First Snow that "Stuck" & Health Care Worker Needs

 Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Here are a few photos of what the scene looked like off my balcony on Tuesday morning. It snowed all night Monday and this time it stuck around a bit longer. I took these photos just after 6 a.m.  Yesterday when I went out to do some grocery shopping, I noticed that most of the snow had melted but some still remains on my patio in areas where the sun doesn't reach. Snowing so early in the season is highly unusual. I guess the last time that happened was in 1991.

Almost all of Canada is suffering a great shortage of staff in many sectors. Canada's Immigration Minister and the Government of Canada has released it's figures for immigrant or newcomer admission targets for 2023, 2024 and 2025. Altogether newcomers will total  almost 1.5 million people.  Skilled labour in the health care and construction fields have been identified as priorities. 

On the news the other day this graphic was shared about the projected needs for health care workers over the next 10 years.  These projections are just for the province where I live.  The needs for the rest of the provinces and territories in the country are just as great. If the government plans to attract more foreign workers something needs to be done quickly to address the very real housing shortage and it's related issue of affordability.

In pleasurable pursuits I said earlier that my reading goals this year would be modest and they were. I decided I'd aim for 1 book a month knowing I might read more some months and nothing in other months. As it turned out I did reduce my reading as planned but I still read far more than I intended. To date I've read 43 books and almost 16,000 pages. I'm sure I won't make 20,000 pages before the end of the year. Even though I've got another 7-8 books in my reading pile I may not be able to complete all of them. 

I had hoped to cut down on reading and spend more time on crafting and sewing this year. That didn't happen because of decluttering and small household projects that took more time than I thought they would. But I did manage to complete several alterations on various trousers for DH.

In the photos I'm showing preparations involved in lengthening the pockets on a pair of DHs trousers.  When I compared pocket length in various of his  trousers these ones were shorter by about 4 inches. That's a lot. 

I didn't have the right fabric in my stash so I 'made do' with some light cotton fabric. After cutting the shape and sewing the seams, I attached the new piece to the bottom of the original pockets. Those of you who are sewists know this isn't as quick as it sounds. The challenge I have is none of my machines are as able as mom's old Singer treadle machine to sew through several layers of fabric as in the side seams of trousers and jeans.  But I did the job and I'm happy it's done.  The other project was tapering the legs on a new pair of jeans and hemming them. DH has worn the jeans a lot since then. Next up, I have several pair of pants of my own to hem and I'd like to shorten a linen tablecloth I bought a few months ago.   I still have a lot of household stuff to deal with and I think I'd be more able to focus on sewing once these other things are out of the way.

I know some people are already putting up their Christmas trees. I don't plan on setting up mine until some time in December, usually about half way through the month. However I've been buying a few gifts here and there whenever I see something I like.  I can spread the Christmas spending over a longer period of time that way. Earlier this week I was able to wrap gifts for 2 people on my list. The task was made easier by buying some Christmas fabric bags from the Dollar Tree. They are quite cute and made the job a lot quicker. I think I need to get a few more of the bags for the other Christmas gifts I want to give. 

What about you dear reader?  Are you experiencing health care worker shortages where you live? What is your government doing about it if anything? Have you read any good books lately? Are you working on anything creative or have plans to sew anything for Christmas gifts?

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.

Kenya: Missions of Hope ~ Stories of God's Goodness ~ Part 1

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

In Vancouver, British Columbia where I live, the weather and temperatures have caught up to the season. Summer came late to our area but went on until well in to October. Our summer came late, I believe it was in June and we had a lot of rain until then. Then we had next to no rain and severe drought conditions by the end of September.  Things certainly do go to extremes these days.

Today though the real news is what has been happening in the Kenya Missions of Hope initiative.  I'm pleased to share some wonderful news of Kenya and the bit of humanitarian and missionary work that my DH and I carry out in that country.  Some of you may remember Eunice who was suffering from a condition of chronic anemia. It wasn't her only health condition. She has other conditions related to goiter and high blood pressure but the anemia is what sent her back and forth to hospitals on numerous occasions.  After being admitted and discharged from several hospitals, she again was transported by medical ambulance to a private hospital in the City of Nakuru, Kenya, located several hours from her home village. (You can locate Nakuru in the map below by looking northwest of Nairobi). She was admitted in February 2019 and she was there all throughout the pandemic. During that time she almost went home to Heaven on more than one occasion but after intensive care at the  High Dependency Unit (HDU),  she was able to bounce back. Truthfully I am amazed at how God kept her and helped her each time because I really thought her time to go home to Heaven had come.

