Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts

Friday, March 15, 2024

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.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

A Beautiful Night ~ Skywatch March 8, 2024



Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you've had a great week! 

I took this moon shot a while back and haven't had a chance to share it yet. 

I was out for a late walk and was happy to both see and capture this moon. It was so clear and bright.

Lately it seems a lot of my Skywatch Friday shots are taken in the night. Of course it's due to limited daylight at this time of year but that should soon change.

I'm looking forward to Spring.  🌸🌸🌸

Enjoy your weekend.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Skywatch Friday ~ March 1, 2024

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, Happy March to you all!


A few days ago I shared some early cherry blossoms but since then it's turned colder. We're expecting very unsettled weather for the next week or so.  I'm hoping consistently warmer temperatures arrive in a week or so.   In the meantime, I'm preparing to plant some seeds so I have something to plant in the garden.

These sky photos were taken today around dinner time. The sky looks menacing but the temperature was much warmer than it was on Tuesday night when we had a bit of snow. 
 





I baked a bit of bread last night. There's nothing nicer than freshly baked bread with jam and butter and tea on a cold night.



Joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Skywatch Friday ~ February 9, 2024

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope this month of February is going well for you. 


Time is passing so quickly and I didn't have a chance to join in with Skywatch last Friday so here I am today.

We've been having mild and warmer weather for a few days but it is turning cold again. It was nice having a few days of unseasonably warm temperatures.  Though I know that isn't the best for our water supply and our forest, my bones need a good warming and rest from the draftiness of winter.



I hope you're keeping warm enough or cool enough wherever you live.
Happy Skywatching.

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Relaxing At The Waterfront

 



It was a spectacular day on Wednesday and again today. I had to go downtown on Wednesday and took a detour afterward to the beach and waterfront.  A lot of other people had the same idea because we don't get so many sunny days in late Fall and Winter. 






If you missed my frugal post, you can view and read it here. I'd love hear your tips in the comment section. I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for stopping by. 

Thursday, July 13, 2023

The Sky in July







Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

It's been awhile since I participated in Skywatch Friday.  

These photos were all taken in downtown Vancouver, BC on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. 

The weather here has been very hot and we are in drought at a Level 4. I learned that on the news recently.  Here is a map of British Columbia.  All of the areas in red are at drought Level 4.


Vancouver, BC is just north of the border from Seattle and definitely in the red zone. As many of our neighbours in the USA will know, we've been having a lot of wild fires all over Canada and BC is no exception. It makes air quality in some places very bad but thankfully we are not suffering the thick haze and smoke we had 2 years ago (or maybe it was last year). I can't keep track any more because this type of thing is sadly now a regular occurrence.

I wish you a wetter summer or winter wherever you are living and that you stay safe. 

 

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Skywatch Friday ~ April 14, 2023

Hello friends and fellows bloggers,

I hope you've had a great week!

Those of you who've been following my blog know that we've had a long winter and a cold Spring so far with lots of rain. It is still a bit too cool for the norm but the sun is beginning to shine more frequently and I think from here on out we are well on our way to warmer, sunnier weather.

The photos which follow were taken on Easter Sunday on my way to church. I'd been hoping to get some cherry blossom photos during days of sunshine but if I don't get out in the next few days there may not be anything to photograph! Cherry blossoms are so fleeting.  I did manage to get some pictures of cherry blossoms and magnolias in bloom. Hopefully I can get more on a sunny day.
 










I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for stopping by!

Friday, April 7, 2023

Tuesday 4 ~ Your Town

Friday, April 7, 2023

Your Town

Hello!  This is Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week in an effort to get you blogging, thinking and learning about others.

Maybe we can discuss the town  you live in.  It might be nice to find out more about where you live and why you live there. Sometimes we just fall into a place and other times we choose. 


Michelle Byrne painting
1. What are the good points to living in your town? Could you interest us in moving there?

There are many great things about my city. I think top of the list is the spectacular scenery,  but there is also a good variety of arts and entertainment, public services and transport and lots of parks and touristy places nearby to visit if you can get there and have the time, money or interest.

Most people love it here though I've noticed young people from China think it's very boring. Our city is very small compared to most of the cities in China. If you come from Europe and prefer old, historic buildings, you might be disappointed here because we don't have much of that. I've talked to many visitors to Canada over the years and they are always in awe of our nature, wide open spaces (outside of the city) and wildlife. 

