Thursday, August 1, 2019

A Productive July Ends

It's been a busy week so far. Nothing terribly exciting happening but all is satisfying.

First up I delivered half of my personal library to a local care home. The recreational advisor saw my advertisement on the local Freecycle and said he would take all the books. So that was a God send since most takers just want a fictional book or two. A great many of the books I donated history books and reference books of all kinds (cooking, gardening, travel, self help and health books, how to books and cookbooks and a great many other topics).  The recreational person I dealt with told me they will sell books to benefit the seniors in their care. I do hope that they will have good success with the sales.



Reading continues with a few good books in my pile each week. My recent reads were The Paris Seamstress, Rebel Queen and The Next Person You Meet in Heaven.  They were all good books and I've listed them in the order of enjoyment in case you are interested.  Right now I'm reading a few books on fashion: Gok Wan's Work Your Wardrobe  and The Way She Wears It  by Dallas Shaw.  I'm relearning a lot of what I once knew and it is good to have a refresher.  Most of my newer reads are borrowed from the library so that I'm not spending the money and adding to my clutter at home.




One of my errands on Monday was to go the beautiful Granville Island. This is a very popular spot with tourists and locals alike but I wasn't there to stroll around and enjoy. I stopped at a store called Ten Thousand Villages to pick up a parcel of small items I ordered on line and asked to be delivered to the store front. It saved about $ 10.00 Canadian on shipping charges which is a lot considering the parcel was very small. If I had heavier things or larger things on order, then paying the shipping charges would be a good idea.  In fact, in my previous order with this company I had the parcel shipped to my local post office.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the products I've purchased from this place so far. I also like that the products are purchased from various countries abroad at fair trade prices. If you'd like to check it out please do because you would be benefiting artisans from developing nations.   If you want to check out the store, please check here.

Some of you might wonder why I am buying things when I am doing major decluttering.  One reason is I like to shop for gift ideas for Christmas and birthdays throughout the year.  This helps spread the cost over many months.

The other reason is that though I have too much stuff, one area where I am lacking is accessories, especially necklaces and earrings which help to stretch one's wardrobe into numerous outfits.

I keep an eye out for things I can purchase at a good price and that will coordinate with my wardrobe, current and planned.  Since I've already donated many clothing items  I will need to supplement my wardrobe in future.  But I don't need anything for awhile and can make do with what I have.  I also have plans to sew some things with the fabric I purchased in Kenya earlier in the year.  I will buy some coordinating fabric here in town to try and extend my wardrobe options that way too. So I can hold off buying new clothing until I know for sure what I really need.  

Last time I wrote about my knees I mentioned that I need to get updated x-rays.  I finally made it early in the week for the x-rays on both knees.  I expect soon to be referred to the center that educates arthritis patients to better manage their symptoms and assess them as to whether they need surgery.

Other than that I've been busy with the usual household things and a bit of shopping for a new wall clock,  yarn and food for the house.

While relaxing in the evening I'm knitting dishcloths for Christmas gifts. It's really the main that I knit and I have built up a little stash.  I enjoy knitting these simple cloths and it helps me feel like I'm doing something constructive while I relax.

I went to the community garden and snipped off some beautiful sunflowers to place at home. I noticed there were some ants in them so I had to get those out before I brought the flowers indoors.

I also snipped some salad greens and brought home. I made a simple green salad tonight with hamburgers on buns for dinner.


The container garden is holding up well. The rest of the garden doesn't look so great and I'm not really sure why. Probably a combination of over watering at times and under watering at other times.

Right now though there are workers out there and so they don't take care how they throw things around. After their work of power washing and painting walls is done I think my garden will be largely finished for this summer. If I have time I may plant some thing from seed just to see if it comes up and blossoms before we get too far into Fall weather.



Geraniums are a favourite in my garden.




I'll continue being busy at home for a few weeks with plans to see a movie or two with a friend and visit with an out of town friend who should be arriving soon.  My house guests won't start arriving until the end the month. Until then I have a lot to keep me busy. That's my update for now. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves wherever you are in the world.



Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

19 comments:

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Love the flower pictures and this last one of the flag pole and the crescent moon. The books you are reading sound interesting. I may have to check them out at our local library when I get settled into our new house. Sounds like you stay very busy with your projects and soon house guests...what fun! Have a good rest of summer. Enjoy every minute. And then fall comes! Yay. My favorite season! (Here in Florida fall lasts pretty much all winter!)

Sandi said...

Wait what. It's August already??

Debbie Harris said...

So nice to catch up on your activities. 🌝
How wonderful that your books went to and for such a good cause.
House guests are always a delight, enjoy your time with them.
Your flowers all look so beautiful,thank you for sharing with us.

Have a most beautiful day 🌻

eileeninmd said...

Hello, the first and last photos are a few of my favorites. The flowers are gorgeous, I love sunflowers. I hope for a good report on your knees. July has flown by, Happy August to you! Enjoy your day, wishing you a great weekend ahead.

Rhodesia said...

You have a lot going on and well done on finding a good home for the books. My geranium, the one and only one seems very sad, I just cannot get it to perk up! Have a good weekend, Diane

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I'm so glad the senior facility took your books. Got my fingers crossed they raise money and the books find a good new home. Love your geraniums too!

happyone said...

My favorite is the sunflowers. Happy Flowers.

Mari said...

I love that the Senior home took your books. I hope they do well with them.
Your flowers looks beautiful!

mvmaithai said...

I love Granville Island, and always stop there when I go to Vancouver. Your geraniums look good! I had flowers on mine when I bought it. Several weeks later, they are all gone, and now I have greens only.

Maria said...

It certainly was a productive July for you! We belong to a CSA as well... the "pick your own" aspect of it is our favorite. They have flowers galore, herbs, cherry tomatoes, pole beans, sunflowers... It's beautiful! Do you knit your dishcloths from cotton yarn?
Happy weekend to you! ~ Maria

Joyful said...

Hi Maria, thank you for stopping by. Yes, I knit my dishcloths from cotton yarn. I like Peaches n Cream cotton yarn but they don't sell it at my local stores anymore. I usually buy Bernat. I like the smaller balls not the big ones but I buy both. Happy weekend to you as well!

Joyful said...

I'm glad you like Granville Island. It really is a nice place to spend some time. I dead head the geranium flowers when they die and that seems to bring new ones out.

From The Heart said...

Beautiful pictures.And interesting reading.

DawnTreader said...

Not always easy getting rid of old books (neither parting with them nor finding somewhere to pass them on to) so congratulations on that. I like the last night sky image.

Aritha V. said...

You are knitting dishcloths? Tell me about that. Is it difficult? I am a beginner.

Joyful said...

Hi Aritha, knitting dishcloths is not difficult because the project is very small from start to finish. Enjoy.

annie said...

Great pictures. The flowers are so nice! I crochet washcloths for my bathroom.
I should grow sunflowers. I do grow Black Eyed Susans which look like tiny sunflowers. But I think I need to do the big ones.

Jeanie said...

You've been so productive and the photos are terrific. Don't you love geraniums and sunflowers? The best! I think the Paris Seamstress is right up my alley!

Stevenson Q said...

Congratulations on having a very productive July! I myself am starting to go back to reading in the past week before the start of my Grad School Semester. Thanks for sharing these snaps of life and I would love some of those greens :)

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