Enjoying the Colour

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the last of the current season wherever you may be in the world.

We've had a long run of beautiful skies and warm, sometimes very hot temperatures but we are now going into a cooling period and some rain is expected within the next few days.

I wanted to share the beautiful sunflowers growing in our community garden and the beautiful, blue sky as the back drop.

We also have a few ears of corn ready for harvest.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday today.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

The Weekend Happenings So Far

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I finally made it to the community garden plot to do some weeding and some harvesting.  But I only made it there very late in the day and it was cloudy, a bit cold and threatening rain so I didn't stay long. 

Sadly, I didn't get any photos at the park. I'd forgotten my phone when I left the house. It's the second time I've done that in as many weeks.  I always feel a bit lost when I've forgotten the phone because I rely on it for all kinds of things like checking store hours and locations, testing my blood glucose, checking the transit schedules and taking photos of my outings to name a few tasks.

At the garden I plucked out quite a lot of weeds and harvested a bit of purple Kale and Swiss Chard. I hope to make juice later on and add it to some ginger and lemons.  I'm hoping to get back to the garden soon to finish the weeding and harvest more Kale and Swiss Chard since that is mostly what I'm growing. Last time I picked some strawberries, chives and sweet peas but the chives are well past their best and the sweet pea plants withered and died. I'm not sure why. DH is in charge of the watering and I think the soil seems a bit too sandy. The compost we were provided at the beginning of the season seemed like it was mostly sand.

Anyway, I'm glad I made it to the garden because I've been trying to get there all week.  I only did about half of the weeding that needs to be done. Hopefully I can make it to the garden again before Tuesday to continue the work.

I need to be home on Tuesday for various reasons, mainly because I'm expecting an Amazon delivery of a replacement bathroom fan.  I think mine stopped working when we had the water leak a few weeks ago. So much water came down and I heard that moisture can affect the fan. It only makes sense. I can see all the rust in different areas of the fan and box from the different leaks coming from upstairs over the years.

It might have been cheaper to go to Home Depot and get a fan but then I need to expend the energy to get there and back,  find the time to actually go there and then find someone to help me once there.  I've got too many things to do this week.  I've saved myself some time if it fits.  If it doesn't I'll send it back and go to Home Depot next weekend.

Bathroom exhaust needs replacing.

I also have a parcel to pick up at the post office.  If the Amazon delivery gets here early, I'd like to pick up my parcel.  I'm hoping that something I ordered fits and is comfortable enough to wear to the  Rolling Stones concert on Friday.  Otherwise I'll have to dig in my suitcases and see what I have.  I'm still camped out in the living room and most of my clothing is not accessible as it's in storage.

The decluttering continues this weekend. I've got most of one big box from the master bedroom cleared out and I have one more to sort.  In the meantime, I decluttered a few more items from the bathroom counter.  Every little bit helps.

Last, but not least, I completed the novel, The Victory Garden. It's about a young woman from a posh family who decides to volunteer for the war effort during WW1. Her fiance dies in battle but she discovers she's with child. She decides not to tell her parents and sets out to find a way to survive. In the end, she is reunited with her parents.  The story by Rhys Bowen is poignant and sensitively written. I recommend it.

Well that's my weekend so far. How is your weekend going?

Happy New Month of June

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you're well. I don't know about you but I feel as if the month of may went by in a flash. I've been kept on my toes so that usually makes the time fly by.

Let's hope the month of June is a good one for all of us and that it doesn't get too hot or too cold where you live.  In Canada, wildfires started a few weeks ago in the far north of British Columbia and northern Alberta.  Several communities in both provinces had to be evacuated. Fortunately, they got the green light to return to their homes just a few short days ago. Sadly some people did lose their homes but I think the damage might have been less than originally expected. Thank God for small mercies. It's never fun having to move out of your home unexpectedly and especially not knowing what you might be returning to at the end of the ordeal.

Where I live the weather has been beautiful for much of the month of May but in the last week it turned quite cold.

The small community plot that I planted is doing 'so so'.  It was very cold in April and the garden rules are that the gardens must be fully planted by May 1st.  In April, there weren't a lot of starter or nursery plants available in my neighbourhood but I bought what I could and also sowed sunflower seeds directly into the soil.

