I finally made it to the community garden plot the other day. It was over due for some weeding. It was already getting late but there were still people enjoying the park.
After plucking all the weeds, I harvested some chives and some strawberries. The chives are well past their prime but I think I can salvage some of them.
I could see the sunset and the clock on the city hall building in the distance. The time says 9:20 p.m.
After my work at the garden I took a walk to the local grocers to pick up a few things. On my way to the grocers I passed another clock. The time was around 9:40 p.m.
I ended up buying more than a few things when I only really needed bananas. The ground beef was on sale and I only buy it when it's on sale. I bought 2 packages as well as some mangos, strawberries and bread.
How about you dear reader? Do you go to the store for one thing and bring back several items instead?
Time passes so quickly by. I know I say that a lot and I hear it a lot from my friends too. But honestly, where does the time go? Hey I think there is a song by that name.
Let me digress a moment and check out that song. My mind does like to wander.
Okay I found "Where Does the Time Go" by Barry Manilow. But that isn't the song I'm thinking of. I thought there was a song from a few decades back.
There is another song by Sandy Denny & the Strawberries called "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" That's the one I remember. I really only remember the very last refrain.
I prefer a slower version of this song as sung by the last Sandy Denny (died 1978) in the band, the Fairport Convention. Here is a video of this lovely folk song in case you'd like to listen to it. It isn't really a video because there are no moving pictures but there is good audio.
It's vibe captures how I feel about the passing of time (sad). There is just so much to do. I want time to slow down.
Here is another lovely version done by the late, beautiful Nina Simone (died 2003). I love her introduction to the song and she does a moving rendition of it in case you have time to listen.
Isn't it funny how when we are children, a week is an eternity? But when we are older, we want time to slow down a bit?
Anyway I hope you didn't mind the digression.
Where I live the very hot summer we've had is winding down and Fall is on the way. The days are still quite hot but not as blistering as it was even 2 weeks ago. Once the dinner hour arrives you can feel the distinct change in the air. The change in air temperature started about a week ago. It is always amazing to me just how summer changes to Fall immediately at the end of August here. It is like clock work. Once our last long weekend of the summer is finished, you will know it is Fall. Fall is my very favourite season though I think it is too short of a season before Winter rolls around. Don't I just sound like I could better organize the seasons of the year, lol.
I am grateful to have 4 distinct seasons where I live though it does make it more challenging and expensive to prepare for all the different seasons: heating wise, cooking wise, clothing wise and garden wise. Even the car needs special treatment for the different seasons. But the beauty you get in the changing scenery and the respite you get from the heat, cold or rain, is rather special. My friends who live in the tropics probably don't believe that. *wink (Frugal tip: Make sure to get your car serviced and oil changed at the right time. It will save wear and tear on your car and make it run better using less fuel. If you are on a tight budget it can be very tempting to put off the oil change).
This past week has been very busy. The highlight of the week was hearing that little Baby Fidelis made it to Toronto, Canada with her mom. For awhile it looked a bit bleak that she would ever make it to Canada but she made it! I'm so happy she will get the opportunity to have facial reconstruction surgery. Monday she was supposed to have surgery and I'm hoping and praying it went well.
Baby & Mom with host family at Toronto Int'l Airport.
The rest of the week I was busy catching up with things. There is a lot of shopping and clothes preparation to do before I visit mom for her birthday very soon. I only have a few days to get everything ready so will be busy with that.
For the coming seasonal transition, I've purchased a few warm sweaters, some cotton jersey nightgowns and a few bits and pieces. I have to label them all. If I have time I will also try to make a top for her out of this fabric in the photo. Pardon the purple items beneath the fabric. They are two new nightgowns which I have to modify before she can wear (I have placed everything on my ironing board so I can start the labelling process). (Frugal tips: If you are a caregiver for an elderly person and need to buy them a lot of things like I do, it pays to really shop around. I purchased 2 sweaters for less than the price of one sweater I was originally going to buy. With the savings, I was able to purchase the fabric at 50% off. Altogether I think the fabric cost $14.20 which I think is good value. I could get fabric which is less expensive but it wouldn't stand up to the washing in super hot water).
