Tuesday, June 19, 2018

In Pictures

I am finding it difficult to post here for a variety of reasons.  One, life is busy. Two, I find it difficult to temper my current rage at what is happening in the world, in particular the country next door.  When you commit crimes against humanity and then you or your minions quote the bible to justify your actions there is literally no hope for you or your followers.   That had to be said.  It is bloody obvious I am Anti-Trump but I still love the USA and most of the people, heck, I was born there.  I do know many Republicans who voted for him initially because he was anti-abortion are being tested right now, many wishing they had voted differently or that their party had chosen a better/different leader.

 I am also hopping on the buy Canadian bandwagon because he seems to have declared war on Canada along with a bunch of other countries and is embracing Dictators.  I am not just buying Canadian though, will buy Mexico wherever possible as well.  I am more than happy to spend my dollars in Mexico this winter versus the USA and although I have many relatives in the United States will not step foot inside until the tyrant is gone.  There - I am done - and if you read this blog and are still pro Trump then don't bother commenting.  Rant over.  I don't really want this to be a political blog but one can only contain it so long.

Now I will share my week in pictures.  Also, I tend to post more pictures on instagram.  If you do instagram you will find me at @livingrichislandgirl.
Buddy's happy beach dog look
Saturday after a very long week we decided to spend our day together with Buddy on the beach.  Our beaches are virtually deserted compared to everywhere else.  There was an extreme low tide, lower than we have ever seen at this beach before and it had created small tidal pools.
Still snow on the glacier above Courtenay

Lots of sand crabs, this guy was only about the size of a quarter

I believe this is a baby bullhead fish - only about an inch and a half long
Sunday hubby flew out of town for the week on business.  I get a bit of a break in these times so headed to my friends house to meet her new hens.  She just got five of them.  They were very interested in my toes, yes they pecked a time or two then moved on.  They are so friendly and are already giving her 3-4 eggs a day.  They followed us around like dogs.  She lets them free range in her back fenced yard when she is out there working but they are safely tucked away in their coop when she is inside or away as we have many things that are chicken predators here.  She has a large loveable mixed breed dog and he has quickly made friends with them and is perfectly happy sharing his yard with them.

 I was so smug about my strawberry harvest until I went out last week to find two had been partially eaten by either a rat or mouse.  I read online that bayleaf is poisonous to rats and mice and had an older bag of whole bayleaf in the cupboards.  I spread that all around them and so far they have been left alone after that.  I also heard pepper is good for natural pesticide so did that as well. Yesterday I harvested 4!  I am up to 9 strawberries bringing their cost down to $2.22 each.
 The danger in going to garage sales is finding great things...which ending up costing you more.  Mom and I went garage saling for 2 hours Saturday morning and I found this great little black plant stand for $5.  Then I had to go buy 3 pots to fit it and plants to go in it so my $5 purchase ended up totalling $26.  Oh well, we wanted some more plants for the patio and it looks really nice.  I bought the yellow clay pots at dollarama at $4 a piece and the plants were on sale as most garden centres are shutting down for the season as they open early April and close by end of June except the year round ones.  I still love my cement octopus that hubby bought me for my Birthday last year.  He is at home on the patio.

I also found this metal plant stand(left) to support one of my blue pots for $5, basic black metal
Early this morning I went out with Buddy when he was doing his business and he started barking like crazy at the neighbors tree that is right over our garbage bins along our shared fence.
 This little guy was peeking out at us.  Mr Racoon seems to make an appearance at either our house or our neighbor's house every other week or so.  So far though he has left our dogs alone and not gotten into the garbage.  It was super hot here yesterday, 34 degrees celcius which is the hottest it has ever been since we moved here.  I worry about where he is getting his water from.  Likely he is raiding Buddy's outdoor drinking bowl or that of our neighbor's dog.
Mr Racoon
 This morning I had to go pay our house tax, yes, one lump sum per year.  We could pay monthly but I see no need to do so, we just tuck the money away each month and bite the bullet come June.  It is really due by July 3 but no need to wait until the last minute.  The Town Office is right next to the Comox Marina so Mom and I went over there for a walk as it was early enough in the day it wasn't too hot yet.  I never tire of living by the Ocean, this place is so bloody beautiful and we don't ever regret moving here.  In fact, I really can't ever see us living somewhere else now.
Comox Marina

Eagle on top of one of the sail boats

Fishing boat getting ready to go out

And that is my week in pictures :)

42 comments:

  1. I bought some of those pots at Dollarama this week, too, but in a different colour. They are quite nice value for the money.

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    1. Really good value - I checked Superstore, London Drugs and ended up at Dollarama for other things and found them. I really wanted blue ones as my other pots are blue but there was only 1 so I figured the butter yellow looks nice with the blue. I just have to be careful when I store them in the winter though as I think they are fairly delicate

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  2. Lovely pictures, and I need to see some loveliness right now.

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  3. I have been reading your blog for some time now, and thoroughly enjoy it. I especially love reading about your travels.

    And, as a citizen of the US, I heartily agree with what you said about the president and AG. Their inhumane practice of separating children and parents smacks of Nazism. And justifying it with Bible quotations sickens me. And many of us in the US are anti-Trump as well. I did not and will never give him a vote.