They are green items growing in the foreground.  I probably planted too many because they didn't do so well when I tried to start them indoors so I wasn't sure how they would do being sown as seeds into the garden plot.  I've been to the garden plot a few times to check on them.  They seem to be growing a bit slowly but perhaps that is normal since they have a longer growing season than many vegetables.

Various invasive plants have planted themselves in the garden plot as well. I just let them grow.  It doesn't bother me but it does bother other gardeners.  I plucked out most of the mint but I left the strawberries and some poppy plants.  The cherry tomatoes haven't grown very much since planted but this seems to be normal.

We are growing kale, swiss chard, lettuce and tomatoes, sweet peas and corn.  The other plants have sown themselves or they come back yearly.  Soon I have to return to do some weeding and also harvest some chives.  They grow so well no matter what the weather and it seems like they don't really need any maintenance.

I picked a few strawberries and ate them after washing. It was a nice little treat.

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday today.  Thank you for stopping by! Please come again soon.

City Gardens, Weather & Cooking

Hello dear friends and fellow bloggers,

Time passed too quickly this month and before you know it May will be here.  With it's return the deadline imposed by the Community Garden Committee to fully plant the small community garden plot or lose it, rears it's head.

It should be relatively simple and straightforward to plant, but it never is for one reason or another.

Firstly, I think the timeline is too early. Good starter plants aren't really available here until May begins. That means you'll pay a premium if you want to get starter plants from the nursery. The 'real' gardeners always seem to get their gardens growing in April! I don't know how they do it but there are many who are just as behind as I am, if not more so.

To be honest, I'm not even sure you can buy a variety of vegetables and flowers until some time in May because that is when the garden season gets underway in the city.  Maybe you can if you travel a distance by car.

If you can't buy starter plants or nursery plants, the other option is to start your own starter plants from seeds.  If you want to start your own plants to beat the deadline, you'll need to start early and have all the soil, seeds, trays and pots at hand. There is a method to planting this way which includes transitioning starter plants to the weather so you need to factor that process into your timeline.  I believe this is called 'hardening" or 'hardening off'. 

Secondly, the weather doesn't always cooperate.  It's been very wet and very cold in the months of March and April though we have had a few good days here and there. This is what the weather was like on Saturday.

I was actually organized enough to start seeds early this year but they sprouted way too quickly and were unusable. I thought I'd try again but ran out of time and now it's too late to start my own seeds and still plant the garden on time.  So I had to try and find some nursery plants.

Saturday I called around to a few places might have what I was looking for and one of them did.  The other store said sometime next week and that would be too late.

I went today to buy what I could. The variety was somewhat limited but it will do.  Last year I didn't buy start plants or start my own. Instead I sowed seeds directly into the soil and most of the plants did sprout and do reasonably well except the sunflowers didn't look that healthy. The exceptional heat we had was not conducive for good growing conditions though the kale did very well.

I also bought a Boston Fern for my bedroom.  I love these ferns. The last one I had was on my patio in a pot for several years before I throw all plants away due to the patio renovation project which is currently ongoing.

Speaking of the patio garden, I'm still not sure when it will be ready or what work I'll have to do in it. I had to throw out many things including my garden hose and spray nozzle when I cleaned the patio out in preparation for renovations.  Today I was able to get new ones so they are ready to go when needed.

On the food front, I made a lovely lentil dish of lentils, carrots, eggplants, onion and various spices. I'll be making it again or variations of it. We had it with some air fried chicken which was also good.

The Weekly Home Blessing (part of Fly Lady's cleaning system) was done over the weekend and so now the house is clean ad relatively tidy and ready for the busy week ahead.

Wishing you all a fabulous week.

Skywatch Friday - March 23, 2023

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you've all had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend.  Where I live we've had some beautiful, sunny days and some not so spectacular days. After a glorious sunny day yesterday it was back to rain today and actually quite chilly. It should turn back to sunshine soon. I can't wait until it warms up a touch. I don't like it too warm just enough to keep my bones from getting a chill.

