SNAP THAT

Since I returned late Friday from visiting my mom, I've been very busy. I'm planning a far away trip for the summer and have been busy looking at travel routes, checking points for air travel and hotels, reactivating points programs, checking costs & making bookings where I can. Sweater & top for mom I've also received a few more things for mom's wardrobe which I have to label, pack and ship to her as they didn't arrive in time for my travels to visit her. Purple top for mom Before I went for my short trip, a friend asked for help with his taxes due to the high cost of hiring a tax preparer.  The base cost at one local preparer is $70 Canadian and at another it is $100 (charges for a very simple return and the price goes up substantially if you have more than 2 receipts).  Some of you will remember that I don't really like doing taxes but I was willing to help this friend so he can learn to do it himself. Since I also needed help with my ga

I was away for a few days visiting mom. My main purpose was just to visit because I haven't been to see her since the Christmas holiday.  I also wanted to clean out her closets and drawers and cull a lot of her old clothing. Her closet and dresser space is rather limited .  She recently got an entire new wardrobe and needed the space to store them. I ordered or made everything myself, labelled them and organized them in her closet and drawers. I also had a chance to do some general tidying and straightening out for her as she cannot really do it herself. The weather was very cooperative for my journey.  It was sunny on the drive there.  On the way back the weather was a bit overcast but not cold or rainy.  However, the clouds opened and the rain fell on my first day home.  Today if the rain keeps at bay, I hope to finally clean the debris from the garden so I can plant soon.  This year I will plant a variety of hostas.  Half of my small garden does not receive direct sunlight and

Sunday started out pouring rainy, windy and cold. By the time I ventured to take a photo the rains and wind had stopped. Later in the day, the sky turned blue like the photo below and the sun came out! To top off my day, I was treated to an early moon in the sky (I think it shows up better if you click the pic).    It helps to have a beautiful day in which to run errands. It is after 6 p.m. and look how bright it is outside. It's so great to have longer days of daylight now. In My World this week, I am busily trying to prepare to visit my mom. I'm also linking up with Smiling Sally for Blue Monday. Happy Earth Day and happy week ahead to you all.

Yesterday, I decided to skip another trip to the fabric store.  I need one more piece of fabric for mom's skirt and some plastic bobbins but I can go early next week. It was an overcast day as you can see in the photo; the kind of day that calls for home made soup. The church steeple is undergoing a face list. It's height has been increased by at least 10 feet and it now has a Celtic style cross which lights up at night. I like the changes. I had to throw out some veggies earlier this week because I've been too busy to cook them. I resolved to use up some of rest in the crisper before they go bad too. The soup simmering on the stove.  The sheen on the top comes from the overhead light, not oil. Ingredients: - 3/4 cup brown rice - 2 cleaned and diced carrots - 2 cleaned and diced stalks of celery - 1/2 cup red quinoa (uncooked. This was left over from Thanksgiving) - 1 medium chopped onion - 1 large can of stewed tomatoes - 1 medium-large can of kidn

How many of you have ever shopped and been overcharged for items? I usually watch the scanner when I'm paying for items so I can "catch" the errors. Often there are errors in the posted sale prices and the price at the till when the item is scanned.  Have you found that too? This month I decided to track my household spending for groceries and all kinds of household items. I had kept my receipts and hope to do this for the next few months to see where my household funds are going. This is not a task I really enjoy but this year I want to see what I can really save on needless expenditures. This is a sample of cheese from the company that made my purchase. In creating my list, I discovered something that made my jaw drop. I paid $11.00 for a very small amount of Brie cheese. Now some small wedges of Brie at my local grocery store can cost that much and more. However I would not knowingly pay that amount and was certain I had selected something less expensive. Fort

