A Day in Photos

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all well today.

I took a little jaunt out to the University of British Columbia on Sunday to take a friend for coffee. He's been a patient at the University of BC Hospital and before that, a patient at the Vancouver General Hospital.

On my way to the University of BC

Once I arrived at the hospital, I made my way to an area of the university that is new to me. In the sky just beyond where you see the tree branches in the below photo, I spotted two eagles heading in the opposite direction. I'm always very excited to see eagles and I don't get to see them that often. I was a little slow to get my phone camera ready so I ended up with just a photo of empty sky.

I spotted 2 eagles flying just beyond the leaves.

I wondered why these trees were lined up the way they are.  They remind me of an orchard but this would be a very small orchard.

I'm not sure what kind of trees these are.

Regent College (see the small sign at parking lot) an interdenominational evangelical Christian college affiliated with the University of BC is located on the UBC Endowment Lands. It's peeking out behind the fence.  Like most other areas of the university the college gets a lot of international students.

The photo below looks toward a tower where a professor I know used to live. I'm not sure if the housing is meant for professors only or is also open to the public. A lot of the new housing on campus is for students and staff alike. I know the staff get subsidized rents.  When I was a student at UBC, highrises were extremely rare and development was minimal. The university is barely recognizable now as there has been a lot of development, both housing and amenities for staff and students, grocery stores, restaurants and coffee shops.

The Starbucks I was headed to is located just beyond the awning in the below photo. It turns out that the store with the awning is a wonderfully stocked grocery store. Both of these are newer additions to campus life. I stopped there to buy a lot of fruits and vegetables some of which I used for dinner that night.

The Starbucks is just beyond the awning.

Many years ago there was only one main bus to the university campus, the #14.  A second bus took an obscure route nearer to the waterfront but students seldom rode that bus.  Today, there are multiple buses coming and going from multiple directions. On the way home I took the #99 B-Line bus which is an express bus that travels along a major street called Broadway; a good route for intersecting with many other bus routes, subway and sky train options. 

A new subway line needs to be built to the university.  There is a current subway extension being built.  It was was meant to go out to the university but will only go part way due to the ballooning cost of construction that occurred over the "Covid period".   Of course, plans can change and political parties at all the levels can decide that the construction needs to happen now rather than later.

Heading home another way.

A Friend in Need

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing?

It's been a hectic time in my life of late but things are getting done. Nothing too exciting just a lot of hard slogging with shopping expeditions for small items (shopping is not a favourite activity of mine), a lot of small household jobs requiring a lot of elbow grease (rust removal, grout cleaning, small diys, etc. and planting.  Spring is always a busy time as I dust off the cobwebs of winter, quite literally and figuratively, and prepare the household and gardens for the warmer days ahead.

 I went out to the university hospital to meet up with a friend of mine on Mother's Day.  Both he and I lost our mothers several years ago and he tends to get very depressed on Mother's Day without his mom to call. He has been in hospital for 5 long months which is another reason for him to be depressed.  Currently he is in rehabilitation at the university hospital to try to re-learn to walk.  He lost several toes and part of his heel on one foot about 5 months ago. A few years ago he lost several toes from his other foot and he'd been in a wheelchair ever since.  I'm not sure what happened but I think during one of his many surgeries they must have damaged a nerve because all of a sudden he couldn't walk anymore.

He insists he is not going home until he can get out of his wheelchair and walk again.  Otherwise he's thinking of seeking medical assistance in dying (MAID).  It wouldn't be his first time to think seriously about MAID and I know he was thinking of applying after the experience a few years ago of needing to get around in a wheelchair. I hate hearing him talk about it but I can certainly understand his feelings. 

He has been to hell and back for many years already with various medical and housing issues.  He's experienced a lot of discrimination and ill treatment by both housing and health officials.   Right now he is battling with the management at his current place of residence and he's fighting to remain in his apartment even though he is in hospital. It's basically the housing management views that he is unable to live independently and they want him to go into an assisted living facility.

Wednesday update:  The eviction  threats against my friend seem to have stopped. At least for now he can breathe and his building administration is s now being very nice  I guess they don't want a legal fight.

There is much more to the story but I also don't pretend to understand it all. My role is just to try and be supportive and a listening ear so I'll leave the story there.

So on Sunday I went out to meet him and treat him to Starbucks coffee and a lemon loaf.  We enjoyed a long natter. It was also good for both of us to have a visit with one another.  We both lost our mother's years ago to their various health challenges and it gives us time to reminisce and share our memories. Both of us met the other's mother once or twice though they both lived far from Vancouver.

