A Walk Around Lake Lafarge

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing today?

I spent much of the day at Lafarge Lake with a dear friend of mine. We spent the time walking around the lake and sitting and admiring the ducks.  I was so busy catching up with her that I didn't do a very good job of taking photos but I did manage a few.

It was a fabulous day for an outing. The sun was shining brightly even though some of my photos look like we were expecting rain.  We weren't but it's still a bit windy and chilly in the shade.

The remaining days of the week are expected to get progressively warmer.

Lafarge Lake is a 5 hectare man made lake located in Town Center Park in Coquitlam. It is very easily accessed via the Skytrain and adjacent to the Douglas College campus.  In winter there is a fabulous light display which you can partake of for free. I meant to go with dear hubby this past Christmas but he got busy with work and I didn't wish to go alone. Perhaps it will work out for Christmas 2024. 

I've read that it's a very popular and crowded event. I suppose because it's a free event and there is plenty of parking. There is also a fabulous Evergreen Cultural Centre nearby and a brand new community centre will open in a few days. This is a great place for one but I think families with children would especially appreciate the convenience factor.

The Week Ends and Starts Like This

Hello friends and fellows bloggers, 

I hope you are all fine and that you enjoyed the weekend. As I mentioned in my last post here, I was very tired from all the walking and shopping I did on Friday and Saturday.  Thankfully the weather was good for those days. In fact, it was good all week long.

Late Saturday the raindrops started falling but just sporadically. Today it rained but not so much. It will rain more tomorrow. So we ended the week in sunshine and start the new week with cloudy skies and rain. 

 

It looks like the week ahead will be mainly sunny and warmish, with a few cloudy periods.  This is good news because one of my dear friends and I are planning a walk around a lake and of course we'd prefer that it isn't raining when we do so. We've postponed a ew times already due to inclement weather but now the temperatures are much warmer than they were a few weeks ago.

I haven't been reading much this week as I've been busy with several meetings and appointments. I need to get cracking on 2 books that will come due at the library shortly.

I've been experimenting lately with eating parts of the beef that I don't normally eat. Partly it's due to lack of availability at my local grocery store. But last week I made beef tongue which I haven't had since I was a young girl. It was nice and tender. On Sunday I made beef liver with some onions and pieces of bacon. I didn't have a lot of bacon so I cut it into pieces and mixed it with the onions. It was tasty. 

Liver isn't readily available at my local grocery store either but oddly enough I found it at another grocery store owned by same billionaire. Now the parent company is converting one grocery store (Buy-Low) into the other (Save On). I don't know why they are doing this because Buy Low is not a new acquisition. It was purchased in 1995 by the Jim Pattison Group but I have noticed the soaring prices at Buy - Low over the past 3 years.  All three major grocery stores in my general neighbourhood are owned by the same company.  It's no wonder the prices are so high at all of them.

The Last Weekend in April

 This is what it looks like here on Sunday early evening.

I'm keeping busy on this rainy weekend with a bit of cooking, decluttering and cleaning. 

Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables

Chicken and rice stew

Roasted, seasoned chicken

Roast beef stew

I don't buy many books and magazines these days however I noticed that lately I've been buying a magazine or two each year. I just let go of 18 magazines, some of them are as old as 2009 and 2012 with a few in the last 3 years. The books are old. I think I inherited one and I bought one many years ago. I never look at them so out they go.

I snapped these next photos while out for a few errands on Friday. It had been raining heavily but stopped for a few hours. The blue in the sky looked so lovely.

I also went thrifting on Friday. I'm careful what I bring into the house these days since I'm decluttering. Adding more than I really need would be counter productive.

This Omega juicer is like new but needs a good cleaning.

These cute stamps were a bargain.

I've been wanting a tray with an old map on it for ages.

During these times of heavy rain and cloudy skies before summer arrives I've been turning up the hygge.

Some lovely, fresh tulips.

A lemon scented candle.

Some faux flowers with twinkling bulbs at night.

Instead of reading this weekend, I ended up binge watching this tv series on Netflix. I still have one episode to go and it's quite thrilling.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

That's how I've spent a satisfying weekend. I hope you enjoyed yours.

