Keeping With The Times

living, learning, and keeping with the times

  • Home
  • About
  • Site Information
  • Privacy Policy

Five Things Friday | June 8

June 8, 2018 by Barb 6 Comments

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 …

Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, June 8, May 2018 in Review

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.

Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, June 8, May 2018 in Review
So that’s it for Five Things Friday for June 8th! If you stopped by, I thank you! xo

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: blogging, reading, reviews

Five Things Friday | September 22

September 23, 2017 by Barb 6 Comments

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.Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the TimesI’m so grateful for the abundance of apples (from our friends’ orchard)Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times
.. and I love baking with them …Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times

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.

Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times

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.

If you liked this post, you make also like these:

3 Minute Easy Baked Apple
Apple Pie Cheesy Rustic Crust
Apple Pie/Cheesy Rustic Crust
Gingerbread, Apples & Caramel Sauce
5 Wardrobe Ideas for Women of a Certain Aige
5 Wardrobe Ideas
A Different Kind of Power

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: blogging, reading, reviews

Five Things Friday | August 4

August 4, 2017 by Barb 7 Comments

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.

Five Things Friday, Wildflowers, Keeping With the Times, Bouquets

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 :)

Vintage North, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times

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!

Hosta Big Daddy, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times

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

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these:

Late Summer Floral Arrangements
Backyard Bouquets
Apple Pie Cheesy Rustic Crust
Apple Pie/Cheesy Rustic Crust
5 Wardrobe Ideas for Women of a Certain Aige
5 Wardrobe Ideas
Rosemary Thyme Parmesan Shortbread
Rosemary Thyme Shortbread

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: blogging, reading, reviews

Five Things Friday | May 19

May 19, 2017 by Barb 4 Comments

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 …Lakeview, Keeping With the Times, Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday

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.
Calm Cup of Herbal Tea, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times
The amazing ready-made lettuce pots available everywhere right now.
Lettuce Pot, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times

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.

Lakeview, Keeping With the Times, Barb Brookbank, Five Things Friday

If you liked this post, you may also like:

3 Tips for Blogging Regularly
15 Tips for Surviving National Blog Posting Month
15 Tips for Surviving #nablopomo
Gentle Encouragement

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: blogging, reading, reviews

Five Things Friday | May 12

May 12, 2017 by Barb Leave a Comment

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

Five Things Friday is kind of like gathering around the water cooler, as in … how about those Oilers eh? sigh … sad face, happy face … sad face … maybe next year face … .

But spring has definitely sprung here. The ice is off the lake, the trees are green, and my garden is pushing up at an alarming rate. Once it starts, it’s like a whirlwind. I’ll soon be seeing anemones in bloom … gah!

Every year it seems like a miracle and there’s no thyme to waste ;)Garden Herbs, Five Things Friday, Keeping With the TimesSo we may as well get to it, right?

Five Things Friday | May 12

What I’m Reading

The Handmaids Tale

Actually I’m re-reading The Handmaids Tale. I read it when it was first published (suffice it to say it was a long time ago) but I was more than a little startled, and disturbed, to see that it has been republished and made into a TV mini series.

I always avoid getting political, but this dystopian classic is a must read for every woman (and man) and is more relevant today than ever. Margaret Atwood is genius and her introduction in this release is provocative.

To quote the Phoenix Gazette “The most chilling cautionary novel of the century”. Enough said.

What I’m Working On

I may have mentioned his before, but I’m taking a blogging class with Emily Quinton at Makelight. It’s called “The Thread” and I’m finding it extremely inspiring. My head is exploding with ideas so now I have to make sure I do something with it all (see below :)

What I’ve Discovered

I’ve gone back to using iA Writer to draft blog posts and keep notes. It’s simply a distraction-free, plain text editor.

I was using it a long time ago … so long that in fact I had to purchase the new version and start over. But I think it will be worth it, as yesterday I had the biggest brain dump ever! and I know I won’t be misplacing my notes. Even if I lose my iPad, my work will be in the Cloud and synced to all my devices. I can see four or five blog posts coming from it. I simply need to buckle down and do the work.

