What Will We Find ~ Tuesday 4

Hello! Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. 

1. What will we find on top of your refrigerator?

You'll find extra large boxes of dry cereal, mostly Honey Nut Cheerios and Weetabix, sometimes Bran Flakes.  I also keep a ready supply of paper towels and cleaning rags in a plastic cleaning caddy. These rags are more for shining the kitchen appliances, windows and mirrors.  The heavy duty cleaning rags are kept somewhere else.

2. What will we find on your nightstand?

I don't have a nightstand. Neither does my husband. He uses a wicker basket with a flat top cover. He doesn't keep anything there except a small flashlight in case he needs to use the washroom during the night. I use a corner if my dresser.  I keep distilled water for the CPAP machine, water for drinking, the CPAP machine & a remote control for the bed.  If I'm having difficulty sleeping I might raise the head of the bed during the night. I try not to do that because it wakes my husband.

3. What is in your purse or handbag?

In the inner pocket of my cross body bag, I have hand wipes, a wallet & change purse, small spray hand sanitizers, a notebook, pen and my passport.  In the small front pocket, I have a numerous lip glosses and  sometimes a small room spray. I do try to keep the latter on hand because sometimes public washrooms aren't that fresh.

4. What will we find on your coffee table or side tables? How about your kitchen or dining table?

I don't have a coffee table because we have an ottoman for resting our feet. I do keep a large tray in the centre of the sofa and keep a variety of items in it:   kleenix, clean dishtowels/paper towels, hair clips, a small flashlight, scissors and the remote control. On the side table I keep the landline telephone, a variety of stationery items, odds and ends & my daily bread (bible scripture cards).

Try as I might my dining table is not used much for dining these days. It holds various stages of 'in progress' items like paperwork, household tasks or creative projects or sometimes all three! Once I complete the seemingly never ending decluttering project, the dining table will be used more regularly for sit down meals. Of course when I'm expecting company, I clear everything away and the table is set but for now it's the largest flat surface I have for dealing with projects.

Thanks for stopping by my Tuesday 4 post!

The End Has Arrived - Skywatch Friday, March 27, 2026

Hello friends & fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well this Friday and that you have little glimmers of joy to keep you going through these turbulent times.

I'm late with posting today.  I wasn't sure I'd even get to post because I've been ill for awhile. But I'm slowly recovering and the weather is slowly improving in these parts now that the spring season is here. 

I haven't done much this week due to illness but I did get out one day to capture a few photos.

We've come to the end of the month and I'm glad that a new month is around the corner.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post today.

In Like a Lion - Out Like a Lamb- Tuesday 4

Welcome back to another Tuesday 4 in honor of Toni Taddeo it's founder. They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  

March 29-31 are the "borrowing days" when weather is traditionally rough or stormy and the month was named for Mars the god of war because March was the time for the start of wars.

1.  What brings out the lion in you? What brings out the lamb? 

When I see someone being ill treated it brings out my inner lion. When I come across someone in need or distress it brings out the lamb in me. Also when I see love or kindness in action, it brings out the lamb in me.

2. What are you enjoying in terms of TV, movies or books right now?

Right now I'm enjoying books. I have a more than a few on loan and I'm a bit behind on my reading. I'm actually ahead in my reading goals for the year but I'm behind in terms of completing all the books I've borrowed before they become due.  I just completed an excellent book called The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. 

I've been trying to find something 'good' to watch on television and YT but haven't been much interested in the usual things. I did catch the 3rd season of "Night Agent" on Netflix which I enjoyed. I also finished watching the Netflix series, "Tehran". I always enjoy spy movies and sometimes a spy series and I started watching this one before the current war with Iran. I'm waiting for the newest season of "Slow Horses" on Netflix but that won't be released until the Fall.

March 20/26

3. It's Spring now... are you happy to see it come?  Will you be going out more?

It's officially spring and the weather is finally going to be sunny for a few days. This is what I've been waiting for and 'yes' I hope to get out more.  I like going for strolls when the sun comes out but first I have to get over a bout of sickness.

4.  Create an ideal weather scenario for each season.. the perfect  weather for summer, spring, autumn and winter.

August 2025

A perfect summer is sunny but not too hot and an occasional day of rain to keep everything nice, green and refreshed. This type of weather allows a person to enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. Too much heat is not comfortable and can result in wildflowers.

