Packing again!

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For the first time in almost four years, we’ve purchased tickets, made our plans, and I’m busy packing our suitcases! This will be our first flight since Covid, but our third trip to visit friends who live in Coatepec, a typical Mexican town located in the highlands about four hours east of Mexico City. On both previous trips, we checked a large suitcase, but this time we’re going carry-on only. Everything we need for two and a half weeks has to fit into our two tiny suitcases, my purse, and hubby’s small backpack.

First, let’s take a look at what I was hoping would fit in my suitcase. The photo and list below also include what I’ll be wearing on the plane.

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Packing list:

  • 1 pair of jeans
  • 2 pairs lightweight long pants
  • 2 pairs capris
  • 1 pair leggings
  • 1 camisole
  • 7 tops – 3 long sleeved, 1 with 3/4 length sleeves, 3 sleeveless
  • 1 dress
  • 1 dressy black jacket
  • 1 ultra light down vest
  • 1 lightweight hoodie
  • 1 light jacket
  • 1 hat
  • 1 pair sandals
  • 3 pairs shoes
  • sleepwear, underwear, and socks

You’ll probably notice that this isn’t what a typical tourist would pack for their trip to a Mexican beach resort. That’s because Coatepec isn’t a tourist destination and doesn’t have a beach. At approximately 1200 metres above sea level, the weather is pleasant, but not always hot. It cools off significantly at night and the houses don’t have central heating so we need to be prepared to dress accordingly. Although I don’t actually expect to have an opportunity to use it, I did decide to tuck a swimsuit into the bottom of my suitcase just in case! I really don’t like to leave home without one. At the last minute, when I saw that there was enough space, I also decided to squeeze in a pair of shorts.

There are two keys to successfully packing light. The first is coordinating colours. As you can see from the photo, I’ve chosen a simple colour palette and pieces that will easily mix and match to create numerous different outfits. The second key is layering. For example, the dress is very lightweight. It can be worn alone or with the little black jacket. For a chillier evening out, it can even be worn over the black leggings. The light blue denim shirt on the bottom of the pile above can be worn alone or as a third piece over any of the sleeveless tops. Depending on the weather, the hoodie, down vest, and jacket can each be worn individually or I can layer them as I will be doing when we board the plane in sub zero temperatures.

Another trick to successful packing is utilizing space wisely. Can you see hubby’s sandals, a pair of my shoes, spare eyeglasses for each of us, and two pairs of socks in this photo? I can!

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Many travellers swear that you can fit more into your suitcase by rolling everything instead of folding, but that hasn’t been my experience. I prefer to fold basics like pants and tops, but I roll a lot of the other items. I’ve also never used packing cubes.

Our clothes pretty much fill the tiny carry-on suitcases. My laptop (a lightweight 13 inch MacBook Air), my camera, cords, chargers, our toiletries, and our prescription medications will be in hubby’s backpack. We’ll also tuck in a few paperback books for him which he’ll leave behind when he finishes reading them. That will give us a bit of extra space if we need it on the way home. I’ve loaded five books onto my Kindle which takes up hardly any room in my travel purse.

Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything, but if I have, there are stores in Coatepec!

On being authentic

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After publishing Friday’s fashion post, I started to think about what it means to be authentic. After all, it’s so much more than just a style adjective. Authentic can be defined as “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character” as well as “real” or “genuine“. An authentic person then is someone who is comfortable in their own skin, someone who doesn’t need the approval of others, who isn’t afraid to stand up for their own beliefs and values.

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An authentic person is first and foremost not a people pleaser. If you’ve ever spent your life trying to be something that you’re not in order to please someone else, you know how damaging that is and how it robs you of peace and contentment. Part of being authentic is learning to establish boundaries and being able to say no.

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Unlike those who hide behind perfect-looking Facebook or Instagram faces, an authentic person accepts who they are and has the courage and self-confidence to share that with the world. Being authentic isn’t about being perfect, it’s about acknowledging mistakes and learning from them. It’s about being honest with yourself and others. It means accepting and embracing your uniqueness.

So how do we learn to live authentically in a world where there will always be pressure to conform to other people’s expectations? Define your core values, then live in alignment with them. Identify your strengths, the things that you are good at and passionate about, then do those things. Determine your own goals, then work toward achieving them. Express your genuine thoughts and feelings (in kind and respectful ways). Make sure your actions match your words.

As a Christian, being authentic means living according to God’s design; living out my true identity as one created in His image. It means living my faith 24/7, not just on Sunday mornings and not just when I’m in the public eye. There should be no room in my life for hypocrisy, pretension, or deceit of any kind. In other words, I’m called to be genuine, honest, real.

