Friday's Fave Five #851

Happy Friday, everyone!  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Hope you all had a lovely week.  But whether it was fantastic or had some struggles I am so glad you have joined us at Friday's Fave Five where we make it a practice to pause and look for the blessings God has gifted us with over the last week.  If we can make it a habit not matter what kind of a week we have, it will be easier to default to a grateful attitude and life.  In hard times, the intentionality of taking note of what is a good blessing will help get us through and in good times the reminder to be grateful for the good things in the week keeps us centered.  Please join in with us, we're always excited to see someone new join our community.

~ slower paced days ~ this week has been a bit slower paced both with work and with home.  I've really been grateful for that. At work with the kids we've had fun with lots of water play, time at the playground, and doing some fun crafts.  Home has a bit more leisurely paced too without too many obligations.  I'll take it.

~ vanilla slice ~  One of my favorite desserts.  I haven't had one in years but this last week I broke down and asked hubby to get me one when he was near a bakery that I knew made good ones.  Enjoyed every single bite.  And now it will probably be a few years before I have another.  They're nostalgic for me as it was a treat we'd get when I was young whenever we ordered KFC (then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken).  Back in the day eating out or ordering in wasn't a regular occurence in our family or any families I knew, it was a special thing.  The local Kentucky Fried was owned by a family who also owned a bakery that made the best sweets both housed in the same place and both me and my sis would get to pick one dessert.  For me it was always a vanilla slice.  I thought I'd won the dessert lottery whenever I got one.

Updated to add:  I'm being asked what a vanilla slice is.  It is two layers of puff pastry with a thick layer of vanilla custard and whipped cream.  The best bakeries also put a line of raspberry preserve in the center.  The top has an thin icing made of icing sugar, milk and vanilla.  Some bakeries might just dust the top with icing sugar but I've never seen that in these parts it's always pink icing here.  

~ lunch treat ~ Hubby was doing an order pick up at a business that has the best lunch cafeteria for their employees and he came home with some lunch for us.  Though it said chicken tacos on the top it was really more of a Thai flavor combo.  Little mini naan breads with thai type noodles, lettuce, tomatoes, and loads of shredded chicken with a peanut sauce to drizzle on top.  It was different and very good. 

~ tea with a friend ~ Monday I had tea and reconnected with a friend.  It was so nice catching up on what's been going on in our lives over the last couple of months.  It's so easy to lose touch with those people we don't see on a regular basis and I'm blessed that both of us make that effort so that it doesn't happen.  

~ haircut and foils ~ I don't know about anyone else with shorter hair but I find that my hair is great for about 4 weeks and then all of a sudden overnight my hair gets a mind of it's own but it's still about 2 weeks from the next cut.  Well it was time for not only a cut but to get the color foils redone.    One day after I retire the coloring will quit but for now I'm blessed to have a stylist who really knows what she's doing and what I like.  

That rounds out my week.  How about you?  What blessings did you have in your week?

 

A Great Country by Shipi Somaya Gowda ~ Book Review

Priya and Ashok Shah were young newlyweds when they moved to America to follow their dreams.  Ashok has worked hard to provide for his family while Priya raised their young family.  Now they have the opportunity to reach a new plateau on the life they've been working so hard for when they move to the upper class gated community of Pacific Hills, California.  Their three children have mixed feelings about the move.  Deepa, their oldest daughter is angry and resentful about the move and having to leave her friends, school and community and she's not afraid to let her parents know it.  Maya, the middle child, is thrilled about the new school and joining the elite field hockey team.  Her skills have already given her an in with some of the girls who attend the school and she's looking forward to the new lifestyle this move provides.  Ajay, the youngest and a son, is mostly a loner who loves to work on robotics.  All his time is being taken up in the school's robotics lab working on a drone whom he calls Drummond.  But when 12 year old Ajay gets arrested, Priya and Ashok are confused as to how a 12 year old boy can be racially profiled, especially when they have worked so hard to be American.   The nightmare that they find themselves in also brings to the light some risky things the girls are involved in.  Ajay's arrest draws the family together to protect him, but causes a division in their new neighborhood.  Now everything Ashok and Priya have worked so hard to attain is on the line forcing them to look deep inside as to what success really is and who they are as Americans and how refusing to acknowledge some signs about Ajay may have led them to this point.  

