A Gentle Start to the Week

This was the view on Sunday evening as I headed out to do some late night grocery shopping and make a stop at a pharmacy a bit further afield. I was a bit tired since I have a cold so I got a late start.  I'm glad I did get out because I needed the air and the walk. It was a bit chilly and the first time I've needed to wrap a scarf around my neck.  It's been especially cold here over the past several days, especially at night.  The temperature is down to 3 or 4 degrees Celsius at night and around 7 during the day. By the end of the week it should go back up to around 12 Celsius.

 

 

When I'm tired, I certainly don't feel like making dinner so I'm always proud of myself when I manage to get dinner ready.  I usually try to keep my menu very simple.  On Sunday night I sliced up some potatoes, onions, yellow bell peppers and sirloin tip steak, seasoned with a bit of pepper and a few splashes of soy sauce,  put it all in the dutch oven and roasted it for about 45 minutes. I ate mine with a scoop of my favourite chili oil. Delicious.

 

 

 

 

On Sunday I was also able to declutter and recycle several large metal coffee cans and lots of plastic containers that fresh berries come in. I really wish they would package berries in paper containers like they used to. I guess because most of the berries are imported the juices would soak through the paper.  Sunday afternoon a woman came by to pick up a couple pair of shoes I gave away.

 

I also washed this small star quilt I gifted to my mom many years ago and which now belongs to me.  The dowel holding the quilt and the wall also needed a good cleaning from all the dust that accumulates.  All the walls need a good washing but that is a large job so I just do some cleaning here and there.  It's better to do a little at a time than to do nothing at all.  Another of the many jobs I have to do around my home is to remove the one wall sconce (I gave the other one to a friend) and put up two new ones that I purchased some time ago. The sconces I bought are black as that was the only colour available.  I'd prefer to have 2 white ones so I've been holding out until I can find them.  If I can find white ones, the black ones will be put up in my living room area and I will then get rid of the floor lamps.

 

 

When I went shopping last night I picked up some wild salmon on a really good sale. I marinated it overnight in honey garlic sauce and baked it for Monday's dinner along with roasted, caramelized cauliflower and steamed brown rice. 

 

I can see in my photos that the last two dinners look quite bland and colourless.  Usually I try to make them more colourful because one eats with the eyes first.  But they were delicious anyway and nothing was wasted. If I can get to the grocery store again before Thursday's sale ends, I will buy 2 more heads of cauliflower.  At $3.00 a head, it is a bargain.

 

In January 2019 I travelled to Paris with my nephew.  We had a great time and both of us would like to return some day, maybe during the Fall or Spring seasons.  This year I've read a number of books set in Paris.  The most recent one was written by Kate Betts, an American fashion journalist who began her career at Fairfield Publications European office in Paris.  I found the book very interesting because she met the top fashion designers of the day: Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St. Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Christian Louboutin, Thierry Mugler and others.  I am not a fashionista and I do not follow the fashion trends but I found it interesting to have a peek into the world of Parisian fashion through the eyes of an American expat.

Unfortunately, Canada's Covid numbers have been escalating since our Thanksgiving weekend a few weeks ago.  New and various restrictions are being brought in in various provinces including British Columbia where I live in an effort to contain the virus. I continue to keep as isolated as possible and wear my mask whenever I have to go out and do business.  Otherwise there is not a lot of excitement around here in day to day life. That is fine by me because it allows me to get the tedious jobs done.

If all goes well, I'm hoping to have different scenery and photos for you over the coming weeks and months. Just bare with me for a while longer. 

What about your dear reader? What is keeping you busy and occupied during these Covid times?

Until I read from you, please stay safe and take care.

It's Another Friday

 This is what it looked like on our Thanksgiving Day last Monday.

I already forgot what it was like on Tuesday and Wednesday but I know yesterday it was quite nice and the sun came out. I was able to do some errands like deposit funds at the bank and pay some bills. My local branch is still  not open and the ATM is only available until 6 p.m. on most days. I did see staff in the branch but I'm not sure if the branch was open to the public or staff was just working in there. If you want to do in person banking you have to go to a different branch.  I also dropped off my back pack for stitching and stopped off for some groceries and a quick stop at McD's. I didn't have time to stop at the dispensary to get refills on body wash because the shop closed earlier due to Covid like most places. 

I pick up my back pack today so I'll stop off for the body wash as well. Before that I have some parcels to pick up at the post office. Hopefully they are there. The tracking information tells me they should be there today but maybe not until late in the day.

Today it's a rather dull, gray day and it will probably start raining very soon. I checked the long range forecast and it doesn't look much different for the rest of the month. I guess I left the clean up of the garden for too long. If I do it soon I will most likely be working in the rain. I've found it cold indoors this week. I turned my heating on in the bedroom and living room for the first time last night. I didn't leave it on overnight. 

