April Covid

Getting Better or Getting Worse? 

Almost Vaccine Time

April 2021 

APRIL 21, 2021

I just checked the Saskatchewan Gov't website and it is getting closer but it is not my turn yet. So I am still waiting for a chance to get the vaccine. My friends in Hong Kong have already received their vaccines (both shots).  I also have friends in the USA who are also fully vaccinated. I hope that these vaccines can help us stay safe and allow travel to open up. I miss exploring new places. 

Checking the Fields

 March 2021

Little Yodie is checking out the fields. It is a sunny spring day and another opportunity to look for blue birds. Checking out the view and soaking up some rays. No birds today. But you never know. 

Road Trip

 March 2021

Out for a drive! Little Yodie gets to watch out the window and look for birds. It is blue bird season and it is always worth looking at the fence posts just in case you see a blue bird. We didn't see one on this trip but we will keep looking. 

Covid Vaccine

 April 2021 - Still Waiting

April 19, 2021 and we are at age 48 years and older for vaccines. I am still waiting. I haven't heard anything about vaccine #2 for my parents. I am guessing that won't happen for a long time. The supply of vaccines seems to always run short and the new shipments are slow or delayed.   In our area we still have Covid cases and they declared Yorkton a Covid Variant outbreak location. So it is best to stay home and stay safe. 

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Canada’s defence of Hong Kong

 December 2016

The TIS Marketing and Management students were invited to participate in a logo design contest to commemorate the 75th anniversary in the 2016 of Canada’s defence of Hong Kong.  Three other international schools competed in the logo design contest, including  the Canadian International School of Hong Kong,  Christian Alliance International School and the Delia School of Canada. The TIS students were divided into three teams and given the task to design a logo that represented the Battle of Hong Kong, 75 years, Canada and Hong Kong.

 

The students were allowed to have one feedback meeting where they could pitch their concept and receive feedback on their ideas. We invited a professional graphic designer to the feedback meeting to give the students realistic feedback and comments on their concepts. The initial feedback meeting was very successful with three unique designs. However, each team needed to make some adjustments to their ideas.

 

After working on their designs to prepare for the final presentation it was tense in the classroom.  One team even scrapped their original idea to start again with a fresh start and new concept. Each team had to work together to present a formal presentation of their final logo design to convince a panel of judges that their design should win. Teams had worked hard to get to this point of the process. The presentations were impressive with students sharing convincing ideas why their team should win the challenge. In the end there was one clear winner with a strong presentation with persuasive arguments and a clean, bold logo design.

 

Nikki, Dominic and Yasmin describe their concept as, “75 is the focal point of our logo. We wanted to highlight the 75th anniversary of Canada’s defence of Hong Kong in the Battle of Hong Kong. By using the flags of Hong Kong and Canada it demonstrates the connection between these two allies. The dove is to symbolize peace.”

 

The winning logo from the TIS challenge was submitted to the Canadian Consulate General

to compete against other international schools in Hong Kong. Four logo designs were available for voting by the Hong Kong veteran community and the staff at the Consulate General.  Dominic, Nikki and Yasmin had the winning design. Their logo was chosen as the winner.  One judge commented, “the design clearly indicates the theme of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong and the designers have wisely fitted in two flags in the design to show the bond between these regions.”

 

Dominic Lobo, Nikki and Yasmin are invited to attend the annual Canadian Commemorative Ceremony at the Sai Wan War Cemetery to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong. These students will receive certificates to honor their winning design from the Consul General, Jeff Nankivell, during the ceremony.

Dog Walk

 New Friends

As promised I have been taking Baby Yoda "Grogu" out for walks / adventures with me. Here is a photo of Bernie and Grogu as they sit in the sun. We went out for a nice walk around the lake. It is a 6.5km loop around Saltcoats. Bernie is getting a little to old to walk that far anymore. He likes to take lots of breaks and he doesn't mind if you carry him for most of the walk...

Remember When?

 Some where around 1980

I am slowly cleaning up and going through files and boxes of stuff that I have accumulated over the years. It has been lovely to have free storage in my parent's basement but it also creates a challenge as you never feel the need to get rid of stuff as you have "space"! I came across these 2 photos and I thought I would share them with you. It is hard believe that I was ever so young and little. Time goes quickly. It has been many years since I went out fishing with my dad. Perhaps I should give that a try this summer. Something to look forward to as we move into spring 2021.....

Accepting

 

I came across this article about accepting your own reality and I thought it was interesting. I want to save the link so I decided to share it here in a blog post.

https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/how-to-accept-yourself-your-life-your-reality.html

Here are the basics of the article:

1. accept yourself
2. acknowledge your reality
3. practice radical honesty
4. identify your part
5. admit your mistakes
6. own your outcomes
7. don't let fear get in the way
8. count on your competencies
9. let go of your biases
10. accept the struggle will always be there
11. make a plan to reach your goal

Packing List for Bali

 FEB 2020

Packing List for Bali

It will be warm in Bali. +30C during the day and +24C in the evening. You want flip flops for the beach/sand but you want comfortable walking sandals or running shoes for walking in town. I have Keen sandals that I wear. We will have to have our shoulders and knees covered when going to a temple so a light long sleeve or light zip up jacket is handy. We will buy a sarong in Bali to use at the beach or at the temples to cover up. 

