It's Anti-Procrastination Day

Hello dear friends, 

It's Wednesday here as I write this post.  It started raining today which is a nice change.  It will water the garden well and freshen everything up a bit.  I was going to make a trip to the community garden today but delayed it due to the rain. I need to do a bit of weeding and some harvesting, mainly swiss chard and kale.

I've just come back from a quick shopping trip to buy more toilet paper. During the promotional sale DH and I bought 8 packages (12 rolls each) of toilet paper and 2 packages (4 rolls each) of paper towels. It isn't a lot but it will help carry us for several months by which time there will likely be another promotional sale.

I was very tired today because I didn't sleep well at all last night. This is the first time in a long while that I haven't slept well. It means my sleep has improved considerably over these past several months.  Despite sleeping very little, I awoke early because the light was very bright coming through the blinds and the workers were here working on the patio.  I busies myself with this and that, including a load of laundry, washing dishes and making a few meals ahead.  

We had a sheet pan dinner tonight of pork shops and vegetables. I also made meat sauce for spaghetti and froze it. Lastly, I made Shepherd's Pie to have on Thursday along with a nice salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados.

Before the filling is topped with mashed potatoes. 

I put shredded kale in the Sheperd's Pie and the meat sauce to boost the nutritional content and to make sure the kale didn't go bad.

In Fly Lady Land (a home cleaning system), Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day.  One of the things I've been putting off is sorting through what used to be kept in a small cabinet in the master bedroom. The movers packed the cabinet's contents into boxes.  Now I'm going through it all to get rid of as much as possible while the bedroom furniture is still in storage. I made a good start and will continue over the next few days.

I'll also try to give away the small bags in the photos but the rest of the items are headed to trash because they are expired or used.

Earlier this week I was also able to declutter several more magazines and a set of oven gloves which I'm hoping to give away. 

All in all, it's been a good week so far. I'm meeting a friend on Thursday for a long overdue lunch date.  Friday marks the beginning of a long weekend in my province.  I'm hoping to make more progress in decluttering this week while the weather is inclement because I have a busy week or two ahead after that and I'm anticipating the renovations in the master bedroom to begin after the long weekend. I haven't been given a start date but will be calling the strata manager to find out where things are at. I was kind of hoping the patio renovation might be done before the bedroom renovations begin.

Is it a long weekend where you are? Do you have fun plans? 

Thank you for stopping by!

Skywatch Friday ~ June 14, 2024

It's a beautiful time of year and the skies are spectacular.

These photos were taken during a neighbourhood walk. It rained in the morning but when I went out in the late afternoon it was sunny and warm. By the time I returned home a cool wind was blowing. Thankfully I carried a shawl with me and I was warm enough until I got inside. It's supposed to get hot again so it should be good for the garden.

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for visiting. Please come again soon.

How Is Your Week Going?

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope the week is going well for you.

It's been busy here at the homestead.

It rained heavily on the weekend an a bit on Monday and Tuesday but otherwise it's expected to get quite warm for the rest of the week.  Possibly longer.

Monday started with a bang.  The workmen delivered a few pallets of cement blocks to the patio using a small crane. It was interesting to watch. These cement blocks will be used to build the garden wall which will then be filled with soil and ready for planting.

I had to make several phone calls. It's the season of birthdays and graduations in my world so I was on the phone making plans or confirming plans for both occasions. Everyone is busy these days so it's hard to find the mutually free time to get together but it works when everyone makes an effort.

I don't have too many indoor plants these days since I now have 2 large artificial trees. However I like to have live plants around me whenever  possible. Though the conditions in my home are not the best for plants (I have too little direct sunlight light and it's too cold for much of the year),  I still like to try to grow them. I purchased a fern that was on clearance and have just recently hung it up after looking for a wire chain and pot to use. I'll need to find another pot as I'm using the blue one as a liner. I'll look for a slightly smaller pot to repot the fern which is root bound. Hopefully I can put it outside in the sunshine even while the work outside is ongoing outdoors. Of course I'll have to do it when the workers  aren't working 

I continue to try and make healthier meals for the dinner hour. Stir frys are a favourite because they are quick and you can add so many different veggies to the noodles, rice or meat.

I'd love to know what is your favourite healthy meal to make?

That's all for today. Thank you for stopping by!

Neighbourhood Street Scenes

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well today.