Here is the sky photo for today. It looks almost the same as Monday's sky.  It is 9°C or about 49°F. As we transition from late autumn to winter, the sky will not vary much unless there is a sunny break.  Then we could see some more interesting cloud cover.

As they say in Copenhagen, 'you make our own sunshine'. I never hear anyone say that where I live, lol. We love to talk about the weather and complain about it, then we laugh. I like the Danish view of bad weather.

While I was out running errands the sun came out for awhile.  It's always nice when that happens. It tends to make me forget about the rain even if it rains later.  When I snapped the next few photos the sun was gone again but at least there was colour in the trees.

 

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today. Have a happy and safe weekend.

A Beautiful Day After All

 Hi friends, 

I awoke today to a beautiful day.  That was a very pleasant surprise as I thought we were going to have another gray, overcast day.

I didn't go anywhere but having a beautiful day always makes me feel like doing more work inside.

While I'm busy this weekend doing the usual routines of cleaning, cooking and laundry, I am also trying to rest, relax and enjoy life.

I've been feeling a little more tired lately so I am trying to take it easy a bit but still keep busy if that make sense.

I didn't do the Fly Lady routines in order or keep on top of it all but I did do the routines as best I could. I also did some other "projects" such as decluttering my closet and one dresser drawer. I gave all the clothing items to one young woman who wanted them for her mother and grandmother. I am always pleased when someone will take and use the clothing because to be honest, I didn't even wear half of the items. The other half were worn once or twice. As I've lost weight my sizing changes and also I no longer need most of those items so off they go.

Other projects included:

• cleaning the cupboard where I keep plastic items and some bake ware. I got rid of a lot of it that was no longer usable.
• purchasing some new bake ware on line which I expect will arrive in a week or two. It will be nice to have something pretty to cook and present Christmas dinner in. The bake ware is from the Temptations line which many of you may be familiar with.
• sorting through my cedar chest where I keep duvets and sheets. I thought I had items in there to give away but I must have cleaned it out last year. I did notice though that the fitted sheet in the only set of white sheets I have, was terribly yellowed. I have only used them once and they are kept in a cedar chest so I'm not sure how they got so discoloured. I thought to give them away but decided I would try to get rid of the stains. After much effort on my part, the sheet is almost fully white again.  In a week or two I will clean it again and it should be perfect. At the same time I cleaned my sheets I cleaned a white, cotton safari jacket I have had for years.  In the last several years it was starting to yellow and discolour at the collar, sleeves and cuffs.  I also had a few pillow case protectors that started to yellow and I was able to get all of these items nice and clean. I still have a lace tablecloth that has a few yellow spots.  The next time I do the sheets, I will also trwat and wash the table cloth.
• making a loaf of French bread for the first time. It turned out well though I have to work on shaping. The outside was nice and crusty and the inside was nice and soft.
  

 

• making Cream of Broccoli soup for Sunday lunch.  A few days ago I found a bag of broccoli crowns on clearance sale for  $1. This is a photo of the soup before it was blended.
  

 

•  making a French Apple Cake. I had no plans to make an apple cake but someone posted a photo of the apple cake they made and I thought I had better use up the apples that were slowly going too soft. I've made apple cake before but this is the first time I've made French Apple Cake. I didn't have ice cream with it but it was really nice and I think I will make it again one day soon. Here is a link to the recipe I used in case you are interested.

 

Beyond cooking, cleaning, a few errands and household projects, I also watched a few movies and read some books. On Netflix I watched a few movies. One is called "The Inheritance" (not to be confused with the play of the same name) recommended by a friend of mine. It is a thriller/mystery and was good in a creepy kind of way, though not a horror movie as such. I also watched a cute movie called "Carrie Pilby", an American comedy/drama.  Book wise I'm making my way through "The Minimalist Home" which sets out yet another method of decluttering your home, and "The Convenience Store Woman", a quirky book about an unmarried Japanese woman who works at a convenience store and has to contend with the judgements of her family and co-workers.

Monday is Thanksgiving Day here so I will likely take the day off from reading blogs.  I have to prepare dinner and I want to enjoy a slow day of cooking and relaxing in the process. 

I wish you all a happy rest of your weekend and a pleasant week ahead.

Sky Over Vancouver - Thankgiving Weekend 2020

 

I mentioned the other day that we were expecting rain this weekend. Today is Friday and the heaviest rain was expected today. It is also a bit chilly. Right now the temperature is 14 degrees Celsius (approx. 57 Fahrenheit) at 5:30 p.m.

When you live in a place where you get a lot of rain life goes on and so you just press on. I don't really mind the rain but I like to have days of sunshine in between. 

Joining up with Skywatch Friday this week.

Update:  October 10, 2020:

On Saturday I was so pleasantly surprised to see we had a lot of sunshine and clear blue skies mixed with white fluffy clouds.  Another thing for which to be grateful on this Thanksgiving weekend.