Welcome to Five Things Friday where I share what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment. First up, a little May 2018 review from Instagram.

Month of May in Review

Lilacs, anemones, rhubarb, Marsh Marigolds, and pansies filled my feed last month. Trying to post an image every day is quite challenging, but in the end, I love to look back.

On a side note, I’m also starting to ponder the fact that if Instagram disappeared (or more likely my account) I would lose years of consecutive moments …

I’m trying to find my blogging voice again and let me tell you it’s hard. But I need this space, I really, really, need this space! So let me start with some behind the scenes work I’ve been doing on my blog.

I’ve Been Working on Making my Blog GDPR Compliant

The EU’s new data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, goes into effect on May 25, 2018 and applies not only to EU-based organizations, but also to anyone who has customers or contacts in the EU.

For me, that means creating a Privacy Policy as well as informing and obtaining consent from existing subscribers to my newsletter that yes, they still do want to receive mail from Keeping With the Times. So a newsletter will be forthcoming. I can honestly say I’ve been paralyzed by all this but also that I’m proud to be working through it all.

What I’m Reading

I became obsessed with the TV series Outlander about a year ago after finding the first season on sale at Target. I remember handing the DVD to the hubs and remarking that “oh, this is supposed to be good”. Little did I know, I was going down a rabbit hole!

After we devoured the entire 3 seasons, I decided I had to read the books as well (I just wasn’t ready to let Claire and Jamie go ;)

So … I can check book #1 Outlander off my list! It’s a huge one and I thought it would take me until the end of August … but nope (I’m already on book number 2 :) I loved it! It was very similar to the TV series and I could see Claire and Jamie quite vividly. A great summer read my friends!

What I’m Loving

Do you use Goodreads? It’s a fabulous resource for booklovers! You can:

See what books your friends are reading.
Track the books you’re reading, have read, and want to read.
Check out your personalized book recommendations. Our recommendation engine analyzes 20 billion data points to give suggestions tailored to your literary tastes.
Find out if a book is a good fit for you from our community’s reviews.

~Goodreads~

What I Discovered

While some people dream of having a fresh flower farm and growing their business, I dream of finding that person with a fresh flower farm and helping them grow their business ;) and find them I did! Woo hoo!

Lovely Jen @farmfreshflorals in Leduc County, Alberta, grew these amazing “Finola” tulips. She also found a way to deliver them to me virtually hassle-free. Having them harvested with the bulbs was an extra special bonus, i.e. photo op!

I’m looking forward to getting more local, fresh bouquets.

So that’s it for Five Things Friday for June 8th! If you stopped by, I thank you! xo

Welcome to Five Things Friday where I share what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment.

September 22 was our Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere! It began at 2:02 pm MST and I welcomed it with open arms.

Our trees are just beginning to turn colour and a few leaves have fallen. But this image is where I’m at right now—bringing plants indoors to save for a couple more weeks. I love this geranium basking in the sunlight on my garden table. It was one of the first plants I purchased last May … a zonal geranium (Pelgardini Vancouver Centennial.) I like the variegated leaves and how the flowers remind me of fireworks.I’m so grateful for the abundance of apples (from our friends’ orchard)
.. and I love baking with them …

Five Things Friday | September 22

What I’m Reading

Since my last “Five Things” post, I finished A House in the Sky. It’s a tremendously well-written powerful read, and at one point, so hard to take I had to skip a chapter (near the end.) Having said that, I truly recommend reading it. She does get rescued, and she does go on to live a life helping others. Her actions that led her to be captured became controversial and thought-provoking but I’m on her side.

I also read The Picture of Dorian Gray … now that’s a weird read … enough said ;)

What I’m Watching

Lately I haven’t had time to sit down and watch anything, however, I’m starting a list of shows I want to watch:

• Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders on NBC on September 26, I love everything Law and Order, and I love Edi Falco (from The Sopranos)
• This is Us (of course)
• 60 Minutes (you laugh!) but Oprah!! ;)

What I Discovered

Caution (brag alert): one of my photos was featured on Instagram. Insert every shocked-face emoji you can imagine. My account had been absolutely stagnant for months and months and suddenly I was inundated with new followers. Yes, some are weird (some are not.) But hey … I was featured on Instagram.

But what I discovered is that the growth (while amazing) was not meteoric. And contrary to popular lore, the minute I posted another photo my followers did not fall off like flies. I’ve probably lost about 5. It’s a strange experience. I could hardly sleep the night it happened, but life goes on and it’s practically over… my fifteen minutes of fame is over. Side note: my photo on Instagram got more likes than Steven Colbert (lol ;)

What I Love

My hair. At my age there isn’t much to love anymore ;) but seriously I found a hairdresser who gets what I want and she sticks to the plan. I did show her a few photos at first so as to have no confusion. You just cannot beat a good haircut ladies.

What’s Inspiring Me

My daughter and her husband have a new blog This Big Adventure and it’s chock-full of valuable information on travel etc.

We are the Rooneys, an Albertan family of five. We believe adventure can start the moment you step out your front door. From exploring our hometown, taking day trips, weekend camping excursions, or long haul vacations, we love to do it all! Stick around as we set you up with all the tips, tricks, and hidden gems that we find along the way!

It’s amazing how first-hand advice about something can make a world of difference in making travel easier and I highly recommend checking it out!

So that’s it for Five Things Friday for September 22. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely weekend.

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Welcome to Five Things Friday where I share what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment.

I haven’t shared a Five Things Friday since May … but I’m starting to get back on my feet after 2 months (gasp!) of not posting at all. I totally lost my mojo and tried to explain why in my post What Happened? (if you care to have a read.)