I have read all this Canadian author's books and have loved them all including this one.  I couldn't put it down.  There are so many things she explores within what happens to the Shah family.  The hopes and dreams of the immigrant experience, trying to fit into the American dream while still holding onto one's heritage, stereotyping, police brutality, prejudice, neurodivergence, loyalty, and family.  And she weaves it together with good character development and well written plot.  It's thought provoking and I wished I had a book club to read it with as it would instigate great conversation around very timely topics.  

I gave it a 10/10

Friday's Fave Five #850

Hello and Happy Friday!  This week has zipped right on by.  In Canada Monday was a holiday (for some) so it made a short week for me.  Thankful for that as I was off last week and it has been something trying to get myself back to a work schedule routine.  But at any rate Fridays are the day we take a pause to look for our blessings and take the time to be thankful for them.  Please join us.  My blessings were all about the few days away that we had for vacation last week.  It truly was a blessed time and I'm so grateful for it and the memories it provided.

~ family time ~ on Friday we drove up to the big city and spent some time with family.  The kids did their annual camping trip together for a few days and then we all met at my son's home and spent some time together.  We had a dinner out, went to the farmers market,  our son cooked us an incredible rib dinner on the smoker, we played a fun card game.  It was nice to have us all together again even if just for a few days.  Now that the kids are all adults and have careers/jobs and one lives in another province it's hard to get us all together at the same time.  I'm very grateful for the time we had and the safe travels for those of us that were on the highways.  

~ Lion King ~  another reason we were in the big city last weekend was to see The Lion King Musical.  Bucket list item for me.  Oh my goodness.   From the epic opening scene to the last curtain call, what an experience.  The scenery, the live orchestra, the costumes, the songs, the lighting, the colors, the incredible details that went into it all to draw in the audience. Incredible.  So worth it.  My son and younger daughter joined us.  It made for a special full circle moment as for my son's 3rd birthday we took him to see Lion King at the theatre for his first ever movie.  And here we were 30 years later seeing it live together.  And I'm so thankful that we scored an absolute steal of a deal on the tickets.   

~ great hotel room ~ though we usually stay at my son's when we go to the big city, because my oldest was there too with 2 others and a dog, we opted to stay in a hotel this time around to lessen the chaos at the house.  We ended up in a really lovely, huge room at the hotel we booked at that we thoroughly enjoyed.  

 

-pedicure ~  My youngest is an esthetician and with her permission I booked in with her while on our weekend there.  I haven't had a professional pedicure since she moved away to the big city, about 4 years now.  It was nice to see where she works and she made it really special for me.

~ sausage & cheese ~  the Farmer's Market in the big city is a must stop for us when we go.  So Saturday found us there and one stall was sampling their many different European sausages and cheeses.  I finally found a great tasting Hungarian salami I've been looking for for years.  And I tried a new cheese that's definitely going on the list for when we go back, Beemster Graskaas.    It's a Gouda made from the first milking from the cows in the spring after they get let out to graze the new green grasses.  They only produce 1000 wheels a year for export so it wasn't cheap but a small chunk had to come home with me because it is sooo good.  It was fun to stroll the aisles and ooo and awww over all the good food and items for sale with my oldest daughter who came along with us.

My blessings were all about family and rest and relaxing for me.  How about you?  What were your blessings this last week that you are thankful for?

 

When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward ~ Book Review

It is 1917, and World War I is raging in Europe.  In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the war has been touching the lives of the citizens.   On the eastern side of Canada, Halifax was pivotal in the war, having a uniquely shaped harbour that didn't freeze in winter and allowed ships to gather in the basin and form convoys to cross the Atlantic affording protection in numbers against the German U-Boats.  Nora Cromwell works at a hospital that ministers to soldiers who have come home from the war on hospital transport ships, soldiers that are not yet well enough to be discharged.  Nora has always wanted a life different from her sister's.  She has never wanted to be a wife and mother and had instead chosen to pursue nursing as a career.  She joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps and a bluebird nurse and spends her days ministering to wounded soldiers, sometimes tending to their emotional burdens as well.  Her free time is spent with a young soldier named Alley going on picnics and dancing at the local Red Cross.  It's an enjoyable way to step away from the stress of taking the wounded soldiers troubles to heart and Nora's focus on her career keeps her feelings from becoming too entangled.  But a reckless decision might change her life forever. 

