Friday's Fave Five #826

Welcome to Friday and Friday's Fave Five.  Can't hardly believe we are into the second half of February already! But today is the day in our week we intentionally take a pause and look for our blessings from over the past week that  God has graciously given  into our lives.  Thanks so much to all of you for being a part of this wonderful community training ourselves to be intentional in noticing the good in our everyday and being thankful and grateful to God.   If you are new please feel free to join in!  

~ longer days ~ this past week I've really noticed that the days are longer.  This is so welcome after the winter where I wake up and am working for an hour already before the day starts to get lighter and it's dark before I even start supper.  Just knowing this brings more energy it seems.

~ sweet rose from one of the kids ~ one of the dayhome children gifted me a lovely rose on Valentine's day.  A week later it's still gorgeous.  This is a minor miracle at the Living to Tell house as I usually cannot keep cut roses going for more than a few days before they flop or start dropping petals.  This lovely has not dropped one single petal and has opened up beautifully.  

~ valentines dinner in~  we rarely go out for Valentine's anymore.  The crowds and the feeling of being rushed through is not a fave experience so we usually either do take out or I make a favorite dinner.  This year we got takeout from our favorite Indian restaurant.  As usual it was delicious and we had a lovely "date" at home.

~ birthday dinner out ~ Saturday was the day we finally got to celebrate my birthday with my Hubby's sister and brother in law.  We go out for each of our birthdays.  It's our way of staying connected.  My choice was Tony Roma's for ribs.  Neither of us couples had been there for a while and it was a delcious treat.  Food was excellent and the company was wonderful.  We even got a pic with their Valentine background which was still up as lots of people choose to go out the day after Valentines to avoid the big crowds.  

~temperatures rising ~  Our temps have been bitter cold going on 3 weeks now but a shift has dramatically started going from -28*C (-18.4*F) on Wednesday to 2*C  (35.6*F) on Thursday.  And the miracle of this was it was without the chinook wind which is usually what brings this in.  Areas around us experienced the wind with lots of white out conditions on the highways due to the blowing snow but our city for some reason was like it was in a lovely, warm bubble.  I took the kids outside to play for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks and it was glorious.  They came in rosy cheeked and very, very wet but oh, so worth it.  The next week is supposed to be beautiful with Sunday afternoon predicted to be a stunning for us 14*C ( 57*F).

What have been your favorite blessings from the last week?

Friday's Fave Five #825

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Hope your day is going well so far.  We are still sitting in a deep freeze so I'm wrapped in a nice warm shawl as I'm typing this trying to stay cozy.  We haven't been out and about much due to the cold but there are still blessings to be found.  Please join in with us.

~ valentine's with the kiddos ~ kids always make a holiday that much more fun.  As we get older we can get a bit jaded about this stuff but the kids always adore it.  We've been having fun in the dayhome crafting and coloring in an explosion of pink, red, purple and white all week.  They are so excited to take all their creations home and show them off to Mom and Dad.  And it's a good thing we had a holiday of this kind to do all this crafty stuff for as we have not been able to go out and play all week due to the bitter cold.  Later today we'll have fun snacks and a movie in the afternoon.  Holidays and kids go well together.

~ shift in bible study ~ Last week we started a new study of our True Identity in Christ.  It's based on the series of sermons and teachings we are hearing this month on Sundays.  I enjoy when we do this in small group studies as it gets us to really delve even deeper and make it more applicable.  It allows for discussion and questions to be asked and answered which the Sunday sermon does not. 

~ some more decluttering ~ I have severely been lacking motivation to take on any bigger projects around the house but did manage to declutter my spice cupboard in a burst of inspiration.  It all started with digging through it trying to decide what to put on my potatoes.  LOL.  As I shifted and moved the various jars around trying to see what had been pushed towards the back of the shelves, I found a jar of something or other that I looked at thought "How long has this thing been sitting in here?"  When I saw the expiration date I was shocked.  This led me on a quick purge of everything that looked or smelled remotely ancient.  Five minutes and I had purged quite a few things and now have more space in the cupboard to actually see and use what is there. 

~ early to bed ~ I've been trying to get to bed a half hour earlier than is my usual habit on a work night.  I've developed a bad habit of getting to bed too late lately and I've found myself starting the day still tired or being totally worn out by the end of the work day.  But it's a hard habit to break.  I like the peace and quiet after hectic, loud days so it's hard to make myself go to bed.  I'm happy to say that 3 nights this week I've met my goal.  That's huge for me.  The blessing is feeling rested to start the new day.

~ weekend visit with my son ~ we didn't get to see him a whole lot as he came down for a celebration of life service and went skiing the next day but we did manage to have Friday night supper with him and Sunday lunch.  It's always a blessing when any of the kids come home.  

~ surprise visit with a friend ~ I'm totally throwing an extra one in the list today.  I had a lovely visit with a friend who had moved away a couple of years ago.  She also was in town for a celebration of life service and called to see if I had some time in the evening.  It was so nice to catch up with her and hear of all the wonderful ways God is moving in her new life.  It's always uplifting and fun being with her.