Good Morning Tuesday - Tuesday 4

It's time for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 ... just four questions each week for you to ponder and share your thoughts, likes and dislikes.  You can visit others and see their opinions and hopefully make some new blogging friends.

Can we talk about mornings? We all have them, right?

1. Do you jump out of bed or hit the deck running as I call it or are you slow to get up to speed in the morning?

I'm slow to get up to speed in the morning. It typically takes me hours to really get going. I'm a night owl not a morning person.

2. Do you start the day with coffee or tea?  Or do other things help you wake up like washing your face, etc.?

I usually start my day with coffee and cream after making my bed and making a washroom stop. Sometimes I'll wash my face then but usually I wait until I've had my coffee and feel more alert.  Then I'll take a shower including washing face and brushing teeth and and get dressed to start my day.

3. Is the best part of waking up some Folgers in your cup? What brand of coffee or tea lights your fire?

I like the jingle for Folgers coffee but you'll find Maxwell House in my cup instead. I read the other day that the coffee got it's name from the Maxwell Hotel. 

One of his [Joel Cheek] first big customers was the Maxwell House Hotel. The hotel bought some of his coffee to serve in their dining room. Supposedly, the customers loved it so much they demanded that the hotel keep selling it. Joel named his coffee brand Maxwell House after the hotel in Nashville, where this happened. Tennessee State Museum website

 4. In the Netherlands toast with hefty style chocolate sprinkles are a usual breakfast.  Italy also begins the day with rolls or cookies.  Britain and America are eggs, bacon, toast, or cereal.  What about you? What is a typical breakfast for you?

Many years ago I used to eat breakfast more often; usually a cold or hot cereal with toast. On weekends I would have the full American breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast on a Saturday.  I remember the days well because I was a student or a young career woman.  Saturday was always a time relax and do errands, and meet a friend for late breakfast and a natter. These days I seldom eat breakfast.  When I do it's usually toast and coffee.  Sometimes I have a craving for hot porridge or bacon and eggs and I'll make those if the craving or hunger is strong enough.

I've recently had a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast. I probably won't have it again for quite some time. In this case I was using up some small potatoes before they went bad.

I'm joining in with Tuesday 4 today.  Thanks for stopping by!

A New Beginning

Hello friends and fellows bloggers,

Happy Monday to you.

It's almost like every Monday we have the chance to start our lives all over again.

Do you ever feel that way?  

I remember when I was working. I really didn't look forward to Mondays. I always wanted the weekend to last at least a day longer because so much of my weekend was filled with catching up to housework, grocery shopping, church and friends and family. I never had time to really rest.

Now that I'm retired, Mondays still signal the start of a new week and a new list of things that need doing.  But Mondays are all my own, not my employer's and for that I'm eternally grateful. 

I've always been slow to get myself moving in the morning. I'm the same way with the days of the week.  I'm 'warmed up' by Tuesday, lol.  But these days I choose to view Mondays more positively.  I use the day to take inventory and transition into all my weekly appointments and more.  These days I still structure my time and try to accomplish and enjoy as much as I can each and every week.

I wish you all a wonderful Monday and a blessed week ahead.

Sunday Thought

 

The Weekend

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you've had a great start to the weekend.  It's usually a time when I run some errands that require me to venture out a bit farther than my neighbourhood shops, go to the library and/or meet up with a friend.

This week and weekend, I'm trying to finish several books that are coming due soon.  The first one is called Embers in the London Sky by 'new to me' author, Sara Sundin.  Set in the 1940s during German invasion of the Netherlands, Aleida, the young mother in the story leaves the Netherlands with her abusive husband, Sebastien and their small child, Theo.  During their escape to London, Aleida falls asleep and while she is sleeping her husband gives Theo to complete strangers for 'safe keeping'.  

When Aleida wakes up she is horrified to learn about her child.  But before she can find out the details from her husband he is killed by a bomb blast. Upon arrival in London, Aleida does what she needs to do to survive but searching for her child is the single most important things to her. The book takes us on an intense journey of Aleida's search for her child and about finding real love along the way. 

Now I'm reading Hello Stranger by Katherine Center.  This is not the kind of book I typically pick up but I wanted what seemed to be a quick read. This one has all the markings of being about romance and indeed it is, but it's much more than that. 

The young protagonist, Sadie is a struggling, New York City painter. Early on in the novel she suffers a non-convulsive seizure and ends up in the hospital.  After diagnosis she learns she has a medical condition called prosopagnosia or facial blindness where you have difficulty recognizing people's faces. This is problematic since she is a painter and she has just been accepted into a competition in which Sadie has to paint someone.  Apparently, there's no treatment for the illness so the story takes us on a journey about how she copes with life and how she enters the competition despite being unable to paint faces. 

