2022 Theme Word

Each year many of us take stock of the year just passed and reflect on where we spent our energies. We also make a few plans about what we'd like to do in the coming year. Some make resolutions, some set goals, some simply choose a word to guide them through the year. 

I haven't set any resolutions since my early 20s when I was still in university. I stopped setting them after I realized I wasn't very good at keeping them for more than a few weeks. Over a decade ago I started setting goals in various areas of life (physical, spiritual, financial etc.) and at the end of the year I would take stock of what I was able to accomplish. This system worked very well for me. Then I heard about people selecting a word for the year and I thought it sounded like a good idea. At the time I think I was also under a lot of time constraints due to my dear late mom's growing health needs and challenges. Setting a word for my intentions for the year worked well enough though I think it's missing the structure I need. I think goal setting works better for me but takes a lot more thought and preparation so for now I use a theme word.

In 2021 my theme word was 'completion'. When I selected the word I knew that many things needed to be completed before Jonah could join me in Canada.  The biggest part of that was decluttering and much of it was accomplished.  In 2022 I chose the word 'renew' (to give new strength or energy to; to reinvigorate).  Chief among the things that needed renewing was my home so that it could be ready for my DH Jonah to join me in Canada. Decluttering also needed to continue because I never got through everything in 2021.

A lot of documents and photos related to travels to Kenya had to be reorganized.  In late 2021 while looking for the right documents and photos, I started the digital culling and digital file organization and continued into 2022.  Another thing that needed renewal was getting proper legal assistance.  This turned out to be more complicated than I thought it would be.  So many lawyers, so many years of experience, yet also many frauds.  The legal search went on in early 2021 and we had a wonderful lawyer but before we could hire her she had big changes in her life and we had to shift and find new legal counsel.  This happened in the Fall of 2021.  The law firm we hired assigned a lawyer to us and she left the firm in early 2022.  There was a 2 month delay while waiting for the new lawyer to start work and get up to date on all her files. The shift to a new lawyer turned out to be a very good thing.  Our new counsel was very experienced in all aspects of immigration and had just the right credentials to make us feel confident.

Anyone from Canada who has been involved in spousal sponsorship knows the process is not that straightforward. It took 2 months for Jonah and I to prepare and review the first drafts of the application and required documentation (completed in early 2022 before the new lawyer started working on the file).  It took another 5 months for the lawyer to review the application, make refinements and suggestions and proof-read etc. (completed in June 2022).  The process is very labour intensive, intrusive, expensive and time consuming. Added to that were the delays and inefficiencies caused by Covid and the need for biometrics and medicals in another country.

Fortunately for us our application went relatively quickly once the review process actually started.  The application 'sat' somewhere for 4.5 months.  During that time I became concerned that each step of the process would be equally slow. I needn't have worried.  Once the application began to be processed it only took 4.5 months to make a decision. That is very quick! We were giving all praises to God for answering our prayers. 

Since we completed the immigration process, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has undergone radical transformation. The process is now done completely on line which is more efficient.  Some applications now take only 2 months to thoroughly vet and approve or refuse. This technological improvement is couple with greater staffing, improved work flow and better communication tools.  The overhaul is long overdue and no doubt things will continue to improve as time goes forward. One thing I discovered during Covid restrictions and lockdowns is that the pandemic exposed many weaknesses and gaps in our institutional processes.  Little by little the issues at IRCC  will hopefully be corrected because there are people who have had horrendous experiences and waited years for their applications to be processed. Much of the issues stemmed from Covid closures but that was not the only issue.

Some things still needed completion from 2012 such as decluttering of papers, possessions and digital clutter. I made a lot of progress giving away things, shredding papers and deleting and reorganizing digital files. I am pleased with what has been done so far but there is still more to do. I got rid of everything that used to be 'hidden' in nooks and crannies and can now see the last of what needs to be done though it will still take time.  If you have a lot of digital clutter you may be interested in this post I wrote in the Fall. Getting rid of more things and moving things around is fulfilling my word to 'renew' and more of it will continue going forward.

