Tuesday 4: Pondering Odds & Ends

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept up in her memory.

 

 

There are 4 questions to ponder and consider each week.  Here are this week's questions and my answers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Do you have a favorite gem stone? Why is it a favorite.

 

I have two favourite gemstones. My first love is the deep, blue sapphire. I have always liked jewel coloured stones and blue is my favourite among them.

 

 

In later years, I also developed a great fondness for turquoise stones set in silver because I love the Native American jewellery of the South West. This stone is not as readily available in Canada and it doesn't really suit my style of dressing so I admire it from far.

 

2. Do you know and  understand the doctrines of your religious faith?  If you are not religious, do you have a personal doctrine you believe and live?  

 

 

I grew up in the Pentecostal faith and am pretty well acquainted with the doctrines. Actually my childhood church identified as non-denominational but it belonged to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.  The fundamental belief is that one must be saved to get to Heaven and that salvation is not through any good works but by belief in Jesus Christ, Son of God,  who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. Other things follow but this is the essential belief. As a side note, the things I experienced as a young Christian are seldom experienced in the church today; such as speaking in tongues and the interpretation immediately following, for the edification of the corporate church body. It can also be a bit tricky for me personally to distinguish between the different arms of Pentecostals because they do not all believe exactly the same things.  But I do believe they all have the same belief about salvation and Jesus' death and resurrection.

  

 

If this question is too personal, tell us about your pet or favorite pastime.

I'll use this as a bonus question. I don't have a  favourite pet. I like all kinds of animals including exotic ones. However I don't think people should have exotic animals as pets. For pets I love both dogs and cats. I grew up primarily with large dogs that acted not only as pets but also as guard dogs.  They were usually German Shepard dogs and they were always very playful with us and I loved them a lot.  We only had one dog at a time and it would have its own house to sleep in outside.  When we kids were not in school we spent a lot of time playing chase with the dog outside. I'm not able to own a dog in the city so I've grown to love cats which are often accepted, but not always,  in apartments and condos.  I've come to learn that cats are unique and special too and they have the added advantage of not needing to be taken for a walk.

My favourite cat breed is Turkish Angora

3. Do you have a favorite decor style... as in classical, traditional, modern, mid century, colonial, etc?  What do you like about it?

 

Tuscan Living Room

My favourite decor style is traditional English, French or Tuscan country. I like the rusticity and comfort as well as the colours.  Nothing is too precious and has a "lived in" look.  I'm not good at consistency in decorating.  My taste for furnishings and decor pieces is very eclectic and it can also be hard and expensive to find the item you want when you want.  It's easier to stick to a bohemian or ethnic/tribal style because I've collected a lot of pieces that fit this style and I'm comfortable with it.  The main idea I like in a home is comfort.  Two words people have used to describe my home when they visit are "comfort" and "peace". That makes me happy because it's what I aim for and my style is definitely  not fancy.

Elements and colour of bohemian tribal. I use more red/orange and less black.

 

 

4. Are  there any books or movies you want to see this summer?

 

I don't have any burning desire to read particular books or see particular movies. I have a long list of books I would like to read and I just pick one or two up at the library when I'm ready for a new one. As for movies, I've completely lost track of what movies are being released. The only big screen movie I've seen since the pandemic began is the 007 movie, "No Time to Die" with  Daniel Craig. It is his last James Bond movie and I'm in anticipation to see who will play the next 007. In case you haven't seen the movie yet and you love James Bond, I highly recommend this movie. You might be able to catch it on television or borrow the DVD from your local library.

 

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your day with me. I appreciate it.

A Glorious Sunny Day

 It was such a beautiful day on Thursday and I was able to get out a bit earlier and get some photos of the blossoms. These ones were in my neighbourhood. I would still like to go further afield and get more photos on another sunny day.

I have been busy working on a digital project that has taken a tremendous amount of time. I'm finally making progress on it and hope to finalize it in the next few weeks.  Then I can work on organizing all my digital and paper files as well as my closets. Things just seem to take me much longer these days.

