This and That ~ November 11, 2025

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well and keeping warm or cool depending on where you live in the world. We've had 2 dry and sunny days here for which I'm grateful. Every year it seems to rain on Remembrance Day and I always feel for the elderly veterans that have to sit outside in the cold and rain in order to participate in Remembrance Day Services. On the news today they were saying how few veterans are left of those that fought in World War 11. Sad to know they will soon no longer be with us.

True to form, each year at this time of year I'm delayed in getting a flu shot due to getting a bad cold. When I was working I always got a flu early in the season. Now that I'm retired, I always get a very bad cold or bronchitis and seldom get a flu. Again, the illness prevents me from getting a vaccine.

I'm keeping steadily busy. There is always something that needs to be done both inside and outside of the home.  I've had to reorganize a few appointments until I'm feeling a bit better.  I don't really like to do that because then it makes for a busy time trying to catch up later but sometimes it must be done.

I haven't made much headway yet on the latest book I'm reading but I'm really enjoying it so far.

I've almost finished the small, red beaded dress pin in honour of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW). I still have to sew the front and back together and create a border.

I've been craving Butternut Squash soup for awhile and finally made some today. It was delicious. Even better, it's healthy.  I made the soup in my new Dutch oven. 

Someone came to pick up my old Dutch oven today. It was large one and very heavy.  I gave it away on my local Freecycle site.  Someone responded to my ad within an hour of posting and came to pick up the pot this afternoon.  I'm glad I didn't have to throw it away. It doesn't look that pretty and the enamel had started chipping away from the cast iron but it's still perfectly usable if you can handle the size and weight.

The new pot is not as heavy and the capacity is about 2 litres less. I can tell it isn't as well made as the old one I have but I'm sure it will be fine for my needs.

In other news, we finally managed to get the home phone, internet and television services all working at the same time. It's the first time since late August. Hopefully that will be the end of the issues and the billing issues I've had to sort out with Telus. It had become a real nightmare.  We don't know for sure but the problems seem to have stemmed from using the old (reconditioned) set top box that we were given when we signed on to Pure Fibre (high speed internet).  Once we used the small, new set top box, everything started working as they should have and so far everything is still working.

Thanks for stopping by. If you missed my submission to Tuesday 4. You can find it here. 

More

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I made some good progress earlier in the week with the decluttering. I got rid of several bags of books, clothing, kitchen items and miscellaneous items (see the items in front of the bookshelves). I also tried to get rid of two quite large items: a stationary bike and a 55 inch flat screen television.  

I had my nephew transport everything except the bike and television to the charity shop. A friend and her husband and children arrived today to pick up the bike.  She also wanted some cookbooks so I was able to give her 5 books.  I didn't think to take a photo of them though I am trying to keep track of everything I offload (except papers) so I can look back on it later.  

I have 2 people interested in the television but they have no way to transport it.  Actually one of the people is in hospital and the other one has just been evicted from her apartment so she has bigger issues to deal with.  I know I can easily get rid of it if I post it on line.  But I don't want strangers coming over and I can't easily pack it downstairs to meet anyone at the building's entrance.  I've asked friends to check around if anyone they know is interested in it.  Otherwise I may just have to take to the electronics recycling depot. That would be a shame since it works but once I started getting things out the door, I want to move quickly to get other things out the door.
 

I've already gone through the bookshelves once or twice and gotten rid of alot of them. Once I've taken care of a lot of smaller items, I intend to return to the bookshelves as there is much more I need to whittle down.

How about you dear reader? Have you ever done a major purge of your things. Did you just get rid of whatever was in your way or did you, like me, take so much time to carefully go through every item first?  There is no right or wrong answer. Just different approaches to the same issue.

Thank you for stopping by. Please visit again soon. xx

The Weekend Was Fruitful

 Hi friends,

I hope you've all had a beautiful and productive or relaxing weekend.

I have certainly been busy with this and that. 