Jonah arrived in early May 2021 so we have had a refreshing of our relationship, a chance to build and strengthen it as a couple. There was a lot that needed to be done to lay the groundwork for Jonah's new life here in Canada but in between we also relaxed, went out for meals and did a bit of sightseeing. There is a lot more for us in future and now we are together to be able to do it. 

The condo needed a lot of small do it yourself (DIY) projects to renew it and make it cosier for us. A lot of progress was made but there are still things that need to be done.  I simply ran out of time in 2022.  One can read more about it here if interested. 

My back and neck also needed some renewing in 2022 due to the bus accident I had in September 2021. I completed the second phase of physiotherapy in December 2022 and feel much better than I did a year ago. I have one more phase of physio to complete.  It's called 'active rehab' which consists primarily of exercises to recondition the body so as not to reinjure oneself. I expect that will be started some time in January 2023 and will no doubt take up a lot of time going back and forth and so on.

Credit: Image by Freepik

Sometime ago I mentioned that I wanted to save my files and get a (re) new computer. That was because my computer was very, very old, took up a lot of space and showed signs of being near the end of its life. It was also past the point of being able to update its drivers (for using the printer/scanner) or coping with certain Windows updates. My printer also needs replacing for the same reasons. I finally took the plunge in November 2022 and bought a Mac Mini. This one appealed to me due to its very small size. I didn't set it up until mid-December and that included saving all the former files both on the hard drive and on an external hard drive I purchased as back up.  I used the opportunity to get rid of more old files and photos. Now I need to figure out the next steps of how best to deal with photos. I need to get a new camera phone and I'm very tempted to get an iPhone because it would be very efficient due to the ability to sync with the Mac mini.  However they are very overpriced for what they offer and I'd actually prefer a Google Pixel phone.  Going the latter route means extra steps in dealing with photos. I'm dealing with that issue right now because I now have a Mac computer and an Android phone. It's actually very annoying and a time waster.

I found it very time consuming to deal with all the various needs in 2022.  I just didn't seem to have as much energy or perhaps it was the intensity of the work required that made me tired. To make best use of time available I tried reducing other obligations that took up a lot of time; mainly reading.  Reading is the activity that I rely on for relaxation or when I'm looking for something quiet to fill my time so it's hard to reduce it when it is something I really enjoy.  However, I did manage to reduce my reading from 69 books in 2021 (21, 683 pages) to 46 books (16, 286 pages). 

Well friends, this concludes my review of activities related to my word of the year for 2022.  I have some thoughts about a new word for 2023 and will post about it soon.  Thanks for stopping by. If you have a moment, I'd be interested in whether you set resolutions, goals and intentions or theme words each year. If 'yes' what method do you prefer?

Christmas and the End of Year

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope this post finds you well and in good health and that you didn't suffer at all or too much during the wind, snow storms and flooding that I've heard about on the news over the past week or so. Mother Nature really packed a punch!

Thankfully my household escaped relatively unscathed. We did get several snowstorms within a few days just before Christmas, and again just after Christmas.  The heating system was not able to keep the house warm for a few days so it was very cold but we survived.

The lead up to Christmas was nice. This year I was prepared early and had the tree and decorations up at the end of November. Christmas cards were mailed and gifts wrapped in early December. These days I don't have quite so many gifts to wrap because we lost a few loved ones over the years and have fewer small children to consider.  However not all my time was spent on preparations. I was able to get together with several friends and one family member to visit, catch up and make sure that Christmas did not rush past us without sharing our Christmas wishes.  I also went to the annual Van Dusen Festival of Lights for the first time ever.  It was simply spectacular. If you missed my blog post about it, you can find it here. 

