Wednesday, June 30, 2021

2021 SPSH - First Link In

Greetings & Good Morning.  Today is our first link in for the 

2021 Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt (SPSH) - the  easing, but not gone  pandemic restrictions edition.  

Listed below are the folks wanting to link in & in no particular order. If I have forgotten you on the list, I apologize, just let me know you want to be added to the link in list & I'll update the list. 😉

Next Link In Date is Monday August 9th.

Eileen at: A Bracelet of Days

Ruth at: This West London Life

Deb at: Debs14 Blogspot

Bless at: My Two Cents

Joy at: Forty Three, The Final Front Door

Nil at: The Little House by the Lake

Karen at: Random Reflections

Melissa at: Daily Life - Bits & Pieces

Amanda at: Amandas-Scrapbook-Pages

Susanne at: Snaps and Snippets

Maggie at: Farmers Wife Day by Day 

Karen at:  Karens 365 Photos

Louise at: Louises Book Buzz

Anne at: New Happenings at the Table

Leslie at: Once Upon a Time Happily Everafter

Liz at: Life at the Gables.

Pat at: Squirrel Basket

Kirstin at: Loving Life


Now these are a few of my first finds for the search:

#10 The Delivery Van/Truck Making The Deliveries.  UPS & FedEx are seen in our neighbourhood 6 out of 7 days.

#16 A Guilty Pleasure; something that recharges you. Pool at my friend's house.

#17 An Exit. We've had a lot of rabbits this year.

 

#19 Steps, But Who's Counting?  First photo is looking up, 2nd is looking down.  There's stairs are newly finished & took over 2 years to build - what you cannot see clearly in either photo is the bridge over the railway tracks.

 

 


Our next link in will be  Monday August 9th.



Monday, June 28, 2021

Me On A Monday - June 28th

  

Good Morning - let's rock this Monday!

What's that old saying ... "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" well we bought the t-shirts; 2nd jabs have been received - all good.  

These t-shirts are part of a promotion to encourage people to get their vaccine.  We live in a designated "hot spot" for the Delta Variant so there has been a push to get 1st & 2nd jabs done, sooner rather than later. 



 







 

 

 

Currently Relieved:  got this confirmation in the mail.  I am most grateful that this is a free service to all ladies of Ontario. I am sure other parts of Canada have similar programs under their health care programs. 


Currently Reading :  Jennifer Weiner's Mrs Everything.  I watched a show last week where Jennifer Weiner was a guest host & she was fun & funny, she was there prompting her latest book, That Summer, which I have on request from the library, but in the mean time it was suggested I read Mrs Everything. It's OK, nothing which I would shout from the roof tops, "you must read".  Interesting theme running through the book about the road not taken or because of events the other road taken ... it certainly wasn't as fun as she, the author, was, guest hosting.

Currently Watching: Season 4 of Foyle's War & Season 4 of Line of DutyLine of Duty - oh my that was good!  Makes up for killing off a favourite character last season; Lindsay Denton!  Best line in season 4 was "I'm not a bad person"  - really, you lied & tried to pin a murder on an innocent frighten girl, you set up & killed a colleague & let you husband take the wrap for your crimes ... no not a bad person, an evil person (IMO). The acting was superb.

I have #5 season on request for both series.

Currently In Awe of Nature:  this is an Ostrich Fern growing in my garden - not sure why it has chosen to grow in a circular fashion, but it's cool.


 Don't forget that Wednesday is our first link in for 2021 SPSH.  See you then.  And I'll leave you with this thought, which I have shared previously;

"Sometimes I think I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe" ... Diana Britt

Monday, June 21, 2021

Me On A Monday - June 21st Reminder

 A reminder that next week is our first SPSH Link In.  I'll see you all then.

Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt (SPSH) - the  easing, but not gone  pandemic restrictions edition.  


Keeping in mind that some of us may still be in a form of lockdown, or that some of us could be returning to lockdown or some of us are free to roam about.  There are some searches for at home, close to home or away from home.  I hope some items encourage you to think creatively & some that may require an open eye to find.   Find some, find all, hope you join in for the fun of the search.

Only two simple rules;  please use photos taken between June 1st & September 30th of 2021 & that you or a loved one have taken the photo, other than that, it's meant for fun.

As with previous years, if you would like to be connected with others participating, please leave me a comment & on the link in days, I'll post that connection list.  

First check in/link up will be Wednesday June 30th.


