Success & Gratitude

If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.

~ Joseph Addison

Sometimes I view success in life as just having strength to get through the days.  

Don't you?

Then there are other times, when, success in life means some great achievements you've been working toward.

I've been fighting illness for some time with the coming change of weather. It wouldn't be so bad but for the fact I've been having great difficulty sleeping, I'm working long hours on multiple projects, doing a lot of reading, keeping up with the day to day household needs and missions.  Last but not least, I've got a lot to do concerning looking after my mother's urgent care needs. 

I just started to feel good about things and then something happens to take the wind out of my sails and cause me stress.

Soon things have to change but I keep putting one foot in front of the other in the meantime and ask God to help me because the hill often seems too hard to climb.

Mombasa sunset.

It is also at times like this that it is important to take time to reflect and consider the blessings in our lives despite the difficult patches, trials and challenges.

Very soon it will be Thanksgiving here in Canada.

I have much to be thankful for and I am very grateful for all the many blessings which I do have.

A new friend asked me what I was doing for Thanksgiving.

He was having a last dinner with his aunt who is transitioning to a life of retirement and soon for him a lot of what he has come to know and rely on as his annual holiday rituals will change. He is missing it before it has disappeared.

Life often brings changes for us. While we have certain people in our lives that we love to spend time with, it is important to appreciate them and let them know how much we love them.

I am having a dinner this Thanksgiving with a small group of loved ones.  Amongst other things I have to do this week (like crocheting, sewing, working on a community project, sending Christmas cards to my sponsored kids, following up on care needs of my mom and touching bases with friends), I will be getting things organized for the dinner.

What about you dear reader?

Do you have Thanksgiving plans?
What ever you do, I hope you enjoy and appreciate those you spend time with.

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things 

which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

 ~ Epictetus

CAL and Today's Images

A few days ago I came across a Crochet-A-Long (CAL) at Ladybird Dairies and decided to join in.

I'm new to the African Flower pattern and I quite like it. I didn't choose vibrant colours like a true African flower would probably be.  I've selected muted shades in gray, off-white and a couple of different blues. I like the combination.  These yarns were purchased some time ago with the intention of making a throw but I wasn't terribly sure what pattern to make.

Now I've decided and participating in the CAL with Ladybird and Chrissie Crafts will give me some motivation.

Here are the pieces I've made so far.

I will try to make progress each week and link up with Chrissie Crafts on Thursdays. Why don't you join in if you like crochet?

After the heavy rainfall of the last few days it was so nice to get some glorious sunshine today. I was also super excited to find these real flowers on my way to meet a friend.

This photo gives a glimpse of the Fall colours on a busy city street. You can see downtown highrises in the distance.

This ballet school is an institution in Vancouver. The original operators are now retired and the daughter who is also a dancer has taken over.

I'm just experimenting with my camera in the next photos. I know I can get clearer macro shots if I practise.

A Glorious End to a Rainy Day

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

~ Albert Einstein

I've been mentioning heavy rains a lot in my posts of late.  That's because we've been experiencing heavy rains far too early in the season.  The heavy rains came on too suddenly after the very hot summer.  Normally we have a beautiful Fall season first. I love Fall and I don't want to miss the leaves before they all fall to the ground.  Heavy rains can make them fall before their time.

 

I was so pleased to see the sky which turned a magnificent light pink and purple at the close of day on Wednesday.

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. 

Nature and her beauty always brings a smile to my face.

Joining up with Skywatch Friday. Thank you to all who visit and leave comments.

Downtown

Don't hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows downtown
Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close downtown

Lyrics from "Downtown", sung by Petula Clark in the 1960s

The Vancouver International Film Festival is happening in Vancouver again this week and continues next week.  There are so many wonderful films to choose from.

How does one make a choice?

Well in this case, one of the ladies I know looked for a 'feel good' film for a number of ladies and she came up with

"Fanie Fourie's Lobola"

It's another fantastic film from South Africa. It'll make you laugh and it will make you tear up too. 

