Thursday, November 28, 2024

A Few Scenes from the Week

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Here are a couple of snapshots to end the month.  Wishing you a fabulous end of November. See you in the month of December.

The end of the month is a perfect time to reflect on the blessings and challenges we've encountered. Here's to a new month filled with opportunities and growth. Happy month end!




Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Racing to December

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing?

How is the weather where you live?

These are a few photos of the weather over the past week or so.








This kind of weather calls for stick to your ribs foods and 'warming' foods so there's been plenty of that.



My health has been up and down as it usually is at this time of year. Whenever I'm fighting a cold I don't have much energy except for watching something on television or Netflix or one of the other streaming services. Sometimes I also start a project. I started making a few dishcloths but ran out of yarn. Maybe I'll get back to Michael's soon. I'm only buying small skeins of cotton yarn since Michael's no longer sells the large skeins of cotton. At least not the branches I visit.


I've slowed down on the big declutter project though this week I managed to sort a few papers and declutter a 4 foot Christmas tree and some Christmas ornaments.  



Even though I've decluttered quite a bit I've decided the 4 foot tree is too wide in circumference and I've opted for a taller and skinnier tree. They're called Pencil Trees because they are very thin.  This kind of tree will fit much better into my small living space.  The other tree which I purchased a few years ago has been given to a friend of mine who said he was going to go shopping for Christmas decorations and a tree.  I delivered the tree and baubles to him on Tuesday night since he lives within walking distance.  I'm happy he will be able to make good use of it.



What is keeping you busy in your neck of the woods or your part of the world?  Are you ready for Christmas.  

I guess in the USA they will soon enjoy Thanksgiving first but we in Canada celebrated in October. I'm always grateful for a longer period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It gives us more time to savour each holiday and to prepare for the next.

Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts on weather and your activities. Until next time, please take care. 🎄🎄🎄








Thursday, November 21, 2024

A Changing Sky ~ November 21, 2024

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you've all had a great week. I've had a very busy one but a good one.   The week presented an ever changing mood and I was able to capture some of it.  We even had thunder, lighting and sleet. You might be able to see the 'white stuff' in the night scene on the patio. There was also huge windstorm (bomb cyclone) which affected many just as it did down the western US coastline. Thankfully my household and general neighbourhood were not affected.  But many in the Greater Vancouver area and beyond, suffered damage to their homes & cars or a loss of power.  I guess the latter is better than losing one's home or car, especially since the electric company managed to restore power relatively quickly too most homes.

Enjoy the photos. Thanks for stopping by. Have a safe week.









I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

Friday, November 15, 2024

A Brighter Day ~ Skywatch Friday

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Happy Friday and Happy weekend to you all.

I was very grateful to wake up Thursday to see that the rain stopped for a while and I actually saw some blue sky and white cloud. After a forecast of several storms and daily rain for a week that was a blessing. In fact, the weather forecast has changed so that we had a break today and tomorrow and some sunny skies are expected.  However, rain is in the forecast every day again next week.  I do like rain believe it or not. After all, I do live in a rainforest.  But even I have my limits as to how much rain is tolerable.

The following photos were taken on Thursday afternoon/evening. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by! Joining in with Skywatch Friday.







Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Reading

Bookshelf: read

The Spoiled Heart
The Last Sandstorm: A Memoir
Unplug the Christmas machine: How to have the Christmas you've always wanted
The Evolution of Annabel Craig
A Great Country
Shadows Along the Zambezi
I Heard That Song Before
The Power of Praise and Worship
Becoming a Matriarch: A Memoir
A PATH THROUGH THE HIGHLANDS: A Missionary Memoir From Papua New Guinea
Travesty in Haiti: A True Account of Christian Missions, Orphanages, Fraud, Food Aid and Drug Trafficking
The Good Knight
Those People Next Door
Long Island
Elizabeth's Star
Nothing But the Truth
What Happened at the Lake
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Station Eleven
This Body of Death
The Postcard
Enchantress of Numbers
The Victory Garden
Miss Morgan's Book Brigade
Crow Mary
Laura & Emma
Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell
The Paris Assignment
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond
The Botanist's Daughter
Digging Stars
Knit-and-Crochet Garden : Bring a little outside In with 35 projects inspired by flowers, butterflies, birds and bees
Hello Stranger
My Indian Summer
Peach Blossom Spring
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris
The Women
The Beach House
Native American Spiritualism: An Exploration of Indigenous Beliefs and Cultures
The School for Good Mothers
The Cafe by the Sea
Style for Everybody: A Guide to Curating Your Essential Wardrobe
Fresh Water for Flowers
Wapikwaniy: A Beginner's Guide to Metis Floral Beadwork
The Woman in Me
None of This Is True
The Venice Sketchbook
The House of Fortune
The Armor of Light
Demon Copperhead
Tom Lake
Death on the Riviera
The Covenant of Water
A Grandmother Begins the Story
Embers in the London Sky
My Name Is Barbra



Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

The end of 2024 is fast approaching and I still have several books I'd like to complete before the year is ended. I met my modest reading goal of 30 books for 2024 some months ago but I'm trying to see how many more books I can complete this year.

I set my goal very modestly due to my intention to focus on 'creating' through various hobbies. I'll have more to say on that at the end of the year.

I keep track of most of my reading material on the Goodreads platform but they don't have a good widget for copying books as I've done above. Consequently there are a few errors. I did not read Shadows over the Zambezi (read in 2018) or Nothing but the Truth (read in 2022) this year.

It's hard to pick a favourite from these books but my top picks would include: The Armor of Light by Ken Follett,  The Venice Sketchbook by Rys Bowen, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese and A Path Through the Highlands:  A Missionary Memoir From Papua New Guinea, by Jessica Cormier (presently a missionary to Kenya). I also enjoyed My Name is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand.  

Typically I like books that are written in a 'cosy' style, as in a conversational type of style. It helps me stay focussed on the information and it is more enjoyable late at night while reading. I also like books that present information in a straight forward manner (non-fiction) or one that gives personal details as in a memoir. Having said that, the Barbra Streisand memoir was very informative but almost overwhelming in terms of its details and facts. 

What about you dear reader? Do you like to read paper books or ebooks? Which do you prefer?  Do you also keep track of your reading?

I've put a link to each of the books in case you'd like to learn more and read one or two of them yourself. Happy reading!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Tuesday 4

Hello and welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where 4 questions hopefully help us to blog, meet people and think about things...