What have been the blessings in your life this last week?

 

2024 Reading Chanllenge Wrap Up and 2025 Reading Challenge

Finally getting to this post.  I could have skipped it, but I like to see if I accomplished some of my reading goals for the last year and reset myself some new reading challenges for the year ahead.  So last year was a bit up and down because of things going on in our lives which put reading on a back burner a bit.  I missed my Goodreads goal of 40 by five with a total for the year of 35 books read, which is still good considering.  But my real goal was to get this pile of purchased books read and out of the closet.  How did I do?  

Not too bad!  Twelve read and two DNF'd (did not finish).  Add to that another book that was a gift and it got 15 out of my stack!  I'm happy with that.  I also read five borrowed books and listened to 16 audiobooks though a few of those were also DNF's at about a third through, usually due to language or a style of narrating that did not work for me causing  my mind to wander.   If you want reviews and or ratings for the year they are here.  I don't usually review audiobooks because I tend not to remember them as well.  I remember them more for the emotions evoked rather than the actual story. I rate them but not review them.  And a few at the end of the year just didn't get a review because I was otherwise occupied.  

But onward and upward to 2025.  This year I went through all my stacks of books and picked 20 that I absolutely want to get read this year.  My Goodreads goal is again 40 books so the others in my stacks and library want to read shelf is all up for grabs to make up the remainder.  

Non-fiction is a bit harder for me but I have a few that are calling my name for this year.  I've been chugging along in "When You Love a Prodigal".  Not because it is not good, but because I'm taking notes and trying to take my time but I think I have to change that strategy a bit with my non-fiction as it is taking me forever.  I do complete quite a few non-fictions on audio which I find is a great way for me to get through those.  But my goal is to get through the physical copies of books I own so this is my goal for the non-fictions for me this year:

So there ya have it.  The books I want to get to for sure this year.  We'll see how it goes as there are so many on my library "shelves", too.  As they say, "So many books, so little time".   

Got any good books on your radar for this year?

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan ~ Book Review

In 1838 the steamship Pulaski sank about 30 miles off the shores of North Carolina losing 128 lives with only 58 surviving the disaster.  On board were some of Savannah's aristocratic high class bound for their summer homes farther north.  Years later it became known as the "Titanic of the South".  When the ship is finally located in the present day and artifacts start to be recovered, history professor Everly Winthrop is called upon to curate the museum collection focused on the families who were aboard the ship and the explosion that blew it up.  But Everly is hesitant to take on the task.  She is still getting over the drunk driving death of her best friend that has left her unmotivated in life.  But the draw of solving some of mysteries of that fateful voyage is too alluring.  

A story of disaster, survival and loss and the strength of women in the midst of it.  It explores how tragedy affects people and their behavior during and after and how grief changes people.  The dual timeline was interestingly woven together with the story of the museum's curation of the artifacts.  I found the story interesting as a whole but much preferred the historical side as it drew me in more emotionally.  The present day was good too but I found it didn't draw as much as the historical and slowed down is some parts.  All in all a great dual timeline that taught me a piece of history I has no idea about.

Rating:  8.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #824

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Are you ready to pause and look for the blessings God has graciously sent your way over the past week?  If you are, you have stopped in the right place.  We pause our busy, ordinary days each Friday to intentionally do just that, take note of our blessings. Whether small or large, obvious or not so much, we want to develop a heart and an eye that realizes how much we have to be thankful for.

~ warm home ~ I am very thankful for the blessing of a warm home.  After bragging how lovely our weather was last week, nature decided to plunge us into the freezer for a bit.  This morning we woke up -24*C (-11.2*F) feels like -37*C (-35*F).  Yes, it's been a tad bit frosty all week.  Snow has fallen and it's nasty cold even for this Canadian.  Needless to say, no river bottom walks this week.  But what a blessing to have a warm home when the weather gets like this.   

~ comfy pajamas ~ my youngest blessed me with a cozy and soft pair of pajamas for my birthday in December and I've been making good use of them.  The are so comfortable and perfect for these chilly nights.  

~ banking business completed ~ my sister and I were able to get more items ticked off on the check list one has after a death of a parent.  Such a relief to get this off our plates for now.  All this stuff that one dreads doing but needs to be done can quickly get overwhelming.  So thankful we had wonderful people that walked us through everything that needed to be done banking wise.  

~ ibuprofen ~ this week I was grateful for this pain med as sciatica reared up and caused a lot of discomfort and pain.  I don't like to take a lot of pain meds but when I really need it I'm thankful it is available.  Funny enough as I was looking back on some posts from 2 years ago I saw that the last time sciatica got to me was also the first week of February.   That's probably telling me I don't get enough movement into my days when really cold weather hits and I need to do something about that to avoid this.

~ heating pad ~ and continuing on with pain relief, it was a blessing to have a far infrared heating pad handy for my back and hip during this time.  Hubby gifted me with this a few years ago and everytime I've used it I'm very thankful for it.

Those are just a few of the blessings that came my way this week.  It was a very low key, and what some would say, very boring kind of week.  But there is still blessing to be found in the ordinary days.  It doesn't all have to be big and come with a fanfare.  In fact, it usually doesn't.  But it's there to be noticed and be grateful for.  What were you thankful for this week?

