Thursday, April 30, 2020

Fifth & Final WPSH Link In

Eileen at Bracelet of Days is Hosting the WPSH - you find the other searchers here: A Bracelet of Days

Keeping in mind that we are all practicing physical distance & self isolation in these unprecedented times, so some challenges in finding the items - lots of poetic license being taken, but still having fun.

Here's the original list: along with the updated items to carry us through to April 30th.  Thanks Eileen

  1. in the bag
  2. contrast
  3. the way to go
  4. colours
  5. a garden gate
  6. vintage 
  7. I stood here
  8. 11 o'clock
  9. solitary
  10. the little things
  11. industrial
  12. time for tea
  13. a keyhole
  14. flavour of the month
  15. letters
  16. a barrier
  17. a line
  18. a chain
  19. an alley
  20. monochrome
Alt A: Chess or Checkers
Alt B: Market
Alt C: The View From My Front Door
Alt D: Three Colours One One Item
Alt E: I Am Reading
Alt F: The Sky Today
Alt G: Free Choice
Alt H: Free Choice   

These are my last entries for the search.  Thank you again Eileen for organizing. 

# 7 I Stood Here:  I was amusing myself with making shadows with my coat

#11 Industrial: "they" decided to rip up the park's water supply Monday morning (27th)

#13 A Keyhole: it feels like me, going no where

Alt C:  The View From My Front Door.  To quote Tolkien, it's a dangerous thing stepping outside your front door ...

Alt D: Three Colours on One Item, my favourite mug at the moment

Alt F:  The Sky Today (Evening), red sky at night, sailor's delight

Alt H: Free Choice, the felled tree made into something more

Monday, April 27, 2020

Me On A Monday - April 27th

Hello & Good Morning Everyone.  



Currently Re-Reading:  on the ipad, A Great Reckoning by a favourite author, Louise Penny.  ipad reading is not so bad after all.  The What's Available function on the library site has been most useful

Currently Crafting:  I was suppose to have been at a scrap booking retreat on the weekend, but alas like so many things, it was cancelled because of COVID-19.  I was able to get a full refund of money, but not a refund on the disappointment.  But at least scrapping at home, I don't have to share the work table with anyone & I have all my stash readily available.I got several pages done.  And please don't tell Weight Watchers, but the smarties are all mine, no sharing!

Currently Excited:  our first grocery curb side pick up is available this Thursday.  We have a reason to go out!  I had booked this pick up slot about a month ago as the first available spot.  My last shopping experience of 3 1/2 weeks ago, required me to be in the actual store & I must admit I was a nervous wreck for several days afterwards.  When I booked my April pick up date, I also arranged a May pick up date.  Looks like I'll be booking a June pick up date later today.  It will be so nice to have some fresh fruits & vegetables.  Flour & yeast are not to be had any where, any time soon.

Currently A First: our community will be having yard waste pick up.  We normally take to our local recycle centre, but it is closed to the public.  Our mayor received a lot of requests for this service & since everyone is home & tending to their yards, it made sense to arrange.  We have two different dates for this service; today & then again May 19th.  We already have 7 bags of spring clean up waste.


Currently Adding:  cloth, non-medical face masks as accessories to our  wardrobe.  Two styles, both types made by local women of the community.  Both allow for paper filters to be inserted.



"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."   Maya Angelou





Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Wednesday Wisdom #7

The wisdom of appreciation- giving thanks where most deserved.

This is a rock garden of thanks set up outside our hospital by the many communities it serves & is continually added to. These photos were taken about a week ago by a lady in our community FaceBook group.

The nurse who lives across the street from us, works there.  I try to applaud her every time I see her go out for her shift.  I give thanks every day for our health care system.



   





Monday, April 20, 2020

Me On A Monday - April 20th

Good Morning.

Currently Doing:  Spring laundry.  One thing I will miss from the lock down is the hydro being just one rate (the lower rate) all day, every day, rather than just after 7pm week days & all day weekends.  I have been able to do a lot of my Spring bedding laundry throughout the week, giving me a daily task.  We have until April 30th, which was our original lock-down release date, so I wonder because lock-down has been extended, maybe, fingers crossed, hydro rates will continue at the lower rate until May 31st.

Currently Grateful:  for happy mail - a cheerful rainbow card from a friend.

Currently Reading:  pulled a not so much a favourite, but as a desperate read; A Casual Vacancy, from my shelf.  I did not like the first time I read.  Even the online books have a 4-6 waiting period.  I have gone through with my hold request, on 3 books, just in case.  Online reading is not my favourite method but needs must.