Charlotte Campbell is forced to live with her in-laws when her husband is killed overseas.  They treat her as a servant and not as family but it is the only thing that is keeping her and her precious baby girl, Aileen, from being homeless so Charlotte does her best while still dreaming of a better life.  But the upcoming collision of two ships, one carrying munitions, will force Charlotte to make decisions she never imagined she would make.  

Growing up in Canada, I didn't recall studying anything at all about the Halifax explosion though apparently it was such a pivotal part of Canadian history.  Somehow I vaguely knew there had been a horrible explosion that leveled a good part of the city but knew none of the details.  When I saw this book I knew I had to read it to learn more.   I really enjoyed this book.  The unspeakable tragedy and loss are the backdrop as these two women's lives will intersect in a way that is unimaginable.  Not only did the author convey the horrible physical tragedy of the event, almost 2000 people died, but there were also horrible losses of limbs and vision as people were drawn to go and observe the fire after the boats collided. But I also loved how the author explored the mental hardships that those that face this kind of loss might endure.  The decisions made by both women who endured great loss made me ask myself what would I have done.  Great story of tragedy, loss but also of love and family.  

I rated it a 9.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #849

August 1st.  How can that be?  Wow, this summer is just flying by.  Thanks for taking some time to pause in your lives to stop and join in on Friday's Fave Five.  I am so thankful for this community who comes together each week to take a moment to show gratefulness for the blessings in our lives.  If you've never joined in now's a good time!!

~ massage ~ I used to regularly go for a monthly massage due to neck and upper back tightness.  Then covid happened.  When all that started to open again I just never went back.  Well five years later and now some crazy arm issues are happening.  Weird stuff like not being able to hold my arm up in certain ways without it collapsing, weakness in my arm and hand.  And the latest is 2 of my fingers going into this weird cramp.  And no, it's not carpel tunnel.  One doc thought it was my shoulder so sent me to physio.  Physio thought it was my tricep and work on that but only got so far.  My last doc sent me for carpel ultra sound.  Nope.  But what has everyone stumped is other than the pain from the finger cramp when it's happening I'm not experiencing any pain at all.   My new doctor is trying to figure it out, she thinks I have a pinched nerve in my neck,  but in the meantime has recommended I go back to massage because my neck and tops of my shoulders were so tight.  So I called the massage therapist up and booked in again.  Long story short, she did some trigger point work.  Let's just say it was not a fun or relaxing massage.  OUCH!  I was tender and achy the next day.  But by the third day of recovery I was noticing some of the symptomatic issues in my hands were not happening.  So I'm biting the bullet and going to try what she recommends and that is 6 weekly sessions of the intense trigger point work.  Yikes!  I'm really praying it works because these arm issues have not been getting better on their own.  But I'm thankful I am able to have a knowledgeable therapist and good doctor who are working to try to figure this out.  

~ clean blinds ~ I have this week off and one of my goals was to get started on cleaning the blinds in my house.  One of my least favorite jobs ever.  It doesn't help that we have a lot of mini blinds in this house.  But this time around I got the great idea after giving them a 10 minute soak in the tub, I sprayed them with this product.  Then it was just a gentle brush with a scrub brush followed by a rinse and they were amazingly clean.  Even the greasy dusty ones from the kitchen that hang in the area near the stove.  I couldn't believe how clean they got with way less effort than I've ever used on them before.  Glad that chore is done.  And thankful I found the product that made the job pretty easy.

~ treats shared from the garden ~ my sister shared some wonderful fresh onions and parsley from her garden with me.  I'm always thankful for these wonderful gifts when people pass them my way as I don't have a garden of my own.  Nothing like homegrown!

~ short wait on "hold" ~ I had to call the governments dental care plan to confirm some things with them and was prepared for a long wait in the queue.  Last time I called a Government help line I was on hold for over an hour and a half.  But this one was painless as the call was answered within 10 minutes and they helped me in even less time.  What a blessing not to have my time tied up sitting on hold.

~ relaxed days ~ it has been a huge blessing this week that I have off to have relaxed days.  Even though I've been busy catching up with things that have been shoved on the back burner for way too long, there is an easiness to the days when you can get up when you're body tells you too, you can start the day with a leisurely coffee and not hit the floor running and when you can pause in chores to take a break when you need to.  When I'm working, even though I work in my home, my days are scheduled and though not rigid they are definitely not leisurely or relaxed.  I've loved having that blessing this week.

What have been your favorite blessings this last week?