Not all was sparkly and well.  DH and I had some very sad news a couple days before Christmas. Japheth, one of our dear pastor friends, died unexpectedly and suddenly in a motor vehicle accident. He was a very dear friend to my husband in particular.  Pastor Japheth had written such a lovely letter of reference for us as Jonah prepared to immigrate to Canada. Jonah said that Japheth was a very rare man with a pure heart, a wonderfully magnanimous nature and exemplary faith.  We are deeply saddened that we will not have a chance to visit him next time we visit Kenya but we are thankful we have the hope of reuniting with him again one day.  Japheth and his congregants had just completed a new church building and Japheth was working on constructing a family house before he passed.  The people of his church decided to complete building the family home in Japheth's honour and so that his grieving widow and children have a home to live in.  The congregants were honouring Japether because of the leadership, vision, selfless love and caring demonstrated so often over the years. They loved him a lot.

Although it's always a busy time of year we did not forget about the Kenyan missions.  We're grateful to have temporarily lightened the load of a few dear people:

Loice and 3 children, widow and wife of the late Pastor Japheth. They live in a suburb of Nakuru City.

Sarah, a young married woman with 3 school aged children. Sarah lives with her family in one of Nairobi's slums.

Emily, a young unmarried mother with a very smart little 3 year old girl. They live in one of Nairobi's suburbs.

Alvin, a young seminarian in his first year of religious studies in Nairobi. He visited his family in one of Nairobi's suburbs over the holiday.

Jane, a mature single woman who has been battling cancer and is in India receiving treatment. Jane lives in one of the suburbs called Westlands in Nairobi.

Eunice, Ernest, Livingston - Eunice is a mature Kenyan woman who has been in hospital for long and is currently in rehabilitation. She is slowly improving. Ernest and Livingston are two single men who both suffered broken legs in the last few years. These 3 individuals all live in villages near Kericho Town.

Jecinter a young, single woman I met in Nairobi while on my last visit to Kenya.  On Christmas Day she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and they now live in a village near Kisumu Town. I am hoping to send a small monetary gift to mark the occasion of the baby's birth.

As always we pray for and are grateful for any donors to these grassroots missions. We know it is very difficult these days for many people so as always, let the Lord lead and guide your decisions.  Donate buttons are found to the left of the blog. You can find them by clicking the 3 lines (bars) in the top left of the header photo.

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Christmas Day was a quiet affair which was spent with loved ones (DH and DB). We had nice and unexpected phone calls from a few loved ones.  Once again I prepared a Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing and gravy, potato casserole, broccoli slaw and all the trimmings for Christmas Dinner. It was tasty and there were a lot of leftovers even though I bought the smallest turkey I could find. Since Christmas we've been having warmed up turkey dinner, turkey sandwiches, flaked turkey sandwiches and turkey-corn chowder.  The remaining leftovers will be frozen because there is only so much turkey one can eat in any given week. 

Now that Christmas is over I've been catching up to washing dishes one uses in preparing a large meal. It also seems like there's more laundry to wash, dry and fold than usual though I don't know why. I indulged in watching a lot of television series and Christmas movies watching.  I also slept more than usual. I wasn't completely lazy though.  I knitted about 7 dishcloths with little scraps of cotton yarn that I wanted to use up.  I don't really care what they look like since they are only being used to wash my dishes, not to give as gifts.  I also touched bases with a few Kenyan friends by phone and last but not least, I've been doing a few small repair jobs here and there.

The year will soon be over and I'm trying to wrap up a few things here at home. I went into high gear today after having a few quiet days. Lab work was completed, appointments were made with the hair dresser and dentist and I had a manicure.  All of these things take considerable time and it will be nice to get these tasks out of the way before the month is over. 

Soon the New Year will be upon us. Dinner plans for New Year's Day include a ham roast, mashed potatoes, salad and all the trimmings. We usually ring in the New Year with a toast at midnight.