My weekend plans include the goal of finishing Hello Stranger and making good progress on the final novel in the stack, Digging Stars which I'll have more to say about once I've finished read it.  I'm enjoying it so far.

And what about you dear reader?  What are you weekend plans?

Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all fine this beautiful day.

These photos are from a walk to a small local park.  Some trees are just now blooming while others are well underway to showing their green beauty.

After the seemingly long winter with dull, grey skies, we are now experiencing lovely blue or mixed blue and cloudy skies on almost daily basis.  It makes for many photo opportunities.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Bar Keepers Friend vs. Brasso

I've been quite busy these days trying to get a lot of small, time consuming jobs out of the way.

Some of you remember I spent days last weekend and early in the week looking for 2 items: Brasso and neutral coloured shoe polish. I never did find the shoe polish.  I'm not in a rush now so next time I'm at Wal-Mart I'll look for it there. I don't get there very often. I did find Brasso on Tuesday at the Safeway Grocery Store.

I was looking for Brasso to clean the rust off of a bathroom light fixture. Before I tried Brasso though I tried something called Bar Keeper's Friend that I had on hand.

I found Bar Keepers Friend (BKF) did a better job and didn't burn my fingers like Brasso did (I didn't wear rubber gloves). See the before and after pics below (click on the photos for a better look).

Before

After

This fixture has been rusted for years already and I intended to replace it. Then I had the bright idea to try something to remove rust.  I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

I don't actually like using BKF much because it is very clumpy and hard to make into a paste especially since the fixture is up on the wall it make it a bit tricky.  But after 2 applications and a bit of a scrubbing I am pleased with the result. I will do it once more before I replace the globes (you only see 3 light bulbs because using 4 makes it too bright in the bathroom.

Let me know if you have any experience and success with home made or store bought products for rust removal and cleaning of metals.

Image of the Day

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

One of my favourite subject matter for photos is trees. Another of my favourite subjects is the sky.

Taken May 7, 2024

What subject matter do you like to photograph?

Thank you for stopping by. I hope to see you again soon.

A Walk Around Lake Lafarge

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing today?

I spent much of the day at Lafarge Lake with a dear friend of mine. We spent the time walking around the lake and sitting and admiring the ducks.  I was so busy catching up with her that I didn't do a very good job of taking photos but I did manage a few.

It was a fabulous day for an outing. The sun was shining brightly even though some of my photos look like we were expecting rain.  We weren't but it's still a bit windy and chilly in the shade.

The remaining days of the week are expected to get progressively warmer.

Lafarge Lake is a 5 hectare man made lake located in Town Center Park in Coquitlam. It is very easily accessed via the Skytrain and adjacent to the Douglas College campus.  In winter there is a fabulous light display which you can partake of for free. I meant to go with dear hubby this past Christmas but he got busy with work and I didn't wish to go alone. Perhaps it will work out for Christmas 2024. 

I've read that it's a very popular and crowded event. I suppose because it's a free event and there is plenty of parking. There is also a fabulous Evergreen Cultural Centre nearby and a brand new community centre will open in a few days. This is a great place for one but I think families with children would especially appreciate the convenience factor.

First Monday in May

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing today?  I'm still very busy with errands and such.  Some of you know that I've been on a mission to find Brasso (metal cleaner/polisher) and some neutral shoe polish since last Friday to no avail.

Sky around 5:30 a.m. Monday

I checked one more store in the neighbourhood today just on a lark because I had to pass by there on my way to drop off a book at the library.

Sky at 4:45 p.m.

Sky at 4:45 p.m.

Lo and behold the store had Brasso.  They didn't have any neutral shoe polish but they did have something called Dubbin.  This isn't what I need for a particular project but it will come in handy for conditioning leather items and the leather sofa so I bought it. Tomorrow I'll check some other stores for the neutral shoe polish.  I could order it on line.  But I'm on a mission to see if and where I can find it locally in case I needed or wanted to buy these items again.

Sky at 7:55 p.m.

Dinner of pork chops, tater tots and pico de gallo

I'm thinking of posting daily or almost daily for awhile just because at this time of year I love what I see in the sky and all the greenery around me. I hope you'll come and visit again soon.

The Week Ends and Starts Like This

Hello friends and fellows bloggers, 

I hope you are all fine and that you enjoyed the weekend. As I mentioned in my last post here, I was very tired from all the walking and shopping I did on Friday and Saturday.  Thankfully the weather was good for those days. In fact, it was good all week long.