Between 6-8 months in the private hospital it became clear that the expenses would be far too much for what our little humanitarian group could comfortably deal with.  Private hospitals and even government hospitals in Kenya are notoriously expensive and often procedures are done with a fiscal purpose in  mind rather than a health related outcome.  We could not afford the expense of proper treatment at the hospital where she was admitted and truthfully we didn't even know what proper treatment would entail since we were never told how the hospital could treat Eunice.  They wanted to do some kind of surgery but could not say how it would help her if at all.  We simply could not support doing surgery on a weakened person with multiple health conditions without knowing how it was supposed to help her.

The hospital didn't really want to keep Eunice after the first year because of refusal to go forward with surgery. In addition we were not paying all of the hospital costs.  We were however paying for the intensive interventions that were required from time to time. We also paid for a private nurse to attend Eunice, Eunice's medicines, toiletries and special foods prepared by the hospital. After it became clear that the hospital was not really treating Eunice except when her condition took a serious downturn, Jonah and I discussed the need to try and move Eunice back to her home (hospital).  I strongly felt that at least Eunice could be visited by some of her family members or assisted by them in some small ways once pandemic restrictions were relaxed. 

As you know the pandemic went on for quite a long time so nothing was able to be done about the move.  Moving Eunice would not be easy due to the prohibitively expensive ward fees that had accrued at the hospital.  It was only just before Jonah departed Kenya for Canada that he was able to undertake the travel for meetings with high level hospital officials in 2 different cities and  research and arrange with a new hospital for Eunice's  placement and arrange medical transportation for the transfer. All of these preparations were very costly.

At the new hospital, Jonah was assured by the new doctor that after several months of medical treatment and physiotherapy, Eunice would be able to go home.  I was cautiously optimistic given everything that had transpired over the previous 3 years.

Eunice has been admitted to the new hospital for going on at the hospital now for approximately 7 months. She has grown in strength and during that time.  With the help and assistance of one of her sisters, she has been able to go to her own home for overnight stays to see how she does. She has been doing well but is at this point still in hospital. She will have more home visits until she is hopefully discharged.

We are very happy for Eunice.  To God be the glory for keeping her, helping her and giving us the right medical contacts both to get her transferred and to rehabilitate her. She isn't home yet but we are grateful for how far she has come and I truly look on this outcome as a miracle.

Please continue praying for Eunice to be completely healed and able to live life on her own again. If you are able, and want to contribute to the work of helping the villagers in and around Kericho who need medical, food or educational help there is a Pay Pal button on the right of the blog. We also covet your prayers for these dear ones and for us so we can be guided in the humanitarian work. God bless.

Skywatch Friday ~ October Vibes

Site of the new subway station at Broadway & Main

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

We've had record setting temperatures over the fall season but on Friday we are finally expecting some rain.  The other day the meteorologist reported that since July to the present time we have only had 16 mm of rain when the norm would be just over 160 mm of rain. No wonder the tree on my patio died. It had been looking sickly for a few seasons and it has finally succumbed. I'm a bit sad but it's not going to matter much. 

Within the year or so the strata will be uprooting all the patios and is contemplating not having any gardens at all. The weight and growth of them (dirt, plants, roots, water) has the potential to become problematic for the structure of the building. No decisions have been  made yet and there will be a special meeting to discuss all the results and options going forward once a report is ready. I think I would rather confine my gardening to containers on the patio and have a bit more footage to arrange furniture.

In the meantime here are some photos I took of the sky when I was out and about running errands earlier in the week.  I took these photos just as thd light was fading. I thought the ones with the trolley lines set against the sky were quite interesting.  A lot of those lines will be likely be eliminated once the new subway system on the Broadway corridor is running (target is late 2025) but I don't know that for sure.

 

In my reading stack this week I found a wonderful little book called The Birds of East Africa. It is short read of approximately 200 pages and is a sweet little tale set in Nairobi, Kenya. The style is along the lines of Alexander McCall Smith's #1 Ladies Detective Agency books.

I'm now reading the best seller The Distant Hours by Australian writer, Kate Morton. It's an interesting book about family secrets connected to 3 elderly sisters living in an imposing and decaying castle. 

I picked up both of these books at the thrift store on a whim and wasn't expecting much from them but they are both turning out to be satisfying reads.

.

I also picked up a set of sheets and pillowcases at the thrift store. I wouldn't have purchased them but they were a good price, minimally used and I like blue and white. This set is by Tommy Hilfiger but strangely they look quite wrinkled even though they are not 100% cotton. I don't iron most things including sheets. By the time they are pulled flat onto the mattress most of the wrinkles will disappear.

