Thursday, February 27, 2020

I Like/Love #37

It's time for my gratitude post of the month. I collect likes and loves all month long, and am grateful for all these wonders. I'm joining in with a lovely group of people writing similar posts on Thursdays, and linking up with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.

1. I like slippers. I have two new pairs this winter, long overdue. The turquoise kitty ones are from Dayna for Christmas, and the pink kitty ones I found on sale at the Red Apple in town. Dayna's husband Tyler says he's never seen a family so obsessed with slippers. We come by it naturally; both my mum and dad loved slippers. I even bought the non-slipper-loving MacGyver a pair last winter, and he wore them a lot. Speaking of MacGyver, I really like that he used one of the net produce bags I bought a couple of months ago when he went to the grocery store the other day. I like that he goes to the grocery store! And I like these net bags; I am committed to and doing pretty well at minimizing my use of plastics. It's sparked conversations on Instagram too as we chat about various companies we find that offer natural alternatives to laundry soap, body wash, plastic shower poofs and plastic in general, in countries from Canada to the US to Australia and the UK! I love these connections. Gosh I never thought I'd have so many likes/loves with two slippers pics LOL!



2. I love shells. Here is my small collection from the Florida trip this month:
I have a ton of shells from Florida, Lake Erie, and various other spots from my travels, so I kept the shelling to a minimum on this trip. Not pictured is a shark tooth I added to my collection. Aren't the inside colours of the Florida Spiny Jewelbox shells incredible? They're the fan-shaped with spines on the outside ones. There are small conchs here, cockles, jingle shells, an olive, and a piece of an unidentified larger shell in the photo. This is the site I used to figure out their names.

3. I like Paczki. (pronounced punch-key)These are a Polish tradition on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. In my family, we always had pancakes for supper, and for a real treat, my mum would make English pancakes for dessert. Paczki were totally foreign to me when I first moved back here to Essex County. I actually ate my first one in Florida a few years ago. This year, we were in Detroit on Tuesday, and I suggested we stop on our way home at Windsor's famous Polish bakery, Blak's Bakery, to buy some authentic ones. Little did I know how crazy busy the place would be! I stood in line and watched in amazement as people came in who had pre-ordered, and got to skip the line and pick up box(es) of a dozen Paczki. I was probably the only one buying just four.
Would you believe we've saved the strawberry ones for tonight's dessert at supper?! Willpower! The lemon ones were divine. My husband used to go every Saturday with his gramps to Blak's when he was a kid. We've taken Brady there a few times too on his visits to us. The bakery has been around since 1918, family owned and operated the entire time. Next year I will preorder!

4. I like snow, I do. It's still storming outside as I write, so there is more snow than in the photo below. It's the heavy wet kind of snow and looks so pretty. The day lilies and daffodils we noticed coming up a couple of days ago will be covered now. It won't last as the temperatures are rising in a few days. I'm okay with this last blast of winter, knowing that!


5. I like surprises. This package came in the mail a week ago, and it truly made my day, my week. You may recall the comfort quilt Grace that I made for a dear friend of Dayna's who suffered a terrible loss. (Sidenote: I forgot to put the pattern back to its regular price, so until after supper I will leave it at $8, and then it will go up to the regular price. Here is the link.)

Well, as a thank you, Dayna's friend sent two Starbucks reusable cups (she knows us both well!) and a gift card for us to go and have a coffee together sometime. She wrote the most heartfelt, kind card to me. I'm glad I was able to help, and I just LOVE this heart cup!

6. I like This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a TV show on CBC that pokes fun at politics and politicians, and Canadian culture and current events. I loved this blast from my past on Tuesday's show:

Casey! Of Mr. Dressup fame, and Casey and Finnegan fame. I loved that show as a kid, and got a kick out of it as a young mum when my girls loved watching it too. Casey was in a sketch with Mark Critch.
A deep memory surfaced as I wrote this particular like: as a kid I remember wondering if Casey was a boy or a girl (the puppeteer spoke with a very high voice). He looked more like a girl to my kid's mind's eye, but I knew he was a boy... I didn't mind that he could be identified either way and I kind of cast him as feminine in my mind. I preferred his dog, Finnegan, anyhow! This is interesting in view of today's growing acceptance of non-gender-specific toys, and human beings. I like this. There is room for all of us on the blue-green globe.

7. I like 'Back in Time for Winter' on CBC. I missed the final two episodes when we were in Florida, so I like that I can stream them.

8. I found this from a draft post from two years ago, not published:

I love music. I listen to it all day while I sew.  I love the CBC programme, "This Is My Music" where Canadian music stars share the music that is meaningful to them.  Last Saturday it was Janina Fialkowska, a renowned Canadian-born pianist, who I love. Something she said resonated with this rose-coloured-glasses-wearing gal, that somewhere along the way of her life someone wanted to know what rock bands/music she liked.  Well, not really any, she said; she wasn't such a fan.  So this person started playing her some various bands.  Out of that came quite an appreciation for kd lang, and she played my all-time favourite Leonard Cohen song, "Hallelujah" in my all-time favourite performance by kd.  Then she said she was at the Juno Awards a couple of years ago and didn't think she'd EVER have ANYTHING (emphasis is hers) in common with the rockers, aka druggies, no-good, rough and tumble types...(I'm loosely paraphrasing her) and yet she was so very pleasantly surprised by the wealth of conversations she had with (her words) erudite people, people who were like her, well-travelled, intelligent, and she told of how she and Geddy Lee, lead singer of Rush, hit it off and she was so impressed with him. She then played one of his tunes, à propos for this quilter, 😍"Trees". I thought, 'That's it!!"  In order to erase prejudice and racism, and to promote tolerance, connections are needed, conversations, a sort of bonding, and one invariably finds common ground.

