A good couple of days

Sunday, July 30, 2023

I’ve had a good couple of days and I’m learning to balance activities with naps. We hadn’t been for a walk for quite awhile so Friday morning after both Pat and I finished some video calls we headed out to the seawalk. The walking was so much easier than some of the walks/hikes we did on Texada. There weren’t as many water birds as we were seeing earlier in the summer but there were a couple of eagles, some herons, and some ducks and geese. As we were nearing the end of the walk we heard and saw a large humpback whale – the first time in a long time that they’ve been that close to shore. I had a nap that afternoon.

For something a bit different on Saturday I went back into the yard and pulled a few more weeds out of the trough in the driveway. The gardener is coming next weekend and this was one of the areas that I said we would look after so I’d like to have it done when she comes by. I have at least one more session, maybe two, before it is cleared. I tried for a nap in the afternoon but didn’t sleep – I did have some downtime though and a rest.

Last night I went to a show at Cranberry Hall – the first in a very long time because of Covid and then my treatments. It was a small crowd but there were lots of familiar faces. I have to admit it felt odd to be at a show and not working – or worrying about how things were being done. It will take some time to get used to that feeling but I’m up to that particular challenge.

Pat headed over to Texada this morning. Our neighbour is planning to be away this week but she wasn’t sure when she was leaving so I opted to stay home and look after the watering. All our plants are doing well and I don’t want to slack off now and lose them.

Over the last few days I’ve also manage some sewing – mostly work on my summer mystery quilt. I’ll probably go to the Guild sewing on Tuesday and I have lots of pressing and trimming to do so I won’t have to bother with my machine. I’ve cut another wool project out – a companion piece to the chicken project and I’ll be able to practice some of the fancier stitches on the small piece before attempting them on the “real” thing.

I chatted a bit with Emma this afternoon and she was suffering from a sunburn after a walk yesterday. I fully intended to go out for a walk after lunch but I’ve now decided I’ll wait until this evening when it is, hopefully, a bit cooler. I’m seldom accomplishing my daily walking goal but I’m getting a fair number of steps in every day.

Every other day

Thursday, July 27, 2023

I think I have found my balance – I can do things one day but the next day I have to do very little or not do anything at all.

We went for that long hike on Texada and I was so tired the next day I was useless. I took a day to sew together a quilt top and the next day I did very little of anything, and certainly nothing strenuous.

I’ve had a busy day today and by three I was pretty much done in, although I still had one more stop to make. I cut some fabric this morning for a mystery quilt-along I’m participating in. I made lunch for Pat and I and then I was off for two medical appointments. On the way home I stopped at the grocery store to talk to the pharmacy and to pick up a few groceries.

I’ll take it easy for a bit but then we are going down to the beach to listen to some music. This group is starting off the Music in the Park series but they are the only ones we’ll be bothered to go out and hear. They put on the Christmas show that we always attend so it will be nice to hear them with some un-Christmas songs.

Don’t expect much from me tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Vicki

July 26, 2023

Around Four Corners (from The Splendid Sampler 2 series)

Vicki and I have been friends for almost fifty years. I don’t recall how we first met but it was in Yellowknife. She and her family moved around the country a lot and we lost touch for a few years. She’s in Calgary now and I’m so pleased that we get a good in-person visit every now and again.

I used some of my favourite fabrics for her card. I made a full quilt (for Elizabeth) out of those floral fabrics.

Two Lives

Author: Vikram Seth

I picked up this book from the shelf in March, thinking it was a novel. When I found it was a biography I was okay with it as I assumed it was a biography of the author. In fact, it is a biography of his Uncle and his aunt, by marriage. I continued to read it while I waited for books I had on order from the library. I finally decided it was time to get it off my Currently Reading shelf in Goodreads.

The book is well written and the background of his Shanti Uncle (this is how he is referred to in the book) comes from family history. The life of his Auntie Henny (who was German) was mainly put together from here correspondence to and from friends. Henry escaped Germany just before war broke out but her mother and sister were killed at different camps near the end of the war.

The author made an interesting comment at the end of the book mentioning that both Shanti and Henny lived through traumatic times in the 20th Century – life in India under British Rule and the subsequent partition into India and Pakistan , the Holocaust, and the Second World War to name just a few.

Goodreads Rating: * * *