Each piece of the 4 piece set was sold individually.  I didn't notice that the two exact same pillowcases had different prices until I got them home.  I'm guessing two different clerks priced them.  I paid about $26 dollars in total for the set. I think the price is okay given what new sheets cost and these appear to be little used.

Have you found any good thrifting deals lately or read any good books?

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday this week. Thank you for stopping by!

How I'm Dealing with Digital Clutter

I meant to post this last Friday but got busy.  It was another dry and beautiful, sunny day last Friday and I got busy with catching up to housework and I got carried away making this post more full some than I first meant to, all of which delayed the publishing.

I've been fearful for a few years now that my computer was going to give up the ghost.  Believe it or not my desktop is more than 12 years old!  My laptop (very slow to do anything) is a little bit newer but not much. Sometimes the desktop shuts itself down and other times it turns itself on. I've been told that it's because I usually only put the computer to sleep and don't shut it down completely each night.  I got into the habit of only putting the desktop to sleep because I started experiencing difficulties with starting it up again once it was turned off.  I was afraid that one day it just wouldn't turn on so I began putting it to sleep instead.  Anyway the computer issues have been going on for at least 5-6 years already.  Every now and then I'd copy files onto flash drives to save what I might really need in case the desktop died. I have countless photo and document files on the hard drive and a lot of unorganized files too. I was holding on to everything 'as is' until the visa process for my DH was completed. As of June 2022, that is all finished now when he received his PR card.  Since then I've also finally purchased a new computer. I decided to purchase a mini Mac computer at the suggestion of my brother who also has one and highly recommends it. I know they will be coming out with a new mini Mac 2 soon but I didn't want to wait until then to make the switch.

I need to put the computer files in better order before I plug in the new Mac and transfer files.  I'm terrible at keeping digital files organized as I create or use them but I hope to do better going forward.  I've gone through about 4 rounds of digital clutter clean up over the past year (computer drives, email, cell phones, deleting many online subscriptions, reducing the photos I take and the blogs I post until I get things the way I like).  Things are looking much better than they have in years.  In the latest digital declutter session I eliminated close to 5000 files and reorganized many more, most of which were photo files.  As I mentioned, I blog far less than the early years of blogging. It's because I've been trying to slow down the rate at which I create more digital clutter. Once I'm better organized I hope to take a more disciplined approach to dealing with photo files for blogging and/or other purposes and be more selective with other digital files.

So to answer the question implied in the title heading, I am deleting excess digital files and keeping only what is essential. This is a multi-step process and has to be done with a view to what is needed for blogging purposes and family purposes.  I guess I also need to plan for how these things should be deal with at End of Life (EOL). Most of us have digital footprints all over the world wide web and need to think about what we have and what we would like done with it when we go.  I try to keep my personal output (photos and other ID) to the minimum. Not just for EOL reasons but also for security reasons. (Click on infographics to enlarge. Please note I did not create these graphics myself but found them on the internet).

Decluttering is such a long and more complicated process than one thinks of at first blush. I never realized how many issues it would bring up as I started on the journey of serious decluttering. These few thoughts are specific to digital declutter but they could be extrapolated to clutter in general.

Some examples of significant issues that might arise for you include:

1) what do you get rid of and why? There are some things that obviously need to be saved: important documents, family papers, tax information, etc. but there are other items that perhaps are not so obvious. For example, patterns for various hobbies.  These days so many patterns you buy are only available in digital files and a lot of new things one wants to learn are also in digital files.

2) what do you keep and why? Some things we keep for legal reasons, work reasons, family and so on. It's good to consider what you no longer need to keep. In my case I can get rid of a lot of duplicates of  digital historical family documents and photos. I have so many bad photos or photos I will never use or even ever look at again so the 'delete' button has been and will continue to be, in regular use.

3) is there a way to declutter but still keep sentimental items? For example instead of keeping the item/s your loved ones have could you keep a photo of the item?  You may want to print it as a hard copy rather than have a simple digital photo. It really depends how best you would enjoy it.I first learned of this tip from one of the decluttering gurus. I think it was Peter Walsh, organizing guru from Australia. He is one organizer who really resonates with me and makes so much sense. He gets right to the heart of issues and simplifies things that seem difficult.

4) how much clutter should you leave at EOL for someone else to deal with? Have you identified someone who is also agreeable to deal with your belongings, including your digital footprint (Facebook, Google photos, blogs, Instagram, LinkedIn, websites, etc.) after you're gone?  Is there anything you need or want to get rid of before that time comes or is it okay for someone else to see everything? Do you have a place where your assigned person can access all your passwords and given thought to specific instructions you might have? For example, you may want to have your various profiles deleted or you may want them kept for your loved ones to look back on. The problem is that others may not know you have passed on if you leave everything 'as is'.