I think this is timely in view of the 2020 Junos on March 15, hosted by Alessia Cara, in Saskatoon. Take a listen to her song, Here, on YouTube, which really resonated with me then, and does now. If anything read the lyrics.



9. I like this photo that won Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 'Station Squabble',
Photo by Sam Rowley
and the one that got 'Highly Recommended'
Photo by Aaron Gekoski

because it raises people's awareness, my own included, to the horrific conditions in which mice live in not just the Underground, but in most places in the world. As a society, we do not respect or appreciate our animal kingdom. Does your heart stop, and you feel such sadness and shame for the orangutan as you do for the photos we see of pitbulls and other animals being forced to fight in a ring? Something to consider...


10. For those who know the story of Mary, the tiny Amish lady who lives in the Berlin/Charm area of Ohio in the summer and spends the winter in Sarasota, Florida, I love that I got to see her and chat with her again this month when we were in Florida. We were stopping to pick up some pastries from Der Dutchman to take to friends with whom we were having coffee, and well, Alma Sue's Quilts is in the same parking lot, so what's a girl to do? I had to go in and check out the fabric and cross my fingers she may be working in the store... She was! Of course she remembered me, and she cut my fabric for me.
Two pieces of $5/yard fabric in the sale section came home with me, great for backings, along with four fat eighths of neutrals in the 50c bin!

11. I absolutely LOVE this Briggs and Little Knitting article on CBC's website. Please read about another long-standing, since 1857, family owned and operated since 1916, mill in New Brunswick.
"Farmer Louise Wiggans knit these gloves with Briggs and Little yarn, made with wool from sheep just like the ones behind her." Heather Barrett CBC
12. A bit of a sad like, is one sent to me by my husband: an article in the New York Times about Leila Janah, Entrepreneur Who Hired the Poor, Dies at 37. In days where humans so often disgust and disappoint me, it is wonderful to read about those like Leila, who use their wealth and knowledge to lift up others, often 'invisibles' and minorities. She was an amazing forward-thinking young woman, and her too-young death from cancer, is a tragic loss to our world. Please take a moment to read about her and maybe check out some of her companies, Samasource, a data company, for one, whose hires are at least half women. She employs thousands of poor people. She is a hero, and yet barely a whisper at her death.

Giveaway! Be sure to enter my giveaway on my previous post, Centred. A yard of fabric in the form of a rainbow of fat eighths I am giving away to one reader. Contest closes on Saturday at midnight. There is also a giveaway from Island Batik on that same post.

14 comments:

  1. What a great blog of gratitude! I too love that I use less plastic and a fabric find anywhere is always good for me. So sweet that your hubs shops - mine does too and it is a relief not to go all the time. I’m grateful for you and the gratitudes you share.

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  2. Good morning, Sandra! I had heard of the good work Leila Janah was doing (she was featured on a local TV show) and was saddened and surprised by her passing. She was truly a good person and passionate about helping people. I love that MacGyver shares your passion for minimizing your joint footprint by using net produce bags, and that he goes to the grocery store. Happy Thursday to you, my friend. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  3. What beach in Florida did you find your shells? That's been my dream since I was little - to walk a beach littered with shells! Our visits to the beautiful beaches of the Oregon Coast are fantastic, but shell hunting is limited. Oh, and I certainly like your ca-razy leggings, too!

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  4. Haha. I have to have my slippers in the winter. I am wearing some right now. I have shells I have collected on various beaches in a few decorative jars/vases.
    I prefer to use natural things also. I have tote bags that I use for the grocery store in town that welcomes reusable bags. (so many think you are going to steal if you use one- sigh) When I have to get plastic bags at a big box store I save them for friends who use them for cleaning up when they walk their dogs. But I prefer to not get them.

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  5. I can't stand slippers, lol. Socks in the winter, yes, but that's my limit for having something on my feet in the house :) I love your shell finds. I have to limit my shell collecting, too, or I'd have the whole house full of them. It's amazing how beautiful they are.

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  6. Slippers are a must for me, as I am barefoot otherwise when at home. Mesh bags Yes! I bought all my 3 kids some for christmas. Paczki are good, not something I will stand in line for though, we have a local bakery that has about a dozen different flavour fillings. I haven't thought about Casey in years, thanks for bringing up good memories.

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  7. My personal take-a-stand mission... using cloth bags at the grocery store EVERY time!

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  8. I enjoyed this post so much. Thank you, Sandra, for sharing your thoughts.

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  9. Awesome likes. I am trying the laundry detergent "drops" which comes in a paper box instead of the plastic, I like pod type detergents, for me they work great. My girlfriend is going to try out bar shampoo, can't wait for her take on it. Yay for paczki! I am so over the snow, and the wind that is just downright inhospitable outside right now.

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  10. Your slippers are so fun! I love wool socks for winter and wear them all day. You have a fun collection of shells from your Florida time -I also love to pick up shells and stones when we're at the beach. That paczki looks yummy! The reusable cups and gift card at Starbucks are a lovely thank you gift, too. I always appreciate your heart for all kinds of animals - you always make me stop and think about things, Sandra!

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  11. Well, this was a chock full post of interesting things to read. Those pastries are calorie free - correct? :-) They look delicious! Always fun to read your posts sharing your thoughts, Sandra!

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  12. Your slippers sure look comfy cozy. I'm getting to the point where I appreciate a nice pair of slippers. :-)

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  13. Another most wonderful I Like/Love post, Sandra. Those slippers are adorable. I have never had Paczki, however I love the custard filled pastries. So I am sure I would love these too. I had no idea you like snow too. Not many do, so I don't get to share my love of snow with anyone.

    -Soma

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