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    1. Thank you! There are many behind the scenes working on getting him out of office. I know there are far more that feel the way you do than those who support him. Let's just hope it happens quickly as things are just out of control right now

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    2. I can only hope that the Mueller investigation turns up enough evidence to impeach him and his minions and get him out of office. I think he is mentally ill as well.

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    3. I actually am quite worried about what his followers do if he is taken out of office. There will be all out lunacy in the streets and a wild west mentality and lord help immigrants and people of color, blamed by the right wing for all the evils in the world. I fear hate crimes will explode. I think we need to turn the house and senate in '18 then work like crazy to ensure he crawls back under the gold rocks he crawled out of by 2020. Do his supporters realize he is manipulating them, the economy, world stage for his own and his peers and family personal profit? What happens with all his visceral tweets related to trade and alliances, and leaving treaties? Stocks plummet, his pals and family buy low, then he comes back with almost contradictory sentiments, and the stock then miraculously rebounds and his people make millions more, while the poor sod (me included)relying on these accounts for retirement just plateaued at best or lost money.

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    4. His followers will be lambs that he leads right off the cliff. Hate crimes/crimes in general seem to have increased. He is playing not only his economy but many other countries too. It is like one of those futuristic movies from the 1980s except grim reality

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  4. Just found you & you are "my people!" Thank you for saying that you don't hate the US people, but rather the current administration. I am ashamed by what the president & his admin. are doing to this country - I'm frightened, too. He's mentally, ill, I truly believe. Heaven help us.

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    1. Actually Canadians in general love the USA, love travelling there but hate Trump. It's going to be a rocky road until he is out and I do believe like you he is mentally ill. What is hard to take is that there are so many still supporting him

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  5. I used to love the USA but that ship has sailed. (I live in Canada, too). Trump will forever be remembered as the guy who stored little crying children in wire cages. Doesn't matter what else he does in his life, that will be his legacy. I was pleased to see a march today in support of the little kids, Americans have been too quiet for too long on this. The world is watching, and crying along with those little kids. I will buy nothing made in the USA, even if I have to go without!

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    1. I do think we have to remember it wasn't always this way and there are tons of people there trying to get him out and making things better. One day he will be gone, hopefully the damage can be repaired. You also have to watch the stores and call them on it, saw watermelons the other day that said from Mexico or USA, big difference.

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  6. Rant away. I’m doing political approaches here-calling,emails, but also crying. It’s a pissing contest with him and people are just collateral damage if if no financial value to him. I’m sure someone has studied the potential of money in N Korea and now he sees $ signs instead of a dictator. Ok my rant is done.

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    1. Yes, big open space in N Korea for him to make money, I am sure there are lots of side deals in the making

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  7. You’re so lucky living by the sea I’m hoping this will be in the cards for us at some point. I’m embarking on yoga teacher training next summer so it won’t be for a few years yet. I’m going to follow you on IG as I post on there as my blogging has fallen by the wayside. I like your octopus claw although I was wondering what it was at first lol.

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    1. I do love living near it - we live about 1 mile away so can pop down anytime we like. I fell in love with the octopus last year and hubby went and bought it for my birthday lol

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  8. I am sorry I laughed at your comment about the country next door. Here is why: The countries next door to me are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria and Greece (no problems with the last four I ust say). On top of that we are being run by the worst government ever for tha last 16 years. So, consider yourself lucky. We love your Prime Minister by the way. Hoping for a better world...

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    1. Life is different in your part of the world. I still don't consider ourself lucky, Trump still is as bad as those doing damage in Syria Iraq and Iran (and in some cases he is fueling it) but I understand what you mean :) Our prime minister needs to get more of a backbone, most of the country feels we have been taking crap for far too long. It is unlikely he will get a 2nd term because of that (I did vote for him though and likely will again) but I do believe his heart is in the right place

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  9. Thanks for sharing so much beauty in such ugly times. I'm in 100% agreement. We have our annual visit to the States to see my brother and then decided to go to Washington DC to visit my cousins and their new baby. I love them all and hate the thought of spending my money and time there. I'll look for Canadian products. It's so nice to know there are people like you out there.

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    1. Mitchel, I thought of you when I was writing that post, so difficult with family still there. All my Aunts and uncles and cousins live there, we are the only arm of the family in Canada. Mom is 74 and is resigned now to not going again, she is frustrated and upset and doesn't want to get involved in the family politics of it all as some are pro trump and some are not. The cousins coming to see us in a few weeks are NOT! Canada doesn't do much trade except to USA, Mexico and Asia but please - if you see a Canadian product buy it :) I am buying anything but USA, if only to make a point that they can't push other countries around like that (when he is gone I will buy again)

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  10. As a Dem living in AL, I can't sleep at night sometimes worrying if I will one day get rounded up and put in a camp. His believers could go rogue at any time and they all have guns, starting with my psycho next door neighbor. Friends, co-workers and neighbors think what's happening is right and just and there is no talking to them, so I just don't even try. Thank you for sharing your pretty flowers. They are just what the doctor ordered. :-)

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    1. I feel for you my friend....that is so bloody scary. Finally after six years things seem to be going well for you but with the political climate you just can't relax

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  11. Beautiful pictures! I agree with you about whats happening in the US - I can't bear to watch the news at the moment, between Trumps crazy antics and the cruelty of the conservative government we have downunder its just too much to bear at the moment.

