At the Half Way Mark in the Month

I had a super busy day on Monday, October 19th (approximately the half way point of the month) and it was the start of a very busy week.  While I ran my errands the rain stopped and sun came out so I snapped a few photos to share on Skywatch Friday this week.  I hope you enjoy. 

Dinner was quick:  stir fried pork cubes with Swiss chard from my garden and daikon radish (and spices) and a dish of stir fried noodles with a variety of vegetables and chili garlic oil.  I ended the day with a clean sink and all the dishes put away. I mostly wash the evening dishes, cutlery and pots and pans but I don't always finish the job. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf because everything put away makes the evening and the morning much nicer.

This month is flying by so quickly. We had two family birthdays a month apart (and celebrated them differently due to Covid).  We also celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada on October 12th and cooking a traditional dinner takes time whether it is for 2 people or 10 people .  I'm doing a major declutter of paper.  I've been going through a long, long process of fully decluttering my home and I am  now on the paper files. I've got so many that accumulated mostly while my late mom was ill. I didn't want to throw anything out. Now I've got to sort through it all and keep only what I really need of hers, my late sisters and also my own paperwork.  It feels good to finally get rid of paper that have been cluttering my space and my mind for so long. 

I have also been getting rid of larger items, not just items from the kitchen cabinet and closets. I could finally be offloading the very large power wheelchair which is taking up a lot of space near the entry way.  Friends of mine have been fund raising to replace the battery and charger and ultimately gift the chair to a paraplegic lady who can really make use of it. The fund raising efforts are very slow.  But it sounds like they have more than enough now to at least have a technician come over to evaluate everything.  I will know more in a week or two.

I've also been busy learning a new routine for running the household and though I'm not fully on board with the program it is a big help. I suppose any method one uses to keep on top of the household is helpful. I never found the household maintenance to be very difficult when I was younger.  I guess I have slowed down a lot because these days the running of the household seems to take up more time. I think the key is to find an approach you like and stick with it and consistently apply the routines.  If anyone is interested, check out FlyLady or Diane in Denmark, both of whom are on You Tube. Diane actually was a Fly Lady mentor for many years and still teaches others how to implement the system.  I enjoy her sparkly personality and motivational pep talks.  What I like about the system so far is that many things are done in 15 minute increments.  As they like to say, "you can do almost anything in 15 minute increments".

I'll be linking up with Skywatch Friday later this week. I send you my best wishes for a beautiful and safe weekend. If you missed my post about Kenya you can read it here.

A Little of This and That

Here are a variety of photos from my garden. I'm reluctant to put it all to bed until the rains begin for the season of winter. We are having sunshine this week until Thursday. The rains will be here in time for Thanksgiving. It will rain for almost a week and then the sun is expected to come out again but I notice the temperatures will be quite frigid. I guess I'll need to try and get things done outside around that time.

I've been busy trying to keep up with the Fly Lady routines after participating in the Fly Lady Babysteps "course". Everything is going well, perhaps better than I expected. 

I surpassed my reading goals back in August so I've slowed down in my reading habit. I just completed the 3rd book in a series by Lesley Downer. I really enjoyed the first two books and I also enjoyed the 3rd one but not quite as much. I believe there is one more in the series.

Currently, I'm reading The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker.  I've seen the author here and there on You Tube and I'm enjoying his book so far.   It's doubtful I'll be implementing Mr. Becker's system though I agree with his philosophy of getting rid of unnecessary things so you can enjoy the things you deem necessary.  I also just like reading about different approaches to major decluttering like the Kon Mari Method, Swedish Death Cleaning, the Fly Lady and so on).

I've got a simple dinner in mind for Thanksgiving as there will only be two of us and no guests this year. Ham (I'll save the turkey dinner for Christmas and New Year's dinners), sweet potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, maybe some scalloped potatoes too, a few crunchy veggies (crudités) instead of a salad and a pie of some kind. Perhaps cherry pie just to be different.  I always make more than enough food so we can enjoy leftovers and I can make ham and pea soup once or twice. Soup is always good but especially at this time of year when the weather starts turning cool.

What about you dear reader? What is the weather like where you are? Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If yes, what will you have for dinner and what will you remember to give thanks for in 2020? As for me I am very grateful that my family members and friends far and wide, are safe and that I am safe. I had a bit of scare last month when a friend of mine had a family member test positive for Covid in the country of Kenya. Thankfully they had very minor symptoms and are fully recovered.

Thank you for stopping by. I'm joining in a little late with Our World Tuesday.

Fall in Vancouver

 I'm continuing the Fall theme in this post. 

The trees photos were taken on Tuesday late afternoon when I was out running errands. I was looking for one small item and ended up having to go to four (4) different stores to find it. It is a simple little thing called a plate or tray hanger. You used to be able to find them almost anywhere.  Now I think they are becoming extinct though you can buy them on Amazon.  I found what I wanted at Michael's. The fact is, I knew that Michael's carried what I needed because I looked on line first.  But I was hoping to find them in one of the small stores near to where I live.

In the short video I am standing in the parking lot of a grocery store and looking down over Broadway Avenue. One block to the west (to the left of the scene in the video) they are connecting the street with a subway line that will eventually go out to the University of British Columbia.  This transportation option is long awaited and long overdue. The building of it has already started.

Once I picked up what I needed at Michael's, I was famished and had this lovely Teriyaki Beef Bento Box for dinner. The small restaurant where I ate was packed with diners.  They were mostly police officers on meal break but I was too tired to look for another restaurant.  At least the restaurant did have hand sanitizing and social distancing measures in place.

The next few photos are of my garden  and were taken Thursday, October 1st. The blooms are hanging in there so I haven't plucked anything up yet.  In fact, if I have time in the next week or so, I hope to try out my brother's camera lenses again.  I think the photos below were taken with my camera and the prime lens that came with it.

Here are a few more photos from Tuesday night's outing.

I found these apples growing on this tree amidst the high rises. I didn't pick them.

This blue sky photo was taken on Monday night.

 A book I recently completed and can recommend is:

It's a book about slavery, the underground railway and the magical, mystical powers of some of the people who helped their own as best they could. I did not know before reading this book, that the author and journalist, Ta-Nehisi Coates, has also written a Black Panther series for Marvel Comics. That was a happy connection for me as I very much enjoyed watching the movie, Black Panther.  I was saddened by the recent loss of one of it's lead actors, Chadwick Boseman, who by all accounts was not only a fabulous actor but a very fine human being. The more I read about him and what he did in his short life, the more I realize what a great loss it really is.  May his family and loved ones be comforted and may his legacy continue to impact many people around the globe. ♥♥♥

 

 Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to you all. Stay safe.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday today.