Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts

Thursday, August 3, 2023

A Little Update

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

This is a brief post to update those of you who have been wondering what happened to me.

Since my last post, I have continued to be busy catching up on house projects and major cleaning.

I was able to vacuum and wash the carpet in the living room, clean the windows and window sills, dust the cobwebs from the corners and move a cabinet from the entry way to a corner of the living room  I usually try to wash the carpets twice per year and will likely do it again just before Christmas.



I put put the curtain roads and curtains. This project has been on my 'to do' list for so long that I've forgotten just how long it's been.  I actually put up a rod once before but the screws didn't hold. In the meantime I shopped for special drill bits that are supposed to go through metal. They worked better but I was still unable to drill deep enough in a few sections. I was worried the curtains wouldn't hold again but I put the curtains up anyway and I think everything will be okay. I'm so happy because I think it will really help keep the draughts out this winter and make heating more efficient

The gold floor lamp in the photo below is a new addition to the living room. I don't know how it happened but a small knob fell off of my original floor lamp. The lamp is quite old so I bought a new lamp to be sure I have a good light source. I'll also try to repair the broken lamp and I know I can use it if I can fix it.




The fireplace mantel is always changing, usually because a plant or two has died.  I keep trying but it's so hard to keep plants alive with little light and inadequate warmth over the winter.  One of the houseplants, a ficus lyrata was almost dead. I think it had 2 half dried leaves left on it. I put it outside in the heat and sun and it has sprouted about 12 new leaves in the past 2 weeks! I'll keep it outdoors for a few more weeks and hopefully it will become healthy enough to keep indoors over the darker, cooler months.

Just when I was making excellent progress on work indoors, I got very sick.  I  went to Emergency and ended up being admitted to hospital for about 4 days and 3 nights.  It turns out I had a skin infection (caused by eczema on my left foot and ankle) and cellulitis in my right leg. I was treated intravenously for several days before any sepsis set in and then sent home with oral antibiotics. I had good care at the hospital but was glad to get home after a few days. 


Breakfast one day.


 (Sesame beef) Dinner one day


Steamed Pork Dinner another day.


Hooked up to IV 

Entering my room. I had a room to myself for some reason.


The view out my hospital room.

Since being released from hospital I've eaten out a bit more than usual. I haven't felt up to cooking much though today I made spaghettini and meat sauce. On other days I made cauliflower-vegetable soup, rice and BBQ chicken.

Friday's Bento Box dinner


Chicken Souvlakia dinner (minus the skewers)


Spaghettini and meat sauce with shredded Parmesan Cheese

I haven't been able to do much housework or running of errands this week. I've done a bit of reading instead. 




Wednesday night I went out to buy groceries for the week I'll try to make a few meals ahead (stuffed pork chops and cauliflower, chicken or chick pea curry, beef brisket with rice and greens and chicken and baked sweet potato fries). 

Today I mustered up enough energy to sweep and wash floors, wash a load of towels and bath mats and clean the master bathroom toilet. I still feel tired so I'll be focussing on doing only essential housework this week. I also have a few appointments to deal with this week.

I hope all of you are safe, happy and healthy. Thanks for stopping by!


Sunday, November 6, 2022

The First Week of November

Happy Sunday from Vancouver where we have just come through some very heavy rainfall, stormy winds and wet snow.  It stopped now.  The sky is still gray but yesterday it was blue with fluffy white clouds.

The first week of November has been about adjustments as the city transitions to the colder weather. I've had to turn the heat on in the bedroom and front room every day. I never quite feel organized at this time of year and the constant cold keeps me busy trying to stay warm.  It's especially hard to keep my legs warm enough, a symptom of diabetes.  I'm alternately going for long walks to keep the circulation going, or sitting down with a hot drink, raised legs and a heated throw.

I've also been busy with errands almost every day this week. Part of it is an excuse to get out and get some exercise. In addition, I've been playing the MacDonald's Monopoly game and needed frequent trips there to pick up a coffee and some stickers to play. The game ends soon (November 7th). So far I didn't win anything.

Latest novel

This week has mostly been about food cooking, food shopping, online shopping for cold weather clothing (Jonah needs everything related to cold weather and I need a few things), cooking, household cleaning and routines, a bit of clothing alteration for DH, a bit of reading and watching television. I'm far behind on the reading bit but catch a few minutes here and there to indulge.  I had a physiotherapy session and enjoyed a body massage and manicure as well. I connected by phone with a cousin of mine who lives far away in Edmonton, Alberta. We usually catch up when she makes an annual visit to Vancouver but she didn't make it this summer.

Jeans were taken in and hemmed


A small decluttering and organizing job was accomplished while watching television one night.  The contents of the white and blue container were separated.  Everything on the left of the first photo was trashed. I kept the stuff on the right of the first photo and put away those things that didn't belong (like seam rippers) in their proper place. Now the pens and markers are all organized (mostly) in one place by colour and a few emery boards stored there for easy reach.


