Happy Friday to all of you and best wishes for a wonderful weekend wherever you are.
Today I want to share a few photos taken in late August, 2019. These sky photos were taken at a lovely beach area called Spanish Banks located in the western part of the City of Vancouver. I don't get out there very often but always enjoy it when I do.
The weather here has been lovely this week. It's sunny and warmish during the day though I have noticed a distinct bit of chill by early evening. It's supposed to rain on Friday before getting warmer again.
I hope all is well with you. I'm basically okay but have been feeling more tired than usual and fighting against a cold. I did go and get my flu shot. I usually like to get it as early as possible but was a few weeks late this year. There isn't a lot of excitement going on right now but there are a lot of small things to be done. It is a time of taking stock, getting appointments out of the way, completing little odd jobs here and there and thinking ahead to Christmas.
I seem to have enough energy for doing only very basic things like every day meal preparation, hand washing of dishes, doing the laundry, reading the Bible and praying for the needs of others, keeping abreast of the Kenyans I am helping (see side bar top right), only the necessity shopping and buying or making Christmas gifts and deciding what to do over the holiday. I've also been on You Tube a lot as I'm over subscribed to various channels. When one doesn't feel like doing their own work, you can watch others do theirs, lol. Actually I learn a lot by watching and hearing other people from all around the world.
One of the things I don't like about living where I live is that when it comes around to Christmas season it is very difficult to get in to see or participate in the Christmas program of your choice. People really plan ahead here and by this time in the season it is very difficult to get into the venue of your choice.
I thought I was early in thinking about which Christmas concert, play or event to attend. Christmas is almost 2 months away but already seats are limited on choice dates and venues. After some back and forth over options, a friend and I decided to try and get tickets for this event:
The choir, soloists and chamber ensemble
will perform J.S. Bach’s joyous cantata for
Christmas, Herz und Mund und Tat und
Leben, which features Bach’s famous Jesu
Joy chorale. The choir will also perform
shorter seasonal works for Christmas, plus
carol singing with the audience.
Here is a You Tube video of some of what will be in the program (different performers).
🌟⛪🌟
We are looking forward to the concert. We will have a quiet Christmas again this year. I'm trying to get to the point of a very quiet, relaxing Christmas with days to enjoy music, warm lights and the joy and hope of the season. Consequently, I don't have big plans for Christmas but have already put together most of my gifts for a few family member and friends (yet to be wrapped of course). There are still a few gift items to think about. I tend to keep gift gifts small and (hopefully) meaningful. I've also discussed with my nephew the idea of taking an overnight trip after Christmas to visit his sister. It is always nice to make this trip if weather permits. We can enjoy the season in a visit with loved ones but also see the season decked in snow.
In my NT Bible reading I am now halfway through the Book of Romans. I've also completed the following books since my last post and I can recommend both of them depending on your interests. I've noticed a French theme runs through my reading in 2019. It wasn't planned that way but likely stems from my trip to Paris earlier this year.
Written by an American widow who moved to Paris after losing her husband.
Written by a Canadian journalist who immigrated from Africa.
Currently in my reading pile.
Written by a well known, sometimes controversial, Canadian psychologist.
Written by 2 American housewives who made a career teaching about healthy living.
Now I leave you with a beautiful sunset as I'm participating in Skywatch Friday.
(I apologize for the blot on one of my sky photos. It looks like my lens need cleaning but I'm afraid to scratch them so have been delaying the task).
The sun is going down quickly.
Unofficially summer is now over. My house guests have all gone home ~ just. The garden/s have stopped producing though the geraniums are still bright and thriving. The geraniums always last a long time and that probably explains why they are one of my favourite container plants. Soon I will need to clear the debris from the garden and organize the patio for the winter season. Unfortunately I didn't seem to have time to sit out and enjoy the patio this summer as I had planned. Perhaps next summer will be better as I hope I will be finished with the major decluttering by then and won't have annoying tasks hanging over my head.
