The Week Flys By & There is So Much to Learn

Hello friends,

It's been a very busy week  and I managed to get a lot done.  Top it off the weather has cooperated so nicely. Instead of the rain we were anticipating at the end of last week, the weather has remained sunny and even quite hot at times.

My little garden has seen it's better days but is still blooming so I'm enjoying the colour.

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I don't think I've ever shared in this space that I have intentions of writing a book. 

It has been on my list of things 'to do' for awhile now.

My mom and other family matriarchs are no longer alive.  Once I am gone there will be very little remembrance of certain things, especially the spiritual heritage but also other important family information. 

If you have ever grown up in a family knowing little about your family background you will appreciate how important it is for someone to leave a record behind for you. 

Even a partial record is a true gem to the recipient.

My late mom and I had plans to co-write a book but she changed her mind along the way.  The actual planning and writing was too stressful for her to contemplate when she had so many other things on her mind. She loved to share her stories orally.  She wasn't technologically inclined and we could never get to the point of capturing her stories on recorder or video due to competing priorities. Whenever I thought we might finally be at that point her health or some other issue would demand attention.

For my part, I've made a modest start by drafting a rough outline.  I've even written a few rough chapters.  However there is still a long way to go to finish and to redraft before it is ever published.  Let's face it, time challenges are huge these days for most of us. There are only so many hours in a day.  If you are a beginning writer such as myself, it takes a certain discipline to figure out how to move forward and to actually do it.

My "classmates"

Last weekend I went to a presentation by a local best selling author. Her talk inspired me to get serious about the writing and helped me understand that the writing needn't take years and years.  I now have a much better idea about the publishing process, through both the traditional publishing route and through self publishing. I also have some rough estimates of costs associated with the process. There are also Christian publishing and Amazon publishing to look into.

Over these past few years  my blogging friend, Linda from Spiritual Memoirs 101, has also been a huge encouragement.  I first came to know of Linda when she still published a blog called Grandma's Letters based on her missionary experience in Kenya. We share a love of Kenya and of missions.  Through reading her blog posts at Spiritual Memoirs 101, I've kept alive, the idea of writing as a future possibility.

Now I need to get organized and make a plan for consistent writing. From the outset, I've only ever thought of my memoir as being for family members but that  may change. For now, it is enough that it is for family and it is important I get it done for that reason alone.

I also have a few children's books in mind and I'm hoping to get those to a wider audience.  The hard task will be to find the right illustrator as I have a very specific style in  mind.  I have done some searching for just the right illustrator but haven't found the right one yet.

Anyway enough about writing for now.  There will be more to come at a later point in time.

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I've also been very busy this week with a number of seminars.  One of them had to do with fashion challenges.  It is helping me assess my current fashion sense and style preferences, as well whether I am actually implementing what suits me fashion-wise.

Once upon a time when I was working I had a very classic style and I enjoyed the look. Now that I am retired I've gotten into a bit of a style rut.

Over the past year or so I've been trying to build up a nice wardrobe that meets my current needs. I've made some inroads into building a look but now I need to take stock and figure out what is missing.

All of my purchases have been things that have been on sale.  It means I did not always get what I wanted in the colour I wanted.  That's what happens when you shop end of season sales.  Now I must take stock of where things are at and I think start looking at capsule wardrobes.

The concept of a capsule wardrobe is to be able to mix and match many looks from a smaller quantity of clothing items per season. Nonetheless I find it still adds up to a lot of clothes and more than I would normally buy. I suppose that is why I never quite have the outfits I need. I also don't do a good job of coordinating the colourways and items needed per season. I just buy what I like and hope it goes with other things in the wardrobe.  This approach also results in too many clothes and nothing to wear.