2021 SPSH  List

 

  1. A Breakfast of Champions
  2. Favourite Time of Day
  3. Something To Represent Home But Not The Building
  4. Head In The Clouds; shapes or interesting patterns
  5. The Art Of The Fold
  6. Something That Makes You Laugh or Happy
  7. What's In Bloom
  8. Window Views
  9. Something Older Than You
  10. The Delivery Van/Truck Making The Deliveries
  11. The Shape of Round/Circular
  12. Something That Is Cause For Celebration
  13. Your Marie Kondo Moment – Or Not
  14. Inside Your Fridge Or Cupboard
  15. Your Best Doodle Art (not public graffiti)
  16. A Guilty Pleasure; Something That Recharges You
  17. An Exit
  18. Upside Down, Right Side Up
  19. Steps, But Who's Counting
  20. Decades Of Sharing; find something in your home that is from the 70's or80's or 90's or 00's


ALTERNATES

A: show off your  COVID safety; masks, cleaning, or other related supplies

B: a local landmark

C: the most beautiful landscape photo of the season


Monday, June 14, 2021

Me On A Monday - June 14th

 


Good Morning - I trust that everyone is well.  

Here in Ontario we were all celebrating Stage One of re-opening which began on Friday June 11th.  Stores deemed as non essential  were allowed to be open to in person shopping with strict limitations of numbers . We decided to pass on any shopping for a few days until the rush of freedom subsides.  Outdoor patio dining is now allowed.  Many cities, towns or villages, have either closed off traffic flow to allow restaurants full access to the sideways and/or roadways, or reduce the traffic to 1 lane in each direction. And speaking of traffic flow, the Canada Geese in our village control the flow of traffic.

Stage Two will be in 21 days if new cases continue to drop & vaccines increase.  Stage Two will include the re-opening of salons & Mr Man is not waiting for any rush to subside on this stage; the man bun must go! 

Currently Watching: more DVDs from the library; Dead Still, which is centred around the Victorian photographer of "memorial" photos.  He takes photos of the dead with their living families.  Apparently this was a big thing during the Victorian times & we know that no one did mourning like the Victorians. Not sure yet if I like it, it gets a no vote from Mr Man.  The young niece, Nancy, in the story so far has proved to be a pointless character & certainly doesn't fit well with the other characters, IMO.

Tried one season of Jack Turner;  We know we didn't like this one. A lot of mumbling in the dialogue or was it the accent of the locals?  I really like Iain Glen as an actor, especially in Game of Thrones & Downton Abbey.

 

Season 3 of Line of Duty. This series is like a traffic accident, you should look away but just can't. I am enjoying some of the character developments.  Mr Man still isn't sold on it, but then again it took me a while to get him into GoT.

Currently Reading: on a recommendation from Lady Ella, I'm about 30 pages into "The Thursday Murder Club" ... oh my what a busy place this retirement home is, & never under estimate the mental capacity of seniors.

Currently Crafting:  my June goal is to complete about 10 unfinished cards & tackle my growing stack of PHD scrap pages, (Projects Half Done) & get at least 4 finished & put into the albums. So far I give myself a 5 on this out of 10.

Currently Admiring & In Awe:  Queen Elizabeth II's actual birthday is in April but it is celebrated each year in June with the Trooping of The Colour.  She looks amazing at 95 years old.  The ginger & the whinger are taking a 3 month break ... a break from what I don't know, but look to your Grandmother of how to get on with it.

Currently In The Garden:  I am greeted by the amazing scent of the Mock Orange Shrub.  It's a gentle scent wafting over us as we sit on the patio with morning tea/coffee.  I'll be having no problem with this item from the SPSH - what's in bloom, for June is a riot of blooms.  No wonder the poets write so much about June.

And a photo of one of my 4 rain barrels or water butts as they are known across the pond.  Two of the 4 look like large urns & have a place for flowers to be planted.  It's about 3 1/2 feet tall.  I plant pink & white inpatients.

Currently Recovering:  I say this with some jest, I visited my Dental Hygienist for a teeth cleaning last week & my teeth are always so sensitive for about a week after a cleaning. Strictly routine, no dentist contact, nothing to worry about, but when she took my blood pressure, it was quite high with anxiety - I was at the DENTIST of course it was high!  She says everyone's blood pressure is high.  She said The Ontario College of Dental Hygienists now requires them to take a patients blood pressure at the start of each session.  Ridiculous in my opinion, who is going to be relaxed at the dentist? Anyone else in Ontario experience the blood pressure taking? The bill certainly would have caused an acceleration in B/P.