I'm reading a book or two. I just finished the interesting booked entitled Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It's a good thing I enjoyed the book a lot so I could read it quickly. Though I've only had it out of the library fo a week there are almost 160 people who have joined the wait list for it. I'm also reading Lisette's List. The writer and the book have excellent reviews but I'm finding this book less enjoyable. It isn't the subject matter but the style of writing that I don't enjoy quite as much as the first book I've mentioned. I am enjoying the 2nd half of the book more than the first half so I will finish it.
I plan to go to the library on Thursday or Friday to drop off completed books and pick up a new book, a Gothic mystery called The Poison Thread. It comes highly recommended from someone I follow on You Tube. In Europe it goes by the title, The Corset. I'm not sure why it has a different name in different parts of the world.
My cousin was here for a few days and went back to her sisters on Wednesday. We had one less day together than I had hoped but she is flying home on Friday and still has a few things to do with her sister. Yesterday we went to Chinatown for late lunch then took a scenic ride on the bus to a movie theatre in my general neighbourhood. We went to see the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the relatively new movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. It is set in the time of Charles' Manson and his cult followers but it doesn't copy the story that many of you will be familiar with regarding the late Sharon Tate. The movie is a bit quirky and darkly comical. My cousin and I both rated the movie as fine but rather slow moving until the latter scenes. It wasn't the best movie I've seen but it certainly wasn't the worst.
I'm glad I got to see it as it was on my list of movies to see and I'm getting the feeling it will soon be gone from the big screens here in my city. Once the movie ended we decided to walk back to my home. Though it was dark we felt safe enough together and the distance was only about 8 blocks through a residential area. I wanted to stop at the late night pharmacy on the way home and pick up some sliced bread. We ended the late part of the evening and our visit by watching a taped program of the Amazing Race Canada. In the morning there was only time for coffee and a brief goodbye. So that is it for our visit and maybe we will see one another again at Christmas or next summer.
I wasn't able to do much in the way of laundry or cleaning today because my hot water is shut off until tomorrow. The boiler is being upgraded and the water supply has been impacted over the past several days (it turned out to be 4 days and 3 nights. I was only expecting 3 days and 2 nights). Besides reading and visiting with relatives I've also been spending a bit of time sewing and knitting. Depending on my progress I hope to share the projects in a future post. It's a bit sad to see the end of my guests for another year but I now turn my head and hand to many other things on my 'to do' list.
I'm not sure but I think these 2 lovebirds were on a kayak, maybe 2 kayaks.
All photos in this post were taken at Spanish Banks in Vancouver, BC.
These are some photos I took on my one and only trip to the beach this summer.
There were quite a few people there and a lot of photographers set up with their equipment right at the waterfront.
In some cases they blocked the best views but I don't mind. I'm not a pro and I just wanted a few nice photos.
When I framed my photos I cropped out as many people as possible :-)
The beach outing was really for my niece so she could walk in the sand and see the waterfront.
After the sun set we stopped for an ice cream on the way home.
A simple little outing which was quite enjoyable.
In previous years I've mentioned how the weather changes from hot to a bit chilly overnight as of September 1st.
This year I noticed it getting chillier a bit earlier.
It is still nice and sunny during the day time. But now I need a little covering to keep at a comfortable temperature if I'm going to be out after dark.
It has been such a long time since I've been to the beach or the ocean here in my city though I don't live so terribly far away from it. It is a shame really since I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. On one side is the beautiful Pacific Ocean and on the other side stand the majestic mountains. In the middle is the pearl, the City of Vancouver.
Today I went to capture some photos at a place called Spanish Banks.
Named by the earliest European Spanish explorers in the 1770s. Spanish Bank is home to three of Vancouver's superior beaches, far from the madding crowd. Here you can feel truly "away" as you scan the open waterfront to the west or turn your glance back to one of the most beautiful city skylines anywhere. (Source: Vancouver Park Board website).
I enjoyed my visit so much. The sights, the smells....I could smell the seaweed and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore is always such a soothing balm. Also one can't find better scenery and city skyline even with the overcast sky. I hope you enjoy my slideshow of the beautiful scenes. You need to click on the slideshow to open a separate screen. There you will see some slides set to music.
For those of you who can't watch slideshows with music, I've added a slideshow without music. If that still doesn't work, try the link to the photo album here.