A perfect spring starts the season with more rain and tapers off as the season progresses with more sunny days. It also features blossoming trees and early flowers like daffodils.  Too much rain ruins the cherry blossoms.

October 2025

A perfect autumn is warm with a small chill in the air as the season progresses. It also features many beautifully coloured leaves on the trees. If we're fortunate there won't be a lot of rain because rain causes too many leaves to fall too early.

A perfect winter where I live is no snow in the city but lots on the mountains.  Hopefully there are not so many days of torrential rain or temperatures that dip too low.

January 2026

As you can see, it rains a lot here. I really don't mind rain at all. I just mind it when it is very heavy and sometimes when it rains for 2 weeks without sun.  Growing older has made me less tolerant of our weather because I also get cold easier these days. Our weather is milder in winter months than it is in much of North America so I don't complain too loudly.

March Skies - Skywatch Friday

March continues to live up to it's reputation of being very unsettled concerning the weather. It's been raining a lot. I've also found it quite cold though the sun has also come out here and there and given us a few glorious days.

What I read on line today tells a different story.  Supposedly it's been almost 2 degrees warmer from December to February than it usually is, we are poised to close our first winter in 43 years without snow and we have had 50 millilitres less rainfall than normal.  Apparently snow has to accumulate at least 1 centimetre at the airport to be recorded as an official snowfall and though it has snowed a bit in different parts of the city it has only been trace amounts. It's hard to believe that we've had less rainfall or that it's been warmer.  Since October we've had so many instances of what they call an 'atmospheric river' that I've lost count.  An atmospheric river is a newer term to me and it's like a river of water in the sky that drops bucket loads of rain, sometimes snow on earth.  As for the warmer weather, I think I've used my thermostat to turn on the heat far more often that I ever have and my electricity bill is the evidence.  It may just be a symptom of aging and not being able to tolerate the cold any more. I now have a better understanding of why people leave in the winter months to go to hotter climates though I'm not likely to do that anytime soon.

So my pining for days of old when I thought it was actually warmer than it is now is because I always think back to my early years in Vancouver when I was a young university student.  March was always a month when my nose would be buried in the books more than usual because it was the month of final papers being due and studying for final examinations.  It also happened to be one of the most beautiful months of the school term.  It was almost always sunny & warm and the cherry and apples tree were in bloom. I yearned to be free to enjoy them but had to keep my nose in the books. To this day, March is the month I most look forward to due to the beautiful memories of spring after long, dark and wet winters.

Well, the weather may finally be turning a bit and not too soon because the spring equinox falls on Friday, March 20th just before 8 in the morning.  Though it's still raining heavily today and probably tomorrow, Saturday is supposed to be a sunny day. I think after that the temperatures should warm up.  On my walk the other day I noticed that it was definitely warmer than it has been for some time and I'm hoping the warming trend continues.  

There was enough of a break in the heavy rain to enable my dear husband to add compost to our small community garden plot.  I'm trying to get him to look after the plot himself this year and gave him carte blanche to do what he'd like.  He loves vegetable gardening but he didn't jump at my proposition.  He thinks I need an excuse to get out and exercise and so I should do the gardening.  He'll also be very busy through the coming months during garden season.  I told him I get enough exercise doing other things throughout the week so we'll see what happens. It's true that he won't have much time for gardening but maybe I can get him to at least plant the garden if I take care of the rest. 

Daffodils in the neighbourhood

It snowed on the mountain tops a few days ago but not down below where I live. I saw these beautiful daffodils on one of my walks. They are such a pretty, happy flower bringing colour to a dull day. and reminding me of more beauty yet to unfold in the months ahead with the coming warmer weather.

After all I also have the flower garden at my home to plant and look after. I'm hopeful that I can sit outside and enjoy the patio more this year. I'm not sure how that will work out because workers will be here over the drier, warmer months to do rebuild the rest of the patios in the building. They completed the patios on my level in early summer last year so my garden was just seeds thrown in and hoping they'd take root (photos below show some of the flowers in the patio garden).

I hope all is well in your world.

Thank you for joining in my Skywatch Friday post.

St. Patrick's Day - Tuesday 4

It is St. Patty's Day here at Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

1.  Do you celebrate in any significant way?   

No I don't.

