Neighbourhood Eye Candy

I love my neighbourhood. It's a peaceful area and the people are friendly.

There are always lots of pretty things to photograph when out for a walk. 

After my errands I took a walk to a local park and to do some work at the community gardens.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday Plans

The sky is always changing and I thought it looked especially interesting on a recent walk.

In Fly Lady Land it's Plan and Play Day.

I'm planning on moving out one room so the restoration company can better assess water damage. It means, I need to pack up everything I might possible need for awhile for my personal use while work is ongoing. It should be easy but I tend to think of every possible thing I might need and over pack.  I do the same when I go on holiday. 

I'll likely remain at home while work is ongoing at the condo, though that isn't 100% certain. Once they open up the walls we'll have a better idea of the work plan and schedule. I'll have time to work on a number of projects while I'm at home, even if it's only at night after the workers have gone home for the day.  

For the play part of my day I'll likely read a good book, take a walk, go for coffee or watch some television. I may even do all four if I have the energy. We'll see how the day goes.

Have a good one!

Neighbourhood Street Scenes

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well today.

These are photos I took on a recent walk in the neighbourhood. You can see the sky is very grey and dull but what you can't see is how cold it was. Seriously cold.

I had to wear a long sleeved top, a sweat jacket and my winter rain jacket. I was just fine dressed this way but I was so surprised to see how cold it had become. I don't remember it ever  being so cold at this time of year although the rain is no surprise, lol.
 

Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Former Evangelistic Tabernacle, now turned into condos

 

Very near the corner of Main St. & Broadway

A newish restaurant I haven't had a chance to try yet

I like the joyful exterior of this place

The new Broadway/Main St. subway station will be located here (behind the photos)

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the neighbourhood.  Thank you for your visit.

Change is in the Air

Reading these gardening books

Reading this unusual horror book. Not my usual genre.

Ahmed Saadawi is an Iraqi novelist, poet, screenwriter and documentary film maker. He won the 2014 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for Frankenstein in Baghdad. He lives and works in Baghdad.  The novel is set in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq. If you wish to read more about the book you may do so here.

Vietnamese Pho Noodle soup with basil & beans sprouts + a roll dip & tea

After a good run of many sunny days we are now having a few cloudy, cool days.

It is supposed to rain. I hope we get a good soak for the garden.

This is the high rise going up.  You can see the clouds gathering. Change is in the air

The high rise under construction is part of a large development. The rest of the building is behind the high rise. Altogether the development takes up a good half a city block. I'm not sure when the development is scheduled to open but all the condos were sold out years before construction began.

Small hotel immediately across from the high rise development.

The blue sky is peeking out from behind the clouds.

The hotel and high rise are located next to shopping, restaurants, pharmacies, coffee shops and so on.

The people living there will enjoy the neighbourhood and they will have spectacular views of the city especially at higher levels.

The high rise proposal came with a lot of back lash and push back from local residents but it will soon become a reality. Since the approval of this particular high rise, similar development has now been approved in one or two other areas where this simply would not have been possible before. That is no doubt why people fought so hard against it but in today's world in Vancouver, there is no where to build but up. 

Thank you for stopping by.

Joining in with 

Skywatch Friday

and 

Friday Foto Friends

There is no where to build but up.

Yesterday Spring Seemed So Close

Yesterday was filled with sadness and joy all in one day.

I first heard the news about my Kenya friend losing her child. Mother and family are going through an incredibly rough time right now; financially and emotionally and for the mom, physically too. See my blog post here if you have a moment.

Much later I went out for a walk.

The day was gloriously warm and sunny. A rarity in Vancouver over the winter months.

There were some early signs of Spring. 

I'm not sure what these blossoms are but they caught my eye.

The last time I took a photo of this fountain it was frozen solid. Yesterday it flowed freely.

Some rose hips were evident. I haven't noticed this bush here before.

A palm tree on someone's balcony beckons me to African shores.

I smiled as this senior cycled by on his tricycle.

A helicopter in flight. Can you spot it?

It seems like this kind of warm weather seems to happen around this time every year, give or take a week. Whether it remains is yet to be seen. At any rate, the real Spring is not so very far away from now.

As the sun was disappearing, it brought lovely pastel colours to the skies.

I like the look of the bare leaves like lace against the sky. The transit wires give added interest

I managed to take a shot of the half moon before the light got too low

I captured these pansies just before I stopped at the final store.  They are on the corner of two main city streets that get a lot of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. So you can see that pedestrians have been using the planter as an ashtray. What a shame!

 It was the end of my picture taking as night fell (just after 5 p.m.).

You can see the twin (mountain) peaks of the Lions way in back of mountains and the towers of downtown.

 Though it was sunny yesterday, today was a bit misty and foggy at higher levels.

In the east they are having winter storms.

I hope you are warm wherever you are in the world.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday

Thank you to hosts:

 
Arija
Gattina  Lady Fi
Sylvia
Sandy
Jennifer  

Tree at Dusk

This is a photo of a tree I took at dusk against a dark sky in late Fall. I thought the red berries looked so pretty.

Come with Me for a Spell, Relax & Enjoy the Sun in Mount Pleasant

Like many people who are having their winter, I am missing our beautiful Spring and Summer. I made this slideshow with music last Spring and want to share it with you now as part of my series on living in Vancouver.

This little slideshow is of the neighbourhood known as Mount Pleasant or South Main (SoMa). This neighbourhood once known as a working class neighbourhood has undergone gentrification since the early 1990s. It is one of the up and coming neighbourhoods in the city. It is home to many first time buyers & young urban professionals. On a given weekend when one is out shopping and running errands you will more than likely bump into one of the local media personalities who live in the neighbourhood.

This area got it's local flavour and colour from a former stream. In the late 1800s, early 1900s, the area was known as Brewery Creek due to the number of breweries that set up in the area as a result of the nearby stream. Vancouver's City Hall is also located in the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood.

Enjoy the tour!