First November Skywatch

Some of you will recognize this church steeple. I usually show a long shot of it.

I thought it would be fun to show a different angle today.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday

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Friday Foto Friends

First Few Days in November

Hi friends,

( If you are looking for my post for Our World Tuesday you can find it here)

The first few days of November have been wet and raining. I was feeling under the weather the last while but feel somewhat better today. I need to try and pace myself as I've got a busy time ahead.  For me, being busy often means not getting enough good sleep and fighting infections; especially during the wet and rainy season.

I mentioned in my last post that I had taken 5 movies out of the library. The movies I picked up include:  War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) , Paris When it Sizzles (Audrey Hepburn & William Holden), The Trip to Italy (Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon), The Hundred Food Journey (Helen Mirren) & Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman). Four of these are movies I missed when they were in theater so I'm very happy to get them now.

I didn't realize when I took the movies out that the loan period is only one week long.  So it is a good thing that I've already viewed three of them.  The one I enjoyed most was The Hundred Foot Journey with Helen Mirren. I expected it to be good but it was excellent! The Trip to Italy is funny. I didn't see Steve Coogan & Rob Bryden in the similar movie called The Trip to England. What I enjoyed most about these two was all their impersonations. I've always loved a good impersonation. Also the locations in Italy are spectacular. I've never been to Italy and I'm not sure if I'll ever have the chance to go. Fortunately there are a lot of wonderful movies around that let me enjoy the sights of Italy vicariously.  The third movie I viewed was Paris When it Sizzles. While the vintage decor is divine and the two lead actors, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden were wonderful, the script left a lot to be desired. I guess that is why the movie flopped in its original release and was dubbed Paris When it Fizzles.  I'm still glad I saw it because I really like the two lead actors.  When I checked my library account, I found out that there are already 6 people waiting for The Hundred Foot Journey and there is 1 person waiting for The Trip to Italy . I will try to return them on Wednesday but hope to see the others first.
Mid-week, a friend and I are going to a book launch of local author, Carol Cram  The book is called Woman of Note (Lake Union Publishing) about a woman composer in 19th century Vienna. This event includes readings, a piano performance, and the world premier of a commissioned Trio for Piano, Cello, and Clarinet by Canadian composer Paul Cram inspired by the novel.  I'm really looking forward to the reading by the author and also the musical performance.

I'll  end my week with a visit to see a contemporary dance performance by the BC Ballet. I've never seen a work by this company and it very looks exciting. I love the choral singing that goes with the program in this trailer.

In other news, I'm trying to get my Compass Card. It is a card that will replace paper cards for public transit and not unlike those used in Seattle or San Fransico.   But because my card is a discounted one I've discovered it isn't as easy as going to purchase it from a vending machine at a train station.  I have to hunt down the locations where they sell them. Even though I asked for help from the organization that runs transit before shopping for the card, they gave me the wrong information.

I still have to run to 2 different places: one to get the card and one to load the card. The card can also be loaded on line, but you must order a card on line or pick it up in person. I was led to believe that the card could be purchased and loaded at any number of retailers as well as all train stations which is incorrect.  Ya gotta love bureaucracy where the left hand often doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

The price of the card ended up being double what one vendor said was the price.  Now I have to go and make inquiries somewhere else to see if I was charged the right price or not. I detest inefficiencies and have put off the transition to the electronic card for this very reason.  The transition to the new system has been in the works for 3 years. You would think they would get everything properly sorted out by now.  For seniors and the disabled, these new "efficient" system of doing business is actually much more difficult especially if they do not use a computer for their daily business. I hope they can offer more places to buy a card in future and also make it possible for the elderly and the disabled to buy their cards and load them anytime at any vendor location.  That would make the cards truly accessible.

As sun was setting tonight, I saw the lights from afar glinting off the highrises. I wasn't quick enough to grab my camera and catch the twinkling lights.  I did manage to catch the pink sunset and the mountain shrouded in mist.   I think it looks quite lovely though in person it wasn't quite as dark outside as it looks.

I hope your November is off to a great start.

Have a wonderful week and thank you for visiting.

The Last Day of October

Hi friends,

The last few days have been wet and cold and I've been feeling tired and under the weather. This means I didn't do a done a whole lot on Friday except try to organize my calendar and catch up on the housework.

Like everyone else  I've got a lot to do between now and Christmas. Besides the usual Christmas preparations which I started a few weeks ago, I've got many appointments, errands, medical tests, book reading and social engagements.

After my last book review post here I started reading Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. You can read a summary of the book here if interested.

