Hello New Week

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all doing well. In my corner of the world, I've been enjoy all the lovely tree blossoms despite our erratic weather. We had one day, I believe it was last Friday, when I actually felt overly warm in my rain jacket. Many people were out in shorts, sandals and sleeveless shirts but I found the heat was only evident if you were in the direct sunlight. In the shade it was a bit chilly. 

Anyway, soon enough it will probably be too hot for me. The summer forecast is for heat, drought and  wildfire concerns.  I shouldn't get ahead of myself.  For now,  we are still in spring and waiting for the dog days of summer. 

Ducks at the park

Spring is a time for some heavy duty cleaning after winter. I was able to clean the oven and behind the stove. I'm so glad those jobs are done. I've also wanted a new toilet seat and cover in the main bathroom but had difficulty getting the old ones off. It seemed the nuts and bolts were very rusted and fused together. I finally asked dear hubby for help and he ended up cutting through everything and pulling it all out. Again, I'm so glad that job is done. It makes a huge difference to have a new cover on the bowl.   The main bathroom also got a thorough cleaning. I even got down on the floor and looked up to see where any dirt and dust bunnies were. I don't do that very often.

Spring is also my favourite season to get out for walks and enjoy all the beautiful tree blossoms and green returning to the city after the winter's gray skies.

This month did not disappoint.

We've had a lot of rain yet we still have drought like conditions due to the early snow melt on the mountains. We've had a few sunny days to offset the rainy ones. It's usually enough of a balance to keep me satisfied.

Walking to Beaver Lake

I haven't posted any food related photos for awhile. Here are some recent meals cooked at home or picked up at the restaurant. These were all delicious.

Cabbage Roll Soup

Mixed vegetable and chicken stir fry with chili oil

Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork and Spring Roll Bun

Chicken and grape salad

Pork chops with sautéed mushrooms and barley pilau

Classic pound cake

I hope all of you are enjoying your April. I have a lot more left to do before the month is over so I'll be keeping busy.

Thank you for stopping by!

Welcome to My Awesome Day

I took a walk along the waterfront on Wednesday this week.  It was one the best weather days so far since winter began.  Wednesday was the first day of Spring and everyone was out at the waterfront enjoying the sunshine.

Though I do like to people watch I usually stick to photos of the scenery. 

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today.

Thank you for stopping by.

It Was a Spectacular Day! ~ Skywatch

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

It was a spectacular, sunny day where I live. It's still rather chilly from my point of view but the weather reporters keep telling us it is going to get very warm and above seasonal temperatures by the weekend. So we'll see how tomorrow goes.

I had an unexpected trip to the dentist today to a repair a tooth which broke yesterday.  I walked to my appointment and took the following photos to share with you.

Thank you for stopping by!

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

It's March ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Tuesday 4 begun by Toni Taddeo.

It's March and it might be nice to talk a bit about it.

The year is going by quickly.

1. March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion.  How has it made it's debut in your area?

March 1st was a cold and it rained very heavily at times.  I stayed indoors.

2. Is St Patrick's Day something you observe?

I don't observe St. Patrick's Day. Where I live I've only ever seen it as a day for people to wear green and many go to an Irish pub for 'green' bear.  No one I know observes a special dinner on that day. In more recent years there has been a St. Patrick's Day parade and there seems to be a bit more happening each year.  There is a Ceilidh on March 15th and a concert of the Welsh Choir the next day.  There is also a Celtic Festival that weekend.  I've looked at the festival program and it seems like a lot of it is focussed on drinking so I don't participate.  Besides which the weather is usually not very nice on St. Patrick's Day.

3. Do you observe Easter? 

I do observe Easter. 

4. What will those holidays see you doing this year? 

It's usually a quiet time of reflection and gratitude for Christ's death and resurrection.  Church's here like everywhere also focus on this message.  It's also time for a holiday meal with one or two loved ones. Long ago, a much larger group of family and friends would gather together for Easter dinner but those days are long gone as are many of the people. 

This time of year most of us in the western hemisphere are anticipating the arrival of the Spring season.  So I've planted up some seeds in readiness for the garden season. Hopefully they won't sprout up too stringy and straggly.

Saturday night I took a walk to the garden to return a book called The Venice Sketchbook. It was a poignant read set in Venice, Italy during WW2. Once I got home I realized I had another book I needed to return.  It had fallen to the side of the sofa and I didn't notice it until the next day when I was vacuuming.

 

I wanted to do more 'creating' in 2024 but haven't really gotten in the groove yet. I did make a few dishcloths. I was surprised to find a skein of cotton yarn at my local dollar store. I thought it would make 2 cloths but it only made 1.5. I returned to the store to buy another skein but there were none left. I tried another store location but they had none. I'm thinking that this was a one time offering so I don't hold out hope of finding more.

Some of you who've followed me for years may know that I love plants especially tropical ones for indoors. However it has proven impossible for me to grow them indoors. It just too cold with drafts in all the wrong places and lack of natural light is also a problem. As a result, I purchased a artificial bush last year and put some fairy lights on it. When I was out for a walk the other day I found this abandoned tree sitting on a bench outside a store. It didn't look like it belonged to anyone but to make sure I enquired inside the store. They told me that it had been sitting on the bench for three days and to please take it if I wanted. So I did. It now sits beside me on the sofa and I'm very happy with it as it is just the right height without being too wide in diameter.

I took this patio photo last week. Today the workers started laying the new foundation. I think they will make a lot of progress this week.

This is how I spent the first few days in March. I'm feeling happy and content and looking forward to Spring.

Joining in with Tuesday 4 this week. Thanks for stopping by!