Take Three Thursday - Progress for The Sake of Progress

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.   What have you noticed this week?  


This week I was out for a walk up near the library where there is a lot of construction going on.  So many dump trumps back & forth.

There's a plan for a new subdivision of 214 homes going in along with the Township's plans for an enlargement of the park & resources; a fenced dog park; a ice pad for hockey & skating in winter & pickleball & basketball in the summer, along with a covered area for the Farmer's Market. They have already built the skate board park (only good for a short season).   I try not to resist progress but I must admit I am sad about some of this progress.  The subdivision is being built on prime farm land, good for growing our food & some of the land once had a mix of hard wood forest & wetlands. All bulldozed, leveled, filled in.   Loss of natural habitat is a big issue not only for the wildlife but for the protection of our water - we get all our water from artisan wells (ground water sources).   I could weep actually for this change because it comes after a promise from our mayor  2 years ago that there would be no more subdivisions built in our village.  Today I ponder the question from my Monday's post;  is our geography making our history.

From FaceBook: "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life, but still the same amount of snow."

Me On A Monday - Starting The Month With Questions

Good Morning Everyone.

Pondering: One day last week I received my usual daily email from The Universe - this particular one had a PS  of several questions for me to ponder. "what’s your “happiness-level” in each of these areas? 1. Relationships 2. Wealth & abundance 3. Creative livelihood 4. Losing weight & looking great 5. Health & healing?  My guess is that there’s still room for even greater happiness in each one."

 

Reading:  I just finished A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny - more of her main character, Armand Gamache.   I have read a couple of her other books, but this one grabbed me in ways that a book hasn't done since The Thirteen Tale.  It's a story on top of another story.  The two stories overlap in really interesting ways & the minor story made me cry.  There was also a very interesting (to me) observation made that a country right through to a little village's geography is its history.  Now sit with that for a moment & think about some countries, some cities that because of were they are situated is becomes the making of them,  their history.   The book, A Great Reckoning gives two examples; one is Venice & the other Great Britain.  Venice a gateway & often invaded, started to welcome travelers, trade & became a world class city & home to great commerce & art.  Great Britain being an island nation was repeatedly invaded until it realized that, that being an island was its strength & became the ruler of the waves & then much of the world.   It's a thread that has started a quest to learn more, compare more the overlap of geography to history. 

The book jacket describes the book - "When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.  And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.  Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.  The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets. For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning" 

I also read The Silent Patient.  It was good although it was very easy to figure out who did it.

In The Shopping Cart:  a stamping & die cut set that I had ordered a few weeks back finally arrived.  I'm very excited to use for a special friend's birthday card.   Thankfully last Friday March 1st was a beautiful day, dry roads, glorious sunshine - I had an adventure as I drove myself to the scrapping store which is about a 45-50 minute drive each way.   Normally Mr Man likes to take this drive with me but unfortunately he's down & out with a very bad back injury.  He'll be fine, it will just will take rest to heal.  My adventure to the scrapping store was my reward for being such a good nurse this last week!

Weather Report:  we have paid for that beautiful Friday with more snow on Saturday - it was Christmas Eve type snow - big fluffy snowflakes & very pretty to look at, which I did because I did not venture out.  Saturday early evening or is it Prevening? .. anyway a young man (14yrs old)  knocked at our door wanting to know if he could shovel our driveway for $10 & as the snow was the wet heavy type, I said yes & thank you.   Sunday we had a return to glorious sunshine.

Angel Card:  March is Listening.

New month, new beginning, new mindset, new focus, new start, new intentions, new results ...

Source: Internet

 

 

March's Other Saint

March 1st - Happy St David's Day

Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, Welsh pronunciation: [dɨːð ɡʊɨl ˈdɛui]) is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebrated since the canonisation of David in the 12th century (by Pope Callixtus II). 
 
Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, recognised symbols of Wales and Saint David respectively.  

Today to celebrate my heritage - I will wear the daffodil proudly on my coat.

The Welsh Dragon (flag) Source: Internet

Leeks & Daffodil (Source: Internet)

Take Three Thursday - Forming An Edge

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 5 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.    

What have you noticed this week?  

Please have a peek at what others are noticing & doing this week:
Melissa at: Bits & Pieces 
Ruth at:  This West London Life
Eileen at: A Bracelet of Days  
Karen at: Random Reflections

This week what else could I notice but the snow, the wind all mixed together to make Mother Nature's artistry admirable.  Between the snow & the gusting winds, this drift was created & we watched the edge be sculpted into a form  ...

Good bye February - you have been a very cold, snowy, windy & icy month.  I must admit, I won't miss you.

Me On A Monday - February 25th

Spoiler Alert - 10 months today is Christmas !  There, I've got that out of my system now ....