2.  Is it religious to you or secular?

Secular. Where I lived as a child, it was always synonymous with wearing green and little leprechauns.  I don't think we had many Irish people living in my town.  Later in the city, the day had more to do with wearing green, going to pubs and drinking green beer.  There are more Irish people in the city, in fact quite a few but I've never heard from them as to whether and how they celebrate.

3.  Is there any green in your wardrobe ? Your home? Is it a good color for you?

I've never had much green in my wardrobe even though I like the colour. I once owned a beautiful, emerald green dress.  For some reason I never wore it even though I took the trouble to get a seamstress to line it so I wouldn't have to wear a slip with it.

I'm currently expanding the colours of my wardrobe and moving away from the jewel tones and black I love and wear so often. I'm trying to incorporate more neutral colours and colours in nature's palette: gold, brown, beige and now green. I have 2 clothing items in green. One is like the winter, crew neck sweater you see in the photo. The other is a lightweight summer top in white with green and navy dots.

I really don't have green in my home either except for plants which I love.

The colour green does suit me but for whatever reason I have never developed the practice of wearing it.  I love green in nature and in my home, when it comes to plants, both artificial and real.

4.  March has a lot of things associated with it... The Ides of March on the 15th, St. Patrick's Day and the old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

How is your March going thus far? Is it quiet? Is the weather good, bad or ugly? Is it a lion or a lamb?

It's been good but busy and also quiet.  I thought it was going to be an early spring with garden and patio work to do because we had some beautiful,  sunny days and some blossoming trees.  Instead it has been raining so much and it's still too cold for me to put away my winter jacket and winter bedding.

I bought a cotton-linen bedspread to use once the weather gets warmer. In summer here, it can be too hot to use covers but this one is very light for those nights when a light blanket is needed. I was just trying it on the bed to make sure it fit so the pillow cases you see are the winter, warmer ones.

Thank you for visiting today. Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Night Views ~ Skywatch Friday

I like snapping photos of tree branches, bare or with leaves. 🍃  I took these photos on a walk to the local thrift store recently.

I'm very much looking forward to the spring equinox which is on March 20th this year.  It's when I  feel free to say we are in spring season.  Hopefully warmer temperatures arrive too though I can't complain too much about the winter we've had.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post. I hope you'll come again soon. 

Scenes From My Night Walk

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

It snowed today but mostly at higher elevations and it melted quickly thereafter. For us, it was mostly a little rain. I went out for a walk after dinner. It was noticeably lighter than it has been for months due to the time change on Sunday where we set out clocks forward by one hour.

The provincial government announced that this past weekend is the last time we will be needing to change our clocks. I'm very happy about that as it's been a long time coming. We'd been told that we were waiting for our southern neighbouring states (Washington, Oregon & California) to also make the change so we could all be on the same time.  That no longer seems to be an issue and the decision has been made so now we are on permanent Pacific Daylight Time. 🎊🎉🎊

 

It took a turn the last 2 nights toward colder weather.  Even so I spotted these daffodils on my walk.  Daffodils always make me smile.  I remember years ago when I was in university. I travelled with a group of fellow students in April to a different city in Canada each year for a conference. Each time, one of the Vancouver program directors would arrange to take bucketfuls of daffodils to where ever we were congregating.  As he handed out spring flowers to people who were still in the depths of winter he'd gloat about the weather back at home.  It was all in good fun and people took it well.

It's just one of many lovely memories I have of university years. Those years were a lot of fun.

How? ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Let's jump right in.

1. How did you end up  in the place where you are living? 

I'm not sure if this question relates to my city or to my actual home in the city.  I first came to Vancouver many years ago to attend university. I loved it but had to move away for varying lengths of time for work opportunities. When my longer term work prospects didn't work out in eastern Canada, I returned to British Columbia and decided I'd settle in Vancouver once again. It brought me geographically closer to my family, the city I loved and the ocean which beckoned me.  I wasn't married yet so I was free to move wherever the opportunity arose but I was tired of moving and criss crossing the country.  I purchased my home so that I would have even more reasons to stay in one place.  The idea worked well because it made it harder, though not impossible, to consider work opportunities elsewhere. 

2. How did you end up with the job you have/had?

The last job I had was one I enjoyed very much and I was good at it.  It was a very unique job working for the federal government in a policy development and advisory capacity. The jobs in my unit were supposed to be temporary but I did that job for several years.  I would have continued with it, or at least with the federal public service, for many more years if I didn't get sick and have to retire early for medical reasons.  I fully expected I'd get better and return to full time work but things didn't work out that way.