The first photo is taken in my patio garden. I haven't done any work to prepare it this year and I won't be doing any. Everything will be ripped up and out by June or July as the patio gardens in the entire building need redoing. It's a job and a half and very expensive.

I took the next two photos at the community garden in a nearby park. I was trying to capture the setting sun before it completely disappeared.

I've been preparing the community plot but some darn dog went and walked all over it damaging things in the process. I love dogs but not when they run rampant. I don't know why but they only ran over mine. I guess my plot is too close to the main pathways. Good thing I caught it. I will be keeping a close eye on things as I want the garden to grow a bit by May.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend. 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

Summertime and the Living is Easy?

 Welcome back to Toni's Tuesday 4!  We need to enjoy every season to the fullest even those of us for whom summer is not the favourite season.

1. What do you like to do in the summer?

Sad to say that summer is not my favourite season. Primarily because it is too hot. So what I like to do to avoid heat is to stay indoors and sit as still and as quiet as possible. It's my time for watching television, reading and doing slow housework. When I have more time I like to go to the beach and have a nice walk to enjoy the ocean breezes and spectacular scenes.  

 

Summer is also usually the time I enjoy having a visitor or two but the last few years this didn't happen. Hopefully next year.  This year I've been spending a lot of time downsizing and doing small DIY projects so I can enjoy the months ahead.

2. What is your favorite summertime food and beverage?

My favourite summertime food is probably a well done cheeseburger with potato salad and a very cold lemonade with ice (not too sweet) or a iced coca cola with lemon juice. Oh, and let me not forget many varieties of ice cream and fruits, especially watermelon to quench the thirst. In former days I enjoyed having a Mr. Misty Float from the Dairy Queen. I had a few this summer but now I find them too sweet and tart at the same time.

3. How do you beat the heat?

I beat the heat by sitting indoors at home or in an air conditioned coffee shop. When I go outdoors I tend to walk in the shaded areas as the sun is too hot for me.

4. What do you really like about the summer season?

The best thing about the summer season is going for a walk on the beach to enjoy the ocean views & waking up very early just to watch the glorious colours in the sky. I also like to enjoy the garden when it is in full bloom.

Thank you for stopping by!

 

 

Early Morning Light

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Happy Friday to everyone. I hope you are all doing fine and have your plans made for the weekend. 

 

I intend to continue with the small house tasks such as painting in the bathroom and a small area in the living room. I'm not sure if I'll actually get to the bathroom part since I need to go to the store and get the paint first. I already have the paint to use in the front room. I also need to go out to shop for a few plants and things.  Nothing major since I'm only buying 'essentials' but it all takes time nonetheless. I spent a few hours this week comparison shopping on line for the best deals for my needs. I let things sit in the 'cart' for a few days before purchasing. This helps me pause to consider the cost and whether it is something I really want or need otherwise it only adds to future clutter. Next up I'll be going through the CDs and DVDs a few odds and ends from the kitchen cabinets to see what else I can give away. I also have to go through more papers and journals which will go in the garbage after shredding.

The best news is today a lot of my giveaways will be picked up. I've got 4 bags of stuff ready to go and one lady is picking up 3 bags of kitchen stuff for a refugee family. A gent will be picking up the 5th bag which contains a juicer which hadn't been used very much an dis just collecting dust.

 

I haven't been getting out at the right time to get a photo to share.  So I took these 2 photos this morning around 5:40 a.m. I'm noticing the morning light is not as bright so early these days. I'm sure you've probably noticed it too if you are in summer season right now. I'm hoping to enjoy a few days here and there outdoors before summer ends.  But DH has to work the late shift this month so that puts a damper on what we can do and when.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

The Last Week

 Hello friends,

Thank you to all who left well wishes and comments on my last post. I truly appreciate your beautiful words.

I trust you are well and enjoying summer/winter wherever you are in the world. There is so much going on around the world.  Most of it is not that positive so it's important we do what we can to safeguard our mental and physical health to help us cope. Some of the ways I safeguard mine are through enjoying nature (the sky and gardening), reading, short walks and some self-care now and then (exercise, prayer, deep breathing, relaxation, slow routines, mani-pedis and massage). I was blessed to do most of the above this week. All the photos in this post were taken this week.

