Ch-Ch-Changes - Part 1

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Lately I've been feeling quite tired. It's partly because I've just been so busy for so very long and I don't see much of an end in sight. I also haven't had a real rest for a very long time.  The latest forced period of rest was due to being sick with the shingles and in a great deal of pain so that just tired me out more than anything.

I have some plans for very short trips before the end of summer so we'll see how that goes.  Of course I'll share scenic photos when I'm on my way or when I'm back.  I love taking scenic photos.

In the meantime, here at home I'm still beavering away on making a lot of small changes to the home. I've got got plans for some medium size changes a little later this year. There's only so much that can get done in a given week. It's an achievement just to get the gardens in on time.

This year my home garden was planted by my brother. Thank goodness. I was stricken with shingles and couldn't do much besides sleep so he decided to weed and garden for me.  He also had to buy a lot of soil first to add to what was already there.  I didn't go crazy on buying plants because the garden is going to undergo stress very soon when Phase 2 of the patio renovations begin later this month.

Part of the patio garden

One thing I chose for the balcony garden was a small rose bush called Maui Sunrise. It's already given me a lot of joy with its big showy blooms and plenty of beautiful colour.

A few weeks before getting sick, I planted the plot at the community gardens.  In truth it really hasn't done well. It's been overridden with invasive plants from elsewhere so I've been doing a lot of pulling up rather than a lot of harvesting.  It's too sad looking to post a photo here. In fact, I don't even think I took a proper photo of it this year simply because it looks that bad. But at least I've tried.

Here are a few photos of some of the small home decor changes and DIYs around the house.

New shelf for the primary bathroom

New shower curtain for the primary bathroom

This one comes with tassels. I still need to steam the wrinkles.

New shelf for the master bathroom.

New shower curtain for the master bathroom.

I recently purchased a very thin summer blanket and a white linen/cotton bedspread. It was proving time consuming and difficult to make the bed every day. I bought the new duvet cover and put the thin blanket inside. You can see it's still lumpy but it's a bit easier to make the bed. The bed looks so small in the photo but it's actually a queen size.

A new striped bedspread & pillowcase.

Fresh Rabbit's Paw Fern for the living room

New bathroom fan/motor

New bathroom light fixture

The master bathroom also had a lighting upgrade but I cannot find the photo right now. The below photo is the former look with gold finish. It's now a matte black finish. Some of you will remember when I changed out several of the door knobs from gold or brass finish to black.

Another bathroom project was restoring the master bathtub. It was looking so dirty where the anti-slip adhesives were affixed to the tub. It looks newer now and the drain ring and overflow cap which showed a lot of wear have been replaced.

Before

After

I'll continue to work on the bathtub after the caulking and regrouting have been redone in both bathrooms.  I'd looked into replacing the tub with a shower but the price was absolutely ridiculous.  The company that gave me a quote was asking for an amount which was more than sufficient for an entire bathroom redo but it was only to replace the tub. I know there are better prices out there but for now I'm going for a temporary fix just because there are a lot of bigger projects yet to do in the kitchen, dining room, living room and both bathrooms.

New kitchen cabinet knobs

Old kitchen cabinet knobs

New combo oven/microwave.

The cabinets got a good scrub but they are always in need of a good scrub. The grimy grease collects so easily even though I wipe everything down on a daily basis.

There are a number of projects which I want to complete before the end of the year. Let's hope it all goes well. I've discovered I am not a big fan of home renovations and decorating. It takes too much time, energy and money but sometimes you just have to do it.  My long time readers will know that I've already made a lot of small changes over the past 2 years or more. But this year's changes are more wide-ranging and hopefully will last longer than the former changes.

Scenes from Vancouver's Chinatown

Today I had to go downtown for an appointment. I decided to stop off in Chinatown as I wasn't too far from there and I needed to find myself a bamboo steamer (to steam frozen dim sum).

I always enjoy the street scenes and today was no exception.  The array of product in a store in Chinatown is always astounding. There are also a lot of exotic to me things that I don't get to use or see every day. I  still remember my early days in Vancouver and how a trip to Chinatown was always such a delight. Buying simple things like Sandalwood soap (heavenly fragrance) was a true cultural experience.

Truth be told I only walked a square block and a few extra streets in Chinatown.  There is actually much more to see.

I loved the artful tree in front of this traditional looking roof top. There is even a bird perching on top (see side right as you are looking straight at the photo).  The sky looks rather gray. It was actually an overcast day today though it cleared up and became quite warm.

If you look off in the distance of the photo below you will see the sky scrapers. They are located in down town Vancouver just a stone's throw away.

These plants make a nice, colourful addition to the street. I am not sure if they are on sale or if they are gifts to the store owners for a new business perhaps.

All over Chinatown the evidence of economic decay is present. So many shops have closed up. For many years now Chinatown has been declining and many shop owners have migrated to the suburb of Richmond (near the Vancouver International Airport) where there is a sizeable Asian community.  I admire the business people who stick it out in Chinatown and try to keep things going. I know there have been some efforts over the years to try and revitalize this area. Sadly I think the revitalization is going to change the entire nature of the area.

Already today I saw several businesses that just do not match the historical charm and nature of the businesses here. I also saw evidence of numerous residential building projects that are going to bring in masses of residents and change the nature of the area too.

I know change is always happening but I will personally miss the charm of what was.

It was nice to see some beautiful murals in the area.  The one depicted in the photo below is adjacent to an empty lot which is scheduled for a condo project.

This ruby red lamplight  post with Chinese writing at the bottom is quite beautiful.

This sign alerts the passersby to the coming condo development. There are several other developments in the general area.

This fast food restaurant, Kent's Kitchen is a very well known and highly frequented restaurant. I stopped by for lunch.

I love this charming, yellow building. At the bottom of the building you can see that other ethnic businesses are moving.  There is now a Filipino Restaurant in what used to be a clothing store. In the next block I saw businesses run by Caucasians and Vietnamese people.  Chinatown is losing it's historic and distinctly Chinese ambience and I'm guessing that building owners are giving good incentives to other businesses just to keep things going.

I just hope that in years to come there will still be a distinctly Chinese flavour to this area even if things change.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday today.
My the time does fly!
Have a great weekend everyone :-)