I’ve been picking lots of wildflowers, as I truly prefer a free bouquet :)

It’s also interesting that whilst in Arizona last year I paid for goldenrod (solidago), which is growing in great heaps in our ditches at the moment. You can see the bouquet I purchased at Trader Joe’s for proof.

So without further ado, here is what I’ve been up to in the last little while:

Five Things Friday | August 4

What I Discovered

I discovered that I am capable of solving a technical glitch. After a WordPress update in May, my blog posts were a total mess (behind the scenes). Tons of extra html and gobbledy-gook were lurking inside every post, and while you, my dear readers couldn’t see it … I could, and I cannot stand a mess because I figure it will eventually bite you in the butt. So after my tech guy kindly and (finally) took a look and didn’t see anything, and after contacting HostGater who although helpful in other ways, did not diagnose my problem, I set out to figure it out myself. To make a long story short, there are two editing views in WordPress: Visual and Text. I used to be able to switch seamlessly between the two views but now they counteract each other and cause all kinds of havoc. Apparently this is not news. It happens. So I disabled the Visual Editor and now only work in HTML. It sounds complicated but actually, it is not. I would be happy to share more and write a post if anyone’s interested … let me know!

What I’m Reading

I’ve just started reading A House in the Sky. It’s the true story of Amanda Lindhout and her kidnapping while acting as a reporter in Mogadishu, Somalia “the most dangerous place on earth.” I find it especially interesting as she’s a Canadian from Red Deer, a city about 2 hours drive from where I live. So far it’s a very good read … describing places and events I only want to experience from my sofa.

What I’m Watching

Well, I’m not really watching anything … but last night the hubs took me out for dinner, and to see The Phantom of the Opera. Oh I can’t get that musical out of my system … I’ve now seen it 5 times! 3 times in Edmonton, once in Calgary, and once in Toronto. Last night’s performance in Edmonton was spectacular and the music was extraordinary. I’m still buzzing. After the show we drove home in a gentle rain … the entire evening was magical.

What I’m Loving

Well, I love it when a company sends me fabulous product to try … and when Vintage North asked if I’d like to have 3 lovely plant pots, and perhaps to share them on IG or my blog … I’m like wha? ummm, yeah!! I absolutely adore them (they’re a perfect compliment to my lovely succulents I think.) I’m thinking these will be showing up time and time again :)

My Favourite Leaf

By August my garden is quite the hodgepodge of flowers, seedpods, grasses, and weeds. But also leaves … and although I’ve always loved my hostas, I’ve never used them in still life photography. So I set out to remedy that. So here is my Hosta Big Daddy: a huge, sturdy, ruffly, quilted, textural beauty that is also slug resistant! It also lasted several weeks in a cut flower bouquet!

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your Friday!
xo

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Welcome to Five Things Friday where I share what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment.

The view from our dock this year is pretty spectacular. We’ve had a lot of snow and rain since October and while it’s not been the best weather for our farmers, the lakes and streams are loving it.

Someone said this looked like an infinity pool and I thought that was quite apt. However, I only give you the perfect “visions” because, as this weekend wears on, there will be boats galore speeding around just outside those narrows … big boats with people who enjoy their skiing, surfing, and music (ahem). I hate to say it but sometimes I can’t wait for Sunday evening …

Five Things Friday | May 19

What I’m Loving

Magical light, shimmering through the aspen, bouncing around the kitchen/dining room, onto my little garden table that seems to have taken up permanent residence by the window.

The amazing ready-made lettuce pots available everywhere right now.

What I’m Reading

I finished The Handmaids Tale. It’s probably not a book everyone would love, but I really enjoyed it (again.) Margaret Atwood is a genius.

Now I’m reading Nearly Normal by Cea Sunrise Person. I’d already read her first book “North of Normal” and I must admit I was skeptical as to how she could add to her previous book and make it fresh. Well, she’s doing an amazing job of it. When I study the cover of this second book, my heart breaks for this young, innocent, baby girl.

To quote the inside cover: Drawing connections between her early experiences and later life mistakes, Cea identifies how her family’s extreme and often selfish behaviour contributed to her downfall.

I’m truly enjoying it and I would highly recommend reading both books.

Blogging Bits and Bytes (Gentle Encouragement)

Did you realize that if you wrote one post per week, you’d have 52 posts you might not otherwise have?

I just thought I’d throw that in as I’m preparing to send out a Blogging Bits and Bytes newsletter :)

What I’ve Discovered

Have you heard of Medium

Every day, thousands of people turn to Medium to publish their ideas and perspectives. Leaders. Artists. Thinkers. And ordinary citizens who have a story to tell. Posts range from scrutinies of world affairs to deeply personal essays. Medium sifts the best of these for you and delivers them directly onto your home page.

I first learned of it in my blogging class with Emily and Stef of Makelight. I haven’t quite figured it all out yet (we’re still learning about it) but there is some incredibly great writing going on there. I was particularly interested in this post Practicing the Subtle Art of Detachment by Shreya Dalela. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

My Gratitude Journal

• I’m grateful for a daughter who keeps in touch via text as she travels the world
• I’m grateful she’s now home :)
• The sweet wrens are back, frantically chirping and building their nest … take a look at this real estate, honey :)
• I’m grateful that I finally got in to have my shoulder x-rayed and examined by ultrasound. Not so grateful that they discovered fluid and at least 3 tears (of what I’m not sure) but will be seeing my doctor in June
• I worked (carefully) in the garden yesterday, with no ill effects (see above point)

Here’s to a peaceful long weekend, my friends.

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