Friday's Fave Five #848

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. Please join us as we intentional pause the busyness in our days and choose to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings God gave us during the past week. Doing this practice on a regular basis helps us to stay mindfully aware of the good gifts in our lives. Practicing it during the good times helps us to get into the habit so that when more difficult times come or those weeks that are so incredibly mundane and routine roll around, we already know how to look for the blessings hidden underneath. Participating in FFF is a little nudge each week to help that habit develop. Please join in with us.   

~ time with my sis ~  my sister and I spent a little time appliance shopping this week together.  While not the most fun activity per se, it was still fun because we did it together.   Sometimes you just have to carve out time together in whatever way that comes along.

~ new recipes ~  I like trying new recipes when I have the time and I'm trying to add some new casseroles to my lists.  Some nights I'm just to tired to cook anything fancy so I want simple and with no crazy ingredients I don't have on hand.  The other night I tried this Creamy Rotel Pasta with Ground Beef.  I didn't have heavy cream but used the 2% milk I had on hand and it still turned out good.  Hubby really liked it so it's going in the keeper file.  

~ overseas text ~ my good friend is on a European holiday.    Hungary is where my family came from so I had a delightful surprise when she texted me to say hello from Budapest.  It was nice of her to think of me and bring a smile to my face. 

~ homemade popcorn ~ every once in a while on a Saturday Hubby will cook up a big batch of his world famous popcorn.  Okay, maybe not world famous, but famous in our house and amongst our friends.  It's so good.  On days he makes it I know we'll probably sit down and watch a movie we've been wanting to see and have a nice relaxing late afternoon.  

~ time off ~ today at precisely 4:45 will mark the start of 10 days off.  I am soooo looking forward to this week.  We aren't really going anywhere except we do have tickets to see The Lion King Musical but other than that we'll just take it day by day.   I hope to do lots of reading, sleeping in, walking, a few household chores that have been put off for years and catching up on blog reading and commenting that I have gotten way behind on.  

What have been your blessings from last week?

Friday's Fave Five #847

Thank you all for your grace and your kind words last week.   My brain just went "tilt" and I could not produce any meaningful or cohesive sentences so I knew I need to take that step back and just sit and be in what was going on in my life at the time.  But now I'm back and I am grateful for all the glimpses of God's goodness over the week.  If you haven't already please join in as we weekly share some of the blessings God has brought over the last week.

~ day trip to a fave place ~ my discerning hubby knew I needed a getaway so on Sunday he took me to Waterton Lakes National Park,  my favorite day trip.  It really is a happy place for me.  I have so many wonderful memories from childhood picnics there, to our own family trips.  It's a stunning place and though I've been going there since a child I haven't even done most of the hikes and views it offers.  This time we just spent a totally relaxing day in the town walking along Waterton Lake and sitting in lawn chairs relaxing and enjoying where we were.  I read my book, hubby had a snooze, we munched on nachos and tacos and then headed home.  I came home totally refreshed and ready for the new week.  What a blessing to have an intuitive hubby and a gorgeous scenic place so close to home.  

~ rain ~  we have had some good rain here in the past week which is a blessing as it has taken away the fire ban that has been in place.  It can get very dry around these parts in the summer and with the heat of August still to come I'm very thankful we have had some good soaking rain to help with combating that dryness.  I pray it goes east too to help with the fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba that are raging right now.  And I also have in my prayers all those in the U.S. experiencing way too much rain and extreme flooding.

~ new washer and dryer ~  I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a new washer and dryer.  The other set were about 14 years old and I was getting tired of years of dealing with an error code that nobody seemed able to define or fix.  Did you know that they now make appliances to start breaking down at about the 10 year point?  Planned obsolescence, it's called. The new set arrived last week and has been set up and I've been slowly getting to know it.  Gone are the days of just plugging the things in and hooking up the hoses.  Now you almost need a degree in electronics.  I can even operate the thing from my phone.  Though goodness knows I will probably never, ever use that feature.  LOL.  

~ more flowers ~ a couple more of my flowers that are making me smile this week.  A front planter and my Banana Cream Daisies showing off.  

~ fresh sheets ~ a frivolous silly thing, but something I absolutely love and am thankful for, is getting into a bed freshly made with clean sheets.  It's something that is so taken for granted in our society with most of us owning our own washing machines or having fairly easy access to one.  Not everyone, even in our well off countries, never mind around the world, has this blessing.  

What are you thankful for this week?