The things we really have going for us are spectacular scenery, lots of green space, walkability and relatively good public transit (at least in the big cities). Unfortunately there are several things making this city and much of Canada not very good places at the moment though I understand nany if these issues are geing experienced in other cities worldwide: the high rate of homelessness and opioid addiction which results in rising crime rates, lack of affordable housing whether for rent or for purchase,  lack of inter-city public transportation and the very high cost of living in general. The recent runaway inflation being experienced around the world has exacerbated many of these issues. I wouldn't advise people to move here unless they already have a place to live. A visit is good but do be prepared for the expense. Though I suppose if you come from Europe our deals may be more affordable to you due to the higher value of the Euro. You will get almost one and a half dollars for 1 Euro right now.

See here and here if you missed some of my recent scenic posts for an idea of what you're missing if you've never visited.

2.  Are the things you need convenient to your home? (shopping, library, schools, entertainment?)

I am very deliberate about where I live so I end up paying more for housing due to living right in the city. For years I didn't have a car and I was always concerned about the time it takes to get to work and whether I could even get to work with a car if unforeseen things were to happen (accidents, storms and so on). Living in the city and closer to things doesn't mean there won't be unforeseen things happening, but it does cut down on some of the lost time that might be involved. I digress. To answer the question, 'yes', I live close to everything. In fact, I can walk to most places I want or need. There is a school or several in the neighbourhood if you have young children, there are several grocery supermarkets within a short walk, there is a library and several gyms and community centres, churches, 
banks, salons, boutique clothing stores, thrift stores, restaurants and so on. I have to go a bit further for entertainment (plays, movies, art exhibitions and sporting events) and usually catch the bus or a friend who lives further away will pick me up so we arrive at the venue  together. 

3.  Did you choose your town or did you just end up there? 

I chose my city for educational advancement. Back in the day, there were not as many accredited universities  (there are many colleges which are more accessible) and you pretty well had to move to a large city for them. One of the cities is on Vancouver Island; the other two are in the Greater Vancouver area. These days there are more universities to choose from. Government realized people need higher education with lower costs and greater accessibility. Also, not everyone wants to live in a larger city like Vancouver and some like people don't want to live on an island, large or small. I stayed in the city due to work opportunities. There simply wasn't, and still aren't, a lot of career opportunities in my field (public policy) in most smaller cities outside of the few large cities we have in the province or in the country.  I also wanted to be reasonably close to my late mom and late sister so I could visit them more frequently.  Otherwise I probably would have pursued opportunities outside of Canada.

4.   Is your town known for any special foods, activities, places or people? 

One of the things I loved about Vancouver when I first arrived is all of the multicultural festivals that occurred. Almost every known immigrant group had a special few days where one could attend to enjoy the sights, music and displays and food. Most of these events were held outdoors and were free except for the food/s.  There are still many festivals.  In fact, many new ones have started up but the old ones have kind of died off or they have changed and they aren't quite as much fun anymore. Maybe it is just me being older and having already experienced these things. I now prefer to go and see the floral displays at botanical gardens or attend a garden show in the park. Besides these activities we are also known for the place people come to go on a cruise up the coast, travel up to Whistler to go skiing (many celebrities come here for that) or as a jump off point to go fishing off the coast or whale watching. I haven't gone on a whale watching tour. I prefer to see them unexpectedly when I'm taking a ferry to the big island or sometimes a pod of whales will even come into the inner harbour and stay a few days.


Thursday, April 6, 2023

Skywatch Friday ~ April 7, 2023

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

This is a series of photos depicting the weather and skies in Vancouver, Canada at the moment. It has been quite rainy and cold for most days this month and it looks to continue.

I'm hoping that the weather will warm up so I can get out and take better photos of the cherry blossoms. I'm amazed at how they bloom despite the cold.  They give a lot of enjoyment on otherwise dreary days.
 







 Joining up with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Easter.🙏🙏🙏

Friday, February 24, 2023

Beautiful Friday Sky on a Cold Evening

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I keep thinking Spring is around the corner but my hopes keep getting dashed. We had an unexpected bit of snow on Wednesday night and on Saturday we are expecting up to a foot of fresh snow. Knowing that I went out tonight and did a few pressing errands.

Here are some of my night shots.  There seemed to be a lot going on including an explosion that happened at the dinner hour just before I was about to get off one bus in the heart of the city. I heard a lot of sirens after that. Later I learned the sad news that 2 were treated for burns and lacerations due to the fire which they believe was caused by some kind of underground electrical vault fire. My bus had passed the site where the explosion occurred just seconds before hand and some passengers that got on the bus seconds later says there was smoke and balls of fire coming from the side of the building. Roads, buses and skytrain in the vicinity were all closed or affected in some way but I was on my way out of the city before that happened.

Here are some photos I took while I was downtown. I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday. Please join in too.














Thank you for stopping by. Have an awesome weekend.

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 ...