This and That on a Mid-March Day

Wednesday was a spectacular day with glorious sunshine and fluffy white clouds. The sun came out after several rainy days but the temperature was still quite chilly.

On my walk I captured some beautiful flowers outside one of the local grocery stores. I just love the flowers in the foreground and the large store window capturing a reflection of the clouds and blue sky. You can see the leaves haven't come out on the deciduous trees yet.

By mid afternoon it turned mostly cloudy again though we expect sunshine and much warmer temperatures for the next week or so.

I've been keep very busy this month with a lot of small things including sewing alterations,  reading, decluttering, cooking, appointments and so on.  

A small containers of buttons broke open and the buttons scattered all over the larger container they were in.  It spurred me on to do a little bit of a tidy up of some of the most often used sewing supplies.  This will help me as I work on other projects.

3 small containers of sewing supplies sorted and organized

I've been decluttering a bit here and there. Nothing major but it all adds up. I'm also still trying to use up old toiletries. Some of them seem to have a bottomless supply. I'm adding everything to some large recycling bags and will do a count later.

In my reading, I finished reading the 5 fictional books in the photos below and one book on style. I enjoyed all of the books. My favourite pick was Ken Follet's Armour of Light followed by The Nightingale, The Venice Sketchbook, The Cafe by the Sea and the House of Fortune in that order. The Style for Everybody Guide was a very straightforward and well written, simplified guide to clothing and style. I've read a lot of them and I liked this one a lot because it is not so overwhelming in the information it presented.

Also completed in the last few weeks.

I've started reading a few books with a spiritual theme.  Usually this kind of book requires more time for reading, reflection and retention.  I'll probably pick up another novel to read in between study.

That's all in my world for now. 

Thank you for your visit.

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.

Happy New Week to You

Happy New Week to you friends and fellow bloggers.  This week we face the end of February and the beginning of March. I'm wondering if it will be a cold one or a warmer one.  Right now the forecast seems to be for a cold one with possible snow once or twice this week but we will see. I guess I'm skeptical but anything can happen. 

It's actually been somewhat warm here recently as evidenced by what I found yesterday (Saturday) in my neighbourhood.  Today, although I don't have a photo, there were far more blossoms on the tree than there were yesterday.  But later on Sunday the temperature plummeted.

Tonight when I went for a walk and a few errands,  I had to wear my gloves to keep my fingertips warm. I hope the sudden cold won't harm the cherry blossoms.  Although there have been some periods of great cold snaps around the province, even in Vancouver, there has not been enough snowfall overall.  In fact, many ski hills were not able to open for their usual ski seasons due to lack of snow. All this is not good for the summer when it's predicted to be very hot once again.

In home news, I found this recipe in a magazine dedicated to one pot dinners. It's called Pecan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Apples. I made it Saturday night and I omitted the pecans because I didn't have any. I also omitted the sugar because the balsamic vinegar and apples was enough to sweeten the dish.  It turned out delicious.  Now I have a new chicken dish to add to my repertoire when I need a quick and tasty meal. The other one pot chicken dish I like a lot is Creamy Tuscan Chicken.  But I don't always have sun dried tomatoes on hand and I also don't always want to have a creamy dish.

This year I hope to do a lot more things creatively but I'm not off to a rousing start. I'm still reading a bit more than I'd planned but soon the garden/s need planting so we'll see how I make out. It's also tax time again and that always keeps me busy as I do the taxes for DH and I jointly. It means, I have to corral all the receipts for the both of us which is hard enough to do with one of us. I'm sure some of you understand what I mean.

Besides keeping busy in various ways, I'm still trying to be a bit creative. A friend in England sent me this adult colouring book. I see that I need better lighting to colour within the lines and since I like felt tip pens I think I need to work on pressure of ink application. Either that or buy some wooden crayons. How about you dear reader? Do you do any colouring? Do you have any tips for me?  If you don't do any colouring, do you have any favourite hobbies?

Thanks for stopping by! 

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.

Skywatch Friday