When I am feeling tired and sickly I don't get out as much as I'd like.  However I did get out to the produce store, the post office & the library on the last Saturday of the month of October which was also Hallowe'en.  (If you missed my Hallowe'en post you can find it here if interested).  When I was out I decided to go to a Thai restaurant rather than make dinner tonight.  I had my chicken cashew nut but didn't get a photo of the dish.  I noticed that the dish has changed since I had it last. Instead of a generous helping of red peppers, there was only one piece of red pepper and some green peppers in place of the red. Green peppers cost a lot less than red ones around these parts.

While I was eating, a lot of customers came and left with take out orders.  Each time I've been to the restaurant it has been busy with take out orders.  But today it seemed much busier than usual. I guess that is a good thing and I hope it means the business is not in imminent trouble.  Not so long ago, a long-time Vietnamese restaurant in my neighbourhood closed. Before they did, I'd noticed that they were skimping on ingredients to their dishes and I wondered why.  A few months later, the restaurant was closed even though they had a lot of regular customers and had been around for many years.  I think the business taxes and rental costs here for businesses are just too high. In fact, I heard one popular restauranteur on radio saying he would close his restaurants at the end of this year. Not for lack of customers but because the business taxes were just too high to make the business profitable.

I started reading Crushing Debt by David Trahair, Chartered Accountant. I'm still in early stages of the book and I've enjoyed it so far.  But I'm not sure I will finish reading it.  I didn't realize when I picked up the book that it deals with the subject of what to do when you are faced with debt levels so high that you cannot meet your obligations (e.g. bankruptcy).  I am not needing this kind of help at this moment, thankfully.  If you are interested in the subject and need help, have a look here for a good review and summary of the book.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I thought the book was about.  When I was selecting books off the shelf at the library last week, I just picked up several financial books of the shelf that had intriguing titles. I didn't even read the book covers like I normally do.  I do like to read about finance, debt, budgeting, retirement, wills, estates, etc. Even if I do not need all the information or it isn't immediately relevant, it does add to my knowledge base and over time I retain more and more of what is useful to me.Debt is certainly a topic that is always being discussed in articles and on television interviews and we are always being warned about debt by the Governor of the Bank of Canada. Well our previous Governor, Mark Carney who is now the Governor of the Bank of England.

This article written in Spring of 2015, says that the  38 % of Canadian debt holders now earn over $100,000 annually.  This is roughly equal to the percentage of people in debt who earn less than $50,000 annually. The article goes on to say that the vast majority of Canadian debt is basically a result of trying have the basics of middle class life like education, cars and homes,  rather than trying to achieve the high life.  When you consider that the starter home in Vancouver these days is over a million dollars on average, & many Canadian cities have similar real estate costs, you can easily see what the article is driving at. In this context, it behooves all Canadians to really buckle down and manage their finances well.  It is a constant task.

As I write this post on Saturday night  I can still hear the firecrackers going off.  Every now and then I hear a loud burst.  Sometimes I hear the rain pelting down but it has stopped for now.  The weather forecast for Sunday is for significant rain and I am prepared to stay indoors and try and rest.  I picked up several movies from the library while I was out. I probably won't see them all but I will make a start.  The movies I've picked up include:  War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) , Paris When it Sizzles (Audrey Hepburn & William Holden), The Trip to Italy (Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon), The Hundred Food Journey (Helen Mirren) & Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman). Four of these are movies I missed when they were in theater so I'm very happy to get them now. The last one, Paris When it Sizzles is an old movie that I've yet to see.

While I was out, I also managed to get a few more Fall/Autumn photos. Earlier today (Saturday) it was raining heavily but the sun came out and some blue sky shared it's beauty with us.
 

To the east and south the sky was blue and bright.

To the north and west the sky was dark and cloudy.

The building with a steeple was a church & now contains condominiums.

AUTUMN

by Emily Dickinson (1896)

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

In the last photo of Fall colours, you can see that the leaves are almost gone from some of the trees.

Heavy rains this weekend will finish off a lot of the leaves and ensure the trees are bare next week.

This is the time of year that I really do not enjoy.

I try not to complain though.  If the sun comes out at least once a week I can manage to make it through the Winter just fine.

In another hour it will be time for us in the Northern Hemisphere to turn our clocks back one hour until the Spring returns.

For many it will be a nice time to get an extra hour of rest this weekend.

This is a mosaic of shop decorated for Hallowe'en yesterday.

