Skywatch Friday ~ June 14, 2024

It's a beautiful time of year and the skies are spectacular.

These photos were taken during a neighbourhood walk. It rained in the morning but when I went out in the late afternoon it was sunny and warm. By the time I returned home a cool wind was blowing. Thankfully I carried a shawl with me and I was warm enough until I got inside. It's supposed to get hot again so it should be good for the garden.

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday. Thank you for visiting. Please come again soon.

Lots of Reading

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing?

My reading activity slowed down a lot in late May/early June due to dealing with the insurance claim.  But I've picked up the pace again.

I completed these 3 books and returned them to the library so someone else can enjoy them. I enjoyed each of them for different reasons but The Botanist's Daughter was my favourite of the three books. 

I picked up these 4 books at the library at the same time. The 5th book (at the top of the stack) is one I picked up at the thrift store. When I'm done I'll give it away.

I also picked up this Spode pitcher at the thrift store. I'll use it for fresh cut flowers.

I enjoyed my little outing.

Have an awesome day and thanks for stopping by.

Monday Starts the Week Again

This past Monday was demolition day at the condo. This was the beginning of it. The walls and ceiling were cut away later. The end result is that the water seems to have dried well enough and there is no mold growing. So that's great news! 

Now they have to fix everything and I'm keen to make sure the end product doesn't look like a patchwork quilt.  I can't wait until everything is nicely painted, carpets are washed and everything is generally fresh again.  I'm hoping to immediately reduce more items before I completely return things to the bedroom.  It might be a bit difficult but it must be done.

The workers arrived at 9:30 a.m and left at 5:30 p.m. I felt quite tired so I went out for a bite to eat and a bit of grocery shopping instead of cooking.  I didn't make it to the community garden but I must get there very soon.

While I wait for the bedroom renovations to begin, I'll be purging in other areas of the condo. I made good progress on Sunday by cleaning the bookshelves and getting rid of a lot of magazines, expired Covid tests and various bits and pieces. 

I also completed reading the thoroughly enjoyable books, The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn and the book Digging Stars by Zimbabwean author, Novuyu Shuma.

Rain was in the forecast for Tuesday but it only rained in the morning.  I was hoping for a bit more rain today and I see the clouds are forming though the sun is shining brightly.  Perhaps it will still rain later.  The forecast is for warmer temperatures again for the rest of the week.  Even if it rains more I have a lot of photos of beautiful scenes and flowers to enjoy from recent walks.

I'm hoping to make good progress on a lot of 'small' tasks and jobs this week.  

Enjoy your week ahead and thank you for making time to visit my blog during your busy day. I hope you'll visit again soon.

Weekend Gone By

 Friday skies

Saturday skies

I spent both evenings running errands and tiring myself out. I spent Sunday resting but also managed to dust my bookshelves and get rid of a few things. I spent a bit of time transferring things into the new containers I purchased on Saturday. I still need to get rid of a lot of things but for now I'm organizing things so I can better find and use what I need for crafting. My theme word for the year 2024 is 'create'. I need to crack on with it or the year will be gone before you know it and I won't have created some of the things I want to create.

I'll make some ground beef soup tonight because it's so easy to make. Last night I made some beef stir fried with capsicums and onions and a side dish of a wide variety of vegetables. 

I'm trying hard not to let food go to waste so I've tried cutting way back on buying food.  I still manage to let fresh vegetables and fruits spoil and that's a hard one to take given the current prices and the fact that people go hungry around the world and even here at home. The best I can do is keep trying.

My nephew's girlfriend called to say she'd been to the community plot to weed her garden and she reported that my garden was looking great. Dear hubby told me last week that the peas are ready for harvesting. I really need to get over to the plot and see what I can pick for cooking This year I'm  determined to harvest and use what I can from our small plot.

The Graduate

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

A few days ago I mentioned that I was invited to dinner to celebrate the high school graduation of a friend's son. I've known the mother and 2 sons since they arrived in Canada from Tanzania in 2012. I met the husband a few years earlier when he was teaching a Swahili course at the University of British Columbia.  He introduced me to his family once they arrived in Canada hoping his wife and I would become fast friends and we did.
 

