Friday Favourites (and Happy Thanksgiving!)

 It is Tuesday and I actually have a lot of favourites already! Well, it is now in the early morning hours of Saturday, and it is Thanksgiving Long Weekend here in Canada. We are headed up to the ranch in the morning. Looking forward to family, food, football (not really), fellowship, foliage, family, more food, faith, and fun.. So, let's get started!

1) My new favourite song is "What He's Done". I LOVE it! I found it on Andrea's blog/IG when she posted a video about her daughter singing in their church choir. I had to find the song (I actually had found it awhile back, but when I saw it again, I wanted to know what the song was, so I picked up my sleuthing hat a decided to find out...via finding out their church, finding the song, etc....). I absolutely love the song!!

2) Our church had a game night on Saturday, and it was a hoot. We played Jenga, and some people played Taboo, and the kids played Laser Tag upstairs. A couple of other people and myself started playing Yahtzee, and then we had to pack it up. LOL. We had food, which is always a good thing!

3) A friend and I went for a wine tasting at a local winery on Sunday. The tasting itself only took a few minutes, but we sat and and drank a cider outside and chatted outside in the cool, crisp fall air for two hours!!!

4) Coffee with a friend on Tuesday! As of early Tuesday morning, this hasn't happened yet, but it will. Well, it is now late Friday night, and I am trying to finish this off, so I can post it before I leave for the ranch tomorrow (Saturday). Coffee with my friend on Tuesday was wonderful. It had been ages since we had gone out for coffee together, and we had a lovely time :) I had a couple of movie nights with my next door neighbour, Emily this week, too. I also had a coffee with my respite client/friend at a local coffee shop. I have gotten bread and treats from them before, but I don't know if I had ever sat and had coffee there. I had a steamer and a cream puff. Yum!

5) Fall leaves are well, falling, and changing. Also, Jim Gaffigan does a funny sketch on fall and the leaves, which is pretty funny (and accurate). I love the cooler weather; the days are perfect; crisp and cool, and nights are definitely feeling more fall/winter.

6) Waking up to extra money in my account on Wednesday was most definitely a FAVOURITE! That was totally God!!! I tithed a few days prior (I have a hard time doing it, but I know that is what Jesus wants us to do; so I do it "when I can"-which is a bad excuse, I know), and when I woke up to what I thought was going to be MAYBE a $100 in my account was a bit more than that :) 

7) I found a cute new weather app; called Weather Kitty. It is so cute! It has pictures of kitties that coincide with the weather and the time of day. I read about it in a cat magazine, so I thought it would be fun to try it out :) Of course, there is always a "premium" (pd) option, which is much more fun; with fun pictures, etc. But I won't give in to that (though I do love me a premium account on Spotify!). I also downloaded a couple of more apps this last week, but I haven't had the chance to really explore them yet, and one isn't even working.

8) Good/New TV is back; and that makes me happy. I will probably do a TV post soon, to talk about all of my hours of useless TV that I watch :) I only found out a month or so ago that this will be New Amsterdam's last season! They announced that back in the spring, and I have recollection of reading/hearing that anywhere. I just now finished the last 8 or 9 episodes of The Resident from last season! Can you believe that I went all summer without finishing last season?? I just wasn't in the mood to watch them until a few days ago. Weird, I know. Also, who else thinks that the girls who play Luna (NA), and GiGi (TR) are the most adorable things you've ever seen? 

9) Ginger Peach / Peach Ginger juice is one my favourite drinks. My brother told me about it this summer, so I grabbed a pack (actually, I grabbed one out of their fridge before to try it out), and it is delicious! I bought a pack yesterday; and I am loving it! I don't think I had posted on IG or FB before (and certainly not on here), that I found my new favourite drink. It is from the PC Brand (Loblaw's' store brand), and it is delicious. Is it pop? Is it iced tea? Is it juice? Who knows? It is DELICIOUS!!

10) Getting healthier/Walking, etc. I am trying to do a bit more walking, and taking my BP more. I also think I have lost a few pounds, so that is always a plus :) I am also in a couple of health programs (am I doing a great job at following them? Maybe....), but at least I am trying :) 

10.1) Finding out when W Network will air their Countdown to Christmas movies was most definitely a favourite from this week. I may or may not still have Christmas movies from last year that I haven't watched yet :) It starts October 21st. Not that I am counting, or anything! I am pretty sure that they started earlier last year (I think that was the first time that they had started C2C that early). I like that they are still airing fall themed-movies for at least some of October :)

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for another edition of Friday Favourites!

This blog post has been put together at different points throughout the week (well, at two points). I started one the main faves on Tuesday, and I elaborated on them (and added more info) today. Basically, this wasn't done in one linear post. Also, I want to get this out on the link-y thing, so I am not going to link anything now, but I might post some links later this weekend. Have a wonderful (Thanksgiving/Long) Weekend, everyone! 

