Tuesday 4 ~ The Four Seasons

Glad to have you back for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

The idea is to promote blogging and friendship and allow you to get to know yourself and others through 4 questions asked each week.   

Let's talk about the seasons. Summer has just passed and we have begun our journey into autumn.

1. How would you describe each of the four seasons? 

 

Fall - crisp, cosy, nature, gold and orange, long shadows, bare branches, layers, spice, hot beverages, heavier food, busy, sad because winter is coming

Winter - cold, rain, heavy rain, gray, very little sunshine, short days, unpredictable, indoor activities, heavy clothes, anticipating spring

Spring - renewal, joy, new shoots, leaves unfurling, wonder, green, colourful, birds

Summer - heat, sunny, too much watering of the garden, unpredictable, wildfires

2.  How do you generally feel during each season? Do you suffer allergy, feel tired, sad, happy, energized? What does each season do for you?

 

Generally I feel a lot of joy and energy as soon as spring arrives.  I also feel a bit of anxiety because I'm always behind in getting the house in order and the gardens planted in readiness for summer season. I usually get behind no matter how I try. Though I love the autumn season it is also when I suffer the most with physical ailments such as cold, flu, aches and pains and stuffed nose due to allergies. I also suffer from stuffed nose and congested sinuses during spring when all the new growth happens.

 

Despite the physical discomforts I love both spring and fall best. Sadness also attends me (and many other locals) in the fall season because I'm sad about the coming winter.  We get very little light in our winter months and the sky seldom breaks clear.  I feel tired for much of the winter season due to the lack of light and I make a special effort to get out to concerts and movies and other social events so that I don't stay in the house for too long a stretch.  Outings are not that affordable any more but still I look for special events that are doable & affordable.  I also try and get friends to join in with me for a social outing.

3.  If there is to be only one season for you to live in, which one would it be and why?

 

Probably the spring season. I absolutely love the joy and happiness I get from the reawakening of nature all around me, the end of gray and dark skies, arrival of the longer, sunny days and people out and about after a winter of hibernation. It is also my favourite time of year because of the cherry blossoms that happen in April. The blossoms are just stunning and one of the great joys I look forward to each year.

4. What color(s) do you associate with summer, winter, autumn and spring?  Example: maybe summer is green, winter is white..etc.

 

Fall - orange, gold, yellow, red, brown, tan

Winter - gray, blue-ish gray, brown, earth tones

Spring - white, blue, light pink, dark pink, red, yellow, lavender and so on.

Summer - every colour of spring, various shades of green,blue of the water and mountains

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Mid Week Check In

 Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Today I'm sharing some photos taken over the past week. We are experiencing drought in my province and our summer like weather continues.  Today all over the province we had temperatures you might expect in August or September even though we are now well into autumn season. 

The gardens were finished long ago.  You can see in the photos (below) some patches of yellow (dead grass) and the Dogwood tree on my patio actually shriveled up and died. It hadn't been looking healthy for awhile. I didn't do much this year to the garden because by next spring I'm expecting the entire patio garden to be dug up in order to replace the membrane which has been examined and shown to be leaking.  

The weather is perfect for me for walking because it isn't too hot or too cold. The walking I've been able to do more frequently is helping me feel stronger than I have in awhile.  But the lack of rainfall is a huge concern. On Tuesday's weather report, the meteorologist said we've only had 16 mm of rain so far in October when normally we would have 160 mm.  To be fair, we are not quite half way through October but there doesn't appear to be any rain on the horizon for at least a week. It seems that we either have record rainfall or record number of days without rain. You might remember that we had a very long spring with a lot of rain and our warm weather didn't arrive until May when DH arrived. It has been quite good weather for him as he gets accustomed to the climate and seasons here.

 

The photo below shows my new nail colour. It's dark blue though it looks black. I usually go for rose or burgundy tones.  This time I wanted something different and I chose this dark colour which I quite like.  Some women wear black but that doesn't appeal to me. Next time I will try a neutral or natural tone if they have it.  The place where I have been going has a very limited supply of regular nail polish colours and a very extensive range of gel colours. I use gel on my fingernails but I like my finger and toenails to match. They are usually 'off' in colour.  It won't matter much because soon I'll be wearing closed toes and when the much colder weather arrives I'll give the pedicures a rest. Nail technicians always remark on how short my nails are. I usually have to trim them before I return to the salon because they tend to break or peel as a result of always dipping my hands in hot water to do the dishes. I tend not to wear rubber globes though I really should because the dish detergents and hot water are very hard on my skin too.

Last week, I went to the thrift store to find something for DH. Not only did I find something for him but I found this stunning glass leopard vase for me. I've wanted one for awhile and kept checking various sources however they were far too expensive. When I saw this one I couldn't pass it up though I wasn't actually looking for one at the time.  I promptly brought it home and filled it the next day with carnations and mums just in time for our Thanksgiving holiday meal. Real and faux flowers are my only nod to autumnal decorating.

Besides going here and there I've also been very busy at home.

Firstly, I found water damage in the master bathroom when I had a friend over to recaulk the tub and regrout a small area of the tiled wall. As he cut away the grout, it was evident that the tiles were coming loose.  A bit of investigation turned up the water damage and it needed to be patched and repaired. It took the better part of Saturday and I'm glad my friend was here to do the unanticipated work.  A full renovation of the tub & shower area will be needed but hopefully the repair job will hold  until then.

More decluttering was accomplished this week and my focus was on getting the tools organized.  One kitchen drawer, the tool box and a bag of tools were all cleaned, sorted and rearranged for better flow.   I still have a small tub of tools and odds and ends to sort through; most of which will probably be discarded. You can see I keep a bag of disposable gloves but I never wear them. I seem to have a lot of bamboo skewers and interestingly they come in handy for a lot of things besides cooking.

Last but  not least, I completed weaving the ends of several dish cloths I knitted some time ago. I always save up a bunch of cloths and do the finishing all at one time.

I've restarted my physiotherapy and RMT sessions after several weeks break.  I'm expecting to be fully finished with all the therapy by the end of November. I'll be glad when that comes because it is difficult trying to coordinate 2 different therapist schedules with my own and the cost is very expensive and even more so now with a recent price increase.  By the the time you talk and update the therapist, you  really get only 15 or 20 minutes maximum of therapy from a 30 minute session. Even with partial coverage there is no way I can afford an hour long session.  

Once the sessions are all done we will likely all be in high gear for Christmas.  I can't believe I'm saying that already but before you know it, Christmas will be here again.  I'm hoping to have more time to enjoy the lead up to the season this year. 

Thanks for dropping by my corner of the world. I hope to also read your updates soon!