Late Saturday the raindrops started falling but just sporadically. Today it rained but not so much. It will rain more tomorrow. So we ended the week in sunshine and start the new week with cloudy skies and rain. 

 

It looks like the week ahead will be mainly sunny and warmish, with a few cloudy periods.  This is good news because one of my dear friends and I are planning a walk around a lake and of course we'd prefer that it isn't raining when we do so. We've postponed a ew times already due to inclement weather but now the temperatures are much warmer than they were a few weeks ago.

I haven't been reading much this week as I've been busy with several meetings and appointments. I need to get cracking on 2 books that will come due at the library shortly.

I've been experimenting lately with eating parts of the beef that I don't normally eat. Partly it's due to lack of availability at my local grocery store. But last week I made beef tongue which I haven't had since I was a young girl. It was nice and tender. On Sunday I made beef liver with some onions and pieces of bacon. I didn't have a lot of bacon so I cut it into pieces and mixed it with the onions. It was tasty. 

Liver isn't readily available at my local grocery store either but oddly enough I found it at another grocery store owned by same billionaire. Now the parent company is converting one grocery store (Buy-Low) into the other (Save On). I don't know why they are doing this because Buy Low is not a new acquisition. It was purchased in 1995 by the Jim Pattison Group but I have noticed the soaring prices at Buy - Low over the past 3 years.  All three major grocery stores in my general neighbourhood are owned by the same company.  It's no wonder the prices are so high at all of them.

My View on a Saturday Walk

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, 

I hope you had a great Saturday.  I had a busy one. 

I spent several hours shopping on Friday night. I was able to get most of what I wanted but I was not able to buy 2 seemingly simple items:  Brasso for cleaning and shining metals and neutral coloured (clear) shoe polish. 

After doing the housework and laundry on Saturday, I decided to try again to look for these two items.  I never buy these things but how hard could it be?  I know I've seen them around in several stores on more than one occasion over the past many years. 

It turns out that the local grocer doesn't carry these items anymore and and the supervisor on duty doesn't know why. This was the 2nd place I checked in at. No worries I thought, since I was sure to find them. Hours and 4 stores later, I still hadn't found either item until I got to the very last place, a pharmacy, where I finally found shoe polish but not in the colour I needed. 

I think I could find one or two items at a pharmacy called London Drugs but they have been non-operational for 7 days due to a cyber hacking incident of major proportions. I heard on Saturday's late news that they will now start reopening but I am not sure when they'll be fully up and running. I think I might also find these items at Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart but I don't get to these places often. I can either make a plan to go to these places or I can simply order them from Amazon which has better prices on both items and the convenience of having the items shipped to me at no additional cost.

When I was out at a small mall several days ago I saw a lovely jade plant for $10.00 (Canadian) and thought of buying it. When I was out last night I found a jade plant and an aloe vera plant for $10.00 total so I bought those instead.  They have been transplanted and I hope they'll do well. I think they'll need new, larger pots before the summer is over.  I love plants.

I did so much walking on Friday and Saturday and now I'm exhausted. I plan to take it easy for the rest of the weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Early Skywatch

This is an early post for Skywatch Friday. It seems I'm sometimes late but never early until today, lol. We've had a spectacular few days of sunshine though rain was forecast for this week, the forecast was amended. 

I had a busy week. It was tax deadline yesterday. I managed to get it done for DH and I about 24 hours before deadline though we did have an issue or two.

I went out for a walk yesterday and I came across these notices for tax help. There was a line up of people needing to file so the sole tax preparer had to stay late to help everyone.

Look at the pricelist (below) for tax preparation.  I saved DH and I several hundreds of dollars.  Not only that, I know they would have charged us more than the posted prices because of the number of receipts we have. I've had that experience filing as a single person when I used to go to tax preparers.

Cost is the main reason I started doing tax returns myself because the pricing became ridiculous and that was many years ago already!  Thank goodness for tax software though some are better than others. 

Do you have any software you would recommend? I've been using Turbo Tax for the past 2 years and I'm ready to change.  I found it more expensive than other software and also far more complicated than necessary with various quirks as regards the tax considerations for DH and I and the constant 'push' for paying for various of their services is super annoying considering we have to pay to use the software to begin with.  DH and I have a bit of a complicated tax scenario for the last few years and going forward at least a few years. It's not so very complicated but more involved than a simple return.

Anyway, I have another busy few days ahead so I'll stop here and wish you all a fabulous few days ahead.