I've seen 4 South African films in the last 2 years and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them.  There are some wonderful films coming out of South Africa. I hope they continue to put out such spectacular work for all to enjoy.

Here is a trailer and if it happens to visit your city please do try and see it.

While I was in the vicinity of the theatre venue I snapped these photos because I think it's always interesting to take a peek at the places where other people live.

As you can see, it is still raining here and it rained quite heavily as I made my way to the venue.  When I came out it had stopped raining. Tomorrow we will have sunshine and it will be nice to have respite from the rain.

I'm always fascinated by trees growing at the top of a building.

 

I like the variety of roof lines in this photo.

This is the same as the photo above but I like how it came out blurred.

I was trying to capture the mountains behind the red wall but once I crossed the street the mountains were out of view.

I really like the art work of the Madonna above the windows. It graces the front of a restaurant that I've yet to visit.

Every year the city holds it's Remembrance Day or Armistace Day services in the small park across the street (where you see the tall, cylindrical cement structure).

I like looking down at this colourful scene.  Clearly this wall had some focussed attention from grafitti artists.

The mountains are on the other side of the inlet. Also the community of North Vancouver is directly across. You can take a sea bus (ferry) at the terminal just to the left of the photo (red brick building peeking out).  It's a nice short ride and you can see a lot from the waterfront.

The brewing company building anchors one end of the Gastown neighbourhood. Gastown is where Vancouver began and it is now a lovely tourist area.

 I took a lot more drive by photos but they didn't turn out.


I hope you are having a great week so far!

Next Project

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

~ Roger Miller, Author

It's still raining here in Vancouver and quite chilly for this time of year.  I am still fighting some bug. I'm not so sick that I can't do anything but I don't feel so energetic and I have a bit of congestion.

It's good weather for reading which I have done a lot of this past week. I've read 2 and a half books this week and started two others. I've also put these books on hold at the library and will be picking them up later this week.  Normally I don't read quite so many books.  While I am in the mood for it I might as well get my reading done.  I literally have hundreds of books on my 'to read' list  and so I'll be busy for years to come. I keep adding to the list as I learn about  new books too.  It doesn't really matter if I read all of them.  The main thing is that I keep reading and challenging myself to read more each year.  Hopefully I will enjoy most of the books on my list.

The first in a series of books that follows the fates of five interrelated families (American, German, Russian, Welsh & English) as they move through the dramas of WW1, the Russian Revolution and the struggle for women's suffrage.

Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh--as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. - See more at: http://vpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2137499038_fall_of_giants#sthash.sNOAu9cy.dpuf

Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh--as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. - See more at: http://vpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2137499038_fall_of_giants#sthash.sNOAu9cy.dpuf

Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh--as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. - See more at: http://vpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2137499038_fall_of_giants#sthash.sNOAu9cy.dpuf

A twist on a travel memoir, Sarah Turnbull was supposed to spend a week in Paris but she meets Frederic who invites her to visit and what results becomes this story

A book by a highly acclaimed new author.  In her own words the book is about a "family saga that takes place in a fictionalized province of the Balkans. It’s about a female narrator and her relationship to her grandfather, who’s a doctor. It’s a saga about doctors and their relationships to death throughout all these wars in the Balkans."

These books ought to keep me busy for awhile.

During the rainy season it is also good to do some craft work. I did enough quilting last week, and still need to do more.  But in the meantime, I've started on my next project. I hope to finish it within the month but am not quite sure how it will all come together.

I'm not following a pattern. I will make all the pieces and attach them once I feel I have enough. I'm not sure how big I want to make it. This might be a gift and I'm keeping all the pieces in the same colours (two shades of blue, grey and off white) though the colours are not used in the same order in every piece.  Once the pieces are blocked and finished, they will more closely resemble hexagonal blocks.

I hope your week is going well.

Checking in with Our World Tuesday today.