Hello November

Enjoy some photos of my recent walk along the beach. 

The way people are dressed and the way the sky looks in some photos it looks as if it was very cold and windy. I guess people dressed for the way the weather normally is at this time of year;  much cooler.

But in fact, it was a beautiful, gorgeous and warm day. 

It was expected to be one of the last warm days before temperature dips and rains begin in earnest.

I only had on a spring coat and a light sweater underneath. It was so warm I took off my outer jacket and walked wearing only my sweater. 

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My World is Good at the End of October 2017

I've been feeling so tired since my last post and I haven't been sleeping well. Many things I wanted to get done had to sit by the way side. I put off my much anticipated trip to town and walk along the waterfront.  However all was not lost. I did manage to get many smaller tasks done and out of the way and that adds to my gives me peace of mind.

I do have to get to the waterfront again though because rains are expected to start a few days earlier than I expected. I wanted at least one or two more walks along the waterfront before that happens as it could be months again before we have such warm and beautiful days.

I hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you are. I'm sharing some photos I took last Friday on my errand runs. I haven't shared any nature photos lately from my neighborhood or the adjoining neighborhoods. These ones show all the beautiful fall colours. I read on the internet that this year's fall colours on the west coast are more vibrant than usual due to the lack of rain over the summer and the sudden transition from summer heat to fall cold.

Sorry this photo isn't too clear. I used my phone camera.


These next two photos were taken near a small mall within walking distance of my home. The place is very old and has been there forever. The local school board owns it and is always under pressure from the government to sell it and use the funds for school district needs.  Those of us who shop at the small mall will be sorry to see it go some day.  Though rather outdated the place grows on you and provides all the basic necessities one needs in the neighborhood.

I haven't made much progress on the style course which I signed up for a few weeks ago. I knew that would happen and I tried to get out of signing up now. However the organizer said she wouldn't be offering the course "live" again so I signed up. Now I'm behind by several weeks. I'm keeping fingers crossed that I will be able to catch up soon.  I try to log in when sessions are live to at least listen to the teaching and discussion. It is helping and the good news is I can actually work at my own pace and will be able to access the course forever (or as long as the company and website last anyway), I've been very busy the past few weeks trying to buy new clothing items to "fill the gaps" in my wardrobe (jumping ahead in what I'm sure is much later in the course), look for new winter boots or rain boots for the cold and rainy weather. I haven't decided which one would be best but I am tired of having cold and wet feet on the wettest of days. I guess I will buy whatever fits and whatever I'm able to find first.  At least that will be ahead of where I'm at now.  I also need to get to the tailor to hem several pairs of slacks and jeans. I can do it myself but would rather pay someone else to do it if I have more than one or two items to alter.

One big thing I have managed to accomplish is Christmas shopping.  I've spent a lot of time comparison shopping and ordering on line.  I am a pragmatic person so everyone on my short list of recipients is getting clothing items that they need or I think they could use. One of the recipients is my niece.  I wanted to buy her several nice items of warm clothing for the winter and to match her newest (short) winter jacket.  I managed to find tops but am having more difficulty finding a warm pair of pants.  I decided to give her something I've newly purchased for myself instead but I will have to hem the legs for her before I can wrap it up.  Good thing I've taken her measurements.  I'm feeling rather good about getting most of the Christmas stuff done.  I still have a few others gifts to buy or make and parcels to wrap before the end of November so some things can be posted.  I often don't buy much in the way of gifts but now and then the spirit of generosity takes over and I want to buy for everyone!

When I'm running errands I often need or want to stop for a snack or a meal.  On Saturday I had Vietnamese Pho Soup and a roll dip. I prefer shrimp salad rolls to the roll dip but this is a special and it comes with the roll dip. Have you ever eaten this kind of soup? I like to put fresh bean sprouts, Thai basil leaves and chili oil in mine. I always order the house special which comes with cooked beef, rare beef, tendons, tripe and beef balls.

I love having a bowl of Vietnamese soup and a roll dip for dinner from time to time.