These are photos I took on a recent walk in the neighbourhood. You can see the sky is very grey and dull but what you can't see is how cold it was. Seriously cold.

I had to wear a long sleeved top, a sweat jacket and my winter rain jacket. I was just fine dressed this way but I was so surprised to see how cold it had become. I don't remember it ever  being so cold at this time of year although the rain is no surprise, lol.
 

Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Former Evangelistic Tabernacle, now turned into condos

 

Very near the corner of Main St. & Broadway

A newish restaurant I haven't had a chance to try yet

I like the joyful exterior of this place

The new Broadway/Main St. subway station will be located here (behind the photos)

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the neighbourhood.  Thank you for your visit.

The Weather Changes

It rained Saturday morning but the sun came out by the afternoon.

I went out for a short errand and found it a bit on the cool side.

The weather is changing for awhile.  We've had such lovely, sunny and reasonably warm weather for much of this month. We've had partly cloudy skies early in the week turning to rain yesterday for the rest of the week. It should be good for the gardens. I hope it doesn't rain too much because I'd like to do some walking.

I snapped this photo because of the flock of birds above. They're a bit hard to see.

Enjoy the rest of your week.
 

Gratitude December - Day 19

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Today is Day 19 of Gratitude December.

Overnight we had so much rain and I could hear it pounding down for hours.  Overall we've had far more rain since mid-September than we've ever had since weather occurrences have been recorded. It's wreaked havoc around the province.

 

When I took these photos the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. I tried to capture the raindrops on the leaves as evidence of the rain.

 

Today I am thankful that I have a home and shelter from the rain and cold. There are many homeless in the world including in my beautiful city. Though the different levels of government have been strategizing for years about how  to tackle the issue, the solution seems to allude them. I do hope they can find answers because the problem is only getting worse. In a few years I'll have to make some difficult decisions about where I live too. In the meantime, I don't take my home for granted.

In the last several posts, I've mentioned an opportunity to bless villagers in Kenya with a Christmas meal. If you would like to participate and help feed a village family please click the red flower to the right of blog to be connected to Pay Pal.  If you wish to read more about the initiative please click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.  We appreciate your kindness at this challenging time of year.

First Sky Photos in November

 Happy November!

Things are still busy at my end but I'm also feeling a bit sick and it has been raining a whole lot. Pouring rain in fact.

I'm on some new medications and it is upsetting my stomach and making me feel nauseous now and then. I'm on the lowest possible dosage and trying to adjust to it but it is slow going.  Other than that, the medicine seems to be doing what it is supposed to but doctors want me to work up to taking more as I'm not anywhere near a full dose yet. I would hate to have to stop it taking it. For now I'm not complaining too loudly to the doctor.

I've been busy with multiple appointments and follow ups with insurance people regarding my accident. I guess I'm about half way through this process and I don't have the energy to do much about the follow up just now. It will all get done soon enough if I just put one foot in front of the other.

Given the pouring rain I haven't been able to get out and take photos but there was a slight break in the sky on Thursday so I captured these 3 photos to share (click on each to enlarge).

In other news, I wanted to update about Janet and her girls in Kenya; the separated woman who was chased away from her ancestral (birth family) home by her brother.  We have now managed to assist her with 2 months rent, an inexpensive smart phone, a bit of food money, a simple solar light system, and a bit of funds to stock her new store. Pastor Jonah ordered the phone for her and she was expecting to collect the phone on Wednesday, Kenyan time.  Janet and her eldest daughter are travelling to Nakuru, Kenya on Thursday, Kenyan time where they will visit wholesalers to try to find appropriate stock for the village store. I know her eldest daughter has her own thoughts about what her mother should stock but I am trying, through Pastor Jonah, to get them to buy what is most practical for the majority of potential shoppers. Later when they have started to gain footing they can expand to others things. It's a bit tricky as the eldest girls have minds of their own and they are putting pressure on the mom during her most difficult time. Please keep them in prayer. There are some other developments concerning the brother but I will leave that update for when I have concrete information to share. If anyone would like to donate (Pay Pal link on right side of blog) to Janet and her daughters, they still have many needs: rent, air time, food,transportation, school fees and clothing among them.

Over the next month I've got a lot going on, some of it fun.  I hope to share here as time goes by and if I'm permitted to take photos at events.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Take care.