I am still writing the post, lol.
Much later after fireworks stopped, I decided to watch one of the movies, The Hundred Foot Journey on  my desktop. But I very seldom watch DVD on my desktop and whenever I've tried, I've had nothing but issues.
So I decided to finally upgrade to Windows 10. After everything was downloaded and upgraded, I spent an hour to  discover a way to watch DVDs.  I learned you need to purchase a $15. program from Microsoft.  Spending that money defeats the purpose of getting free movies from the library. So I found a free program to download and finally got to start watching my movie.
I really should get to sleep and watch the  movie later.

.

I'm liking up with Our World Tuesday

Thank you for visiting and have a great week!

Hallowe'en

I've long noticed (and heard on the news) that Hallowe'en has moved up several spots in the retailer bonanza. This means the day is no longer just for children.  In fact, I daresay that adults have virtually taken over the day from the children and use it as an occasion for dress up and partying.

As each year that goes by the restaurants and retail stores also get caught up in the day because they are trying to entice the adults to spend.  In my small sample of photos, I saw several restaurants using the Hallowe'en theme to decorate and offering themed food and drinks.  These days I think small business owners have to work very hard to stay in business so they get creative.  I even saw one high end consignment shop trying to induce shoppers with the creative use of clothes for elegant costumes.

I took these photos as I was doing errands late this afternoon.

I don't celebrate Hallowe'en. I  gave that up when I was twelve but I do understand that little children find the day fun.  It is also a time when a lot of parents bond with their children over preparing the costume for the evening and going out together to get the treats. I see the children holding hands with moms and dads in the neighbourhood. They always bring a smile to my face. But I actually see more adults in costume than children and today was no exception.

Not to be a party pooper but I abhore all the money being spent on decor and costumes for grownups. There just is so much need in the world and even here at home that I wish people would save the money and give it to charity. There are people going hungry and dying for lack of medical care in many places around the world. Even in Canada, individuals and families go hungry & go without homes.  Many that still have homes and jobs have taken on a level of household debt never seen before.  Looking for party excuses is perhaps one way to blow off steam and avoid dealing with the family finances.

Right now I hear firecrackers going off. It will likely be like that until 3 or 4 in the morning. 

On the news yesterday there was a report of one old wooden house burned down due to firecrackers. 

Some residents want the firecrackers banned altogether. Especially those that live in a very old house. 

 Whether you celebrate Halloween or not, stay safe.

Saturday's Critters ~ October 30, 2015

A collection of  critter photos taken down at the beach recently.

I don't know what all the commotion was but there were swarms of birds in the sky.

There were more than this but I didn't have a chance to capture them. they were moving too quickly for me.

This nice dog had lots of fun watching the water and digging a hole in the sand for his ball. His owner was relaxing with a book.

This was a smaller swarm of black birds. I think they are crows.  The black colour looks so nice against such a beautiful blue sky.

The birds perched atop a few trees before flying off again a few minutes later. 

Boy did they make a racket as they called to one another as they flew off.

I often wonder what it is they are telling one another. 

Since they made racket in their landing and their leaving, I assume they were

cawing about where to land and when to leave.

Joining in with host Eileen

at Saturday's Critters.

Yesterdays' Skywatch Friday pics.

Have a great weekend everyone!

An Afternoon at the Seawall

I'm glad I took these photos while the sun was shining because this week it has been raining and overcast.

I went to see the new movie, "Truth" today.  The events depicted in the movie are those responsible for the resignation of Dan Rather and the firing of producer, Mary Mapes from "60 Minutes".  The movie is a bit long and draggy in parts but is worthwhile going to see for the excellent performances of  Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Dennis Quaid & Topher Grace. I don't remember this particular story that gripped the American press so it was a good insight into some of the history of the times.

I've also added two more books to my reading pile. One, Moonstone (written by Wilkie Collins), was recommended by blogger  Frugal in France.

 The other I got from a woman in the movie line up tonight.  She was reading Girl in the Woods by Aspen Matis.  When she and I discussed the book I thought  it sounded like a very interesting read. Both books are now on hold through my local library and I should have them soon.  This time there isn't a long wait list for either of them.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday
&
Friday Foto Friends.

Thanks to Yogi, Sandy, Sylvia & Deb for hosting these fun memes!

Wishing all of you a fabulous weekend.

A Tuesday in Late October

Oh my, the time is going quickly, so quickly. I know I've said that before. Before you know it Christmas will be here!

In the meantime, I've got a lot to catch up on; including reading. I'm still about 13 books short of meeting this year's reading goal of 45 books. It is a goal easy enough to reach but not if you've gone months without reading and are busy with many other things. I'm doing my best to catch up but it won't be the end of the world if I do not meet the goal. I will simply shift some books to next year.

This week I've finished reading the following books:

This was an easy read and had some good tips;  especially for retirees in USA.