“To be authentic, we must cultivate the courage to be imperfect – and vulnerable. We have to believe that we are fundamentally worthy of love and acceptance, just as we are. I’ve learned that there is no better way to invite more grace, gratitude and joy into our lives than by mindfully practicing authenticity.”  Brené Brown

Rethinking my style adjectives

/ edebock / 9 Comments

Logo by SamChoosing three to five adjectives to describe your personal style can be very helpful in building a cohesive wardrobe and creating outfits that say what you want to say about yourself.

Several years ago, I chose three adjectives to describe my style… classy, confident, and comfortable. Later, I added two more… casual and creative. The fact that they all started with the letter C was entirely coincidental, but it made them easy to remember! Lately, though, I’ve been rethinking the last one.

Even though my lifestyle calls for casual clothing most of the time, when I look in the mirror, I still want what I’m wearing to be classy. I achieve that by wearing clothes that are tasteful, well-made, and in most cases, somewhat timeless. It’s also important that they’re comfortable and fit well. I think it goes without saying that we’d all like to feel confident in our appearance. I believe that when we’re true to our own personal style, confidence will be a byproduct.

But what about creative? Why have I decided to toss that one out and what am I replacing it with?

To me, creative implies colourful and unconventional. Although she’s an extreme example, Iris Apfel comes to mind. I don’t mind a pop of colour or something with a slightly unique or unusual twist, but I’ve come to the conclusion that true creative style just isn’t me. Maybe it’s the introvert in me, but when I stray too far in that direction I don’t feel comfortable or confident. Instead, I feel self-conscious. Perhaps the desire for simplicity in style is why the coastal grandmother look that was all the rage last summer appealed to me so much.

Of course, it’s not essential that I have five style adjectives. Four would be fine, but as I thought about this, the word authentic came to mind and I knew that I’d found my new adjective. Merriam-Webster includes “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character” as one meaning of the word and synonyms include “genuine” and “real“. To me, authentic style means not dressing to satisfy anyone but myself. It means wearing what feels like me. It means not wearing something simply because it’s a trend or because someone else thinks it looks good on me.

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So, from now on when I stand in front of the mirror, I’ll run through my five style adjectives… classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic… and I’ll be happy with the outfit if it ticks all five boxes.

What about you? Have you ever chosen adjectives to describe your personal style. If not, check here for an exercise that will help you do that.

Book of the month – January 2023

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For several months I’ve been thinking about adding another regular feature to the blog and the beginning of a new year seems like the right time to do just that. I’ve always loved reading. As far back as I can remember, libraries and bookstores have been amongst my favourite places and I’ve almost always had a book on the go.

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From now on, at the beginning of each new month, I plan to feature one of the books that I read during the previous month. Hopefully you’ll also share what you’ve been reading in the comment section and this can become a conversation. Before I introduce this month’s book though, let me share a bit about what I like to read.

I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Though I occasionally enjoy what I refer to as a bit of fluff, I generally prefer a book with a bit more meat to it. That’s why, though many of the non-fiction books that I read are of the Christian variety, I don’t read many Christian novels. I find the majority of them too sweet and unrealistic; too happy ever after. I enjoy reading memoirs and novels about life in other times and places, especially novels that shed light on the lives of women. Over the past few months, I’ve read several historical novels set during World War II. Not stories about the war itself, but about the lives of the people affected by it. January’s book of the month is one of those.

The Orphan’s Tale

Pam Jenoff

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The Orphan’s Tale is the second of Jenoff’s novels that I’ve read in recent months. The first was her more recent book, The Lost Girls of Paris. 

Jenoff has degrees in history and international affairs. Her experience working at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the US State Department covering Holocaust issues in Poland, provide her with the background necessary to bring the events of World War II and Nazi Germany to life. She once described The Orphan’s Tale as the most difficult novel that she’d written because of the very dark subject matter and the fact that it’s based partly on true events. 

The summary inside the front cover flap introduces the story this way

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan’s Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival. 

After being disowned by her parents for becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby, sixteen-year-old Noa finds work cleaning a small rural train station. When she discovers dozens of Jewish infants in a boxcar destined for a concentration camp, she is reminded of her own child and impulsively snatches one of the babies. Fleeing into the snowy night, she almost succumbs to the bitter cold, but is rescued by members of a traveling circus residing nearby. Finding refuge with them, she meets Astrid, an older star of the show who is assigned the task of teaching Noa to perform on the flying trapeze. Rivals at first, the two learn to see past their differences and soon forge a powerful bond. Their story unfolds with moments of suspense, terror, and heartbreak but also flashes of joy. 