Today (July 10th) was a lovely day.

 

I had my second booster shot a few days ago. All went well save for a sore arm on the second day after the shot. Not everyone in my province has had their first booster shot yet let alone their second shot. They have to be eligible first and eligibility is generally based on health status and age. For some reason the head doctor here makes the age cut off very high unlike all other jurisdictions in the country. I think that is wrong headed but I'm not the one making the decisions.  Just the other day however I read that the government has opened things to everyone aged 12 and older to get a booster shot in the fall when Covid cases are expected to increase once more. 

Jonah had his 2 vaccinations in Kenya and that was good enough to travel and enter Canada when he travelled in May.  But like most insurance there is a waiting period to get a health card here in the province of BC before he can register for his booster shots. Once the waiting period is over he can complete health card registration provided he has received the permanent resident (PR) card issued federally. 

Canada is very backlogged in virtually every area of service due to the pandemic so PR cards and other things are taking months to receive instead of a week or two. We were happy that Jonah's card did indeed arrive at just under 2 months wait time and he has been able to register or apply for the last bits of documentation he needs.  It's a huge relief since many people are experiencing significantly longer wait times.

 

Jonah has been very busy getting accustomed to life and work here and he has been enjoying both.  The other day he joined the work party at the community garden to help repair the raised beds that were falling apart and to do some extensive weeding around the plots. Weeding and general upkeep of the community garden area is the responsibility of all gardeners who have a plot but most of them don't seem to do much. Maybe they don't know that they have to volunteer 4 hours of time over the summer to the work needs of the garden. I certainly didn't know until the new chairman pointed it out a few weeks ago. Basically, Jonah's garden work on Saturday fulfilled the volunteer hours required for this year.  In addition, my nephew's girlfriend put in several hours of work a few weeks ago so we have more than covered our volunteer work hours requirement for the year.  We only have one plot which my nephew's girlfriend has planted and tended this year.  I'm hoping next year she will be able to get her own plot because she loves the gardening process. I hope they don't say she is disqualified due to living too far from the neighbourhood.

 

My left leg is still giving me problems though I do see signs of improvement here and there. I'm trying to make sure I take time to do the exercises and the walking recommended by the physiotherapist.  It's been a difficult balance  because it doesn't take too long before I've overdone the walking. I had such a day on Friday when Jonah and I went out to do our business. I came home very tired and spent the rest of the weekend indoors to recover and get the housework done slowly so I can be ready for the week ahead. I also spent some time outside in the garden. When I wasn't outside I left my patio door wide open and enjoyed seeing the little hummingbirds come by.  I also enjoyed the chirping of birds. They were very active this weekend. I don't remember hearing them last summer when there was so much smoke in the air. That couldn't have been good for their little lungs at all.

I finished reading this new book French Braid by Anne Tyler.   It was a quick read and I enjoyed it although it was far from one of my favourite reads.  Unbeknownst to me I also started reading another book by Anne Tyler just a few days before.  That one is called A Spool of Blue Thread: A Novel.  I thought the two books seemed quite similar but French Braid seemed to flow a bit better and so I finished it first.

Last, but not least, I finally made time on Wednesday to get a mani-pedi. I've been needing a good clean up of the nails for quite some time but don't like to pay the prices or sit for so long. I was glad I did get there as the young woman who worked on me had a very pleasant personality and I asked her to give me an extra long hand massage because she asked me to wait for my manicure while she worked on another client who was there with a friend. I agreed to her request and she gave me a nice long massage when she returned to work on my fingernails. 

In the "old" days one would always get a wonderful hand and foot massage as part of the mani-pedi. Nowadays you mostly have to pay a premium for these services.  If a salon does happen to include a massage with their basic service it is usually nothing to speak of.  Often you don't even get one especially since they started using gel nail polish. While I was waiting for the nail tech to be free, I enjoyed a nice, long massage on the massage chair.

It's been a busy week despite the leg issue and I'm expecting another busy week ahead. 

I wish you all a wonderful and happy week where ever you are in the world. 