What’s Up in the Garden

  • Anemones
  • Perennial Geraniums
  • Yarrow
  • Cornflower
  • Lily-of-the-Valley
  • Delphiniums
  • Peonies
  • Daisies
  • Daylilies
  • Rabbits ;)

Rabbit, Keeping With the Times, Five Things Friday

My Gratitude Journal

I’m so grateful for:

  • Being able to go to greenhouses again! I love it!
  • Buying fresh pots of herbs and planting my herb garden.
  • So thankful for the warm weather turning our world green almost over night.
  • Clearing out trash. Getting rid of stuff.
  • A GREAT haircut. I always seem to need a haircut. But this time my stylist Angela did the best job ever (my hair is finally recovering after a year of bad cuts it seems.)
  • Being able to buy new spring clothes and shoes. I’ve been partaking in Kelly Rae Roberts Wear Your Joy series, and even though I could almost be her grandmother, it has really helped me define my style. It has also helped me to clean out my closet :)
  • My family.

So that’s it for me today. We are going to be setting up the rest of our dock, and putting the boat in the lake. Fun times.

Have a lovely weekend my dear readers!

xo

 

 

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: books, garden, gratitude, herbs, novels, reviews

Five Things Friday | April 21

April 21, 2017 by Barb 2 Comments

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

I may have mentioned a few times that this past month has been a tough one for our family, but a person can only take one day at a time, and for now I’m simply happy to be back with my five things.

If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine
Morris West

The hubs and I were recently in Arizona enjoying sunshine and a slower pace of life. A few slow morning coffees, quiet lunches and/or dinners on patios, and leisurely walks after sunset went a long way to settling frazzled nerves.

I found this lovely chamomile at Trader Joe’s and even though my mind was reminding me that this stuff is a noxious weed at home and that I can pick it by the armloads in the summer, my heart was telling me to go for it!

July is a long way off and what’s a few dollars for handful of joy!
Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, Chamomile, HerbsI also had a big bouquet of pink ranunculus but for some reason, I never did get around to photographing them … until I noticed this one turning white!

The leaves had become papery and translucent and really very beautiful:Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, ranunculus, Herbs

Five Things Friday | April 21

What I’m Watching

We finished Season 4 of House of Cards and while we’re completely wrapped up in this series, the last episode felt a tad weak. However we now can’t wait for season 5 … once you’re hooked on House of Cards, you’re hooked!

What I’m Reading

I picked up The Time Traveler’s Wife at a garage sale for $.50 and thought what the heck!

It’s the love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Totally fantastical right? But Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future.

Each chapter Clare and Henry are at different ages and at different stages which can cause you to either

  1. put the book down because you can’t follow it, or
  2. forget about keeping track of their respective ages and simply focus on the love story (which I decided to do) at which point it becomes very interesting and even a bit thought-provoking

Right now I would recommend reading this book, but won’t have my full analysis until I finish it …

What I’m Loving

Have you heard of Sky Guide? It’s an app you can use to view stars day or night. It’s a ton of fun for $2.99!

Apple Watch: Sky Guide can send you a notification when an event is about to happen in the skies above your location, like when the International Space Station is due to fly over. You can also keep tabs on the latest solar activity.

The first night I put it on my phone it was a full moon and I took a screen shot:Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, Sky Guide, Herbs… and then we went for a walk … or was this before  (I can’t remember :) but no matter, it was all magical!Five Things Friday, Keeping With the Times, Sky Guide, Herbs

Best Spam Comment of the Week (from Vincente)

I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here.
The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish.
nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering
the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly
again since exactly the same nearly very often inside
case you shield this hike.

Well thank you Vincente, I’m very pleased my authored subject matter is stylish ;)

What I’m Learning

I’m very excited about a new blogging class being offered by Emily Quinton. I watched her video Blogging for Business Growth and a Better Life  and even though I’m not a business, her enthusiasm about how blogging makes you want to live a better life really resonated with me.

I’m a real advocate for blogging and bloggers and I started Blogging Bits and Bytes for just that reason. I’m hoping this course from Emily will reinforce my own enthusiasm and perhaps even help me get back on track with my blogging series … in my own way and my own words of course.

My Gratitude Journal

  • I’m so very grateful to have had a couple of weeks in Arizona to finish off this difficult month
  • Spending time with our daughter and her family here in Arizona
  • Taking our daughter to the Grand Canyon when she came through (again) on her way to a blogging conference
  • Spending time with our other daughter and her family, even though it was cut short (we will be back :)
  • Flowers from Trader Joe’s
  • A great haircut … never scrimp on haircuts my friends!
  • Arizona landscapes and succulents at Costco!

Thank you for being here! and have a wonderful weekend my friends!

 

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: blogging, books, emily quinton, makelight, reviews, sky guide app, trader joes flowers

Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

Categories

Archives

Copyright 2020 * Keeping with the Times * All rights reserved.