Have you ever heard of "100 Days of Hard"? Apparently, it was an incredibly intense exercise routine that you had to do for 100 days - without missing a day. And there are lots of them - especially on Minecraft. The first one I heard of was physical fitness - and from the report, it was also HARD. I thought I might adopt it for posting on my blog and vlog sites.

For years, I have been making cards proclaiming JOY! As in "Joy to the World", the third Sunday of Advent...the shepherds. I guess it started with celebrating Advent at church...something I still practice. But, what does it mean, exactly? Especially now, as we face situations that can work to suck away our joy----what miniscule amounts of it some people have. …

Lexio Divina is a process of sitting with a passage, usually biblical, but it doesn't have to be. It's something I want to do with things I see on Facebook. Poetry that is shared with me. How it "works" Read - this is the lexio part. Read slowly. Which words or phrases jump off the page and into your head? …

I am privileged to receive an inheritance. I know not everyone gets one. But, I do. And the question is, "How do I use it to make my dreams come true? What do I want to be the end result? These are big questions. The biggest answer is that there will be a piece of property with our homes on it - mine, my child, and my grandchildren.

This book is recommended for twelve-year-olds and up. The white grandmother in me screams, "No..wait until they're a little older, maybe sixteen or seventeen, Safiya's age?" This is hard stuff. The reality is that Indigenous peoples, brown and black people, immigrants, migrants -live with the reality of this story from the time of conception. Maybe even in the lives of the grandmothers who bore their mothers.

If my mom was still living and needing care, I would not be writing this post. Just so you know. But she isn't. She's probably singing her heart out like she used to. She's happy. And I'm short on rent and living. My ideas for creating a surplus: Going back to teaching ESL, part time or as a sub.

YouTube video by The Breach

I have spent so much time wanting to draw pictures like an artist. I have books. I have plans, I have ideas. Youtube videos galore....But I never believe I'm good at it. You know what's funny about that? I have helped my ESL students learn to draw - Minecraft bees, dinosaurs, polar bears in a snowstorm, elephants, monkeys. And I drew them too!

It's no surprise, I guess, that money is in tight supply around here. Losing my mom also meant losing an added source of income. The books are no longer balancing. It's not just me, though. This is true for about 25% of Canadian families. Something has to change - and that change begins with us. We can learn about our options!

I found this quote at Hearts and Minds, a site about ending poverty. The picture comes from a Facebook post. It's been almost 2 months since my mom passed away. Loss of parents, loss of income, rent to pay .... When you have a lot of changes in your life, it takes a toll. I know. It doesn't matter if the changes are good, bad or ugly...your body, mind and spirit respond.

I wish I could find the sidebar that let me make this text larger. There are little things that annoy me and this is one of them! I also wish I had a picture of the pile of crates I was looking at all the time! This is life - and we will move forward. Clearly, some video watching is in order, but not just now!

My last post was about my mom's mini-stroke. That was filled with ideas that I still hold on to. It's a bit hard to read in light of later events. There is a high chance of a second stroke within the first month. We rested the first few days back and then started doing things - a few appointments, and Scrabble games.

We spent just over 48 hours in Emergency...and here's the story Since January my mom has been in an ambulance three times. Twice to deal with a hernia issue that should not be a problem anymore. And then, this. Last Tuesday, she dropped a cup. Just lost all power in her hand and arm, and it clattered to the floor and lost the handle.

That's a line I learned in Mrs. Hughes Grade 8 English class. Crosby Heights Public School, Richmond Hill, Ontario. Thank you for this! (You never know how much impact you have on someone else's life. Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote that and it appeared as a one liner in the poetry book we used - Tribal Drums. (Sources: Wikipedia, Amazon.ca and Biblio.co New Zealand in that order!)

I do not fit even my own idea of homelessness, but in some ways, I have been. I have had an easier time of it than most other homeless people. Maybe I've just been address-less, even though my mail still goes to my last address. The homelessness I most connected with was shelters, such as the first picture. In Calgary I volunteered with…

Yes, it needs that many exclamation marks - because I am super excited. My next post will be about the nuances of why I need so many of them, but now I just want to celebrate this new life I am creating! As you know - I have been taking care of my mom for most of my days since mid-October.

My brother, Leon took this picture in Sevilla, Spain. I just love these geese - one in mid -step. So, with his permission, I am sharing it. Creativity sometimes happens in a moment! My grandson (age 9 ) said something. The phrase "Shadows wandering" caught my attention. How does he join those two words together. And in that moment, I saw a picture and a poem.

Just so you know. If you have a family member or friend, someone you work with, or even someone who makes your travel a tad uncomfortable...know that they did NOT deliberately do this (Unless maybe you need to, but I think that is pretty unusual) Can you tell that I haven't figured out how to center pictures. I will solve this puzzle, too.

Background: I used to live with my daughter and her family just north of London. Shit happened,shit hit the fan,and things changed. It was tough in the moment but the outcome has been a blessing for all of us, my mom included. Anyways, I now travel to London every four weeks and stay for three nights. It is a good mini vacation for me!

set goal, make plan, work, stick to it, reach goal - a success concept presented with colorful sticky notes I found this picture on this website about goals, losing weight and getting fit. Other people have similar images, but I liked the connection to my own goals and thought I'd link to it. I haven't had a chance to explore it, but it might be an interesting rabbit hole.

And as soon as I type that, the thing starts working again. I do not like the finger mouse at all, so a mouse that isn't doing what it should becomes rather aggravating. I was going to add a picture of someone feeling annoyed or aggravated, but somehow, I couldn't get it to add another picture... maybe later. Things that Aggravate…

I asked AI to produce a picture of people playing pool. Now, people are not just male, people encompasses anyone and everyone - so guess what I got? Certainly not what I asked for. Maybe the person in the back is a woman but it is hard to tell. Notice, however, that there is not a single person of colour in this group.

Regarding yesterday's post, the pumpkin loaf was a bit of a flop. I don't think this recipe works well with whole wheat flour, which is all we had in the house. I'm going to try it again with regular flour and I'll report back. I'm off to play scrabble with my family, enjoying some rare time with Renee and Leon. We've played Rummikub, and now we're doing this! TCheers, Marcia

One of our favourite breakfasts is steel cut oats. Mom cooked them in the crockpot (much easier) but I wasn't a fan. I cooked them on top of the stove (much harder) and mom wasn't a fan. What to do? Find a new recipe, of course! And this is the one we found. I checked out other recipes but there were too many ingredients.

My mom is off having an adventure. SHe's bored because she's been kind of cooped up after her surgery. I don't blame her - not much fun watching me in at a computer...and there's not much to do. Eye sight is fading - so is hearing. Can't walk anymore. There's not much on TV on Saturday nights. I don't blame her, so I'm going to catch up with her.

I have had some crazy life experiences and they prove that you never know what is coming next. Here's what happened to me today! 1, I gave up cookies for Lent. My sister and I are doing a Lenten reading and I shared it with my mom. There are three parts to Lent - prayer (connection), fasting (doing without), and almsgiving (making the world a better place).

Really??? Well, if you've followed this blog you know that consistency has not been my strong point. But...can it become a strong point? Can I create consistency in this? I guess we will see how it plays out. So, why now? It's Lent - so 40 days of "doing without"? I mean, "What are you giving up for Lent?" is, or was a fairly common question.

ALT: a cartoon of a cat holding a blue umbrella

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