I thank God for helping my loved ones and I through 2022. It doesn't seem like I accomplished that much in 2022 but what I did do has lightened my mental and emotional load. 

I hope you are enjoying your holiday and are looking forward to the New Year 2023.

I want to thank each of you for following my blog and leaving me comments.

It means more than you know.  

God bless.

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Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas 

to all of you! 

I wish you a safe and happy Christmas.

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Image credit here 

Please visit again soon

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It Snowed!

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Vancouver has been experiencing a cold snap this past few days and we also had a lot of snow over a few different days. 

Today and yesterday were super cold. I went out Monday and had a good long walk home. On my way back I snapped the baubles on the outdoor trees. I think they look lovely and brighten the otherwise bare branches and gray sky.  We had a fairly large amount of snowfall overnight Sunday so you can see a large amount of snow on the sidewalks.

Monday night the snow began falling again and we woke up to the patio trees and furniture heavy laden.  I didn't go out today because I knew it would be quite chaotic today on the roads and it is hit or miss as to whether the stores are open. In fact I went to a shop in the neighbourhood on Sunday night and when I got there I discovered it had closed an hour early.  This is what many businesses do during times of storm. It helps everyone to get home safely.  I hope to go food shopping on Wednesday because I need to buy groceries for Christmas dinner. 

Stay safe.

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Tuesday 4 - Countdown to Christmas

Hello and welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we hope that 4 questions help you to blog, meet people and think about things in general.     

Let's talk about the countdown to Christmas or Chanukah or both!

1. What was the countdown to the holidays like for you as a child?  Special projects at school.. at home.. with friends?      Was a big deal made of the month in your family or town?  What does your countdown look like now?

Christmas season was always super busy for kids. We not only had Christmas programs at school to rehearse and prepare for but we also had Christmas programs at church to rehearse for the congregation. December was a nice, celebratory month in my town but I don't recall big and ostentatious Christmas displays. It was a small town after all and most people who decorated did so modestly. We children looked forward to getting the presents under the tree each year and to having a feast at Christmas dinner and all kind of snack foods throughout the season. Our house was a place for relatives and friends to drop by throughout the day to eat and visit. This was the case at every holiday and mom absolutely loved having everyone over and making sure they had too much to eat.  Mom didn't go all out baking cooking and sweet snacks but she did make a big batch of Dream Bars and also shortbread and sugar cookies.  I still absolutely loved and still love Dream Bars and make them on occasion for the Christmas season too. A day or two before Christmas and New Year all sorts of snacks would be set out which including things like nuts and mandarin oranges (the only time of year we could get these oranges in local stores), fruit cake, deli meats, variety of chips and dips, smoked oysters, pickles, cheese, crackers and cheese balls.  We had this basic selection all through my childhood and into adulthood too. There was always plenty of food.

2. As a kid did  your family stay home on the holidays or go visiting around ... what do you do now?

My family usually stayed home on the holidays and people came to us.  These days, I find most of our relatives stay in their own homes celebrating with their own immediate loved ones or they travel far to gather with loved ones.  After all the families have grown up with children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren so things have changed.  I hosted both friends and local relatives for years but these days don't do much of it.

3. What foods did Mom and Grandma make for those  days?   What snacks were out?   What is the food situation in your home today? 

The snacks that were always out were mixed nuts most of which you had to crack yourself, Christmas candy (the red and white or green and white ones that tasted of wintergreen or mint, mandarin oranges, fruit cakes, Dream Bars, cookies,potato chips, pickles, cheese cubes, cheese balls, crackers, smoked oysters and deli meats.  The only real baking was the Dream Bars which have a shortbread like bottom with crunchy coconut flavoured topping. I basically make the same Dream Bars but not every year and we have a lot of the same snacks. I guess the other home baked goods were the cookies, usually shortbread and sugar cookies.

4.  Did you have a traditional way of spending the day with time to open gifts, visit,  special breakfasts, special dinner, guests?    What do you do now?