This is interesting because it gives insight into how a poor Puerto Rican rose to become a US Supreme Court Justice.

This book gives insight into the traditional spiritual ways of Lakota people.

~~~~~~

I enjoyed all three of these books for different reasons and if you are looking for some different kinds of reading material I think all three books qualify for different reasons. Please note if you are interested in reading Black Elk, this is not the book of a similar name, Black Elk Speaks.  The book I read is written by a Native American scholar as told to him by a spiritual elder of the Lakota people. The book is not for anyone who rigidly adheres to grammar and finds it difficult to follow stories that are not told in a linear way. You need to be more open and flexible to reading and learning the contents of this book and I've read in reviews that some people just find it too frustrating.

I have a lot of reading material right now that I want to make progress on. Much of it is financial related (debt, estate planning, finance for women, that kind of thing). I also have a few books on  my Kindle and my Kobo readers that have been suggested to me by various bloggers (more about that in a future post). I also came across some new to me Kenyan authors that I would like to read. However these books are not in my library system so I probably will have to purchase them down the line.

Here are the two books and on line descriptions of them. You will notice that both of them are set in the same area in Kenya. I'm interested in them because I enjoy all things Kenyan but I also enjoy learning more about those the white expatriates who went to live in Kenya.

The Ghosts of Happy Valley, Juliet Barnes

 This is one of the write ups I found about the story line.

‘Happy Valley’ was the name given to the region of Kenya’s Central Highlands where a community of affluent, hedonistic white expatriates settled between the wars. Including the writer Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), the pioneering aviator Beryl Markham and the troubled socialite Idina Sackville whose life was told in Frances Osborne’s bestselling The Bolter, the Happy Valley set’s notoriety was sealed in 1931 with the sensational – and still unsolved - murder of the Earl of Errol, the investigation of which laid bare the extent of the set’s decadence and irresponsibility, and made for another bestselling book in James Fox’s White Mischief. But what is left now? Juliet Barnes, who has lived in Kenya for many years, has set out to explore Happy Valley in a remarkable and indefatigable archaeological quest to find the homes and haunts of this extraordinary and vanished set of people – grand residences like Clouds up in the hills that once hosted opulent and scandalous parties. With the help of African guides, and guided by the memories of elderly expats she tracks down to the Muthiaga old enough to have first-hand memories of the likes of Idina and Lord Errol and the lives they led, what she finds - ruins reclaimed by luxuriant bush, tumbledown dwellings in which an African family ekes a subsistence living, or even a modest school – is a revelation of the state of modern Africa that makes the gilded era of the Happy Valley set seem even more fantastic. A book to set alongside such singular evocations of Africa and its strange colonial history as The Africa House, Happy Valley: The Biography is a mesmerising blend of travel narrative, social history and personal quest.

The second book is called The Temptress: The Scandalous Life of Alice de Janze and the Mysterious Death of Lord Erroll

A glamorous American multi-millionairess, Alice de Janzé scandalized 1920's Paris when she left her aristocratic French husband for an English lover—whom she later tried to kill in a failed murder-suicide in the Gare du Nord. Abandoning Paris for the moneyed British colonial society known as Kenya's Happy Valley, she became the lover of the handsome womanizer, Joss Hay, Lord Erroll. In 1941, Erroll was shot in his car on an isolated road. A cuckolded husband was brought to trial and acquitted, and the crime remained tantalizingly unsolved.

Paul Spicer, whose mother was a confidante of Alice's, used personal letters and his own extensive research to piece together what really happened that fateful evening. He brings to life an era of unimaginable wealth and indulgence, where people changed bed partners as easily as they would order a cocktail, and where jealousy and hidden passions brewed. At the heart of The Temptress is Alice, whose seductive charms no man could resist, and whose unfulfilled quest for love ended in her own suicide at age forty-two.  



There is a new movie coming out with Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett and Topher Grace. Its a 2015 American political docudrama film written and directed by James Vanderbilt. It is based on American journalist and television news producer Mary Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power. The film focuses on the Killian documents controversy and the last days of news anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes at CBS News. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and I understand is currently in limited release in Canadian cities and possibly cities in the USA.  It should be more widely available at the end of October in North America and Australia.

We had not a bad day weather-wise here though I definitely feel the chill in the air at night. At least I have some scenic eye candy to help me through the next few months. I took these photos a few days ago down at Vancouver's waterfront area.

The water was very choppy but there were a lot of vessels out at sea, many of them pleasure craft.

There were also a lot of sail boats out for the day. The sun was shining brightly on the water.

This man had the right idea and sat and watched the waterfront for quite some time.

Joining up with Our World Tuesday today.

Thanks for visiting.