Tuesday 4: Travelling

I'm joining in with Tuesday 4 this week.

Annie at Cottage by the Sea continues this meme in memory of Toni Taddeo.  This week's questions are about travel.

1. How far have you gone from home and where did you go?

I've travelled far and wide though not quite as far as I would like. The farthest point from my home is Kenya in East Africa. The distance from Vancouver, Canada to Nairobi, Kenya is 14,388 km or 8940 miles. The 2nd farthest I've been is Cairns, FNQ in Australia which is 11,496 km or 7143 miles.

Mount Longonot, The Great Rift Valley, Kenya

2. Do you think the hassle of travel is worth the trouble?

When I was younger I would enthusiastically say 'yes'.  These days I find travelling is hard on me physically not to mention all the work involved in planning long distance travel. So I do not enjoy the actual preparation for travel, needing to save funds for the journey or the actual travel. I do enjoy it once I'm at my destination.

My last trip to France and Kenya made me think that travel is no longer worth the hassle. I found myself running from one gate to another and barely making my connections due to all the security checks. It means that in future I have to add even more time for flight connections not to mention factoring in the time and hassle of whatever new conditions will be put in place due to the Covid pandemic. Nonetheless I still expect I will do a bit more travelling.

Palace of Versailles, France

Travel once you get to your destination is also a lot more fun if you are driven around by a driver or people who know the place you are visiting. Otherwise it is usually a hot and tiring mess.

3. Are there places you would like to visit or have plans for visiting?

Yes I have plans for future travels but besides travel within Canada, I only have plans to visit Kenya again. It would also be nice to visit several places in Europe, the UK (after Brexit I'm not sure if the UK is still technically part of Europe), Israel and Egypt.  I have done a bit of  European travel with trips to Germany, France, Czech Republic and Holland. I never tire of seeing some places over and again and there are still so many new places I have yet to see.

4. What trip was the best you've ever had?

It's hard, if not impossible, to pick just one. The best international trips were to New Zealand and all down the eastern coastline of Australia by car. I was a lot younger then and enjoyed everything including sleeping in hostels and being generally more adventurous. Another great trip loaded with pleasant memories was my first trip to Kenya about 14 or 15 years ago. I loved everything about it and one of the highlights was going on a safari and getting to  stay at a beautiful lodge in one of the country's many national parks. I've been back to Kenya several times due to missions work I do. Canada also has many great travel opportunities and I've enjoyed many road trips but the trip to Niagara Falls was a highlight.

 

 

 I'm joining in with Tuesday 4.

The Weekend Was Fruitful

 Hi friends,

I hope you've all had a beautiful and productive or relaxing weekend.

I have certainly been busy with this and that. 

First up is some sad news. Pastor Jonah lost another family member earlier in the week to pneumonia. Please keep a kind thought for him and the family. Also the court hearing for the land grant is scheduled for Wednesday. Hopefully this will be the last item of business before the court rules on the issue.

Friday I spent trying to get my young relative situated for getting the community garden plot weeded and compost added. Surprisingly it took a fair bit of time because I wasn't meeting her at the plot and she needed orientation with everything.  Fortunately I showed her the plot last summer so basically she just needed a refresher. I also spent some time repackaging seeds (I have too many for my small balcony garden) to share with her.

Friday I also went to the library and picked up a few novels and decorating books. I'm really looking forward to reading all of these.  I made a small start today (Sunday). I was going to stop at the grocery store for a few items but had forgotten my phone at home so I decided to wait for the next day. I have a few apps on the phone and I accumulate points based on buying certain things. 

Later that night I had a call from a friend I haven't seen or heard from since the pandemic. It was good to catch up with her. I also binge watched Netflix catching up on the most recent season of  The Crown. I watched so many episodes and by the time I finished I was very sleepy.

Saturday I found myself running more errands. This time I had my phone so I did a small bit of grocery shopping and stopped for coffee afterwards and began reading one of my books. I also stopped in at the pharmacy. Fortunately the owner was in and I was able to discuss various issues related to my latest prescription refill.  He had left me a voice message and I didn't want to call back and talk to one of his staff. It's just easier to question and explain things in person and I'm glad we did since I had misunderstood his voice message. We managed to sort everything out satisfactorily.

One of my brother's called and we had a nice long catch up. He gave me some wonderful person news about his children and a great report about his own health update. It made me realize how much I've been missing hearing good news! 

Afterward I spent a lot of time scouring various websites looking for some home decor items, pricing them and seeing what might work for my needs.  I find this kind of research very time consuming and very tiring.  I didn't make any final decisions about anything. I want to take my time and make the fewest purchases possible to deal with the different areas I want to deal with in my home.  I also watched the movie, The Pianist with Adrian Brody on Netflix. I didn't see the movie when it was released in 2002. It was very well done and heart wrenching.  If you haven't seen it and have Netflix, I would highly recommend it.

It's now Sunday and again it was a busy day. The dishes are done, the kitchen, bathroom and entry way floors are vacuumed and washed, the living room and dining room are vacuumed and all the recycling has been taken to the recycling bins. It feels good to get excess stuff out of the way.  I also managed to get rid of 6 items of clothing (2 old tops and 2 sets of pajamas) that have seen better days. I have a lot more to do but will get to it all in due time.

In the evening I did a few loads of laundry and steam refreshed my pillows. Now I have clean bedding on the bed and ready for a good night's sleep. This will be likely (and hopefully) be the last time I wash and return the blue mink sheets to my bed because the weather has warmed up and the sheets will be too heavy soon.  I'm glad it's finally warming up. I love this time of year when the sun returns on a regular basis, the weather warms up and it is not too hot to get out and enjoy a walk or an outing.

 

In  between cleaning and getting ready for the week ahead, I watched the Oprah interview with Megan and Harry. I was shocked by what I heard from the both of them and my heart went out to them for what they have endured.  I must say, before I heard the interview I was in the camp of thinking they were privileged and spoiled.   I felt they were honest in the interview and tried hard not to say anything negative about the Royals.  However they also tried to speak truth and I cannot understand how Prince Harry could be denied security for himself and I cannot understand how his own father could cut him out of communications. I am honestly stunned because you do not expect a parent to stop talking to you. It must hurt so much after having lost his mother when he was so young. I am glad those two are out of the Royal Family and making their own way in the world. I think they are better off for it and the public can stop complaining about having to pay more members of the Royal Firm. At least their mental health should be much better now that they are 'free'.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week ahead and that you too enjoy better mental health as we seem to be getting closer to having restrictions lifted off of us all with the mass vaccinations now taking place.

Tomorrow, Monday, March 8 is International Women's Day. To all the women reading this, may you have a positive day where you feel loved, supported and respected not just on this one day but in each and every day.