It was one of our rare sunny, Spring days this year. I was enjoying looking out at the green grass, and cherry blossoms at the UBC campus. This big tree and all it's lovely blossoms made a huge frame behind the McDonald restaurant's famous Golden Arches sign age.   The cherry trees that beautify Vancouver at this time each year, were gifts of the country of Japan. In the early 1930s the mayors of both Kobe and Yokohama presented the Park Board with 500 Japanese cherry trees for planting at the Japanese cenotaph in Stanley Park honouring Japanese Canadians who served in WWI. And so, as the impact of cherry tree plantings began to reshape the city’s landscape, Vancouverites were soon smitten by their fleeting beauty, their clouds of blossoms, as they heralded spring’s arrival each year. (Source:  Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival). Vancouver has about 55 varieties of cherry trees.  On the news the other night it was reported that some of the rare varietie

This is how my day looks today. It looks worse than it feels. It is actually cloudy but warm and the sun came out when I went to the laboratory. When I go to a restaurant, I prefer to have small portions of a lot of varieties of food; rather than big plates of the same food. So I really love tapas, which are small plates of Spanish snacks or appetizers. The Chinese also have a type of tapas. There is a Cantonese style of cooking called dim sum which consists of small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. When I first came to Vancouver I would attend dim sum for lunch with my work colleagues.  There I would sit entranced as the served walked by with fully laden carts of ready made foods.  You would simply point to the plates you wanted and the servers kept track by punching holes onto a card left on your table.  Each plate was about $1.50 (Canadian) and there was really only one size. You could easily ge

Hi everyone, I wrote here about the new children I sponsor in Zambia.  I learned there is also a little girl named Elina who desperately needs help.  She has a medical condition where her bones are too soft and they break.  She is not able to go to school and needs help to get special food to help her health. She also needs a special kind of wheelchair to help her family move her around the bumpy terrain. Photo credit: Chileleko Christian School My friend Shelby is looking for 5 sponsors who could give $10 a month to help this dear child get medical attention, proper food, clothes and schooling. Elina now has 3 sponsors who will give $10 a  month. We are looking for only two more people who can give $10 a month toward Elina's care. If you can't give monthly but want to help out on a one time basis or give now and then, that is fine too! Some people even give $5. monthly. If you have any questions send Shelby an email here . You can make donations on the Chil

A view of the sky through the skylights at the University of BC's, First Nations Longhouse. I'm linking up with other folks from around the world for Skywatch Friday .  Enjoy!

I've set myself a reading goal of 24 books in 2013. I've reached half of my goal and there is a lot of year left. I may end up reading another few books beyond my goal but I think I'll use the balance of time to cont inue with Bible studies and l earning languages. (cli ck on the photo to enlarge) My book collection is rather eclectic this year and includes 3 memoirs (ranging from 353 to 592 pages) and 1 biography (592 pages).  I've also read a couple of books that make good Bible study helps on the subjects of Heaven (560 pages) and managing our money (254 pages); a couple of classics ( A Tale of Two Cities (369 pages) & East of Eden (691 pages), contemporary and historical fiction ( Vancouver (768 pages) and The Emperor's Children (431 pages) ; and two health books  "What You Don't Know May Be Killing You" (229 pages) and When the Body Says No (320 pages). My favourite reads so far include: "managing God's money" which i

Gazing at pink fluff Everywhere there is pink stuff Pink is beautiful! (I managed to get these snapshots at the University of BC today) . I'm joining Our World Tuesday today. Join in and have a look.

Two months ago, I said that Spring was coming, lol. We had signs of new life in the garden. Sadly it ended up being quite cold for much of the time since but at last I think we've turned the corner. We've had glorious sunshine and warm temperatures this past week. Currently we are back to rain but the sun will return in a few days. I am enjoying the cherry, apple and plum blossoms at this time of year.  I took these photos in my neighbourhood and deliberately shot into the sun on a hurried trip to the market.  I would like to get out to other parts of the city to enjoy more blossoms if I have time before these fleeting blossoms are gone for another year. I hope you are enjoying your spring season. I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday where you too can visit and see so many lovely skies from around the world. Have a lovely weekend.