Things I Enjoy

Joining in with Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in  memory of Toni Taddeo.

There are some things we just enjoy quite a lot. Let's talk about it okay?

1. Which book could you read over and over again?

I absolutely love certain authors like Rosamunde Pilcher, Rohinton Mistry and Maeve Binchy.  I've read all the books written by Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy and about half of Rohinton Mistry's books so far.  I would seldom, if ever, read a book more than once. There are just too many books I want to read. I love reading! It's so easy to have a book on hand or have one to read on your phone, Kindle or Kobo.

2. What movie or TV program could you watch and never tire of watching?

I can never tire of watching all the (Jason) Bourne movies when they are replayed on television. I first saw them in the theatre on the big screen. I love them all, even the prequel with Jeremy Renner but I preferred all the others with Matt Damon. 

3. What meal do you like enough to eat several times a week or several times a month?  Got a recipe to share for it?

I do not eat any meal several times a week or month though sometimes it may seem like it, lol. I do eat leftovers the next day or 2nd day after if there is more than enough food for one meal.  In general though, I like variety in virtually everything including food.  Recently I've discovered a recipe for Taco Soup and I love it. I've also made Greek Chicken and Potatoes. I only make the Greek dish 1-2 times a year because it takes more planning and preparation than my usual meals.  I'm basically a lazy cook.  Despite the fact I don't eat it often, the Greek dish is my favourite meal of all time. On Friday, I had my first meal in a sit down restaurant for the first time in ages and I had the Chicken Souvlaki pictured on the photo. The restaurant is one of few remaining restaurants with vintage furnishings and individual jukeboxes at the booths. The man who owns it now was relaying how he has been struggling to keep the restaurant going during the pandemic and he has had to lay off all but one staff (the cook) and he is working long days. They make the tastiest food and it's basically home cooking just as I like it. The restaurant is often used as a movie location, the most recent being in the Sandra Bullock movie, The Unforgivable. 

Greek dish of Chicken Souvlaki without the skewers.

Tonight (Sunday) I made roasted carrots/potatoes tossed in herbs and oil, grass fed beef patties with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a kale salad. Monday night I'll be making Pesto Chicken; another new to me dish that I read about recently on Mari's blog. 

Keto friendly Taco Soup

 

Here is a link to the Taco Soup recipe (Keto friendly) but I didn't use quite as much cream cheese in mine. I also used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream as that is what I had on hand. The second time I made it I added beans, corn niblets and more seasoning. It was even better so this will be a dish I continue to make.

4. What place do you enjoy so much that you go back again and again? Why do you like it so much?

I love several places and have gone back again and again. In Canada, I love the interior of the province where my late mom recently passed and my niece and a nephew and his family still live. It's beautiful there. 

 

I also love to go to the far north of BC and Alberta as I have relatives living there. 

Out of the country I love Australia and have been to the East Coast (and from north to south). I love it's beauty plus I have distant relatives there. I still do have distant relatives there and have travelled to the land Down Under 3 times. Once with my mother and twice with my brother.  I would love to return however there are so many other places to visit in the world and to explore if we get a chance to travel again internationally.

I also love Kenya and Africa in general. I've been to Kenya 7 times and have friends there. I love the exotic wildlife, the people, the landscape and the work I do in missions to feed the hungry and help the very poor. This is a labour of love and is not backed by any church or organization though I wish it was. I have also been to Ghana in West Africa, a very different place to Kenya. I would dearly love to travel to many other parts of Africa if I get the chance but I also would love to travel through more of Europe and parts of Asia. 

Please click this link to see a bit more of the places I'm writing about. I hope you enjoy the tour.

Thank you for visiting and leave a comment. Enjoy the week ahead.

 

First March Skywatch

It was an absolutely beautiful Thursday. I had an appointment downtown an took a few photos to share with Skywatch Friday followers. If you look at the map in the first photo, I've circled the specific area where I took photos (black oval circle on map). 

I was tired today as afterwards I stopped at a food court, then went to look at fabrics in a store near the waterfront. Then I hopped on the bus and stopped at a pharmacy before walking home. I'm hoping to get to sleep earlier tonight as I've had a busy week and haven't been getting enough shut eye.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Thanks for visiting.

 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

March Weather or Not!