Currently Not Ignoring:  I haven't mentioned current sad, disturbing, upsetting news from Canada in the last few weeks; 215 children's bodies found in an un-marked grave at one of the closed Residential Schools for Indigenous children, in Kanloops BC; in Ontario, a 20 year male intentionally running down with a truck, a family of 5, killing 4 & seriously injuring the 9 yr old son, all because they were Muslin; How does such hate develop in a 20 year old?  The intentional running down with a truck of an RCMP officer in Saskatchewan all because he was a police officer.  All these events & the ongoing marches & destruction of property hurts me beyond any words I could share.  I have no idea how the healing begins on any of one of these things, it is our shame to bear & our heart ache to endure. 


Monday, June 07, 2021

Me On A Monday - June 7th

Good Morning Everyone.  I hope that the weather played nicely in your area to contribute to a great weekend.

Our weekend was very hot & humid, lots of  heat warnings out.  

Currently Thankful: looks like another summer of house/garden/POOL sitting.  I enjoyed my first swim of the season on Saturday & it was bloody marvelous!

Currently Off The Patio:  we were able to get off our own patio & see something else.  I really have no idea what our status is in the province, are we allowed about?  Or is it still just out & about for medical appointments & grocery shopping?  So under these  parameters as I had a mammogram scheduled which isn't too far from one of our previous favourite wandering spots, we took some time to visit the river park after my appointment. In the first photo is a family of Canada geese wandering through the gardens.  We were one of the few that were wearing masks.  Our chief medical officer for the region says it is very important to wear a mask even when out walking, especially in the popular parks, as the Delta (India) variant is extremely contagious. 


Currently Watching:  Over the last several weeks we have watched several British series which we got from the library. Two of the series,  I am sure had the intention of being more, but alas two were one hit wonders.

Delicious - was 3 series & it was delightful, starring Dawn French.  There were a few times that some of the characters were obnoxious, but it was also part of the character development; over all I'd say the characters worked & the Cornwall scenery definitely a star of the series.  Oh & the food was fantastic, we were hungry during each episode. Poldark with Aidan Turner,  also featured the gorgeous scenery of Cornwall.  I want to go to Cornwall.

Girlfriends -  only 1 series & I can absolutely see why. IOO, it was bloody awful. While the cast are all stars, the writing just didn't hit the mark.  I don't think the writer knew what she wanted from this series; comedy, tragedy, drama.  Although it was really nice to see Matthew Lewis as other than Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter movies.

Love, Lies & Records - another 1 series wonder.  The first 3 episodes were very good; liked the stories woven around the main characters. We were invested.  The last 3 episodes were horrible & we  thought someone other than the original writer of the first 3 episodes were writing the last 3 episodes. Same writer all the way through.  Kay Mellor is the writer/producer of both Girlfriends & Love, Lies & Records.  And yes, I know she's critically acclaimed as a writer ... I'll say no more.

Currently In The Garden:  no words are necessary. (1) Star of Bethlehem (2) white Bearded Iris (3) Bleeding Heart with bumble bee





Currently Looking: for a written down version of my Mom/Gran's potato salad recipe.  I cannot find one, but then again I always make from memory.  My Mom would boil the potatoes with their skins on, then peel the skins off, potatoes would be firm & just fork tender, then she would cube the potatoes into bite size portions, she would pour pickle juice over the warm potatoes, leave for a few moments & then drain thoroughly. She would add: chopped up hard boiled eggs, slice radishes, chopped pickles, preferably gherkins,  add horseradish, just a titch, grainy mustard, chopped green onions (the white part only) & then salad dressing (mao) stir to blend. A few times I remember her adding finely chopped celery.  All the quantities are to taste. I also switch individual grainy mustard & horseradish ingredients for horseradish grainy mustard & I do use low fat salad dressing.  I prefer to use gherkins rather than dill, I like the sweetness of gherkins.

And I'll leave you with this thought; "some days kicking ass looks just like barely holding on but it's OK, because it is still kicking ass."


Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Seeing Red In May

I did not realize until I was sorting through May's photos, that I had several photos that could meet the criteria for Eileen's May Photo Search.  

Each month Eileen picks a theme for photo searches.  May was red, June will be "things that start with D".  Eileen's Monthly Photo Searches

The red that I saw in the merry month of May ...