Christmas morning was always for our immediate family. The children woke early and excitedly waited until parents rose and said it was okay to open gifts. Then everyone sat around together and opened their gifts one after another while we all oohed and awed and commented on the revealed gifts, lol. I don't remember if there was a special breakfast until much later when my mother and sister always made waffles with fresh fruits, whipped cream and bacon for breakfast. Then we waited for the full feast at dinner. I still basically do the same but we don't have the special breakfast every year and I do not put the Christmas turkey on the table until supper time. Mother always wanted the 'dinner' early so it was more like late lunch growing up. Then we ate leftovers throughout the day and into the next.

Let me close by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. May you enjoy the season whether alone or with friends and loved ones. I hope you will feel refreshed and look forward to 2023!

A Beautiful Night

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope December is going well for you and your loved ones. Things have been rather hectic for me in this month as I prepare for Christmas and try to get a lot of other business out of the way as well. I'm sure most of you can relate. Soon the big day will be here and until then I am trying to get together with as many friends and family as I can before Christmas arrives. The actual Christmas Day will be a quiet affair with me making some kind of dinner, probably our traditional turkey dinner since we just had ham earlier this week. Jonah is working a lot this month and only has Christmas Day off so our first Christmas together will be rather limited. My local brother will be able to join us for dinner. My nephew will host in-laws from Europe so I won't see him for awhile. We made a point of getting together a week or so ago and we had a nice visit out at the university.

Today I want to share the beautiful light display from the Festival of Lights held annually at the Van Dusen Gardens. I don't think there was a light display for the past 3 years and I had been wanting to go all that time. I finally had the chance on Tuesday night and it was more spectacular than I had anticipated. I shared some photos with a friend who said she had gone a few years ago and it wasn't as nice so she and her family will go again this year and enjoy the lights anew.

Since I published my last post I have switched computers to a Mac Mini and am in the process of having to relearn how to do everything. I've been used to Android devices for so long and having both Android and Apple products means extra steps and frustrations to do what used to be done more easily, especially where photos are concerned. I also discovered I can no longer make comments on blogs. I get sent around in circles whenever I try yo log in, get asked to sign in again , then start the process all over again. I have finally figured out that if I use another browser I can make comments on blogs without all the rigamarole but it's a nuisance. It's an annoyance to have to find so many work arounds but that is what I get for making the switch. The big plus in making the switch to the Mac Mini is that I no longer have a huge desktop tower with which to contend.  Well it is still there on my desk but only temporarily. 

I'm super excited to have such a small computer. It's fantastic. I'm too lazy to read instructions so I've just been finding my way around the IOS intuitively. The first thing to trip me up was just figuring out how to close a screen. Also I'm so used to using all things Google that it will take time to retrain myself and adjust to something different.  I'm not sure how far I will go with Apple products. It might just stick with the Mac Mini or I might succumb to temptation and get an iPhone. These days phones have replaced using a heavy camera and you need a good phone for crisp, clear photos.  I'd prefer having a Google Pixel but that might create more steps and possibly frustrations in working with Google photos on an Apple computer. Anyway, time will tell and costs and device availability will dictate my final decision.

If any of you have experience with the transition from Android to Apple and can share your experiences and lessons learned I'd love to hear from you!

Skywatch Friday Vancouver

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Happy Friday to you all. I hope you are all doing well.

Thursday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Vancouver. I had an appointment downtown and walked back to the main transit station to return home. Along the way I took these photos to share with you.

Vancouver Art Gallery (with red banners) and the Vancouver Hotel just to the left in the photo.

Robson Square in the heart of downtown, UBC downtown campus

View looking south from Robson Square, Vancouver courthouse just beyond the trees in middle

Part of the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel

Adjacent buildings reflected in one of the Wall Centre towers

The Vancouver Courthouse

Nelson Street going east

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday this week. 

Thank you for stopping by!