I've also had a bit of time to read here and there and have returned the several decorating books I borrowed to the library. I also picked up two new books.  One is called Greenlights, a memoir by actor, Matthew McConaughey.  The other is a novel called The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristen Harmel.  The novel is one of several I've read by the same author.  All the novels I've read deal with the horrors that befell the Jewish people during WW2.  In every book the author presents a lot of  new to me historical information and I've learned a lot (her books are based on historical facts).  I find the characters and story lines very interesting too though they are set against the horrible backdrop of the  Holocaust.

 

I've mentioned in other posts that I've been doing some minor renos and small decorating projects since before Christmas. I seem to have an endless array of things that need to be done, one of which is finding a better way to store items like throw blankets, large shawls, blankets, sheets and blow up mattresses.  A storage sofa might work but my sofa is still in decent condition so I won't be buying a new one soon. Instead,  I stored one of my blow up mattresses underneath the existing sofa.  It was a tight fit so I may put some bed risers under the feet of the sofa to gain a few inches. 

The ladder is made of pine and lightly coated in clear finish. I took this photo on my walk home with the ladder.

I also ordered a blanket ladder to hang all the throw blankets and large shawls I have in my living room.  It gets pretty chilly for half of the year at night even with the heat on. I still need to find a way to store extra sheets and blankets which are larger. Again, I'm thinking of lifting my bed with bed risers and storing extra blankets there.  I do have a cedar chest for storing linens but it isn't large enough for everything. I think I've also stashed some large blankets in suitcases which are in my closet.  I also recently gave away a few sets of sheets I haven't used for several years and a few throw blankets so that I don't need quite as much storage as before.

I didn't work on my patio garden yet.  It's just as well because my plans have to change.  The strata council is bringing in new bylaws to be voted on in another week or so at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).  I have no doubt the new changes will be approved by the majority of owners. The changes that affect me more directly will be the new rule that we can only plant flowers, not vegetables.  The other rule is we cannot put out any bird seed in feeders.  I'm assuming it's because vegetables attract rodents and bird seed attracts birds and bird droppings.  My neighbours on the top floor have been dealing with the messes left by birds for some time and the strata had to approve an expensive solution of installing wires around the perimeter of the roof to dissuade birds from roosting.  Even though I've never been bothered by bird droppings, I know that the rules have to apply to everyone. I hope to grow some herbs however.  I may simply grow them indoors and take them outside to get some sunshine now and then.

In Covid news, the province has ramped up it's efforts to vaccinate people well in advance of it's original schedule.  It's because they are going to give everyone a chance for early vaccination by delaying the time between the first and second doses of the vaccine.  This means most of us will be vaccinated 4-5 months than earlier thought and I will likely get mine before the end of the month. Other loved ones have already got vaccine one and yet others will get one in April.

Last, but not least,  I want to mention one matter related to the Missions of Hope in Kenya.  I'm looking for a donor who would be willing to help Ernest every month with food and medicine needs.  It is very hard to find a job in Kenya evening during pre-Covid times. But due to his diabetes and Covid concerns the doctor doesn't want him to venture from the village to the town to look for work. I'm looking for a regular donor to support him monthly ($100 US dollars 85 Euros, $125 Canadian, 11k  JYen, $130 AUD).  If you cannot contribute monthly but want to help, kindly let me know at  kerichojoy[at] gmail] dot [com] (eliminate square brackets).

This is a photo collage of Ernest when he was in hospital in 2019. He was hit by a truck while he was walking to hospital to get his monthly medications. He has recovered from surgery with the help of one kind blogger friend who helped with medical costs for surgery and food during his recovery period.

 

Galatians 6:9

 

 

Thanks so much for reading. Enjoy your weekend.

 

 

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Christmas A-glow

Christmas decorating is not one of the things I excel at.

I wasn't actually planning to decorate this year because of my themes for the year of "streamline" and "simplify".  However, in the end I decided to decorate for my cousin who will be visiting.  It will be nice to have make things festive for her.

We don't get to see one another that often and it was around this time last year that she almost died. It was touch and go for a month or more and today she is a walking, living miracle.  We plan to go together with other family members to visit my mom this Christmas. She will also be visiting a sister of hers who lives just over an hour from me to the north east.

I am also busily preparing for Christmas in Kenya. Read more here.

 

My tree is not full size yet it takes a lot of time and baubles to decorate it. I like to enjoy it with the lights turned low at night.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.

Have a lovely week!

Blessings of the season to each of you as you prepare for Christmas wherever you are.