Beautiful Days & Free Stuff

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

A happy Monday to you all. I hope you have a beautiful week ahead.

Yesterday was "Car Free Day" on my city street. I didn't go out because I don't want to line up to buy something to eat and I don't need anything the small shops are sending. But the event was incredibly well attended. By the time I went out to buy a few things at the local pharmacy the stalls were mostly gone but the police were still in attendance directing traffic. There were also a lot of pedestrians walking here and there since no buses or cars were permitted until around 9 p.m.

I was amazed to see what looks to be a small ferris wheel being packed up and taken away. I guess the small kids had a lot of fun.

Here are a few street scenes.

Today is Monday and another beautiful, sunny day. It wasn't cold but it wasn't hot either and I was able to wear a light jacket without feeling uncomfortable.

I took a walk to an apartment several blocks from where I live to pick up a free item, a 28L garbage can.  I had to wait for 2 weeks to pick it up because the person giving it away was on holiday for 2 weeks. She is someone I've deal with a few times because she loves to collect things on the street or from people she knows and then give them away on a free site to keep items from the land fill.  I intend to use the bin it to store paper items for recycling. I already have a slightly larger one for containers.

It just needs a good cleaning and it will be ready for use.

Our simple dinner tonight was tasty, stir fried pork and veggies with steamed rice. I had a small amount of noodles left so I added them to the stir fry. Normally we only have rice or noodles at one time so as not to overdo the carbs.

Thank you for your visit.  Leave a comment to let me know you were here and how your week has begun. Take care until next time.

A Bit of Hygge

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Some of you will have read my story here about the lost and found item I picked up late Saturday night. I tried to go to the local police station on Sunday but it was closed by the time I arrived. I went again on Monday and thankfully made it before closing. I left the wallet with an explanation of where I found it and my name. Now it's in the hands of the police and hopefully the person who lost it will find their way to the police station or maybe the police will somehow locate him/her. I don't even know if the person is a male or female because I'm not familiar with the names.

I got a long-ish walk in over the span of several days going on errands and going to and from the police station over 2 different days.

To be honest, my body is really suffering from aches and pains and inflammation in the neck, back and hips. I wanted to get a body massage or a get in a foot reflexology session but the timing didn't work out. So instead, I have been trying to have moments of hygge by relaxing and revelling in some of life's quieter pleasures.

Like reading good books.

I was able to complete Crow Mary (favourite) The Paris Assignment (2nd favourite), and Miss Morgan's Book Brigade (3rd favourite)  I enjoyed all of them and would recommend them all.

I spent some time caring for my plants, watering them, removing dead leaves and transplanting one of them into a larger pot.  I also purchased a new plant. I think it's called a Kangaroo Fern but I'm not 100 percent certain since I've never seen one before. All of these plants were purchased on clearance over the past month or so and were in rough shape when I bought them. I'm trying to bring them back to life but they need more sunshine. I'd like to take them out to the patio but need to wait until the workers are gone.

I have this one in a hanging basket.

I just transplanted this one.

The fern on the left is new

I'm going to buy another hanging basket for the new plant on the left in the photo above. I can also see that the aloe vera needs dividing as it's gotten too big for the pot it's in.

I always enjoy seeing pockets of beauty when I'm out and about. I found this cute gem of a restaurant on Sunday and hope to return one day when it's open and when I have more time. It has a cute little patio on the other side.

I did a bit of shopping. I've been thinking about changing the bathroom sink faucets and saw these ones when I was browsing in the stores.  I think they'll do for now.  I purchased two sets, one for each bathroom.  I'll only open one until I see how it looks after installation.

When I'm out I like to dine by myself.  It allows me to rest my feet and catch my breath since walking and shopping takes a lot out of me. I also like to read while I wait for my dinner. This Bento Box is called a Nigiri Bento box for the raw fish (salmon, tuna and prawn) but it also had tempura, beef teriyaki and a dynamite roll. It came with the customary Miso soup which I love so much.

All in all I enjoyed my outings. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Starts the Week Again

This past Monday was demolition day at the condo. This was the beginning of it. The walls and ceiling were cut away later. The end result is that the water seems to have dried well enough and there is no mold growing. So that's great news! 

Now they have to fix everything and I'm keen to make sure the end product doesn't look like a patchwork quilt.  I can't wait until everything is nicely painted, carpets are washed and everything is generally fresh again.  I'm hoping to immediately reduce more items before I completely return things to the bedroom.  It might be a bit difficult but it must be done.

The workers arrived at 9:30 a.m and left at 5:30 p.m. I felt quite tired so I went out for a bite to eat and a bit of grocery shopping instead of cooking.  I didn't make it to the community garden but I must get there very soon.

While I wait for the bedroom renovations to begin, I'll be purging in other areas of the condo. I made good progress on Sunday by cleaning the bookshelves and getting rid of a lot of magazines, expired Covid tests and various bits and pieces. 

I also completed reading the thoroughly enjoyable books, The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn and the book Digging Stars by Zimbabwean author, Novuyu Shuma.

Rain was in the forecast for Tuesday but it only rained in the morning.  I was hoping for a bit more rain today and I see the clouds are forming though the sun is shining brightly.  Perhaps it will still rain later.  The forecast is for warmer temperatures again for the rest of the week.  Even if it rains more I have a lot of photos of beautiful scenes and flowers to enjoy from recent walks.

I'm hoping to make good progress on a lot of 'small' tasks and jobs this week.  

Enjoy your week ahead and thank you for making time to visit my blog during your busy day. I hope you'll visit again soon.