SNAP THAT

Photo Credit:  Crosscards e-card

 Hi friends, It continues to be a busy time around here.  One thing that keeps me very busy most weeks is my "secret" activity which I hinted at in earlier posts.  It deserves a post of it's own as it keeps me fairly busy.  That post will likely come in the new year after I've had enough time to assess the full benefits. I've also been catching up to household chores (dish washing by hand, sweeping and mopping floors, laundry and general tidying). In between I am running errands and/or reading a good book.It's been awhile since I've shared what new books I've read. I've put photos on this page showing you my current reading. Another thing that keep me busy is looking for savings every week. This week I've been looking for savings on staples for the house and kitchen. I got a great deal on liquid laundry soap for high efficiency washers at Safeway.  On top of the financial savings, I got some great bonus Air-miles points. I want

Hi friends, It continues to be a busy Fall. It has actually been an incredibly busy year for me with lots of personal business to attend to and very little real holiday time. Instead I've just been moving forward and whenever I get a chance throughout the week I take moments to relax with coffee and a good book, watching good or funny television programs, getting together with friends and going out for movies. This week at my diabetes group, I learned that I've made some wonderful progress on my health goals of losing weight. I've managed to lose 30 pounds.  This is weight that I gained in the last few years when I began experiencing tremendous knee pain and had problems walking. There were long stretches of time when I could not even walk one block. Suffice to say that this lack of mobility was not good for my health. I tried many different things to regain mobility before I discovered that I actually have osteo-arthritis in the knees.  This problem seemed to come ou

These skies appeared above on Tuesday and captured from my patio (my perch). Though it may look cold, the temperatures are actually still rather warm. The following photos were taken on Thursday during my stroll and a bit of "this and that" shopping.  Again the sky looks dismal but the sun smiled on us for a short while. I didn't manage to get a photo as I had my hands full of shopping! John, of John's Island , if you are reading this, I took these photos of Fall leaves for you because you liked my dogwood tree in colour. I'm sure there are nicer trees in the hood but these ones were along my route. Most of them are immature maple trees. You may know that the maple tree is national (Canada) arboreal emblem and the maple leaf is on our nation's flag. I just love the brilliant orange and red hues in the maple trees during the Fall season. Alas, when the winds blow and the rain falls we get all these lovely leaves falling to the g

Hi friends, We are well into Fall weather here. It has either been pouring rain all week or at least very cloudy. I always love to photograph outside my doors as the scene is ever changing even when the sky is very cloudy. You can see we have a variety of trees, some with leave intact and in colour, others with most of the leaves gone and still others that will keep their leaves all winter. This green and red leafed tree is a dogwood tree that sits in the corner of my garden.  The dogwood flower is the official floral emblem my province. My tree is rather young yet but in Spring I like to see it's white flowers. This is what the dogwood flower looks like. Photo credit:  Wikimedia Commons In the wee hours of the morning before I called it a night I heard a sound like glass being tapped. I ignored it at first but I kept hearing the sound.  I then turned out all the lights to peer outside my patio doors and found that my patio umbrella had broken off

Hi friends, I wanted to share with you the wonderful socks that my blogging friend, Joanne of Cup on the Bus made for my mother. I can't tell you how much these socks are much appreciated as they will help to keep my mother's feet and legs warm this winter.  While I can knit a bit and love to make dishcloths, I haven't tried any major projects besides a baby sweater (which I am far behind in finishing). I want to send a big blogger "THANK YOU" to Joanne once again. If you get a chance go over and check out her blog. I haven't been blogging much as I've been too busy with Thanksgiving, matters concerning my mom, helping a friend and trying to fit in a few of my own appointments. There was a birthday to celebrate on Saturday. No big party just a nice dinner, a small cake and song,  and some well wishes. We both like chocolate and whipped cream. It has been raining a lot but today it was dry and overcast though it is still very warm he

Hello friends, Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalms 106:1 Today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. It is when we mark the end of harvest season and thank God for all the bounty and blessings he has provided. I still remember this special time of year from when I was quite young. At church  there would always be a cornucopia filled to the brim with squashes and gourds of various kinds during the month of October in anticipation of Thanksgiving. It would sit in a prominent place at the front of the church in front of the pulpit. Somehow it always brought me joy and a feeling of comfort. At the same time my mother would always prepare a magnificent feast for the special day. Honestly I have never seen anyone do it quite like her and I'm not even sure how or why she started the tradition of feeding so many people on this day.  She would get up very early and literally prepare a hotel type buffet every year.  Though I

Today I had to go downtown for an appointment. I decided to stop off in Chinatown as I wasn't too far from there and I needed to find myself a bamboo steamer (to steam frozen dim sum). I always enjoy the street scenes and today was no exception.  The array of product in a store in Chinatown is always astounding. There are also a lot of exotic to me things that I don't get to use or see every day. I  still remember my early days in Vancouver and how a trip to Chinatown was always such a delight. Buying simple things like Sandalwood soap (heavenly fragrance) was a true cultural experience. Truth be told I only walked a square block and a few extra streets in Chinatown.  There is actually much more to see. I loved the artful tree in front of this traditional looking roof top. There is even a bird perching on top (see side right as you are looking straight at the photo).  The sky looks rather gray. It was actually an overcast day today though it cleared up