My goal will be to pare down the number of clothing items I have and better assess how everything goes together.  Then I can fill in the gaps and only purchase what will round out the wardrobe.  The other thing I am trying to pay attention to is buying clothing for my body type.  This is much harder than it sounds (at least for me) and makes finding just the right items that much more difficult.  All in all though, I've had fun looking at what other ladies deem to be 'nice' outfits and learning about their struggles and challenges in trying to dress well. The group I am participating in even had a woman from Kenya join in. Small world!

Another interesting webinar I enjoyed this week was a Christian seminar presented by Donna Partow's of Women's Empowerment University. I heard of Ms. Partow through a friend of mine but didn't realize that she had an online university with extensive topical teachings.

The one I took the other day was just what I needed and has reminded me of the importance of making time for deeper intimacy in my prayer life and walk with God. Intellectually of course, I already know this.  But it can be challenging to ensure one keeps space in daily and weekly life for spiritual matters. Over time I am making small changes here and there in hopes of having quality time and more time for my spiritual life.

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I rounded my week with a free seminar in my community on nutrition and reading food labels. None of this is really new to me but I do so much appreciate the chance to review the information once again. When with a group of ladies and enthusiastic team leaders, it is so much more fun than reading and learning on my own! We even did some line dancing and had healthy snack as breaks from the presentations.

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Life is always better when one takes time to smell the roses so I made time to do one of my favourite things; visit the waterfront and take photos.

It was such a fantastic day.
I strolled along the waterfront, took photos, had something to eat, sat on a log and watched the waves and talked to others looking at shells on the sandy beach.

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This critter enjoyed fetching a stick from the ocean.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home and had to rely on the phone camera.
In bright sunlight the photos are never quite as good.
Or at least I haven't figured out how to make them look as good *smile.

Thanks for reading me today. 

I know it was a long post.

Enjoy your weekend. ♥

Joining in with Skywatch Friday 

Friday Foto Friends

and

Saturday's Critters

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September Sunset

Much colder weather definitely arrived last weekend and carried through most of the week. We also had some rain. The first in a long while. 

We didn't have the best summer.
We had very inclement weather until well into May.
After that we went directly to extremely hot weather interspersed with very smokey skies from all the wildfires burning to the north of us.
Once that was over we went directly to very cold-ish temperatures and rain for a few days.
The current forecast is expected to be sunny for the rest of the week. I'm not sure what the temperatures are going to be but I'm already "missing"summer because winter won't be very far behind.
We Canadians do like to complain about our weather.

At times when I want to complain about things like the weather, I remind myself that other places have seen much worse and are dealing with real devastation.
There doesn't seem to be such a thing normal weather anymore. 
What we used to count on for seasonal weather no longer exists.
 A few years ago I heard a Canadian Climatologist say we should now learn to expect the unexpected in terms of the weather.  So these days I never quite know what to expect and I take nothing for granted when it comes to the weather.

I can only hope and pray for the best in the sense of peace and safety and protection of property and persons from destruction when the worst in weather arrives.

As we transition into Fall I am grateful for some things that the summer months brought.
There are many things to be grateful for, some smaller, some larger:

• the ability to make progress on my long 'to do' list 
• putting in a garden though the planting season was much later than usual 
• getting my cataract surgery accomplished and not having any problems with it
• visits with long time far away friends and relatives
• most friends and relatives were fine and unaffected by wild fires and wild fires did not get close to my home (however one relative and his family members had to be evacuated)
• my friends in Kenya did not suffer personal violence during the recent elections (another election will be held next month because the country's Supreme Court invalidated the August election)
• all my friends in USA came through Hurricane Irma more or less intact and with minimal property damage.

Hurricanes, fires and recent terror attacks and threats in various countries have created a lot of fear and anxiety amongst people, including me.
My faith in God and thinking about the basic essentials in life which I need to be happy (my list: shelter, water, food, relationships, hope & love) are a huge help in keeping calm and carrying on though the storms of life (literal and figurative).

 Have a blessed weekend.
I pray peace to you and your families.

Joining Skywatch Friday
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Friday Foto Friends