3. How do you end up with your life partner?

We met shortly after I started medical leave in 2006. I had always wanted to do missions in Africa and since I was on leave I was looking for ways to purposefully fill my time.  I couldn't do anything very demanding or long term.  I was searching for small ways to contribute to some good works in Africa as it had been a childhood dream of mine and now I had time on my hands.  

I made a connection with an American woman pastor who had a small missionary outreach in several African countries including Kenya. She knew my now husband who lived in Kenya.  Eventually I ended up working on some projects with him, meeting in person and ultimately marrying though the marriage part took quite some time due to various challenges and responsibilities we both had in our respective countries.  Looking back, both my husband and I see our meeting and the way everything happened as God's design.  It fulfilled 2 special desires of of my heart.  First, that I could be involved in missionary work in Kenya.  Second, that I would find a Godly man to marry. It also answered some of my husband's desires.  

I never did return to my job though initially I thought I would. I still have the same medical maladies I had when I first went on leave and the job was too demanding in various ways for me to be able to fulfill my duties.  My husband ultimately joined me in Canada where there are more opportunities for him.

4. How did your weekend go and how is the week ahead looking?

The weekend has been busy. I did what is called the Weekly Home Blessing (WHB) in the FlyLady cleaning system.   Here is a link to an interview with the FlyLady, Marla about the FlyLady cleaning system.  Usually people do the WHB on a Monday to start the week but I like to do mine on a Friday to start the weekend. I do another one early in the week.  I also did a bit of reading and talked with loved ones long distance. I felt tired all weekend so I didn't over extend myself. 

The week ahead looks busy. I have parcels being delivered, library books to return and pick up, a dinner to attend, computer work to do, shopping and an appointment. That's just Monday and Tuesday, lol.  I'm sure I can easily fill Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with banking and other business, grocery shopping, cleaning etc.  A woman's work is never done, is it?

Thank you if you made it this far. I appreciate you! Have a wonderful week ahead.

Easy Poundcake

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all fine today.

I am okay but at the moment I am getting tired of waiting for spring, which brings warmer temperatures, more greenery and flowers.

We're getting rain again and when rains come I feel more hungry and in need of snacks. Do you ever get the late night snack attack?  I do and I didn't really have anything at home to snack on so I decided to make some pound cake. Pound cake is not my 'go to' dessert. In fact I seldom have it but I thought it would go nicely with some hot tea.

I looked up an 'easy' recipe and this is what I made.  Believe it or not, I've never made it before though I'm now in the advanced stages of life, lol. When I was growing up my dear mom would always talk about how much she loved pound cake. It's the main reason I've tried it over the years but I had store bought cake which was not that bad.

 

The verdict on my cake is 'not so bad' but 'not great'. That's my opinion of my cake. I felt it was too sweet and I actually cut out a half cup of sugar from the recipe. I was reluctant to cut out more because I know that can affect the moisture level of the cake. I should probably have also beat the batter more until it was very light and fluffy because the cake seemed quite dense. I don't have a blender so I didn't beat it that much.  The beater I used was an attachment to my hand blender and didn't work that well. Then I tried mixing by hand but my arm got tired. 

I might make this once again just to experiment with beating the batter for longer.  I'd use use the electric mixing bowl next time. I'd also research how to make a reduced sugar version. Last but not least, I think I need to bake it for longer.  The toothpick was clean when I inserted it into the cake but when I cut into the cake, it looked like it could use just a bit more baking time. It didn't taste uncooked so I guess that is the main thing! lol.

Anyway, it did the trick to fill the snacking needs of the moment. 

In case you're interested in the recipe you can find it here.

Beautiful and Rainy ~ March 5, 2026

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Happy March to all of you.

At this time of year in my world, the weather continues to be unstable with bright, sunny days, alternating with very heavy rain. The weather is a few degrees warmer on a regular basis and as you can see in the photos, at least some of the trees are in bloom.

The sky looks so dramatic at times.

For me that's a time to have soup either at a restaurant or at home.

Vietnamese Pho soup.

Homemade chicken, rice soup.

Yesterday was sunny but today it is clouding over again in preparation for rain. I hope you are keeping warm and dry wherever you are in the world.

Thank you for visiting my submission for Skywatch Friday this week.