Thursday, November 1, 2018

Hello November

Hi friends,

It's been raining heavily for much of the past week so I continue with my decluttering. Actually I haven't been decluttering so much as I've been posting my decluttered things for giveaway and arranging for people to pick things up. I took the photo of the sky and trees a few days before Halloween just before the heavy rains started. I love the colour of the leaves and the blue of the sky peeking out above the clouds.


I've been busy making my crocheted afghans and trying to finish the ones I'm gifting. My hope is to find time to make a few others for possible sale but we shall see how things go.  The berry coloured afghan is finished but I must still weave in the loose ends before it will be ready for gifting.  I tried hard to get a photo without shadows but it is difficult getting indoor shots at this time of year.


I also finished the other afghan I shared in my last post (the gray and gold one below) but didn't take a photo of the finished project yet.  The third afghan I am currently making is the same colour way as the gray and gold. I must  have been getting too tired as I ended up ripping out almost one third of it today. Actually it is the 3rd rip out I've done in 2 days due to mistakes I didn't like.  I don't usually make a lot of crochet errors but lately haven't been getting enough sleep.  I really love to crochet. I find it very relaxing and gives my hands something to do during long, dark, rainy nights.


Last week I was decluttering and this week I was posting stuff for giveaway and communicating with people to arrange pick up times.  The big balls of yarn I gave to a missionary ladies group that I've donated to before. they have a large group of industrious woman who are always making things and sending them abroad to Asia and Africa.  I love knowing that things will be put to good use and benefit others.

In future I will not be buying so much yarn in advance of actually needing to use it.  I thought I was saving money by buying yarn on sale but it takes too much room to store and if I haven't used it in 3 years then it's not likely going to be used soon.  My new approach is to buy one or two skeins at a time for projects I am currently working on though I also still have a stash of smaller skeins in a few colour ways. You will likely see some of them on this blog in a future project/s.

 

The photos below show other things I was able to give to others. After buying velvet hangers for my closet I had 70+ plastic hangers in a variety of colours to give away. Someone gladly took them off of my hands. I also had various tops and jeans, shower curtain and bath mat and an artificial Christmas tree (not in the photo) to give away.  I'm still waiting for someone to arrange to pick up a few smaller items at a mutually convenient time.



I meant to share the next photo long ago. I took it a year ago in October down at the English Bay sea wall on one of my walks. I stopped to buy a coffee and saw this gentle, old dog quietly waiting for his master.  He was very sweet.

 



I took a photo of the ducks down at the same beach. I like the way the sun is shining on the water.


A week ago Friday I went to dinner with two friends, one is a missionary to Taiwan.   It was really nice to chat with Cindy and find out more about her life and work in Taiwan. She has already worked in Uganda, the Philippines and Canada's far north. She's spent the majority of her time in Taiwan and it is her home now. She loves the people. I still remember the day we prayed for her at my former church as she was preparing to leave for Taiwan. I haven't seen her in many years and we had a good catch up.


Here is a photo of what the day looked like early evening Thursday on the first day of November.  We have a rain warning starting around dinner time tonight and ending Saturday morning.  As you can see by the photo, my plans to clean the garden up at the end of September never came to fruition. It's still a job I have to do and will try to do in the next little while in preparation for the winter months.



Good weather for one of my other main hobbies, reading.
Here are my current reads.






I found this November inspirational verse on line.
 

It will be  a good reminder for me to remain positive as we head into my least favourite time of year weather wise.


Here's to November.
May you have a blessed and adventurous one.

Thank you for visiting :-)

Joining in with




and

39 comments:

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Always good to declutter, and reminds me I have a lot of decluttering to do! Pretty colors in that first photo.

Billie Jo said...

Beautiful photos, lovely afghans!
So happy you met up with a friend you haven't seen in a long time.
Those visits are always good for the soul.
Have a cozy weekend!

shayndel said...

Love your November Hello post!!
The magenta and berry, yesh! Happy to see it in the photo and all your peacefull photos, and the sweet one with the dog, cute!
I receive your gift of Blessings, love how the letters spill out such blessings!!
Blessings to you Joyfull!Love!

Lady Fi said...

Lovely knits and book tips. Love the dog too, of course.

Gattina said...

We had no real autumn this year, It was hot until mid October ! I still have the intention to declutter when the weather is bad, but now I have a cold as excuse !

Jan K. alias Afanja said...

I love the light in the beautiful fall colours in your first photo.
In line with the rest of the year, October was warm and dry here in the Netherlands.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, love the post. Decluttering is a good thing. The afghans are beautiful. I will stop back again on Saturday for the critters. Happy November to you!