It's hard to believe that their son has now graduated from high school. He's the one on the right (in the photo), the young man in the maroon suit. By the end of summer he will be relocating to Toronto, Ontario to study architecture.  He is a wonderful young man in every way.  He is kind, thoughtful, generous, compassionate, intelligent, hardworking, academically gifted, disciplined and musical.  He believes in God and he is practical in his approach to life's decisions.  He won a scholarship to help him with his studies too. His parents have raised him right and they can be proud of what he has achieved so far in his young life.

I was honoured to join the dinner in recognition of his graduation milestone. I also got to meet several new people and they are all awesome, loving and kind. We are hoping to get together as a group again for fun and fellowship.

Thank you for visiting my blog today I hope you will visit again soon.

A Saturday in June

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

It was a beautiful, Saturday. It has been cold and wet for about a week but on Friday and Saturday the sun came out and the temperature soared. I decided to go out again on Saturday.  Before I did that I did a load of laundry and put my fern out to get some sunshine. I also finished reading this psychological murder thriller.

The book was easy to read and quite engaging though since you were never really sure what the truth was in the various circumstances. I would recommend the book if you are at all interested in murder mysteries. I would not call this a 'cosy' murder mystery novel.

The sky was a spectacular blue.

 

I'm sure the Boston Fern enjoyed the brief time in the sunshine. I hope to put it out again tomorrow because I cannot put it out during the working week when the work men are supposed to be here.

The workers are very slow to get anything done on the patio but the foreman said the work will be complete by the end of the month.  They hardly ever seem to be here. I think they are juggling multiple projects because the construction industry has had severe shortages now for quite some time.

Today, I wanted to make my way to the Dollar Tree to see if I could find some fabric and plastic storage boxes. I intended to go on Friday but only made it to one DT which didn't have the best selection.  At the 2nd location I tried, I was actually able to find the products I wanted.  I also had a selection of fabric colours and patterns to choose from.  Right now I have a hodge-podge of containers and colours on the bookshelves. I want to minimize the busyness and eye clutter by reducing the variety of containers and colours.

Of course before I got to my destination I had to stop for coffee and read for a bit. I haven't made quick progress with this book but it shouldn't take so long to finish it.  Then I can return several books to the library at once before due date.

I chose 2 different patterns, one for the master bedroom closet and one for the bookshelves. I may even decide to put some on top of the kitchen cabinets but I don't think they'll be large enough to hold the items I'd like to store up there.

Once the repairs are done in the master bedroom, I will reorganize the master bedroom closets.  I've been wanting to get some fabric boxes for awhile but I find them quite flimsy.  On the Do it on a Dime YT channel, the host showed how to insert plastic boxes when the fabric becomes worn. I thought this was a genius idea and think it would work while not breaking the bank.

I didn't have a selection of plastic containers though.  There were only greyish/black ones with plenty of holes.  In case you'd like to try it, the fabric boxes are $1.75 each and the plastic boxes are $1.50 each.

I quickly unwrapped the two different coloured fabric boxes and stuck the plastic boxes inside. I then put them on top of the kitchen cabinets to see what they'll look like. I don't think they'll work for the cabinets but they'll be good for the master bedroom closet and the front room bookshelves.

Grayish one (L) is for the bookshelves. Blueish one (R) is for master b/r closet

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know in the comment section if you use the fabric boxes sold at the Dollar Tree and whether you like them. Please come again soon.

A Neighbourhood Walkabout

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday so far.

Today it got warm enough to wear sleeveless tops, sandals and shorts if you so desired. I don't wear shorts anymore and I usually wear a very light long sleeved top over a sleeveless one.  But I saw plenty of people dressed for very hot weather today.

I've been trying to get out for a walk and errands as often as I can but it was actually very cold and rainy for about a week.  As a result I developed a bit of a head cold but I didn't remain in bed. In fact, I probably needed more sleep and rest than I did get but I'm working on it.

These photos were taken when the weather was still cold and rainy earlier in the week.

Does anyone know what flower this is?

Did you notice the little door and windows at the base of the tree in the above photo? I've seen several of them when I go out for a walk in the neighbourhood.  I think it's so cute and whimsical. Seeing this kind of vignette takes me back to childhood and reading about elves, fairies and little people. Do you remember stories of the Littles, a family of little people with mouse like tails?  I haven't thought about these stories for years but it was a pleasant moment in an otherwise ordinary day.

I hope you had a pleasant moment or two as well.

Thank you for your visit. Please come again soon.