 Welcome back to another Tuesday 4 in honor of Toni Taddeo it's founder.

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Sometimes it is the reverse.  March has a lot of happenings like March 1st the start of Mardi Gras, the 13th is Daylight Savings Time, the Ides of March on the 15th, St Patrick's Day on the 17th, the first day of  Spring on the 20th this year   March 29-31 are the "borrowing days" when weather is traditionally rough or stormy.

1.  Do you celebrate Mardi Gras or St. Patrick's Day and how do you celebrate them?

I do not celebrate Mardi Gras or St. Patrick's Day. These two days were never a part of the celebrations in the town and the region where I grew up.

2. Do you decorate for the spring in any way at all?

I do not decorate for spring. When spring arrives that is all the decoration I need.  There are beautiful cherry blossoms aplenty and many early blossoming plants all around. (Photos ~ blossoms from March 2021)

3. Daylight savings time doesn't make the day longer.  Experts say it puts kids heath at risk  as well as contribute to heart problems for adults.  Arizona and Hawaii don't change times.  It began as "war time" so war workers in WW2 could come home in the light. What about you though? Are you happy to see it return or not?   

I do not like to see the time change in spring or in fall. I have a hard time adjusting to even a small time change.  Many feel the same way such that our provincial government has passed legislation to keep the same time all year long. It hasn't been implemented yet. I guess we are waiting for our  neighbours to the south (Washington, Oregon and California) and our neighbour to the north (Yukon Territory), to do the same thing so we can all be in the same time zone. Our government enacted the change a few years ago. It looks like we could be waiting a very long time for our neighbours. I have no idea why the government needs to wait. Other Canadian provinces have already made the change permanent.

4. How has the weather been in your neck of the woods as March approaches.  What would be your ideal for weather?

The weather here has been a little of this and a little of that and a lot of rain. We had snow just a few days ago too though it's a bit late for that.  The very short video below shows how fast the snow was flying.  It looked quite pretty.

 

The last of the snow was washed away by the rain on Friday.

My ideal weather is spring weather or early summer with temperatures anywhere from 18C to 25C and the sun shining. I love moderate weather in any season but the ideal weather for me allows me to get out and enjoy a walk, enjoy the spring blossoms or early summer colour and not get too warm while outside.

I'm ending with a few sunflowers that I grew some time back.  Apparently sunflowers are associated with the Ukraine so I share them to represent solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

 

Ukrainian Flag

 

The Temperature Has Dropped

It's been a very busy week and it isn't over yet. At least it's been a productive week so far. I've been doing a lot of catch up to paperwork, appointments, old tasks and a little cooking, cleaning, knitting and reading in between. 

I completed a few books this past week or so and started on a number of new ones. All of the books are very interesting.I'm still reading An Arctic Man.  It isn't such a long book but it is chock full of information and new place names so I only read a bit at a time.

The late Andre Leon Talley is someone I used to see interviewed on television quite a lot so when I heard he had passed, I wanted to read some of the books he wrote in the latter years of his life. The Chiffon Trenches is quite an information packed book and shows me how widely this man was travelled and how many people he knew in not just the fashion world but the world of high society. He tells it like it is about certain people and some have called him catty for doing so. Honestly I don't know how you can write a truthful book and not come across as somewhat catty if the people you are mentioning were not so nice.  Apart from all of that I enjoyed the book a  lot and I personally didn't find anything in it that was so badly maligning anyone. In fact, I think he tried very hard to speak to the positive things about everyone he knew. 

(As always you can click on photos for an enlarged view).

Very interesting & informative and all about those in the fashion/society world.

 

I've started the middle book and the end book, Burke's Law, all very good.

I am constantly uncovering new to me stories about Jewish experiences during WW 2. The book The Dressmakers of Auschwitz was very eye opening. I had no idea that there were Jewish women whose skills as seamstresses were in much demand during the war and at internment camps no less.  This particular book is not a novel but is based on real life experiences of several women whose skills were in demand and their heart breaking stories.

Opened my eyes to a new to me story about the Jewish women who sewed for the Nazis.

A few dishes made recently.

Beef stir fry and a lot of vegetables over steamed noodles

Roast chicken,Caesar salad, mixed mushrooms/onions/asparagus

Taco Soup

Baked salmon, quinoa, mixed veggies (mushroom,/bell pepper/broccoli/onion)

 

Late at night while it's cold I make a hot cup of tea and do a little knitting. I am always in need of new dishcloths and I also gift them to friends near and far.