I was out and about late last night. I didn't get home until almost bedtime. Having said that I stayed up very late and before bed I realized I hadn't set the clocks back. The time on the cell phone alerted me. I manually set the clocks on the stove, microwave and the battery operated clocks.  Then I worried that DH might have forgotten about the time difference so I stayed awake until it was time for him to rise for work. He awoke an hour earlier than usual because he had gone to sleep at the usual time. He's lucky he can sleep so easily. He can also rise easily as long as he has slept long enough. He has a very long day of work today.  In the meantime I'm keeping busy at home.  I might make a small run to the grocers later for things like laundry soap.

It's linen changing day at my home so everything on the bed has been stripped, washed and now in the dryer.  I've also given the pillows a steam refresh. I keep the pillows covered with pillow protectors and refresh them each week but only wash them every month or every other month.  A small load of towels and clothing will also be washed. 

I'm not doing any major cleaning today because I've been doing the big chores like vacuuming, sweeping, washing floors and so on since Thursday - doing a little here and there. Today I'm focussing on little tasks that once done add up to a smoother, daily flow:

* coloured my hair and rinsed out the bottle 

* refilled hand soap in bathroom

* scoured the tub and toilet (I do spot clean these daily but still they need a good scrub)

* looked for a screw to attach a plate to the side of the tub. The other was loose and fell down the drain.

* refilled the spray cleaner containers in kitchen and bathroom with some cleanser I bought on Friday.

* recycled toilet paper rolls 

* gathered the trash from master bathroom, laundry room and kitchen

* updated the calendar with DH's work schedule and my upcoming appointments.

My major task today besides changing out the bed linens will be trying to make progress on an excel spreadsheet to  track grocery spending over the past several months. I want to know exactly what I've spent. each month. I may add other bills like hydro (electricity), internet/television/phone. I've saved all receipts for the grocery spending and receipts for bills are on line. I've been procrastinating about this project for so long but I really want to do it for future budgeting purposes.I know once I start it really won't take that long.

Last but not least, it snowed today! It's hard to tell by my photo but you can see the white lines to the top right of the photo.  The snow didn't last because it's wet.


Thank you for stopping by. It would be great to hear from you in the comments.

If you are interested in the Kenyan missions, I will be publishing a short series but no set schedule. 

The first post is here.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Mid Week Check In

 Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Today I'm sharing some photos taken over the past week. We are experiencing drought in my province and our summer like weather continues.  Today all over the province we had temperatures you might expect in August or September even though we are now well into autumn season. 

The gardens were finished long ago.  You can see in the photos (below) some patches of yellow (dead grass) and the Dogwood tree on my patio actually shriveled up and died. It hadn't been looking healthy for awhile. I didn't do much this year to the garden because by next spring I'm expecting the entire patio garden to be dug up in order to replace the membrane which has been examined and shown to be leaking.  

The weather is perfect for me for walking because it isn't too hot or too cold. The walking I've been able to do more frequently is helping me feel stronger than I have in awhile.  But the lack of rainfall is a huge concern. On Tuesday's weather report, the meteorologist said we've only had 16 mm of rain so far in October when normally we would have 160 mm.  To be fair, we are not quite half way through October but there doesn't appear to be any rain on the horizon for at least a week. It seems that we either have record rainfall or record number of days without rain. You might remember that we had a very long spring with a lot of rain and our warm weather didn't arrive until May when DH arrived. It has been quite good weather for him as he gets accustomed to the climate and seasons here.






 

The photo below shows my new nail colour. It's dark blue though it looks black. I usually go for rose or burgundy tones.  This time I wanted something different and I chose this dark colour which I quite like.  Some women wear black but that doesn't appeal to me. Next time I will try a neutral or natural tone if they have it.  The place where I have been going has a very limited supply of regular nail polish colours and a very extensive range of gel colours. I use gel on my fingernails but I like my finger and toenails to match. They are usually 'off' in colour.  It won't matter much because soon I'll be wearing closed toes and when the much colder weather arrives I'll give the pedicures a rest. Nail technicians always remark on how short my nails are. I usually have to trim them before I return to the salon because they tend to break or peel as a result of always dipping my hands in hot water to do the dishes. I tend not to wear rubber globes though I really should because the dish detergents and hot water are very hard on my skin too.

Last week, I went to the thrift store to find something for DH. Not only did I find something for him but I found this stunning glass leopard vase for me. I've wanted one for awhile and kept checking various sources however they were far too expensive. When I saw this one I couldn't pass it up though I wasn't actually looking for one at the time.  I promptly brought it home and filled it the next day with carnations and mums just in time for our Thanksgiving holiday meal. Real and faux flowers are my only nod to autumnal decorating.



Besides going here and there I've also been very busy at home.

Firstly, I found water damage in the master bathroom when I had a friend over to recaulk the tub and regrout a small area of the tiled wall. As he cut away the grout, it was evident that the tiles were coming loose.  A bit of investigation turned up the water damage and it needed to be patched and repaired. It took the better part of Saturday and I'm glad my friend was here to do the unanticipated work.  A full renovation of the tub & shower area will be needed but hopefully the repair job will hold  until then.