Friday Favourites

Happy Friday, friends! Today (30th of Sept), I am going to concentrate on Truth and Reconciliation day,  and some of my favourites related to that. If you don't know what that is, Google is your friend, but it used to be called Orange Shirt Day. This day in the past has not been a day off, but two or three years ago, our federal government declared this day a stat holiday, and this year was the second year in a row that this has been day off. You can get more information about Orange Shirt Day and Phyllis Webstad here.

                                                                   (not my photo)

1) My favourite orange shirt is one I got last summer from a lady who was selling them for a friend. I got Anker and I both one, and although it doesn't look great on me, I love the message. One of my favourite scrunchies comes from SProductsDesignStyle. It is orange and funds from that went to Kamloops Indian Residential School Survivors' Fund.

                                                                 Taken Sept 30th, 2022

2) My favourite movie (I admit I don't watch a lot..I have to get better at that) surrounding this subject is "Indian Horse". I watched it this evening with my friend. I was procrastinating watching it for years, b/c I knew that it would be sad. Mom watched it a year or so ago, and warned me. I was very angry when it was done.

3) Tk'emlúps is one of my favourite places to be. We sit on the unceded territory of the Secwépemc Tk'emlúps First Nation People. The name means "The Meeting of the Waters", and it does have two waters that meet in town. The North (from the valley) Thompson and the South (that comes out of the Secwépemc (Shuswap) Lakes.

                                            Taken Sept 30th from different areas in Kamloops. 

This photo was taken this last summer. It shows the two different rivers joining, and their distinct colours. The NT River is muddy, and the ST River is clear :)

4) My favourite Secwépemc museum has been closed since CVD, and it is just a wonderful source of information. I went to the website, and it still says it is closed, and I hope that they reopen. If you are local, keep this site bookmarked for a future field trip.

5) Although I am not great at watching/listening to a lot of First Nation programming, I have watched some shows on APTN, & CBC always have some wonderful and educational programming. I also have listened to a podcast on Spotify called "Kuper Island". I haven't even finished it yet. That is how bad I am at listening (though I am not a huge podcast listener, anyway). Our local radio station (Country 103) even did a "Day of Listening" on the station today. They had several First Nation People talking about their experiences, etc.

6) This baby at a Saskatchewan Powwow went viral in August and it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Click here to take a look and listen :) You will thank me later.

7) One of my favourite First Nation people to follow is Ashley Callingbull. I follow her on IG, and I love her. I first heard of her when I saw her on Amazing Race Canada a few years back. She is from the Enoch Cree First Nation reserve in Alberta, and she is stunning and as she is educational :) There are also a few others who I follow. One lady (and I cannot remember her name on IG. I have been trying to find her online for a half hour) is a phenomenal dancer. I also follow James Jones on IG, and he has some wonderful funny skits/videos that the does. I also have started following Wad Kinew on IG, but I learned about him last year, as he spoke in the House of Commons. I think I follow him on FB.

8) I love bannock, salmon, and berries. I enjoyed watching the Salmon run a few years ago when I was working at the school. It was an hour or so away, and it was so fun! Every four years they do Salute to the Sockeye Salmon every four years. It is super fun!!! We had an Indigenous cafe open awhile back, and I cannot wait to try it one day. Kekuli Cafe primarily serves bannock, and I have heard that it is fantastic! 

9) I have looked through a few books about First Nation History. I haven't fully read one (yah, I know..I am terrible), but one book that I have looked through a few times is called, They Called Me Number One. Another book that I have read through a couple of times is written by the lady who started the "Orange Shirt Day" movement/awareness, Phyllis Webstad called Beyond the Orange Shirt Story, and one for children called, Phyllis's Orange Shirt. I have a couple of books out from the library now; one being called 21 Things that You May Not Know About The Indian Act. And yes, I have read through some of it. Another book I have out called is called Standoff. There are also a few children's books that I have read that talk about the Residential schools that I have taken out of the library and I have read in recent years. One is called Shin-Chi's Canoe. There are lots of more, of course, but I won't bother with naming/linking the books. One more that I like is called, I Lost My Talk (She also has written one called "I'm Finding My Talk"). I would say that one of the best places to learn about the Residential Schools (and their survivors) would be to check out National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed in 2008 to tell survivor's stories. I have this bookmarked on/to my favourites on my laptop. I should look at it more than I do :)

10) I have a friend who is First Nations, and we spend quite a bit of time together. I will sometimes ask her about her traditions, food, teachings, her growing up years, etc :) I love learning from others. 

I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday FavoUrites :)

FYI: This post took me about 2-3 hours to write. Btwn links, wanting to get correct information, getting photos; this took ages :)