Currently:

Reading - Books: Just finished The Girl With Seven Names, which is part of my wanting to know about the North Korean situation. I cannot imagine what it takes to leave your family, country & all that you know & love.

Reading - Magazine:  just picked up my copy from the library, the spring edition of Creative Scrapbooker. 

Received: a lovely pair of silver earrings from my friend who bought from her local animal rescue's fund raiser. The photo isn't great, so tiny, but just in case you can't make out, one earring is a horse's head, the other earrings is the horse's backside!  

I also received a beautiful hat from an older lady at church.  She knows my joy in wearing a hat every Sunday to church. She was cleaning out her late husband's aunt's closet & found this grey felt hat in the closet.  Apparently it's from the aunt's "Lady Di" days.  She said I was the perfect person for this hat.  I was ever so pleased to be thought of ... 

Watching - Movies:  Bohemian Rhapsody, which I really liked.  Mr Man thought that Aidan Gillen still sounded so much like his GoT character, Little Finger.  Interesting to see Allen Leech step out as such a different character than Tom Branson from Downton.

Watching - TV:  Victoria, the 3rd season, getting a little bored with this series.  I own the complete collection of Downton Abbey & I started a re-watch 2 weeks ago.  Knowing all works out in the end, I still tend to shout out Mary who is such a bitch.  Never liked Mary (I think Michelle Dockery did an excellent job of portraying her)  I know Edith should not have written to the Turkish Ambassador but Mary out & out lied to Sir Anthony.  Cannot wait for the movie.  I just hope that Julian Fellows did not sell out & that he has kept the story true to itself.  But mostly I'm very excited to see & hear from The Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith).

We have had another storm system arrive Sunday with high winds, sleet, snow & cold.  We received warnings Sunday to expect power outages because of the damaging winds & as I am writing this very  late Sunday,  I have fingers crossed that while I am receiving my beauty sleep, Mother Nature & technology don't have a disagreement.   Hope everyone has a fantastic week.

 

Take Three Thursday - Cool Beauty

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.   What have you noticed this week?  

Please have a peek at what others are noticing this week:
Melissa at: Bits & Pieces 
Mrs Wookie at: Mrs Wookies Wanderings
Alexa at: Trimming The Sails      
Karen at: Random Reflections

I am so over winter & all its restrictions of cold & snow, so this week I am really trying to find beauty in this winter - I know it abounds if I look.    Today I share some of the beauty I found & saw.

 One thing I particularly like about this stand of evergreens, is that no matter how much snow we get, it looks the same, it holds its own against the storms ... truly ever green.

"He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder & admiration in winter."   John Burroughs

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter. John Burroughs
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_burroughs_760846

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter. John Burroughs
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_burroughs_760846?src=t_winter

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter. John Burroughs
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_burroughs_760846?src=t_winter

Me On A Monday - February 18th

Hello Everyone.  It's Family Day here in Ontario - a holiday.  Family Day isn't an old holiday & it was mostly designed to give us a break between the New Year & Easter breaks, although not all provinces & territories celebrate or if they do, not on the same day.

So what have I been up to?  Well most of my activities are all indoor varieties. I will claim the weather to be mostly at fault for that.  Ten days of snow/ice storms  does take a toll.  Getting out for fresh air has been difficult with so much ice underfoot.

Our front window coated in ice

I did not see my shadow on the 2nd - Ground Hog Day, so according to legend, an early spring, but I am sure that rather large rodent, Wiarton Willie tells tales.  Again the forecast for the week is calling for a few days of more snow ... in the words of the great philosopher, Poo - oh bother!

Add caption

Reading:  I've read "There There"by Tommy Orange,  which was a difficult book to read so it took me a while to finish. It tells the story of twelve characters from North American First Nations, each of whom have private reasons for traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow.  All 12 have difficult memories & stories that tell of prejudice towards First Nations.  I am still sitting with it so I am not sure I liked or didn't like.

I also read "The Diary of A Bookseller" by Shaun Bythell.  He owns The Bookshop, in Wigtown - Scotland's largest second hand bookshop. I found it an easy read, it flowed quite nicely but I must admit I was not keen on his dumpster diving shop assistant, Nicky.

Scrapping:  I vowed to myself at the start of the year I would keep track of the month by numbers & so far I'm true to my word.  I even created a page for January "A Month of Numbers" 

I also created a page for the garden album's January page.

And I finally got around to making the title page for our 2019 Day to Day album;

Cards:  I missed the January class because of my piriformis injury, but I did attend February's class & made these 4 cards, along one special birthday card for a lady at our church turning 75:

At home I made a couple of Valentine Day's cards

It's amazing what can be done when not wandering through Pinterest for hours on end.

Hope everyone has a delightful week & I leave you with a mash up of several quotes all rolled into one thought;

“Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.” “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.” “It's not knowing what to do, it's doing what you know.” “Someday is not a day of the week.”