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!

Books to Films

Once again it is time for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo. Today's subject is books turned into films.

Here we go:

1. What book turned into a film did you enjoy?

I enjoyed The English Patient very much and The Life of Pi as movies. I'm sure I've enjoyed a few more books turned into films, like Out of Africa (more on that later) but I cannot remember them at the moment. 

2. Did you ever find the film version of a book to be better than the book or was the book better than the film and which book was it.

The English Patient was a book that for my taste was a far better film than book.  I guess I watched the film to see if it was any better than the book and it was!

3. If you could decide what book should be a movie, which would it be and who would you get to play the main characters?

I've enjoyed so many books over the years and many of them have been turned into films which I've enjoyed.  Generally I find that books are better than the movies. But sometimes I am surprised.  For example, the movie, Out of Africa is based on bits and pieces of several books by the author Karen Blixen (pen name Isak Dineson) rather than one book.  The movie puts all the relevant pieces of the author's life together for you to enjoy a cohesive story.  After seeing the visually appealing and emotionally touching movie, I read all of Karen Blixen's books about her time in Kenya and also several books by other expats living in Kenya.  They were all very interesting and enlarged my understanding of the nation of Kenya, especially her colonial past.

An interesting book to turn into a film would be  The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's a highly unexpected kind of book from the author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My pick for the main character would be Jenna Coleman, the British actress. She played Queen Victoria in the historical mini-series of the same name. I think she would bring a great depth of character to the female protagonist in The Signature of All Things.  Another book I'd like to see turned into a film is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I don't have suggestions for actors but I think all the roles need to be played by South Asian actors.

4. Have you watched a movie and then had to go read the book or has the opposite occurred and influenced you to see the movie?

Yes indeed. I've both watched movies then read the books and also read the books then watched the movies. Out of Africa is probably the most impactful movie causing me to do a lot more reading of books by expat authors in Kenya and also Kenyan authors and authors from other African nations. Probably the most famous or well known of these is Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I thoroughly enjoyed several of her books especially Half a Yellow Sun which tells the story of the Biafran War.

Well that's it for this week.

Thanks for joining in and come again next week!

Tuesday 4 ~ Bug Out!

 

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Welcome to October and welcome once again to Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo, hosted by her good friend Annie of Cottage by the Sea.

Where I live we are still in summer mode and the autumn hasn't really arrived yet. Perhaps in another week or so. In the eastern part of Canada and USA there have been high winds, tree splitting winds and buckets of rain and several hurricanes. Since the east coast is experiencing hurricanes and tropical storms let us explore the topic.

 1. Expert survivalists and weather experts say it is wise to have a bug out bag handy in case of evacuation, hurricane, earthquake or any emergency. You can see online how to create one. Do you have an emergency kit or bug out bag?

Yes, I have an emergency kit consisting of a small suitcase and a backpack. The backpack has the barest essentials if there is no time to grab both bags.  Where I live we are likely to experience emergencies relating to wild fires, flooding or earthquakes. Hopefully we will never have to deal with any of it but being a bit prepared takes some of the edge off the possibility (just a little anyway).

 2. Do you have plans with your family on where to meet and what to do in case of emergency? 

 

Whatever plans we had need to be revisited and updated because family composition has changed since I last updated the kit.

 3. Do you keep your phone well charged and your gas tank topped off ? Is your flashlight kept fresh with batteries? Do you have a list of what to go where to go? 

 

Yes and I try to keep the power bank charged up. I have so many flashlights and battery operated lamps. I need to invest in more batteries as I seem to be low on what I need.

 4. How about a little stash of emergency goods and foods to last a week or two? They say it pays to do this.. do you?

I have meal bars and water from the emergency packs you buy at the store and I added a bit more. These need to be changed out from time to time as they get old but I don't change them as often as recommended.  I figure that they will still be "good enough" in a pinch even if the taste is not quite as good. I'd like to buy some dried foods but whenever I've looked into it it seems like they only come in very large quantities. It's probably time to look on line again to see what is available. Update:  I found a Canadian company called Good2GoCo that has a wonderful selection of foods and other items in small and large quantities. The foods and water have a very long shelf life so I think this is where I will be purchasing from soon. The food is sourced from Augason Farms which is based in Utah and so you can purchase from a number of retailers (Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, Winco or from Augason directly).