Friday's Fave Five #823

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.   Our time to take a pause of gratefulness for the blessings that have come into our lives over the last week.   Learning to see the gifts and grace of God in our lives no matter the day is a process.  One which we must intentionally practice.  Please join in as we look for the blessings from the past week. 

I can't believe I am once again late to my own post.  But I was in a phone in town hall meeting with the ministry of gov't that is over child care in my province and my brain is so overloaded with trying to understand the new funding model that is coming that I can't even get it out of that gear to think of anything else.  I need to clear my mind with a good sleep and I'll join in in the morning.  Meanwhile here is Mr. Linky so my east coast friends don't have to wait until noon.  😊

UPDATE

Well that took a hot minute to get back on here this morning.  Dealing with the fallout of how Gov't changes funding for things like childcare is not for the faint of heart.  Flurries of emails from child care agencies, upset parents, confusion as to what it means for us educators...it's all stressful.  But here I am and soooo ready to look for blessings!

~ baby shower ~ this week at bible study we had a fun evening blessing a soon to be Mom with a surprise baby shower.  She wasn't expecting it at all and it's fun to share in the joy.

~ river bottom walk ~ the last week the weather has been absolutely beautiful.  We've been trying to get out and go for walks as much as we can to get that vitamin D and fresh air.  Sunday we went to one of my favorite walking areas and enjoyed the beauty with a whole bunch of other sunshine and fresh air seekers.  Walks in the river bottom are always a fave and always are a great de-stressor.  Our furball loves them too.  He had a grand time chasing the mice in the tall grass.  

~ date night Mexican ~ Friday night was a Mexican feast at our favorite local Mexican restaurant courtesy of the 4000 cent gift card my son and his quirky sense of humor gave me for my birthday.  It was delicious as usual.  The owner is from Mexico and everything is homemade including all the salad dressings and about a dozen choices of hot sauces.  Yum!!

~ ice cream ~ speaking of Mexican, I finally dug into the Mexican chocolate ice cream I had in the freezer from my favorite local small batch ice cream store.  Oh my.  Rich chocolate with a slight kick at the back of the throat.  Sooo good.  I think it may be one of my favorites now.  Hope they make it again soon.

~ book delivery ~ FINALLY, I got Book 4 in the Timeless Series by Gabrielle Meyer.  I have loved this series so far and was so excited for book 4 that I pre-ordered it from Amazon back in May of last year.  The publication date was November 5.  Well that date came and went and we finally got an email saying there was a delay in delivery and we could cancel if we wanted.  I thought, well it couldn't be much longer.  Well, the end of the year came and went and still no book.  Finally at the end of January, Hubby cancelled the purchase.  I re-ordered through Indigo and within a day had an email saying it was on the way and 2 days later it was in my hot little hands.  Can't wait to read it!  And isn't the cover just gorgeous??!!  Oh and btw, we are still awaiting even an email about our refund from Amazon, even though we've tried to contact them about what is happening.  I will never, ever pre-order anything from Amazon again.  

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

Friday's Fave Five #822

Welcome to Friday's Fave Fives everyone.  This week just flew by so I'm glad I have this exercise to help me to take note of blessings that God sent into my life during the week.  On weeks like this I need the intentionality of hitting that pause button and slowing down and taking note otherwise one day just melts into the next.  Please join with me as we develop a mindset of looking for blessings in our everyday, ordinary days.

~ one educational course done ~ with my work I'm required to attend six training opportunities a year.  I finished the first for 2025 last night, a 2 hour zoom workshop on stress and self care titled Calm in the Chaos: Importance of Self Care for Early Childhood Educators.  It was pretty good, a lot of it I already knew but it was good to be reminded and the speaker had some good thoughts, suggestions and strategies.  It was on zoom so I could stay home in my comfy clothes and we weren't even required to have our camera on though we did have to answer a few questions at the end to prove we had been listening.  So all in all a good first session to start the year and I've got one done.  

~ easy week ~ an easy day at work is a blessing.  A whole week of it is heaven.  All week I've been down 2-3 children each day so the days have naturally been a bit more calm and easier all around.  I've needed it and I am thankful for it.

~ some donating done ~ though a hard task,  I was able to work my way through the bins of Mom's clothing and get it all sorted either for tossing or for donating.   It was a task I was not looking forward to but neither did I want to sit on a bunch of bins of clothing.  By God's grace the task went easier than I thought it might and I was able to make quick decisions. 

~ snail mail ~ the only thing I ever really get in the mail anymore these days is flyers and bills so it was a lovely surprise to get a note from Faith this week.  Apparently, thanks to the Canada post strike that went on forever before Christmas, it took a long time to get here but the words were no less encouraging and uplifting.  

~ birthday lunch ~  my friend's birthday is in November and mine is in December.  We just could not get together in either of those months and were finally able to go have a nice lunch together on Saturday.  It's a blessing  to be able to celebrate each other's birthdays together.

What were your favorite blessings of the week?