Showing posts with label cherry blossoms 2023. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cherry blossoms 2023. Show all posts

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Skywatch Friday ~ April 21, 2023

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Welcome to beautiful Vancouver, BC!

It continues to rain and be quite cool here but every now and then we have a break in the sky and the weather. I haven't been out for a specific time of capturing cherry blossoms due to the inclement weather and being otherwise busy. But I've been fortunate to get some decent photos on some of my errand days. I hope you enjoy them.

 








I'm also adding a few photos from a rainy day.




I've also been enjoying some reading. Some of the recent books of note include the following:

A fictional account, based on facts, of a governess to the late Queen and her sister Margaret.


The Valley of the Birdtail is a non-fictional account of a small Indian reservation and an adjacent town in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It's an extremely interesting and well done account of the situation of Indigenous people in Canada, some of the historical problems and injustices, race relations with the 'white' population and some of the current reconciliation issues and potential ways of relating to one another.  The book was co-authored by an Indigenous law professor and a non-Indigenous lawyer who was a former student of the professor.



Cottage by the Sea is an easy read by Christian author, Debbie Macomber who is a number 1 New York Times best-selling author. In this story, the protagonist, Annie Marlowe, goes to spend time at a cottage rented by her family for summer holiday when she was a teen. She goes there to get away from family tragedy and to seek healing.  She finds healing and more.

I'm currently reading the two books in the photo below, starting with The Summer I Met Jack. It's a great read so far. It's a fictional account of how a beautiful Polish refugee (Alicia Darr) met, dated, got engaged (and unengaged) to John F. Kennedy in the 1950s while he was a Senator. It's based on fact but obviously the author wasn't privy to all the intimate details of the relationship so it is fictionalized. Similar to the book above, In Royal Service to the Queen.


Last, but not least, I completed a wonderful book called, The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny, Canadian murder mystery writer extraordinaire. In this story, a stranger is murdered and found in the Three Pines bistro and antique shop. Olivier, owner of the bistro is immediately a suspect but the novel unfolds in a very intelligent way before the final conclusion is revealed. Chief Inspector Gamache begins the search for the murderer.  His investigation ultimately leads him across the continent from the Province of Quebec to the Province of British Columbia. There in the former Queen Charlotte Islands (now known as Haida Gwaii) we finally learn what the brutal telling is and it's connection to the world renowned painter, Emily Carr. Believe it or not, this is the first book I've read by Louise Penny. I tried last year to read one of her books and I wasn't able to dig into it before it needed to be returned to the library. I purchased a thrifted copy of The Brutal Telling and will gift it away to someone locally as I now do with most of the novels I buy.

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday today. Have a wonderful weekend.

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!

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 ...