Saturday Meanderings
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We have arrived safely back in the USA after our 6 day Spring break trip to Vancouver, Canada. It was a spectacular mother/daughter adventure with my youngest child and college freshman, Elisabeth.
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Traveling was very enjoyable. I felt as if the planes were the cleanest I have ever seen, plus nearly all passengers were happily wiping down their individual seats with disinfectant wipes. People were sharing their wipes and everyone was cordial and polite. We made sure we were feeling healthy and robust before the trip, so I had no qualms at all about traveling or going out of the country.
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Vancouver is a beautiful city. I have never been there before. We were expecting rain every day, but the weather surprised us with 5 days of sunshine and blue skies
Vancouver has limited real estate, therefore has been forced to build up and not out. There is a great deal of new high-rise construction and development. It was so nice to see another booming economy, like we have in our vibrant Phoenix.
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The streets were filled with people walking and the restaurant scene was lively and fun. Clean air and tasty water were additional pleasant surprises. Residents are clearly outdoor advocates as there are many places to bike, walk, boat and ski nearby.
It was all VERY normal and refreshing, albeit chilly and windy.
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Coming home 6 days later, I was so surprised to see the changes in the yard and garden. We have had a lot of rain here in Phoenix, which is just lovely. My bulb garden was bursting with hyacinths last week and this week the tulips are beginning to bloom.
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There were enough fresh snap peas from the garden to make this as an appetizer last night.
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The 14 baby chicks that arrived from McMurray Hatchery via mail last week have nearly doubled in size.
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The Lady Banks roses that line the front of our property have bloomed and created a wall of pale yellow blossoms.
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The first of the hollyhocks are bursting with flowers…..already!
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We have had lots of storms and rain here….which is an absolute delight in our dry desert environment. I can almost hear the plants in the garden slurping up the additional water.
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Today will be a day of baking bread and making more Meyer Lemon marmalade (see recipe here). A generous neighbor shared his lemons on Nextdoor and I took several from the bag in his driveway. As a thank you, I will deliver a jar of marmalade. Just one of the benefits of living in this wonderful neighborhood.
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Which reminds me, my last post was about the impact of smiling. I hope you read it, if not click here. I put my smile experiment into action at the airport and I can honestly say, the results were miraculous. Everyone responded to a smile and several times, it started a wonderful spontaneous conversations, even with the serious Customs employees.
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Now, more than ever, we need to lift each other up. I believe that we are a strong, kind and a civilized society. There is much we can personally do to minimize the feeling of helplessness. This is a perfect time to build your immune system. Don’t create your own stress~~it weakens your health and your spirit. Earlier I posted the top 10 things I do to keep healthy (see it here). Knock on wood, but it is working for me. I feel healthy and resilient.
Wishing you a relaxing Saturday. Do something wonderful for yourself and your family. Turn off negative messaging~~you can do without it for a weekend! Sending virtual hugs to all of you.
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Just beautiful, flowers, we are in NJ covered in snow!! No flowers in site. Glad you had a great time it looks really nice there. Chicks are so cute!! Thanks for the positive vibes!!
Debbie, I have no idea how a post from March of last year made it out today, but who can figure out the technological glitches? Actually, the day we flew home from Vancouver they closed the border between the US and Canada. Lucky we got home but then that’s when all things broke loose. Stay warm in NJ. Spring will be here soon.
I would love to visit Vancouver. I have heard that it’s beautiful. Your home in Phoenix looks like a beautiful little oasis. Enjoy your home
Vancouver was really lovely. I would definitely go there again. We are so blessed to have our oasis here in Phoenix. It feels like we are on vacation this time of year especially!
What an amazing post. I love the baby chicks . You’ll have lots of eggs in the near future. You and your daughter are lovely!
Mary,
Thanks for your uplifting post! It brought a smile to my day. I’ve turned off the news and plan to live each day in a healthy optimistic way too, with some extra hand washing and sensibility.
Shaun
Shaun, I believe if enough of us send good energy out into the world we can cancel out the fear. Something great will come out of this. We all just have to be patient. Thank you so much for the comment!
When we lived in Seattle we would travel to Vancouver lots of times. What a beautiful city. We took our first born there 50 years ago!!
Shelley, you are such a spring chicken it’s hard to believe you even were alive 50 years ago! We will definitely go again to Vancouver. Lovely city. Lovely people.