Stay safe. 💓💓💓

Update and a Big Announcement

 Hi everyone, 

I trust you have all been doing fine. 

I have been on a long blogging break for a number of reasons but the blogging break has gone on longer than I intended.

When I first went off line it was because I was working very hard on what I had hoped was the last stages of major decluttering. This involved dealing with all the papers I've been collecting and storing for years.  Several years ago I had gone through my large filing cabinet and gotten rid of a lot of paperwork so I thought I was well on my way to completion.  However I discovered that that was only the tip of the iceberg.  The more I looked, the more I had papers here and there that I had stored away. It seemed like as I was going through and shredding old papers that they were in fact expanding in number! Of course that wasn't actually happening, it's just that there was so much of it. I set myself a deadline of the end of March, then April and I worked hard toward the goal.  I got rid of much of it but I still have more to do. 

Once I stopped shredding papers, I got very sick with a bad cold. I had worked myself very hard and so I guess my immunity was not that great.  I no sooner got through that then I started having an arthritic flare up and it has gone on for many weeks. I'm not one hundred percent sure why the flare up happened but I think it is largely due to the horrible weather we've had for the last quarter of 2021 and for half of 2022.  Constant rain.  

It's actually been quite cool too but I think I'll take the cool to the heat wave we had last summer at this time.  Sadly, the hot weather resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and wild fires totally wiped out one small community named Lytton and another First Nations community or two. The damage to the forests was also extensive. Lots of rain to dampen the earth this year has significantly reduced threat of wild fires for the present time. Instead communitys are now dealing with possibility of flooding due to melting snow packs on the mountains combined with heavy rainfall. Water levels are dangerously high right now throughout much of the province but I'm hopeful that rivers won't overflow. This past week we had a mini-heat wave but yesterday and today, it is back to a bit of rain and overcast weather. I prefer it when the weather is broken up with warmer days and cooler days as keeps everything in better balance all around.

In between decluttering and getting sick, I did manage to plant the garden albeit not quite how I normally do. The heavy rainfall and cold seemed to affect how things are growing. Too much water I think but at least things are now blooming.

My nephew and his girlfriend are looking after the community garden at the park again this year. They enjoyed it so much last year but next year they may get their own plot if any are available.

If you are still reading, I have some big personal news to share. I've been waiting for the right time to share it and now seems to be a good time.  My long term readers and blog friends know that I do grassroots missions to villagers in Kenya and have been doing so for a very long time. Early on in the missions outreach, Jonah and I met through a mutual pastor friend. Jonah is a trained pastor but also has an academic background in humanitarian work and a significant volunteer background in relief work in Kenya.  We had been planning to get married for quite some time and on my last visit to Kenya it finally happened.  The global pandemic and Canada's backlogged immigration process delayed our reunification but as of May, Jonah landed in Vancouver and we were reunited at last.

Here he is on arrival day in Vancouver. He's not used to getting flowers :-)

 

As you can imagine, we have been super busy.  There is an awful lot for Jonah to learn and discover but he is adjusting well and enjoying the process. He loves it because it is peaceful and the city is not too small.  The city is quite large by Canadian standards but is relatively small and calm compared to Nairobi where he often travelled for business.  We hope to continue the work of the missions in Kenya and to share what we feel led to share now that he is here but first things first.

Immigration and travel during these last few years has been very challenging. As we went through the process we could see the hand of God in the process.  We really know that God undertook everything on our behalf and was with us through it all.  This was especially evident to us through the last year and even now.  We are grateful when we realize the great hardships and difficulties that so many other couples have faced and are still going through as they journey through the same process. I'm still marvelling at how quickly our application was processed though it took some time for the officials to actually begin processing the paperwork. Some people have been waiting years and ours took only about 4.5 months to be processed though the other elements of the process added time. Truly a miracle during the Immigration backlog affecting millions of people.  We don't take the blessing lightly and are thrilled to begin life together.

Here he is at one of our outings to Stanley Park and the waterfront.

The long weekend is coming up so I just want to wish all my Canadian and American readers a very Happy Canada  Day (July 1st) and Independence Day (July 4).

Stay safe until next time💓💖🎇🎆