 

In other news, I haven't blogged about the Kenyan missions.  While Jonah and I have been busy getting organized we have also tried to continue with some missions efforts from afar. I hope to provide a short update in the not too distant future.  If anyone would like to contribute to the work the donate button on the right hand side of this blog is always open. If you should experience any problems/issues with it, please let me know and I can try to resolve it. Thank you and God bless!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

Skywatch Friday ~ September 30, 2022

Friday September 30, 2022 is first  National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day.  It is a new Canadian statutory holiday to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system. You can read more about it here to understand how the statutory holiday came to be.

Yesterday I had lunch with an old and very dear friend of mine. She is now 87 years old and I haven't seen her for a few years. I cannot believe that much time has passed since we had lunch on my street. In the meantime her long time husband has passed on and she has moved from the house they shared to a beautiful apartment not too far from where they lived. She invited me to come and see her new home.

Her apartment has two small balconies with the most stunning views of the city. She lives on the 11th floor so I snapped photos to the north and to the east.  It clouded over while I visited her and was raining by the time I took these photos and eventually made my way home.

View to the northeast. The buildings in background are in the city's west end neighbourhood.

Same scene as above but  bit earlier in the afternoon before the rain came.

The green in the center of the photo is Stanley Park and the mountains shrouded in mist is West Vancouver.

Many ships and barges were in the water. The number kept changing.

A view to the east includes parts of Kitsilano neighbourhood and the high rises in back are downtown.

My friend made a great choice in a new place to live. The building has an outdoor pool, a fitness center, lovely garden and everything you could need is a short distance away. The best part of all is the comfortable surroundings and the fabulous views.

Perhaps you can see in the last photo how dry the lawns are. Normally they would be green but we had hardly any rainfall for many months after getting so much rain last fall, winter and even into the spring. We had a late arriving heat wave it we are expecting warm, summer-like conditions again though it rained on Wednesday and was overcast on Thursday.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thanks for stopping by and visiting today.

Tuesday 4 - Autumn This & That

 It's time again for Tuesday 4 held in memory of Toni Taddeo it's founder and previous host.  

It's Autumn and temperatures in many places will be going down, days will be shorter and leaves will be tumbling down. 

Let's discuss these things.

1. Do lower temperatures bother you or make you uncomfortable and are you more of a warm climate person?

Lower temperatures in Winter bother me now that I'm older but I absolutely love the crisp, cool air that Autumn brings.

2.  Do you like the colors associated with Autumn. Clothing wise do they look good on you?

I love the natural, earthy colours of Autumn.  For most of my adult life I never wore them because I thought I was a "Winter" colour in the seasonal colour personality. These days there are so many colour analysts and they all seem to have their own system for determining what colours look best on you. 

A few years ago I did a colour 'test' through Linda Waldon, personal stylist.  Her system concluded I had a "Copper" pallette which  has all the colours of Autumn. Since then I've slowly been transitioning my clothing purchases to these colours and trying to simplify my wardrobe to make do with less. I'm still working on the less part. I think the Copper colour options make me feel more comfortable and I'm getting some compliments when I dress in these colours.

3. Would you rather:… 

•  .… get lost in a corn maze or go on a hayride?
•  …. visit an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch ?
•  …. eat a caramel apple or  a candy apple?
•   …. Cinnamon buns or Pumpkin muffins? 

All of the above sound good to me!

4. There are 7,500 varieties  of apple.  What is your favorite and do you like apple pie?

 I love crispy, crunchy apples. My favourite varieties that I can buy where I live are: Fuji, Honey Crisp, Gala, Ambrosia Gold & Pink Lady (Cripps Pink). I do love apple pie too; especially the kind made with Granny Smith apples which are now a little too rough against my gums for me to eat raw.

Skywatch Friday ~ At Spanish Banks

Hello friends and fellow bloggers.

Happy Friday to all of you and best wishes for a wonderful weekend wherever you are. 

Today I want to share a few photos taken in late August, 2019.  These sky photos were taken at a lovely beach area called Spanish Banks located in the western part of the City of Vancouver. I don't get out there very often but always enjoy it when I do.

 

The weather here has been lovely this week. It's sunny and warmish during the day though I have noticed a distinct bit of chill by early evening. It's supposed to rain on Friday before getting warmer again.

 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Thank you for stopping by!