Early Morning on the Patio

Hi blogging friends,

I  hope you are all doing well and keeping happy and busy.

We are still getting quite a lot of rain where I live and I haven't been out in the gardens much.  The long term weather forecast is for more rain over the next 2 weeks. It has also been cooler than usual. At the end of this new week we will crack the 20 Celsius mark for only the 2nd or 3rd time since the beginning of Spring.

I'm not complaining as I'm still self isolating despite restrictions being lifted. I will continue to self isolate and keep my eye on the community transmission developments over the next few months. Being indoors means I am slowly getting some old business done though truthfully it is taking me a lot more time than I thought it would. I guess the good news is I always have something constructive to do.

I was out in the patio garden very early one morning and captured these photos. Most of them are of a bush that I don't know the name of but which goes through a multitude of looks over the course of the year. Sometimes there are berries.

The photo below is the only one that is not of my flowering bush. I think it's a Salvia plant but I am not 100% sure as I planted it a few years ago and it never did very well.  This year it seems to be doing better.

My reading list includes this raw and powerfully written memoir of an up and coming Indigenous writer and activist, Helen Knott. Unfortunately her story of gender violence is not that pretty but the good news is she managed to overcome her addictions to drugs and alcohol and begin a new, cleaner life with hope and promise.  The gender violence the author had to endure throughout her lifetime fed into her addictions and the memories kept her addicted.

I'm currently reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Several years ago I saw a movie based on the book and I enjoyed it. I'm about half way through the book and I don't remember much about whether the movie is true to the book. In any case, I always like to try and read books on which movies are based and the writing is quite enjoyable.

Last, but not least,  I'm reading Shadows Along the Zambezi. It's as masterfully written as Shadows Over an African Heart by Diana M. Hawkins.  Both books bring focussed attention to the issue of elephant poaching in Zimbabwe and all the violence and corruption that goes along with it.

Young elephants having a mud bath at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, Nairobi, Kenya

All but one of the books are digital loans from the library which for some reason is still closed to the public.  They don't even do curbside pickups. I'm not sure why they are still closed while most places are now open with new policies in place to stem the transmission of Covid 19.  Some time back I purchased a digital copy of the book on elephant poaching and am reading it on my Kobo device, Canada's version of  Kindle).  I'll be so glad once the library is open again so I can borrow paper books. In the meantime, I'm grateful for the digital option.

A short update on the Kenyan missions.

• A variety of crops were planted for one large, extended family.  Once the harvest is ready there will be corn, cabbage, carrots and a variety of vegetables for 3 or 4 households to eat.
• Elder Eunice is still in hospital. Though it was about 8 months ago that doctors said she would be ready to go home in a month or two that never happened. She is still in hospital and is more or less stable. We have no information as to the prognosis. 
• Alvin, the young engineer graduate was hoping to come to Canada and continue his studies.  Sadly he was not accepted and we have given up on the idea.  It is very expensive process to prepare the application packages and has lead to a "no" decision two years in a row. It is very disappointing.  Alvin is a very intelligent and studious person and he would have done well here but getting accepted to a Canadian university (easier to get acceptance and scholarship if one is freshly out of high school)is difficult for people from poor countries and is more so the case when money is not part of the family assets.
• Pastor Jonah has had a very difficult experience of late with one of his molars. He needed a root canal and the hospital where they did it did not do a good job at all. It was becoming septic. Fortunately he managed to get the tooth redone at a private dentist office and after a week is now very much on the mend. 
• Others continue to receive food and medical helps when we have funds to assist them.
• I thank those of you who continue to pray for the missions and/or lend financial support. May God richly bless each and every one of you.

That's all for now friends. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Please continue to stay safe. xx

Solo Hummingbird

I  happened to look out the window when a little hummingbird was hovering above a bush on my property. It stayed for a short while and I was able to get a few photos though not close ups.  I didn't have time to properly focus, zoom or steady my phone before the little bird flew off.

One day I hope to put out the hummingbird feeder and maybe more hummingbirds will visit.

As you can see the sky is grey and we've had rain. 

I just looked at the weather forecast and we're supposed have rain for the entire week.

It kills my hope of getting photos of the spring tree blossoms in sunshine-y weather.
I guess I can make do with the photos I've taken in other years. 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Keep safe.

♥♥♥