Readiness for Christmas

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope this weekend finds you well.

In my last post I mentioned having gone to the Christmas Market. Today I'm sharing a few snippets of the market with you.

Each year I try to take in one, sometimes 2 special events that are geared to Christmas. This year I decided to go to the Christmas Market.  I also hope to participate in a Christmas Wreath Making activity tomorrow if all goes well.
 

Wishing you all a happy end to November and a great beginning to December.

If you're up to it, I'd love to hear how you are getting into the holiday spirit this year.
 

The Season of Light - Skywatch Friday

Hello everyone,

Well we've almost completed another month and we've got less than a month to go before Christmas Day is upon us. I hope you are enjoying the pre-holiday period so far.

I want to wish all Americans a very Happy Thanksgiving. I know it's a busy time as you have to deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas in a relatively short period of time.  If you've made it this far you're blessed.

The following photos were taken downtown at the waterfront near the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre. You can see it was very dark and you can barely see the sky even though it was only 6 p.m.  I had just been to the annual Christmas Market and was on my way to the bus stop.
 

Thanks for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. Enjoy your weekend.
 

Another Friday in November ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope this day finds you well and looking forward to the weekend.

I've had a good week. I'm feeling much better than I was a week ago and that's always a good thing.

I also had some good news. My nephew returned for a brief visit from Oklahoma, USA and we had a chance to catch up on each other's news over dinner. I always love spending time with him and his lovely wife.  He asked me when I will visit him and I said I would consider it when the weather is warmer.  

Travelling south of the border is not something I really want to do at this time but I would consider doing it for him.  Whether it will work out remains to be seen because I know it's going to be a very busy early part of 2026 but at least it's now on the list of things to consider.

One of my nieces had her first child a few weeks ago.  Earlier this week, I learned that her younger brother and his new wife are having their first child this summer. So there is a lot to celebrate as far as new life and family expansion is concerned.  My niece and nephew are the 2 youngest children of the brother next to me in age. He is over the moon at the moment with these new and upcoming additions to the family.

The city has had a lot of rain over the past month or so but there is enough variety and drama in the sky to keep me entertained.  The sky is ever changing. All I have to do it look up.

Thank you for stopping by and paying me a blog visit for Skywatch Friday. Wishing you all the best of the weekend.

One Saturday in Early November

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Today I'm sharing a few photos from the neighbourhood.  It was one of the rare days in the week when it didn't rain!  Although you can see it was a pretty cloudy day.

I hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you are in the world.  Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. Have a great weekend!

This and That ~ November 11, 2025

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well and keeping warm or cool depending on where you live in the world. We've had 2 dry and sunny days here for which I'm grateful. Every year it seems to rain on Remembrance Day and I always feel for the elderly veterans that have to sit outside in the cold and rain in order to participate in Remembrance Day Services. On the news today they were saying how few veterans are left of those that fought in World War 11. Sad to know they will soon no longer be with us.

True to form, each year at this time of year I'm delayed in getting a flu shot due to getting a bad cold. When I was working I always got a flu early in the season. Now that I'm retired, I always get a very bad cold or bronchitis and seldom get a flu. Again, the illness prevents me from getting a vaccine.

I'm keeping steadily busy. There is always something that needs to be done both inside and outside of the home.  I've had to reorganize a few appointments until I'm feeling a bit better.  I don't really like to do that because then it makes for a busy time trying to catch up later but sometimes it must be done.

I haven't made much headway yet on the latest book I'm reading but I'm really enjoying it so far.

I've almost finished the small, red beaded dress pin in honour of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW). I still have to sew the front and back together and create a border.

I've been craving Butternut Squash soup for awhile and finally made some today. It was delicious. Even better, it's healthy.  I made the soup in my new Dutch oven. 

Someone came to pick up my old Dutch oven today. It was large one and very heavy.  I gave it away on my local Freecycle site.  Someone responded to my ad within an hour of posting and came to pick up the pot this afternoon.  I'm glad I didn't have to throw it away. It doesn't look that pretty and the enamel had started chipping away from the cast iron but it's still perfectly usable if you can handle the size and weight.

The new pot is not as heavy and the capacity is about 2 litres less. I can tell it isn't as well made as the old one I have but I'm sure it will be fine for my needs.

In other news, we finally managed to get the home phone, internet and television services all working at the same time. It's the first time since late August. Hopefully that will be the end of the issues and the billing issues I've had to sort out with Telus. It had become a real nightmare.  We don't know for sure but the problems seem to have stemmed from using the old (reconditioned) set top box that we were given when we signed on to Pure Fibre (high speed internet).  Once we used the small, new set top box, everything started working as they should have and so far everything is still working.

Thanks for stopping by. If you missed my submission to Tuesday 4. You can find it here. 

November Musings ~ Tuesday 4

It's time again for Tuesday 4 held in memory of Toni Taddeo it's founder and previous host.   Thank you so much for joining in and helping to keep this alive. It is much appreciated.

It's Autumn and temperatures in many places will be going down, days will be shorter and leaves are tumbling down. 

1. What kind of weather and temperatures make you feel most comfortable, most healthy?

I feel most comfortable and healthy when the sun is shining and the air is slightly bracing. It's good walking weather and I can wear a lighter jacket without getting overly hot or cold.

2.  Do you like the colors associated with Autumn. Clothing wise do they look good on you?

Yes! I love autumn colours like golds, browns and oranges.  I don't usually wear these colours but this year I'm trying to expand the wardrobe colour pallet with more gold, brown and green.  Orange is not my colour. I've also got my eye open for items in a deep red but no success so far. 

3. Would you rather:… 

•   …get lost in a corn maze or go on a hayride? Hayride
• … visit an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch ? Pumpkin Patch
•  … eat a caramel apple or  a candy apple?  Caramel Apple
•  … have some cinnamon buns or Pumpkin muffins? Cinnamon Buns

4. There are 7,500 varieties  of apple.  What is your favorite and do you regularly eat apples?   What fruits do you keep on hand?

I'm not a huge fan of eating apples unless they are crispy. I used to love green apples but these days I find the skins too tough and hard on my gums. Instead I buy Honey Crisp, Pink Lady or Fuji for snacking on. 

We always have apples on hand but we also have bananas, oranges, avocados & lemons/limes on a regular basis.  Less frequently, we have pears.  In summer we have fresh peaches or nectarines and gooseberries.  Except for the apples, I find it very hard to keep most of the fruits in adequate stock however if I buy too many they will go bad.   I also buy a variety of fruits to keep in the fridge. Normally we have one or two of the following fresh berries & frozen berries (for the freezer to be used in smoothies):  strawberries, raspberries, blueberries & blackberries. Less frequently and usually in late summer, we have green or red grapes and melons such as watermelon or cantaloupe. 

Thank you for stopping by!