In about 2 weeks a friend and I will attend Verdi's Requiem performed by the Vancouver Music Academy.  Though put on by students, the annual productions are very professional and held at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre downtown. I can't wait to go.

I'm also trying to organize another friend to get to a Verdi Opera, Un Ballo in Machera (A Masked Ball) in the middle of November.  If that doesn't work out I'm hoping she will want to attend a performance of Handel's Messiah. It has been awhile since I went to The Messiah and it is one of my favourite pieces.  This year it seems we have a choice of 3 different choirs and venues.  I am so happy about that because these tend to get sold out very early in the season.  Even if you wish to go you will miss out if you do not get organized very early.  I hope to confirm tickets very soon but my friend has been slow to get back to me which isn't normal behavior on her part. I hope everything is well with her and her family and that we can connect soon.  Other than that I hope to attend some craft fairs in late November and early December.  There will be some artisans that I can only access once a year.  Maybe I will find a unique find.

My reading has slowed down a lot.  In August I met my goal of 35 books for 2017.  Since then I have read several more books including the very long  A Column of Fire  by Ken Follett.  I enjoyed it a lot but reading the reviews some of his fans didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I did or as much as they enjoyed his other books.  Right now I'm reading a book that is taking me forever to read. It isn't that bad but definitely not the kind of style I usually enjoy.   It's called Birmingham Blitz by Annie Murray.

This book is 928 pages long.

If you've been reading me for awhile you know I like to collect loyalty points where I shop at the local pharmacy. I don't shop often in other stores with loyalty points because I don't like all the work involved in keeping track of them and trying to maximize the points obtained.  But I can make good use of pharmacy products since they sell lots of things for day to day household needs.  They also see a lot of food products and some basic technology stuff.

In my last 2 shopping trips I earned about 30,000 points.  That brings me about 250 points shy of a grand total of 95,000 points which will give me $175 Canadian dollars.  I must use all this money to buy stuff at the pharmacy.  I don't normally need to spend  $175 at a pharmacy but it comes in handy when looking to purchase something more costly like a humidifier, electric toothbrushes or water piks, etc.  I have my eye on an air purifier or two but I like buying one big item and then using the rest for the daily household needs.

Whenever I am at the pharmacy I take my blood pressure. Lately it has been optimal or very close to optimal. The diastolic pressure has been lower though (more like 56 or so). The pharmacist doesn't seem too worried though I've asked several different ones about it. I will be seeing my regular doctor in about one month.  Blood pressure readings are usually a bit higher when I am at the doctor's office. They call it white coat syndrome but also the machines they use are probably more accurate than the ones at the pharmacy.

I wish you an excellent week until next time!

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Nature Notes Tuesday

for the last day of October, 2017.

Catching Some Light

October

By Robert Frost 
 

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~

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The Last Day of October

Hi friends,

The last few days have been wet and cold and I've been feeling tired and under the weather. This means I didn't do a done a whole lot on Friday except try to organize my calendar and catch up on the housework.

Like everyone else  I've got a lot to do between now and Christmas. Besides the usual Christmas preparations which I started a few weeks ago, I've got many appointments, errands, medical tests, book reading and social engagements.

After my last book review post here I started reading Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. You can read a summary of the book here if interested.

When I am feeling tired and sickly I don't get out as much as I'd like.  However I did get out to the produce store, the post office & the library on the last Saturday of the month of October which was also Hallowe'en.  (If you missed my Hallowe'en post you can find it here if interested).  When I was out I decided to go to a Thai restaurant rather than make dinner tonight.  I had my chicken cashew nut but didn't get a photo of the dish.  I noticed that the dish has changed since I had it last. Instead of a generous helping of red peppers, there was only one piece of red pepper and some green peppers in place of the red. Green peppers cost a lot less than red ones around these parts.

While I was eating, a lot of customers came and left with take out orders.  Each time I've been to the restaurant it has been busy with take out orders.  But today it seemed much busier than usual. I guess that is a good thing and I hope it means the business is not in imminent trouble.  Not so long ago, a long-time Vietnamese restaurant in my neighbourhood closed. Before they did, I'd noticed that they were skimping on ingredients to their dishes and I wondered why.  A few months later, the restaurant was closed even though they had a lot of regular customers and had been around for many years.  I think the business taxes and rental costs here for businesses are just too high. In fact, I heard one popular restauranteur on radio saying he would close his restaurants at the end of this year. Not for lack of customers but because the business taxes were just too high to make the business profitable.