Currently Making: a card for our minister - to thank her for being our umbrella during these stormy times.  Inside are a couple of bible quotes pertaining to shelter & protection during difficult times.


Received the April Paper Pumpkin card kit - it's theme is family. I will be using for making cards that go to our seniors in a local senior's residence, where, thankfully, all are still healthy, but certainly missing family & friends.

Currently Watching: Downton Abbey, which should occupy me for a few nights.  I am not binge watching, but allocating one episode a night. I finished my DVD set of Cranford (both 1 & 2); Forsyte Saga (both 1 & 2).



"My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations." MICHAEL J FOX

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Sharing Is Caring

Hello Everyone.  

When I have something shared with me I like to share with others.  The lovely Natalie Long at Long Creations has created these free downloads for creating & recording our experiences through COVID-19.  

I think the greatest things are that; (1)  she is sharing for free (thank you)  (2) she has created versions for adults & children. (3) there's also metric versions.  For those in England if you choose the Canadian versions or metric versions you'll get words like colour spelled as we would (col).

I hope for those of you keeping a journal or memory book, you will find this link useful.

The message as I received:


This is such a cool idea to do with your kids, or even for yourself. The amazing lady at LONG Creations https://www.facebook.com/LongCreations/?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARBBKFQ9xrZ_uJyQjU3XmU4FiJ-hnUdlgBO7geIvxIfHmDaEI0YuRaTh1jt8UrIC3k1dopRmiW9u73TW&fref=mentions
has created this Time Capsule for Covid-19 and you can download all of the pages FOR FREE!!! It's got different pages for kids to colour in and fill out and activities to do. What a great way to help them document what is happening in their world right now - and of course there is an adults version so you can document it for yourself and your family. I love memory keeping activities and let's face it, this is such a monumental moment in time so it would be good to try and capture thoughts and feelings.
There are so many great designs in here that will help children express themselves. I also love the "how you are celebrating" page for the big events that happen during this isolation time (aka my son just turned 18). There's also a few pages for if you have a baby during this time.
Here is the link for all of the downloads:- https://letsembark.ca/time-capsule…

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Wednesday Wisdom #6



Attitude 

Is The

Difference

Between

An Ordeal

And

An Adventure
      ... Bob Bitchin

Monday, April 13, 2020

Me On A Monday - April 13th

Happy Easter Monday.  I hope that everyone has had a good weekend.  Our weather was typical Ontario weather, a little spring time, a little winter time & the common thread weaving through the days was the extreme wind.  I half expected to see a little dog & an older lady on a bike flying past our window!  What I did have was a little grey squirrel trying to find shelter out of that wind.

Over the weekend I did a little bit of catch for the Fur Girls scrapbook.  These are a couple of the pages I finished;
 They both like to sit on the computers - I guess it's the warmth.

The girls love their catnip pockets that a friend makes for them, it makes them happy.

I also did a page for March in my garden album.  Every month about the 15th, I take a photo of our house & front gardens.  I have been doing this for years & I like to see the changes that the gardens have gone through.  Where the white cardstock is, is where the photos will go.  The opposite page each month is the calendar with all the weather details & what if anything is blooming in the garden details for each day.


Early in March, knowing that we were heading to changes in our ability to roam at large, I decided now was the perfect time to try a card/stamp subscription.  I chose Paper Pumpkin through Stampin Up.  I got my first kit the end of March & I must say I'm so impressed with it.  I signed up for the minimum of three months, so I have two more monthly treats to look forward to.
Each kits includes, the card base, envelopes, a stamp set for the theme of the kit & all the little bits of extra embellishments & a mini stamp pad; called a ink spot.  March had a bonus of an extra stamp set.  The kit includes detailed instructions how to make the cards, which stamp and/or embellishment to use.  OR you can go rogue & design your own card.  I have just one problem facing me - no stamps!  I have to go out to the pharmacy (chemist/drugstore) next week to pick up Mr Man's eye prescription & the post office is just behind the pharmacy, so I may just risk a pop in for some stamps.

“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”  .. Marilyn Monroe

Saturday, April 11, 2020

We Rise Again

Good Morning Everyone.  

I came across this video & I do hope I've linked correctly.  The video is of several female Toronto Physicians singing in a virtual choir.  I found it to be very moving - a perfect anthem for the Easter weekend & the situation we, as the world find ourselves in.  We will rise again!


Female Physicians of Toronto

I know that there are several physicians around the world singing the same song ... 