I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say that I found The Orphan’s Tale difficult to put down! It’s a beautifully told story about the power of friendship even in the harshest of circumstances and it led me to ponder the question, what really makes us family?

Are you a book lover too? What kind of books do you like to read? What have you been reading lately?

Still wearing skinnies

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Logo by SamFashion influencers have been telling us for at least two years that skinny jeans are out, but cabi is one brand that knows when something works, you don’t change it. Of course, they offer other styles as well, but because cabi knows that there are lots of us who still enjoy wearing our skinnies, they have continued to include them in their collections.

I do have a couple of skinnies that I don’t wear anymore and probably won’t hang onto much longer, but that’s because of their low rise. I was never more thankful than when pants with higher rises became popular again! They’re ever so much more comfortable and instead of spilling over, a middle age muffin top can be hidden or at least somewhat minimized.

Though they also work well with other footwear, for those of us who live where winter is long and snow is deep, skinnies continue to be the best choice to wear with tall boots. The pair that I absolutely love and have continued to wear faithfully are actually corduroy, not denim. The warm caramel Button Fly Skinny from cabi’s Fall 2020 collection are velvety soft and have plenty of stretch for all day comfort.

When I learned that my cabi stylist had a pair of this year’s rich brown ones in my size in her season end sale, I snapped them up too!

Although this spring’s white denim version is called the Button Fly Straight, they appear to fit most gals like a skinny.

What about you? Do you still wear skinnies?

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with cabi nor am I compensated in any way for posts like this one.

Bursts of beauty

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I’ve never been a big fan of winter, but once in awhile it gives us bursts of amazing beauty that help make it more tolerable. This is my 48th winter on the Canadian prairie and never have I seen hoar frost like we were blessed with this week! After a long series of grey and foggy days, most unusual in our part of the world, the sun broke through and the results were breathtaking. With little or no wind to shake it loose, the frost had been building for days.

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Hubby and I have been cleaning out our storage room recently, something that needs to be done from time to time. A trip to the dump turned into a sightseeing and photo taking excursion!

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Looking at the photos, it’s easy to see why we call the topping that we put on cakes frosting or icing!

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Power lines, heavy with frost, became thick ropes of white. Little wonder that power has been flickering and in some cases, going out.

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Even the surface of the snow was powdered with frost crystals. Though I didn’t see the big animal itself, those were clearly moose tracks leading in and out of the clearing above.

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Closer to town, the frost clinging to the cemetery sign gave it a whole new look. Across the road, the entrance to the park where we often go snowshoeing was even more beautiful than usual.

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Sadly, once the sun hits it, the frost doesn’t last long, but its fleeting beauty is a reminder that even winter has moments of magnificence.

Those darned socks!

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Logo by SamWe hadn’t been married very long when hubby was shocked to discover that I had no intention of darning his holey socks. He grew up in poverty and darning socks was something his mother did out of necessity. We were both teaching school, however, and could afford to buy new socks when our old ones wore out. After more than 46 years of marriage, however, I recently darned a pair of sock slippers that he uses when we travel. Not only did I want to extend the lifespan of something that he loves, but mending and darning, once second nature to homemakers, are making a comeback as a way to participate in sustainable fashion.

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I’ve done lots of sewing and needlecraft in the past, but since darning was something new for me, I first had to figure out how to do it. You can learn almost anything from YouTube, so I started by watching this very helpful video.

I don’t have a darning egg. In fact, until I decided to tackle this project, I didn’t even know that such a thing existed! Always one to improvise when necessary, I found that an empty olive jar did the trick. Next, I dug into my old crafting supplies and found some yarn. I would have used blue to match the soles of the socks, but I didn’t have any, so I made do with what I had.

After just one false start, I figured out what I was doing and the first part of the process went fairly smoothly. I was even beginning to think that this darning thing was pretty easy.

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The next part was more challenging though and I’m sure the end result isn’t as neat and tidy as it would have been if my late mother-in-law had done it. I’m satisfied though and so is hubby. I just hope he doesn’t think this means that I’m going to start darning all his holey socks because that’s definitely not going to happen!

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These boots!

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These boots are made for walkin’And that’s just what they’ll do 🎵

Ever since I unwrapped my Christmas gift from hubby, the lyrics of that old Nancy Sinatra song have been going through my mind! Back in November, in this post, I wrote about wanting a pair of warm ankle boots that would be safe and comfortable for winter walking. When hubby didn’t know what to get me for Christmas, I decided to help him out.

This is my third pair of Taxi boots, the other two purchased second-hand. Taxi is a well-established footwear brand developed by a design team based in Toronto, but shipping is now available to customers in the US as well.