 

Earlier this week I heard the weather report of possible snow in Vancouver. It didn't happen as anticipated but the temperature did drop two nights ago. The first few photos show the fresh snow on the mountains and a fairly clear sky with beautiful patches of blue.

Fresh snow on the mountains on Tuesday night

It was a clear day to see the mountains in the distance.

I love the snow covered mountain tops.

Then tonight, the snow really started to fly. I snapped this photo as I was returning from a quick grocery shopping expedition. I tried to capture the snow in video but my short films are poorly done.

Wednesday night the snow was flying as I ran an errand to the grocers.

I'll end here and wish you a fantastic rest of your week.

Tuesday 4: Pondering Odds & Ends

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept up in her memory.

 

 

There are 4 questions to ponder and consider each week.  Here are this week's questions and my answers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Do you have a favorite gem stone? Why is it a favorite.

 

I have two favourite gemstones. My first love is the deep, blue sapphire. I have always liked jewel coloured stones and blue is my favourite among them.

 

 

In later years, I also developed a great fondness for turquoise stones set in silver because I love the Native American jewellery of the South West. This stone is not as readily available in Canada and it doesn't really suit my style of dressing so I admire it from far.

 

2. Do you know and  understand the doctrines of your religious faith?  If you are not religious, do you have a personal doctrine you believe and live?  

 

 

I grew up in the Pentecostal faith and am pretty well acquainted with the doctrines. Actually my childhood church identified as non-denominational but it belonged to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.  The fundamental belief is that one must be saved to get to Heaven and that salvation is not through any good works but by belief in Jesus Christ, Son of God,  who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. Other things follow but this is the essential belief. As a side note, the things I experienced as a young Christian are seldom experienced in the church today; such as speaking in tongues and the interpretation immediately following, for the edification of the corporate church body. It can also be a bit tricky for me personally to distinguish between the different arms of Pentecostals because they do not all believe exactly the same things.  But I do believe they all have the same belief about salvation and Jesus' death and resurrection.

  

 

If this question is too personal, tell us about your pet or favorite pastime.

I'll use this as a bonus question. I don't have a  favourite pet. I like all kinds of animals including exotic ones. However I don't think people should have exotic animals as pets. For pets I love both dogs and cats. I grew up primarily with large dogs that acted not only as pets but also as guard dogs.  They were usually German Shepard dogs and they were always very playful with us and I loved them a lot.  We only had one dog at a time and it would have its own house to sleep in outside.  When we kids were not in school we spent a lot of time playing chase with the dog outside. I'm not able to own a dog in the city so I've grown to love cats which are often accepted, but not always,  in apartments and condos.  I've come to learn that cats are unique and special too and they have the added advantage of not needing to be taken for a walk.

My favourite cat breed is Turkish Angora

3. Do you have a favorite decor style... as in classical, traditional, modern, mid century, colonial, etc?  What do you like about it?

 

Tuscan Living Room

My favourite decor style is traditional English, French or Tuscan country. I like the rusticity and comfort as well as the colours.  Nothing is too precious and has a "lived in" look.  I'm not good at consistency in decorating.  My taste for furnishings and decor pieces is very eclectic and it can also be hard and expensive to find the item you want when you want.  It's easier to stick to a bohemian or ethnic/tribal style because I've collected a lot of pieces that fit this style and I'm comfortable with it.  The main idea I like in a home is comfort.  Two words people have used to describe my home when they visit are "comfort" and "peace". That makes me happy because it's what I aim for and my style is definitely  not fancy.

Elements and colour of bohemian tribal. I use more red/orange and less black.

 

 

4. Are  there any books or movies you want to see this summer?

 

I don't have any burning desire to read particular books or see particular movies. I have a long list of books I would like to read and I just pick one or two up at the library when I'm ready for a new one. As for movies, I've completely lost track of what movies are being released. The only big screen movie I've seen since the pandemic began is the 007 movie, "No Time to Die" with  Daniel Craig. It is his last James Bond movie and I'm in anticipation to see who will play the next 007. In case you haven't seen the movie yet and you love James Bond, I highly recommend this movie. You might be able to catch it on television or borrow the DVD from your local library.