Wednesday, April 08, 2020

Wednesday's Wisdom #5


An Older Photo of Mine


6 + 3 = 9

but so is 

4 + 5 = 9
 or
7 + 2 = 9

the way you do things, isn't always the way to do things.  Respect other people's way of thinking.

Monday, April 06, 2020

Me On A Monday - April 6th




Hello & Good Morning.  I trust everyone is well, if not a little stir crazy.

Currently Looking For:  little painted rocks left about our neighbourhood.  The kids, 4 & 5 years old, that painted these wanted everyone to have hope.  It's a great way to spread some fun.  These are the ones I have found so far.  The kids painted a total of 8 & are planning for more.




 Currently Re-Reading: my all time favourite book; The Thirteen Tale.  This books is perfect for those 1 am startled awake cannot get back to sleep times.  I find this book as engaging as the first time I read.
Currently Catching Up On:  my OneLittleWord album.  This is March's two page spread.  As I'm not participating in the official online OLW workshop/course, I am free to make up my own monthly assignments.    The cards of Loving This, Not Loving This are originally from Cathy Z's website.  I wanted to focus on the good & I also wanted to acknowledge the stuff happening that I'm not loving or even liking.  I think it's important to balance the feelings because if you don't acknowledge the less than aspects, you cannot tend to them & that's how they build.  And in my case they would build to anxiety at 1am!!
 Currently Crafting: I am also working on some scrapbook pages & cards.  I can show you a card I made in the last class back in March, as the person the card was intended for has now received.  For now most of my pages are photo-less as I've only just found a place that will print my photos & mail to me.  For my day to day album, I am including many of the flyers that the governments are sending to us as part of the Stay Safe campaigns.
Currently Happy:  that two bloggers, Liz & Maggie,  have returned to blogging.  One has been away for a couple of years.  I am so glad that both these ladies are sharing again.  

Currently Stressed By:  our provincial level of government has put further restrictions on businesses.  Many stores & shops that were originally deemed as essential services are no longer receiving that privilege.  Some that are considered essential but not allowed to have an open store  can now only provide curbside pick up, which is challenging many of our little villages shops ability to operate.  Many of these business do not have the staff or resources to do home delivery. They don't have the online ability to take orders, so it's done by phoning the business.  Our local grocery store has one telephone line & trying to get through to place an order for pick up is difficult.  The grocery stores are still allowed to have people in the store but ours allows only 5 shoppers at a time. So that is why they are also offering curbside pick up.   Our Premiere has said that these tighter rules are necessary to flatten the curve.  The Premiere will review these tighter measures in two weeks, but we are being told that the overall social distancing will likely be mandated well into the summer.  Weddings that take a year or more to plan are now only allowed 5 people & that includes the bride & groom.  As a note I think the Premiere needs to re-think that; bride,groom, minister & 2 parents each = 7 people.

My friends that were getting married this year, you remember I toured one of their possible venues; Champagne & Frothy Dresses have decided to postpone the whole event.

I will leave you with a sidewalk chalk message:

"April Distancing Will Bring May Existing" 
 


Wednesday, April 01, 2020

WPSH - Link In #4

Eileen at Bracelet of Days is Hosting the WPSH - you find the other searchers here: A Bracelet of Days

Keeping in mind that we are all practicing physical distance & self isolation in these unprecedented times, so some challenges in finding the items - lots of poetic license being taken, but still having fun.

Here's the original list: along with the updated items to carry us through to April 30th.  Thanks Eileen
  1. in the bag
  2. contrast
  3. the way to go
  4. colours
  5. a garden gate
  6. vintage 
  7. I stood here
  8. 11 o'clock
  9. solitary
  10. the little things
  11. industrial
  12. time for tea
  13. a keyhole
  14. flavour of the month
  15. letters
  16. a barrier
  17. a line
  18. a chain
  19. an alley
  20. monochrome
Alt A: Chess or Checkers
Alt B: Market
Alt C: The View From My Front Door
Alt D: Three Colours One One Item
Alt E: I Am Reading
Alt F: The Sky Today
Alt G: Free Choice
Alt H: Free Choice  

Here are my latest finds:

#2 Contrast


#3 The Way To Go 


#4 Colours
#8 11 0'clock

Blood Pressure; Mon, Wed, Fri, 2 Weeks Monitoring for Mr Man
#12 Time For Tea
Bailey & Emma enjoy "Teatime"  (Boyd's Bear)


#17 A Line
Corn Stubble

Alt E: Book That You Are Reading
 
Alt G: Free Choice
Gathering Maple Sap - A March Tradition (Neighbourhood Walk)