The fabric pattern looks a bit wild and busy but I think it will sew up nicely into a long sleeved jersey pullover. It will coordinate with the plum skirt I made awhile back and another burgundy skirt she has. Apparently the two dresses I made and gave her on my last visit were big hits and she has worn them a lot already .
Polyester knit fabric for top
Most of the rest of my week has been busy just catching up to house cleaning and various appointments and errands like shopping for my eye wear. It seems I'm behind on everything! (Frugal tip: Save all your receipts and be sure to submit them quickly to your insurer if you expect any funds to be reimbursed. Currently I have just over $200 owing to me. I will be submitting receipts today).
I did make some great progress this week, especially with the housekeeping. Though that may not sound too exciting, those of you who keep the household know how good it feels to be caught up for a few moments on housework. I am not quite caught up but made some very good progress.
Hopefully I can continue making progress next week too because next up I have plans to do some major closet and drawer decluttering. I haven't done a really large decluttering in a long while and it is definitely time. (Frugal tip: If you have time, energy and patience you can sell a lot of your clothing. I understand there are groups on Facebook for this and of course there is also Craigslist though one has to be a bit careful who you let into your home. There is always the old fashioned way of a garage sale outside if you happen to have a yard on ground level. Even a few dollars back can really help the pocket book. I usually just give my things away though I might put a few things on consignment now and then).
I'm also slowly catching up on my reading goals for the year. Right now I am finishing up the book in the photo below. It's an interesting story about a Jewish immigrant who leads a life of twists and turns and how she comes to make her livelihood making ice-cream. It's fascinating how a writer can take a subject like ice cream and right a compelling story around it. I admire that.
Once I'm finished, I will return to the biography of Charles Dickens and some health related books that are specific to women's issues. These are always quick reads and I learn a little more each time I read a new one. (Frugal tip: Borrowing from the library is better value than buying a book and you don't have the problem of where to store the book once you've finished reading it.)
Here are a few photos I took while out and about this week.
The last photo I'm sharing was taken at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens earlier this summer. Can you spot the bee having a feast? There were a large number of bees in the garden that day. (Frugal tip: Where I live I signed up for the Inspiration Pass at my local library. It enables a person to visit multiple sights in the city over a 2 week period and to take a bunch of people with you as guests; all for free. You might have something similar where you live.)
Unfortunately the water restrictions this summer means that all the
plants in the Van Dusen Gardens (and other parks) are in jeopardy. It
is sad but what can be done?
Weather changes around the world impact us
all. Hopefully the gardens can recover but I've been hearing that weather patterns and climate change is such that we can no longer expect what used to be normal weather. We should now expect the unexpected. I guess we all have to learn to adapt.
Where does the time go? It seems that the older one gets the quicker time passes and the Christmas season we just had is no exception.
This past Christmas was the first time I was at my own home for Christmas. There was only one other time I was far from home and family at Christmas. I didn't remain at my home though because I had been invited to a friend's for the holiday. I wanted to stay home but she insisted that no one should be alone at Christmas so I accepted her hospitality. This year, I had a number of plans but everything was in limbo until the last moments before Christmas. In the end I was at home and it was okay. I was looking forward to it and I thought I might actually have a nice rest from all the busyness of constant appointments concerning my leg, and all kinds of errands to run, before Christmas. Not!
It was quiet but it wasn't restful because I was very busy. Besides the rush of buying and getting Christmas gifts in the post (yes, this year I did buy gifts!), decorating my home and my tree, planning and buying food for Christmas dinner and generally getting things tidied up, I had a number of other unexpected projects.
A blogging friend of mine, Caroline, has been wanting to change up her blog for a very long time. I offered to try and help her though I am not a blog designer as such. Caroline had her own ideas about what she wanted and I learned that my skill set wasn't advanced enough to complete some of the specific work. Not to fear though as I was able to give Caroline what she wanted through the assistance of my brother. In the end, Caroline was happy with the overall result and I was happy to have helped her achieve her goal.
I had another unexpected project to help my nephew with his budgeting. I didn't know that he had been struggling and was seriously considering dropping out of university. Though he doesn't live with me and has an "affordable" rental that he shares with others, we live in one of the most expensive cities in Canada, perhaps even in all of North America (exception New York City), and the burden of the finances were proving to be too much for him.