I started reading Crushing Debt by David Trahair, Chartered Accountant. I'm still in early stages of the book and I've enjoyed it so far.  But I'm not sure I will finish reading it.  I didn't realize when I picked up the book that it deals with the subject of what to do when you are faced with debt levels so high that you cannot meet your obligations (e.g. bankruptcy).  I am not needing this kind of help at this moment, thankfully.  If you are interested in the subject and need help, have a look here for a good review and summary of the book.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I thought the book was about.  When I was selecting books off the shelf at the library last week, I just picked up several financial books of the shelf that had intriguing titles. I didn't even read the book covers like I normally do.  I do like to read about finance, debt, budgeting, retirement, wills, estates, etc. Even if I do not need all the information or it isn't immediately relevant, it does add to my knowledge base and over time I retain more and more of what is useful to me.Debt is certainly a topic that is always being discussed in articles and on television interviews and we are always being warned about debt by the Governor of the Bank of Canada. Well our previous Governor, Mark Carney who is now the Governor of the Bank of England.

This article written in Spring of 2015, says that the  38 % of Canadian debt holders now earn over $100,000 annually.  This is roughly equal to the percentage of people in debt who earn less than $50,000 annually. The article goes on to say that the vast majority of Canadian debt is basically a result of trying have the basics of middle class life like education, cars and homes,  rather than trying to achieve the high life.  When you consider that the starter home in Vancouver these days is over a million dollars on average, & many Canadian cities have similar real estate costs, you can easily see what the article is driving at. In this context, it behooves all Canadians to really buckle down and manage their finances well.  It is a constant task.

As I write this post on Saturday night  I can still hear the firecrackers going off.  Every now and then I hear a loud burst.  Sometimes I hear the rain pelting down but it has stopped for now.  The weather forecast for Sunday is for significant rain and I am prepared to stay indoors and try and rest.  I picked up several movies from the library while I was out. I probably won't see them all but I will make a start.  The movies I've picked up include:  War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) , Paris When it Sizzles (Audrey Hepburn & William Holden), The Trip to Italy (Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon), The Hundred Food Journey (Helen Mirren) & Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman). Four of these are movies I missed when they were in theater so I'm very happy to get them now. The last one, Paris When it Sizzles is an old movie that I've yet to see.

While I was out, I also managed to get a few more Fall/Autumn photos. Earlier today (Saturday) it was raining heavily but the sun came out and some blue sky shared it's beauty with us.
 

To the east and south the sky was blue and bright.

To the north and west the sky was dark and cloudy.

The building with a steeple was a church & now contains condominiums.

AUTUMN

by Emily Dickinson (1896)

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

In the last photo of Fall colours, you can see that the leaves are almost gone from some of the trees.

Heavy rains this weekend will finish off a lot of the leaves and ensure the trees are bare next week.

This is the time of year that I really do not enjoy.

I try not to complain though.  If the sun comes out at least once a week I can manage to make it through the Winter just fine.

In another hour it will be time for us in the Northern Hemisphere to turn our clocks back one hour until the Spring returns.

For many it will be a nice time to get an extra hour of rest this weekend.

This is a mosaic of shop decorated for Hallowe'en yesterday.

I am still writing the post, lol.
Much later after fireworks stopped, I decided to watch one of the movies, The Hundred Foot Journey on  my desktop. But I very seldom watch DVD on my desktop and whenever I've tried, I've had nothing but issues.
So I decided to finally upgrade to Windows 10. After everything was downloaded and upgraded, I spent an hour to  discover a way to watch DVDs.  I learned you need to purchase a $15. program from Microsoft.  Spending that money defeats the purpose of getting free movies from the library. So I found a free program to download and finally got to start watching my movie.
I really should get to sleep and watch the  movie later.

.

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