This year I decided to make it easy on myself in the kitchen. Instead of roast ham or turkey with all the fixings, I made a sheet pan dinner of small potatoes, asparagus and salmon covered in olive oil and herbs.  For dessert we had a fruit flan. 

Dinner was delicious and best of all I didn't feel so tired out like I usually do when making the holiday meal. 

On the sacred holidays I'd rather be thinking about the reason for the season, especially at Christmas and Easter instead of slaving over a hot stove. Right now too everything is in disarray at my home.  There are all kinds of boxes, bags and furniture that either has to be sorted or taken to the landfill. This kind of situation doesn't lend itself to having people over as much as I'd like to host a few people on special holidays. It will have to wait until things are more organized.

On Saturday I had errands, the main one was to go to an advance poll and cast my vote for the federal election. The voting day is April 28th but advance polls were open for 3 days over the long weekend and there was a record turnout of voters. I had to wait in line a bit longer than usual and I was glad to get out there once finished because I was too hot in the small room. Everything went well though. The elections here are always well run in my opinion and things tend to go quite smoothly. On my walk to the polling station I took the following photos. This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday this week.Sorry it's late but I had an issue with trying to upload.  This has been a problem over the past month. 

It had been a lovely day but you can see the clouds forming.

After voting I stopped for a light dinner of Pho Noodle Soup and shrimp salad rolls.  It was delicious. By the time I left to go home, it was pouring rain. I was glad I had the warming soup to sustain me because it was also quite chilly and I wasn't quite dressed for heavy rain.  I had to walk a few blocks in order to catch the city busy for my short ride home.

Easter Monday saw me getting things organized for the week ahead. I also visited the community garden to weed and plant seeds.  I planted 2 varieties of sunflowers, carrots, watermelon and leeks. I'd like to plant some kale if I can find some seeds soon.  I may or may not plant tomatoes.  I think it's a bit early for a wide variety of seeds and nursery plants but the community garden contract stipulates that our gardens must be fully planted by the end of April each year. It means I start buying seeds and sometimes starting them, sometime in February or March. I buy locally not through mail order and so the options are limited.

While at the garden I ran into someone I knew from university many years ago when we were both working at the Law Faculty. It turns out she is a newcomer to the community garden and we had a nice chat and updated one another on our personal news and other people we both know in common.  It was nice to have a visit with her. 

That's how my weekend went. I was pleased with my balance of work and relaxation. I hope you had a great weekend too. Thanks for visiting and please come again soon. 

Enjoying Spring

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, 

This is a late (and quick) submission to Skywatch Friday.

We've been having fabulously sunny and warm days. It's been a real treat and I'm enjoying what is remaining of the cherry blossoms.

Wishing you all a blessed Easter weekend. 

Thank you for making time to visit with me.