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  12. That's terrible! All of our media is so USA-centric (yes even in Canada) that we barely get to see what is happening in the rest of the world. It is mentally exhausting, isn't it?

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  13. Great post, love the rant!! You certainly live in a very special part of Canada. Love the new pots and stands.

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    1. You live in an amazing place too - minus the fires and floods, your area is my 2nd favorite in Canada

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  14. Interesting that orange Boy cares more for a mass of cells than a living and breathing child. Oh yeah, I forgot, they're Mexicans and their lives don't count, do they? Tosser!
    On a brighter note you live in a wonderful part of the world. I love your planter - I've done the same, bought one for a bargain price and spent triple that on filling it! xxx

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    1. Actually unless you are white you don't count in his eyes. I do live in a wonderful part of the world - that I am ever so grateful for

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  15. It's your blog so you can say what you want right! I happen to agree with you anyway. What I find intriguing is that he never actually SAYS anything. It's all "we're doing really well, you're gonna see, it's all real good". Yuck. And as of Friday the EU are imposing equivalent import tariffs on US goods. Way to get everything going down the drain all at once!

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    1. Yes, unfortunately he is making America hated even more than before by more nations than just the fundamentalist ones. Hopefully when he is gone the damage can be repaired with everyone he pissed off

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  16. Rant away, I only wish I could do the same. But that must wait until I am no longer employed. Then...watch out!

    Lovely photos! I'm so envious and hope that someday, I too will be living on the island. My daughter and grandson will be in Courtney, Comox, and Port Hardy next week for a couple of weeks. I suspect D will fall in the love with the island as well.

    Have a great week!
    Eileen

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    1. You should tell them to visit the Comox Marina. If you go have them walk down to where the fishing boats are, walk left all the way to the end of the dock. That will get them close to the metal pier that the seals like to lie on. We went yesterday to see them, a real treat!

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    2. Thanks, I'll mention that to her. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of the seals, and Eli will be in awe!

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  17. Love your rant,we too are sickened by what is happening next door,so much so we have cancelled our RV trip we were going to do in Sept and Oct. we were going to do the 5 Utah parks ,the Grand Tetons,and end up in Albuquerque for the balloon fest in Oct.
    we live in White Rock and love the beach also there is always something going on ,on the pier. The plant stand is nice you can find some great finds at garage sales.

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    1. I am sorry you had to cancel your trip...perhaps down the road he will be out and we can all be friendly again. So weird, never had an issue with the Republicans before when Bush was in (not saying he was great, just that he didn't declare war on Canada). I love White Rock, so many years since I've been there!

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  18. I wrote a little on the political landscape today, then read your post! I have also vowed not to visit the states until Trump is gone. I have a cousin in North Carolina who keeps asking me to visit. His wife and 2 daughters are Democrats while he is a Republican. They were visiting London recently and although he is very intelligent and well off he still doesn't regret his choice. We just can't see eye to eye. It's sad.

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    1. I know how you feel Jane, I just can't face my Aunt that voted for him, she was considering visiting last year and we dissuaded them (January, nothing to do then) but now I just bloody well don't want them to visit.

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  19. As an American, I just don't know what to say about this mess. Clearly the world understands that it isn't "us", it is "him". But how do we not do something about the atrocities? I truly do not understand why the threatened violence by the right is tolerated, whereas reasonableness by the left is never enacted. Let's hope for the BLUE WAVE in November. It seems the only possible way out, but even then, will they be able to bring themselves to actually DO anything? I am not sanquine about the outcome.

    I wonder about the general pubic in Canada . . . does anyone seem to support these atrocities that are taking place here?

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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    1. We are hoping for a blue wave too. As for most Canadians, we are tired of being pushed around by "him". What appalls us so much is how he ever got elected, BUT most Canadians see that the second he is out of power, things might change for the positive again. About 1% of the Canadian population is just as crazy as he is and support him. We have our racist bigots here too, perhaps just not as many and not entire Provinces full. Thankfully, Canada is very diverse and welcoming to other cultures, almost everyone who lives here migrated from another country (us from the USA) 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation (hubby's family migrated from the Ukrain around 1900). The only people that can't say that are the aboriginal peoples or first nations as we call them in Canada. I feel so much pain and sorrow for those who have to live and deal with the crap inside the USA on a daily basis but we seem to as well as get most of our media from there, it really feels like it effects us daily too.

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  20. Buddy is such a cute guy. I know he is lots of company. Like you, I was born in the States. We still have ties below the border and all the recent turmoil pains me to no end. I always believed in the checks and balances in the US government, but lately I'm not so sure they are working. - Margy

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    1. I often think of your situation with one foot in each Country. It must be extremely difficult for you. Hopefully in a couple of years things will go back to "normal" if that is possible

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