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Your afghans are so beautiful. What a talent...and what wonderful gifts they make! Very lovely. Love your photos of the sweet old doggie waiting for its master. He looks very patient. How wonderful to spend time with your missionary friend! What a joy to know her and to be able to support her in prayer and encouragement. What a blessing she must be to her people in Taiwan. Thank the Lord for good missionaries. Praying your November is a good month, filled with joy and many blessings. i like the definition above of November..."the last month of autumn, but the beginning of a new adventure...time to take risks and do the unexpected." We are trying to sell our home and move to a community about 30 miles north. I pray November will be the month that our house finally sells and we can take that new step of faith in moving. But God is in control and has His own schedule for doing things. I just have to wait and see what He will do! Blessings to you today.

Small Kucing said...

Decluttering... we have something like "buy nothing" FB group over here and we post up things that we dont use or need there so that other people who need them can come and take it home with them

thomas said...

Lovely colors of November

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I've been in a decluttering mood too. I now have several boxes and bags to take to the thrift store this weekend.

happyone said...

Your afghans are very pretty.
I can see myself walking down that street in your first picture. : )

Toni said...

Beautiful afghans and wonderful photos. Enjoyed my visit here. Many blessings.

Breathing In Grace said...

I'm planning on doing lots of decluttering around our home, too, once the weather gets too nasty to get outdoors. Your crochet work is beautiful. I especially like the ripple one in grays and browns. I love to crochet, too, but it's usually baby hats! Glad you got to spend time with your friend. HOPE you have a great weekend!

Cathy said...

I need to go through some of my yarn too. There is some there, that I will probably never use. I love that berry afghan, so pretty. Love the pictures of that dog. He's so big, but he looks so gentle.

Rhodesia said...

Your autumn colours are way ahead of ours.

I also love to crochet and I think your work is excellent well done.

How nice to catch up with Cindy and chat about her work, she must be a very interesting lady.

Enjoy your weekend and take care Diane

annie said...

BEautiful afghans, beautiful balcony! It looks wonderful in all seasons.
I love my velvet hangers because they take up so little space.
You live in a lovely place.

carol l mckenna said...

What a lovely and creative post ~ wonderful varied photos and the doggie is so sweet looking ~ You are busy, busy!

Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Kami Gimenez said...

I love the berry afghan!! We just picked up crocheting again. Even though it is warm here, the small dip in temperature makes me want to hand craft. Love all your beautiful photos!

Visits With Mary said...

WoW, look at all those leaves!! Our trees are still green and have all their leaves. That is a lovely berry color, very pretty afghan.

Mari said...

your projects look good! I hate having to tear things out though. :(
That dog is really a beauty.
Glad you had a nice catch up time with your friend.

italiafinlandia said...

The dog is a cutie!

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Wonderful mix of photos. And I was amused that use the same word I do: decluttering. (I'm supposed to be doing that right now, too, but I've fallen behind on the task.) I'm not sure what part of Canada you're in, but if you're on the "East" side, you might be getting the same rain I'm getting in Connecticut, because the radar shows the storm range is fairly extensive. We have a wind advisory for part of today also. (The rain was supposed to start Friday, but the storm ended up being later than they said, so the rain didn't start in earnest until Friday night.)

Anu said...

Hello. Beautiful colours of autumn. The dog is so lovely. Have a wonderful weekend!

eileeninmd said...

Hello, Penny! I just love the sweet dog. He looks gentle. Pretty shot of the ducks. It was nice you were able to meet up with your friend. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. PS, thanks also for leaving a comment on my post.

Jeanie said...

Congratulations on your decluttering -- and on your crocheting projects. I'd say you are seriously productive and good for you! So much to do here -- I'm a tad envious!

Al said...

Seems like you've been busy.

Adam Jones said...

That is a very cute looking dog and I do like the reflection off the water.

Small City Scenes said...

Very nice afghans---I do like the November saying.
MB

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What a wonderful post. I've been decluttering too and it's hard, isn't it? It's overwhelming at times but feels good to get things to those that can use it! Love your afgans! You are very talented!

doodles n daydreams said...

A lovely selection of pics but I think I really like the top one best, very mellow. Or maybe the dog, he's a sweetie.
Diana

Angie said...

You are an inspiration - making sure your unused items are going to be re-used, your afghans for gifting, and your timely quotes. Thank you!

Terriea Kwong said...

Beautiful pictures. Now that into winter. Nature colour changed. Stay well.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

You are very busy and I think that is great. I love your inspirational verse as well.

Have a great week coming up!

Nancy Chan said...

Happy November! I haven't been decluttering for a long time. I need to get the declutter mood to get moving. Beautiful photos and I like that sweet dog.

Linda said...

Love the dog! Good for you on decluttering. I want to do more.

diane b said...

You pack so much into your life and posts. Enjoy November!

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

What a sweet old dog-- so nice you noticed and captured his image. OK I promise to start to de-clutter soon... well, pretty soon!

KB said...

The looks like a well behaved old boy

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