First up is some sad news. Pastor Jonah lost another family member earlier in the week to pneumonia. Please keep a kind thought for him and the family. Also the court hearing for the land grant is scheduled for Wednesday. Hopefully this will be the last item of business before the court rules on the issue.

Friday I spent trying to get my young relative situated for getting the community garden plot weeded and compost added. Surprisingly it took a fair bit of time because I wasn't meeting her at the plot and she needed orientation with everything.  Fortunately I showed her the plot last summer so basically she just needed a refresher. I also spent some time repackaging seeds (I have too many for my small balcony garden) to share with her.

Friday I also went to the library and picked up a few novels and decorating books. I'm really looking forward to reading all of these.  I made a small start today (Sunday). I was going to stop at the grocery store for a few items but had forgotten my phone at home so I decided to wait for the next day. I have a few apps on the phone and I accumulate points based on buying certain things. 

Later that night I had a call from a friend I haven't seen or heard from since the pandemic. It was good to catch up with her. I also binge watched Netflix catching up on the most recent season of  The Crown. I watched so many episodes and by the time I finished I was very sleepy.

Saturday I found myself running more errands. This time I had my phone so I did a small bit of grocery shopping and stopped for coffee afterwards and began reading one of my books. I also stopped in at the pharmacy. Fortunately the owner was in and I was able to discuss various issues related to my latest prescription refill.  He had left me a voice message and I didn't want to call back and talk to one of his staff. It's just easier to question and explain things in person and I'm glad we did since I had misunderstood his voice message. We managed to sort everything out satisfactorily.

One of my brother's called and we had a nice long catch up. He gave me some wonderful person news about his children and a great report about his own health update. It made me realize how much I've been missing hearing good news! 

Afterward I spent a lot of time scouring various websites looking for some home decor items, pricing them and seeing what might work for my needs.  I find this kind of research very time consuming and very tiring.  I didn't make any final decisions about anything. I want to take my time and make the fewest purchases possible to deal with the different areas I want to deal with in my home.  I also watched the movie, The Pianist with Adrian Brody on Netflix. I didn't see the movie when it was released in 2002. It was very well done and heart wrenching.  If you haven't seen it and have Netflix, I would highly recommend it.

It's now Sunday and again it was a busy day. The dishes are done, the kitchen, bathroom and entry way floors are vacuumed and washed, the living room and dining room are vacuumed and all the recycling has been taken to the recycling bins. It feels good to get excess stuff out of the way.  I also managed to get rid of 6 items of clothing (2 old tops and 2 sets of pajamas) that have seen better days. I have a lot more to do but will get to it all in due time.

In the evening I did a few loads of laundry and steam refreshed my pillows. Now I have clean bedding on the bed and ready for a good night's sleep. This will be likely (and hopefully) be the last time I wash and return the blue mink sheets to my bed because the weather has warmed up and the sheets will be too heavy soon.  I'm glad it's finally warming up. I love this time of year when the sun returns on a regular basis, the weather warms up and it is not too hot to get out and enjoy a walk or an outing.

 

In  between cleaning and getting ready for the week ahead, I watched the Oprah interview with Megan and Harry. I was shocked by what I heard from the both of them and my heart went out to them for what they have endured.  I must say, before I heard the interview I was in the camp of thinking they were privileged and spoiled.   I felt they were honest in the interview and tried hard not to say anything negative about the Royals.  However they also tried to speak truth and I cannot understand how Prince Harry could be denied security for himself and I cannot understand how his own father could cut him out of communications. I am honestly stunned because you do not expect a parent to stop talking to you. It must hurt so much after having lost his mother when he was so young. I am glad those two are out of the Royal Family and making their own way in the world. I think they are better off for it and the public can stop complaining about having to pay more members of the Royal Firm. At least their mental health should be much better now that they are 'free'.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week ahead and that you too enjoy better mental health as we seem to be getting closer to having restrictions lifted off of us all with the mass vaccinations now taking place.

Tomorrow, Monday, March 8 is International Women's Day. To all the women reading this, may you have a positive day where you feel loved, supported and respected not just on this one day but in each and every day.