I offered to take a look at his budget and see what the shortfall is and whether we could save his year. It took awhile to get all of his financials and to create a budget and a cash flow to the end of the school year. It was also a bit challenging figuring out what his real costs are in a few areas because of the holiday. At this moment, he is also trying to renegotiate some of those costs. We've established a food budget and come up with nutritious and affordable menu ideas and places to shop. They are menu ideas as opposed to recipes but I've kept them simple and easy. It will require that he shops the sales and cooks more. He did say that he has been cooking more since he moved here so those skills will help him. We have chatted about living within the budget categories, the difference between "needs vs. wants" and how to use a credit card. Shortfalls in the budget and ideas about how to meet them while trying to successfully manage a course load, were also important aspects of the budget "summit".
As an auntie and surrogate parent, I feel it is my duty to demonstrate some "tough love". It is the first time that my advice and suggestions appear to be listened to and accepted. That means, this can be a very good learning experience for which life long skills can be learned and applied though I know it will be very challenging for him. I will also be saving funds monthly for when he finishes his term as he will have no money left over to cover bills until the first pay cheque. He hopes to sublet his bedroom which will help him a lot. But he needs a back up plan if that doesn't work out and he still needs money until first pay cheque even if that does work out. I have a few stipulations for giving my help: no credit card usage and renegotiating credit card interest rate, getting on equal payments for electricity costs, no gym membership, taking thermos (flask) coffee to university, no entertainment unless it comes out of the food budget. The budget is very strict. There is no fat. He will need to bite the bullet and commit to the plan or the year will have been a lost one in the sense that he will have incurred significant debt from student loans. At least the debt will have been for a useful purpose, if he is able to finish the year and complete his courses with good grades. Though the budget is very tight, I do feel it can be met with some hard effort and discipline.
I have tough conditions because I want him to learn financial discipline and responsibility for his own actions. If I was overly strict, I would simply say "get yourself out of it" and "you made your bed", but I think people need second chances. Sometimes you get a second chance and sometimes you don't. In this case, he has a chance to set things right and it is now or never to learn some good financial management skills. I've seen him struggle with some of the same financial issues now for several years though in different circumstances and he needs help but he can only benefit if he is willing. Right now to make some effort to change because he doesn't want to lose out on his entire academic year. Sadly, the issues he faces are not uncommon. There are many people who fritter away hard earned money on "nothings", racking up debt, and wondering where the money goes.
To his credit, he does know that there are certain things that are costing him too much (like debit card bank fees) but he doesn't know how to fix the problems. He tries but then it seems to lead to other issues and then he gets into a cycle of issues. I'm sure many of you reading this can relate and have had to deal with these kinds of issues yourself, or seen loved ones with similar issues, but different circumstances. I too, can relate, because I always had to learn things the hard way with no one to teach me or guide me about financial matters. Thankfully I was able to begin to learn and get some measure of control over the myriad financial issues that we all have to deal with every day.
My medical issues and associated costs are another thing I was dealing with over Christmas. As part of better financial management, I wanted to get all the benefits from my extended health coverage for the year 2011 as I could. I'm still experiencing a sore knee and so I went to as many physiotherapy and registered massage therapy sessions as I am allowed under my health plan. I also filled my eye prescription and my pharmacy prescriptions for the next several months. Once 2012 rolls around, I have to pay a deductible before I get any prescriptions filled. I like to prolong that payment. As a result of all this activity over the holiday, I now have my receipts ready for submission to the insurance plan. I won't have the problem I often have of losing track of my receipts since I can submit them all at once.
Finally, I managed to take stock of my goals in 2011 and set new ones for 2012. I've got a busy year ahead and I am hoping that soon I can enjoy myself without the level of knee and leg pain present I had this past year. I still have pain but hopefully things are improving. I do notice my right leg muscles and knee cap are not stiff like they have been for at least half a year. Hopefully the stretching and exercises will really help.
Things have been much busier than I could have anticipated over the holiday but I feel like I am ahead of the ball for 2012 and ready to make the best of things.
A photo of a gate I took in Chinatown.
The truth is that right now I am a little tired so I probably won't be blogging that much for a few weeks. I want to enjoy the next few weeks and take things slowly as I begin to implement my plan for 2012. I hope you will come back from time to time and see me once I am back.