5) have you thought about why you may have so much stuff to deal with in the first place? For example, some of us were responsible for disposing of items belonging to loved ones.  It takes a lot of time to deal with it all and in the meantime you need to store it somewhere.  How much can you deal with if you yourself develop health issues or if you are elderly and no longer have energy and physical ability to deal with the 'stuff '. Even digital clutter takes energy to deal with though it has the benefit of not being physical heavy for you to go through and action.

6) do the things you own add to your joy as Marie Kondo, organizing expert would ask? do the things you own make your life more enjoyable or less enjoyable? In my case, without keeping on top of filing in a way I can go back and find things later, I find it takes away my enjoyment of digital files and is also time consuming, frustrating and anxiety producing. When I delete excess files and focus more on the things I want and can organize, I enjoy going through and looking at digital files much more.

A few resources you might like

These resource links  might be helpful to you both for general clutter and digital clutter.

Colleen Hammond, Business Consultant gives tips for learning to let go of things that have sentimental value. Is it clutter?   

Joshua Becker, minimalist guru offers some ideas about how to minimize sentimental things

Peter Walsh, organizing guru, has this to say about what your clutter says about you.

 The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning:  How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson 

Decluttering Memorabilia - How a Professional Organizer Guides a Client Through the Process

Dealing with digital clutter: What it is and 6 places to practise digital minimalism

Declutter Your Digital Life 

How to Execute  Digital Declutter Like a Boss: 8 Steps 

 

 

Conclusion

It feels good to get rid of clutter in general and that includes digital clutter. It frees up space and more space gives us a feeling of freedom from having disorganized possessions and freedom from the anxiety of not dealing with things in a better way. I'm on a journey and although the journey of decluttering never really ends, the tasks do shift and the amount of stuff we go through in any season of life also changes.  It just depends on how much we have to begin with, how much we accumulate along the way and how much we want to, or are able to declutter. For each of us it will be a  unique journey.

I'd love to hear where you are with your decluttering journey and whether you have included digital decluttering in the plan.

Thank you for stopping by and extra thanks to those who take time to comment and share their thoughts.

Tuesday 4 ~ The Four Seasons

Glad to have you back for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

The idea is to promote blogging and friendship and allow you to get to know yourself and others through 4 questions asked each week.   

Let's talk about the seasons. Summer has just passed and we have begun our journey into autumn.

1. How would you describe each of the four seasons? 

 

Fall - crisp, cosy, nature, gold and orange, long shadows, bare branches, layers, spice, hot beverages, heavier food, busy, sad because winter is coming

Winter - cold, rain, heavy rain, gray, very little sunshine, short days, unpredictable, indoor activities, heavy clothes, anticipating spring

Spring - renewal, joy, new shoots, leaves unfurling, wonder, green, colourful, birds

Summer - heat, sunny, too much watering of the garden, unpredictable, wildfires

2.  How do you generally feel during each season? Do you suffer allergy, feel tired, sad, happy, energized? What does each season do for you?

 

Generally I feel a lot of joy and energy as soon as spring arrives.  I also feel a bit of anxiety because I'm always behind in getting the house in order and the gardens planted in readiness for summer season. I usually get behind no matter how I try. Though I love the autumn season it is also when I suffer the most with physical ailments such as cold, flu, aches and pains and stuffed nose due to allergies. I also suffer from stuffed nose and congested sinuses during spring when all the new growth happens.

 

Despite the physical discomforts I love both spring and fall best. Sadness also attends me (and many other locals) in the fall season because I'm sad about the coming winter.  We get very little light in our winter months and the sky seldom breaks clear.  I feel tired for much of the winter season due to the lack of light and I make a special effort to get out to concerts and movies and other social events so that I don't stay in the house for too long a stretch.  Outings are not that affordable any more but still I look for special events that are doable & affordable.  I also try and get friends to join in with me for a social outing.

3.  If there is to be only one season for you to live in, which one would it be and why?

 

Probably the spring season. I absolutely love the joy and happiness I get from the reawakening of nature all around me, the end of gray and dark skies, arrival of the longer, sunny days and people out and about after a winter of hibernation. It is also my favourite time of year because of the cherry blossoms that happen in April. The blossoms are just stunning and one of the great joys I look forward to each year.

4. What color(s) do you associate with summer, winter, autumn and spring?  Example: maybe summer is green, winter is white..etc.

 

Fall - orange, gold, yellow, red, brown, tan

Winter - gray, blue-ish gray, brown, earth tones

Spring - white, blue, light pink, dark pink, red, yellow, lavender and so on.

Summer - every colour of spring, various shades of green,blue of the water and mountains

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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!