More decluttering was accomplished this week and my focus was on getting the tools organized.  One kitchen drawer, the tool box and a bag of tools were all cleaned, sorted and rearranged for better flow.   I still have a small tub of tools and odds and ends to sort through; most of which will probably be discarded. You can see I keep a bag of disposable gloves but I never wear them. I seem to have a lot of bamboo skewers and interestingly they come in handy for a lot of things besides cooking.




Last but  not least, I completed weaving the ends of several dish cloths I knitted some time ago. I always save up a bunch of cloths and do the finishing all at one time.


I've restarted my physiotherapy and RMT sessions after several weeks break.  I'm expecting to be fully finished with all the therapy by the end of November. I'll be glad when that comes because it is difficult trying to coordinate 2 different therapist schedules with my own and the cost is very expensive and even more so now with a recent price increase.  By the the time you talk and update the therapist, you  really get only 15 or 20 minutes maximum of therapy from a 30 minute session. Even with partial coverage there is no way I can afford an hour long session.  

Once the sessions are all done we will likely all be in high gear for Christmas.  I can't believe I'm saying that already but before you know it, Christmas will be here again.  I'm hoping to have more time to enjoy the lead up to the season this year. 

Thanks for dropping by my corner of the world. I hope to also read your updates soon!

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

What I'm Working on in August

I've slowed down in the month of August from a lot of blog postings, IG and FB posts though I'm still visiting a lot of blogs and leaving comments.

Slowing down is enabling me to survive the heat and focus on my goals for the month of August.  I also have small house repairs that I simply haven't had time to complete. Over late spring season, I was working furiously to declutter  and get organized before Jonah's arrival. While I made good progress, I ran out of time to complete what I wanted to accomplish.  Now that Jonah is working and more or less acclimated, I want to make some progress on these outstanding tasks before the summer ends and the days grow darker.  I'm also still very busy with physio and massage therapy appointments and in between we are trying to enjoy the last days of summer while getting things organized for fall season.  Before you know it summer will be gone. I don't look forward to it but it happens every year.

Some time ago I repaired and painted one wall in my living area and intended to put up curtain rods and black out curtains in the living room. In all the time I've been living in the condo I've only had blinds, no curtains.  To be honest the framing of the windows doesn't make it ideal for putting up curtain rods but I find it quite cool in winter and thought the curtains would be a good way keep out drafts. I also intended to paint the master bathroom.

Instead I made a mess in the living room and left everything undone because I ran into issues when drilling into the concrete or steel wall.  So I left it all aside while I focussed on decluttering.  Jonah has helped by pulling out some of the anchors I'd put in the partially drilled holes.  Monday night I filled all the holes in both the living room and the master bathroom walls in readiness for sanding and painting.  It feels good to finally have these tasks done.

In another project, I'm getting rid of more clothes. I managed to put together a few large bags of clothing which hopefully will be picked up on Tuesday.  I've been inspired by a few women on You Tube who create 10 piece wardrobe for each season.  There is no way I will get down to 10 pieces per season but I can whittle down the number of items I keep.  I'm going to try to keep things that I really wear often and see what I can let go. I get rid of a few bags every now and then and will keep on going with that approach.  Of course Jonah also needs space for his clothing and personal items and this is another incentive for me to reduce mine. 

One bag of summer knit tops and PJs

A few scatter rugs also went out the door today. It didn't take long for people to respond to my adverts for giveaway. I'm always pleased when someone else will make use of what I no longer want. Tuesday update: Someone came to pick up all the clothing and another person picked up the scatter rugs. I'm so happy to get them out the door. I'm now going through the kitchen trying to get rid of excess mugs and water bottles.

Two rugs, one red/cream, one blue/cream

The rest of this month I plan to get rid of the remaining papers I didn't shred in April  2022 and a few small tubs or old journals and planners.  Once this is done I will tackle the entryway closet and the bookshelves again. I've already done a big clear out of books I'd collected for decades so I won't have quite as many to sort through this time. I also think it's time to offload my music CDs and instructional DVDs.  I haven't listened or watched any of them for at least a decade.  That means they are just taking up precious space. These days I learn 'how tos' on line and listen to music on You Tube.

In case you are curious about my current reads, these are the books I've recently right.  Right now I'm reading The Soviet Sisters:  A Novel of the Cold War by Anika Scott.


Mission Possible: Go Create a Life That Counts
really liked it
A good motivational book for anyone who needs/wants a pep talk about finding your purpose in life.
Run Rose Run
really liked it
Dolly Parton is such a powerhouse with all the different activities she engages in and in her philanthropic work. She has co-authored this book with best seller author, James Patterson and writes about things she knows best, female count...
The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free
really liked it
A fascinating look at the NYC hotel that primarily housed young women headed to the big city to experience a bit of an independent life at a time when independence for women was not readily attainable. The book focuses on the stays of a ...

goodreads.com
Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful rest of the month!

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