 

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your day with me. I appreciate it.

Food & Other Things

I'm still trying to shop frugally and buy healthy things but I do still eat snacks that aren't quite good for me.  I don't usually do my main grocery shopping on Saturdays but didn't feel like going out earlier this week so today it was. It was time because I'm out of bananas and berries and most vegetables.

I bought most of the fruits, vegetables, milk and bread at a local grocery store call Nester's Market. The price was just over $40. Canadian dollars. I forgot to purchase the milk I originally went there to buy.

 

So I stopped at the pharmacy on my way home and bought berries, frozen dinners, milk, fabric sheets, snacks and a health supplement.  The cost was about $88. with the supplement taking up almost a third of the cost.

I didn't have my receipts handy when posting these photos but I will post them soon.

I was craving something for dessert the other night so I made this blueberry loaf. It's actually a muffin recipe to which I added a fraction of the sugar in the recipe.  I baked it in a  silicone loaf pan. I don't know why I did that. I really don't like the texture of muffins or sweet breads that are baked in a silicone pan. I find the silicone is good for bread baking though. I'm not sure why that is. This loaf was made with a mixture of spelt and white flour. I am not so good at figuring out the healthiest flours to use and I restrain myself from buying alternative flours until I figure out what works best and what I can bake. Do any of you have a healthier flour to recommend where one can bake and use the flour in the same quantities as if you are using white or whole wheat?

Blueberry loaf baked in silicone loaf pan.

I didn't eat today so by the time I went out to do the grocery shopping I ate at McDonald's. I didn't eat most of the fries and today the bun was super sloppy. They were having a deal on Big Macs. Long ago when McDonald's first opened in my town in the north, the Big Macs were the thing to get. Personally I found them sloppily made from the beginning so never ate them until recently. This one was not good at all though the ones I've had in the last year have all been quite fine. The drink was good. Some kind of mango - pineapple smoothie. 

Knitting is one way I try and relax while also doing something constructive. I enjoy knitting but haven't branched out too much. I have made slippers in the past but I think they are too slippery to wear, pardon the pun.  So I stick to dishcloths.

This is one of the newer books I picked up at the library. It's very interesting and well written. I'm reading it very slowly.

I'm still working on the Fly Lady system. I never did get into the zone cleaning but I do the other routines quick regularly. I've started the kitchen clear out on Wednesday's to try and help me keep the refrigerator cleaner than it usually is. I tend to buy too much and have to cram everything inside. Then food goes to waste. These days I'm shopping less frequently, buying less and trying to meal plan so I can reduce what I need to buy. I'm in early days with this. Gosh, in the old days I sure didn't need to keep on such a schedule and everything was cleaner and tidier than I'm able to keep things nowadays. I think it's a combination of getting older and not caring quite as much.  But now I want to get everything in order for a multiple of reasons.

 

 

In addition to Wednesday's refrigerator clean out, I usually wash and change bedding on the weekend.

It's nearing the end of February and it's still chilly outside at night. The mink sheets are getting good use and are nice and cosy against the skin.  It's supposed to be sunny later this week. I'm certainly hoping so because I've been trying to get to the beach for photos. It will make a change from indoor activities no matter the weather but I would rather go on a warmer, sunny day.

I'm making changes to the blog and haven't hit on an agreeable combination of fonts and colours. Please bear with me as I try to figure it all out.

I'll be very busy this coming week with a few appointments so it may take awhile. How are you keeping yourself busy during these pandemic times? Where I live people many conditions have now been lifted as we try to navigate through a different way of living with the threat of world wide diseases.  Earlier this week the majority of pandemic restrictions were lifted. People are getting ready to return to their work places if they haven't already.  People are still pretty disciplined about not getting together socially, especially with those that have underlying health conditions,  Public activities like sporting events, concerts, weddings and funerals are now open. Masks and vaccine passports are still required in my province though not in every Canadian province.

February's Changing Sky

The sky is always changing and giving us lots of enjoyment. The month of February is no exception. Though it is our winter season and the skies are often a dull, grey blanket, there is always some colour and variation to be found if one looks up every day.

February 2, 2022

February 11, 2022

February 12, 2022

February 15, 2022

February 18, 2022

 

 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Thank you for stopping by!