My new red boots are water resistant and have durable rubber soles and soft faux fur lining. I added a pair of thermal insoles for added warmth. The outer zipper is purely decorative, but there’s a fully functional inside zipper meaning that I don’t have to adjust and tie the laces every time I wear them! How easy is that?

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While these boots are made for walkin’, they’re also stylin’. Though they look great with jeans, I decided to be adventurous and wore them to church on Sunday morning with a sweater dress and leggings. I thought they gave the outfit a slightly edgier look than when I wear it with shoes or tall fashion boots.

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Would you wear ankle boots with a dress?

Loving my new pjs!

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Logo by SamI’ve never been a person who spends all day in pyjamas and I certainly don’t wear them in public, but after opening a Christmas gift from our daughter, I could be tempted to change my ways! They are so beautiful and also very comfortable!

 

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The handwritten gift tag included a note that said, “Special Delivery! Product of a local vendor in Bogota, Columbia!” She knew how much something like that would appeal to me! Our daughter is not a traveler (she seems to have missed out on that gene) but she has a close friend who’s husband is Columbian, so I’m guessing that they had a part in helping with her Christmas shopping. 

Always curious, I decided to search for the vendor online and quickly found her Facebook page. My pyjamas are even pictured there!

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I love the rich, vibrant colours and I’m learning to identify some of the South American birds. I recognized the toucans and hummingbirds, but according to illustrations on the Facebook page, there are also Mountain Carriqui, Quetzal, Guacamaya (macaws), and Carpintero (woodpeckers). 

The pjs are made of a lightweight satiny polyester with a touch of spandex. My newly acquired Spanish vocabulary has been very helpful in reading the fabric care label. Lavar a mano = wash by hand. Secar en interior = dry inside. No planchar = don’t iron.

So, will I wear them in public? Probably not, but if I did, I’m sure I’d look at least as good as the woman we once saw walking through the Louvre in Paris in pink pjs! 🤣 

 

One word for 2023

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For each of the past six years I’ve chosen one word to inspire or guide me in the new year as well as a scripture verse to go along with it. My past words have been Still, Grace, Inspire, Bold, Truth, and Freedom.

Little did I know when I chose Freedom as my word for 2022 what a contentious topic it would soon become here in Canada. At the beginning of January, I couldn’t possibly have imagined that less than two months later hordes of protesting truckers would close Canada/US border crossings and take control of the streets surrounding our capital buildings in Ottawa, all in the name of freedom. As I wrote at this time last year, there are really two kinds of freedom, freedom to and freedom from. The so-called Freedom Convoy was fighting for freedom from Covid-19 vaccination mandates. There is no doubt that the pandemic did, at least temporarily, curtail our freedom to travel, to gather in large groups, to celebrate special moments with those we love, and to enjoy many of the activities that we once took for granted, but in my opinion, the protesters were forgetting that with freedom comes responsibility. When I chose Freedom as my one word for 2022, it wasn’t Covid that I had in mind. I was thinking on a very personal level of freedom from trauma induced bitterness that had taken hold in my life.

When it came to choosing a new word for 2023, I considered several possibilities. When I first started thinking about this in late November, I was suffering from scanxiety. As I worried about whether or not my neuroendocrine cancer was spreading throughout my body and thought ahead to hubby’s upcoming prostate cancer surgery, I thought that perhaps Courage was the word I wanted. Once I learned the results of my most recent CT scans, however, that didn’t feel like the right word anymore. For several years I’ve considered choosing Intentional as my one word, but as I thought about that one I realized that I already live quite intentionally. I wanted a word that would give me something more to aspire to in the coming year. But what would that word be?

I thought about how good I feel at the end of a productive day, a day that has gone really well, and tried to come up with a word to describe that feeling. Surely that would be a good word for the coming year. Accomplish came to mind and I almost settled on it, but then I decided that it was too work or task oriented. I do feel great at the end of the day if I’ve accomplished a lot, but I also feel that way when we’ve spent the day hiking or paddling the kayak.

After pondering some more, I finally settled on the right word.

Contentment

According to the Collins English Dictionary, contentment is “a feeling of quiet happiness and satisfaction”. Perfect!

Once I’d finally settled on my word, choosing a scripture verse to go with it was easy. I knew right away that it would be Philippians 4:12b.

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Whether my health continues to be stable or begins to deteriorate, whether the Covid pandemic is truly over or not, whatever my circumstances are in the coming year, I want to be able to say with the apostle Paul that I have learned to be content in any and every situation. As I plan my days, I’ll consider what I need to do to end each day with that feeling of quiet happiness and satisfaction and hopefully act accordingly.

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Have you ever chosen a word to inspire or guide you in a new year? What would your one word for 2023 be?