Remember you only have 20KG on the Air Asia flight. (KL to Bali) They only allow 7KG on the carry on. They are strict about this so when meet in KL we can make adjustments to your carry on if needed. I plan to move stuff from my carry on to my checked luggage for this flight. 

Bali is a tourist spot so anything goes and there are no rules for dressing. The locals are very conservative and if we visit a temple we have to cover up. When walking in town away from the beach it is also good to cover up. I plan to wear a beach/summer dress or shorts and a tank top during the day.  For dinner in the evening I like to dress up a little more and carry a light sweater as the temp drops when the sun disappears. 

It will be hot during the day in the sun. So you really don’t need much for clothes. Bring an outfit for being active such as yoga or walking. Bring a nice outfit for dinner. 

• Summer Dress x 3  (to wear to dinner in the evening - nothing fancy)

• Bathing Suit x 2 (you always want a dry one to wear….)

• Sun Hat 

• Sun Glasses

• Beach bag/tote to carry everything to the beach. (A small backpack is good)

• Book to read on beach

• Beach cover up (you can buy this in Bali)

• Beach Towel (you can buy this in Bali)

• Sun lotion

• Bug Spray

• Water Bottle 

• Flip Flops

• Flats (to wear with your dress)

• Running shoes (if you want for running/comfy walking)

• Socks to wear with your shoes if you want...

• Yoga pants

• Yoga top 

• T-top

• Shorts

• Light long sleeve to cover up from the sun

• Light long pants to cover up in the sun or wear in the evening 

• Light sweater to wear in the evening (with your dress)

• Under ware 

• Snorkel and mask if you have one

• Beach Rashy (long sleeve to wear in the water for sun protection)

• Phone

• Phone Charger 

• iPod (music)

• Headphones 

• International Power Charger (I have one if you just want to use mine)

• Travel Journal if you like to write down your thoughts

• Small travel umbrella for rain and sun shade

Baby Yoda Adventures

 Hiking Buddy

I have a new little friend - Baby Yoda. My nieces know how much I love Star Wars so they decided to get me this little Yoda for my birthday. As requested from my nieces I am suppose to take this little Yoda on adventures and keep a photo log to share with them. I thought I would also share with these adventures with you too. 

Mountain Blue Bird

 2021 Sign of Spring

I took this photo from the car with my phone so you might not be able to see the brilliant blue colour on this male Mountain Blue Bird. It is a sure sign that spring has arrived to Saskatchewan when you spot a blue bird. We only saw a few of them on our drive to Cypress. This was the only one that stayed in one spot so I quickly snapped a photo. 

Look Up!

 Cypress Provincial Park

Look up, way up. We went for a hike at Cypress and the trail took up up through the lodge pole pines. The grow straight and narrow. They seem to go on forever. We climbed up onto a ridge and then found this view back out to the grass lands. It was a beautiful hike through the trees. There was still snow on the ground and some spots were slippery due to ice. We spotted a few deer on our hike but they quickly ran off and disappeared into the forest. 

Cypress Provincial Park

2021 Spring Road Trip 

I made a trip out to Cypress Provincial Park for Easter holidays. It was nice to finally go on a little road trip and see different scenery. I enjoyed walking around the park and climbing the hills. I felt like I was back in the mountains. I thought these clouds were interesting as they made dramatic shapes in the sky. Many hiking trails were not open yet as they were still covered in snow. So I hope I will have a chance to come back for another visit in the summer. 

Looking For Love

Love is in the Air 

Whenever I am out walking I always look at the rocks to see if I can find any that are heart shaped. I am usually able to find one. Sometimes I even find several of them. Sometimes you need to use you imagination to see the heart...but I think this one here was a good fine. I thought I would share the love with you.

2021 Spring Reading

Completed Books 

I have been enjoying listening to audio books from the library. I am able to download them to my phone and then I can listen to them when I walk or bike or ski. I find that I also like listening to them at bedtime. It is a relaxing way to fall asleep, unless it is at an exciting part of the story. Then I find myself changing the "sleep" setting from 15 mins to 30 mins! 

March Ski Totals

 2021 March Ski Total

I logged 101 KM this March on my cross country skis. It was a mix of classic and skate skiing. As the snow started melting I began skate skiing and on my last day I went 16km which was lovely as it was so warm and sunny out. I was disappointed when the snow melted and my ski tracks disappeared. I was hoping I might get to ski on the lake but it started melting and I no longer trusted the ice as I had no idea how strong the ice was. So I stopped skiing and began walking around the lake.  I actually logged 100 KM walking in March. So I am proud of my effort of a total of 201KM for March 2021.