things to be grateful for

Grateful for Movies

~ Colline ~ 18 Comments

During the Summer, we take the time to watch more movies than we usually do. On Tuesday mornings I take my girls to the cinema to watch stories on the big screen. They enjoy the experience and always look forward to this vacation treat. I do admit that I do not always get them popcorn (I feel it is overpriced), but they enjoy the event anyway.

During the Summer we are also able to have a Sunday evening movie night. After dinner, the five of us settle down in front of our TV to watch a show the family has agreed on. The length of the film does not matter as the only one who has to get up early in the morning is my husband – and he is a late owl. Our choice ranges from Family Movies, to Anime, to Super Hero Films (and these we love!).

I am grateful for movies this week because, not only do the visuals take you to a never-visited place to experience something different, but they also help to bring families together.

What have you been grateful for this week?

Last week Lavender Ladi was greateful for her son’s spirit of adventure.

Processed with Rookie© Colline Kook-Chun, 2015

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week. Link up with my post and feel free to use the badge my daughter created. )

I enjoy reading what others are grateful for – the posts make me think of other things I am happy to have in my life. Please remember to send me a pingback so that I know you have participated.

Grateful for Spring’s Arrival

~ Colline ~ 29 Comments

For the past week and a half, we have been enjoying the arrival of Spring. The temperatures are above zero, the birds are singing, and the grass is greening. As my colleagues and I stand outside supervising the children at play, we turn our faces to the sun and enjoy the fact that we are hatless and bootless. My favourite part of the season has to be the appearance of colourful blooms in planters and in gardens. I enjoy seeing the bright yellow of daffodils and the the riotous colour of pansies that I pass each day on my way to work. 

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2015
A Spring Planter. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2015

Processed with RookieWhat have you been grateful for this week?

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2015

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week. Link up with my post and feel free to use the badge my daughter created. )

I enjoy reading what others are grateful for – the posts make me think of other things I am happy to have in my life. Please remember to send me a pingback so that I know you have participated. 

Grateful for a New Classroom

~ Colline ~ 49 Comments

At the end of the last academic year, I was fortunate enough to get transferred to a school within walking distance of where I live. This is the final year in which the TDSB brings the Full Day Kindergarten programme into their schools – and I was hired to be an additional teacher on staff to fulfill this obligation. My classroom has recently been renovated to suit the kindergarten programme and boasts new cupboards, new furniture and new boards.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A newly renovated classroom. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

The lack of colour in the classroom suits the new directive from the Early Learning Years department within the TDSB: neutral colours aim at calming the children.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
View of a kindergarten class. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

The boards await the contributions of the children to bring them to life – as do the centres.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Waiting for class to begin. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

As I sit in my chair looking at my classroom, I acknowledge that it is not yet fully equipped. However, the space is waiting for us to make it our own. I am grateful for the the opportunity, not only to work closer to home, but also to begin a classroom from scratch.

Processed with RookieWhat have you been grateful for this week?

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week. Link up with my post and feel free to use the badge my daughter created. )

Thank you for last week’s contributions – there were a record number. I enjoy reading what others are grateful for – the posts make me think of other things I am happy to have in my life. 

The Gratitude Attitude: The Summer’s Bounty

Gratitude Wednesday: Morning Coffee

Grateful to go out on rainy & cloudy days

Grateful for Traffic Backup

Swan Lake

Thank You

Sunday Gratitude

Grateful for Street Flowers

~ Colline ~ 64 Comments

I live in a city that is built with cement and brick. Sidewalks are grey, roads are made with black tarmac and buildings are either grey, shades of brown or reflected glass.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Walking down a sidewalk in Toronto. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Walking down a sidewalk in Toronto is not always dull though. Many streets have planters that are filled with a riot of colour.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A street planter. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

I enjoy the summer flowers that overpower the gray planters they are in. The colours are bright and pleasing to the eye.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A streetside flower bed. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Plants are not only found in planters, however. When I walk the streets in my neighborhood, I pass many flowerbeds that grace the sidewalks. Mid-summer, these plants are spilling over the edges and bring a sense of beauty to the streets.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A streetside planter. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Because these streets have flowerbeds does not mean that flowers in planters do not abound. I enjoy seeing both on the streets I walk.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Sidewalk flowers. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Each week I am grateful for the flowers I see. I say a little thank you to the city as well as the landlords of offices and apartment buildings for the floral beauty that graces the streets of Toronto.

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© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week. Link up with my post and feel free to use the badge my daughter created. )

Last week’s contributions: 

Gratitude Wednesday: Oh the (Minneapolis) Parks!

Grateful for Butterflies

Grateful for Festivals: China Now!

~ Colline ~ 44 Comments

Living in Toronto, we have the opportunity to attend festivals over the weekend. I have often been grateful for these as they give us the opportunity to take the children out for a relatively inexpensive day. Often the shows are free and the food on offer does not cost too much. In addition to the festivals being a cheap form of entertainment, they also expose us to new cultures and skills.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Woman cutting paper. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

The most recent festival we attended was the China Now! festival. At this festival we had the opportunity to see artisans who were visiting from China. What I did not expect to see was an old woman cutting paper. She sat quietly next to her table moving her scissors gently through the paper she held in her hand.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Hands of paper cutter. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

At times she would sit with her hands in her lap in order to rest them and look at the people who were passing by. Looking at the paper on her table, I realised that she was cutting more than one sheet of paper at a time. I then understood how her hands could ache with effort.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Paper cuttings. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

The end result of her work looked beautiful. I admired the  large sheet of paper cutting that lined her table.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Collage of paper cutting. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

On sale at this artisan’s table were some paper cuttings that had been block mounted: cuttings that would hang up nicely on the wall in someone’s home, or even form part of a card.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Block mounted paper cutting. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

I am grateful that the children get an opportunity to try out something that is linked to what we are experiencing at the Harbourfront festivals.  At this particular festival, they had the opportunity to do a little paper cutting of their own.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
Trying out some paper cutting. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

While they were cutting, my husband and I listened to the music that was playing and browsed a little among the available stalls.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
My daughters’ paper cutting. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Afterwards my girls proudly brought home the horses that they had cut out of paper. As always after a day spent at a festival, we came home happy that we had gone out a little and spent some time seeing something new.

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© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week. Link up with my post and feel free to use the badge my daughter created. )

 

 

Grateful for a Working Bathroom

~ Colline ~ 46 Comments

We had a few issues with our bathroom: the ceiling was cracked, the paint was peeling, and the hot and cold water for the shower would not mix correctly causing uncomfortably hot showers. We notified the landlord and, during the past two weeks, contractors came in to fix the space.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A Working Bathroom. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Our place has been a bit topsy-turvy as water damages were discovered and walls in the bedroom closet had to be fixed. The work is now complete and we have a bathroom with a new look – and a shower that no longer burns the skin. This week I am grateful that we live in a building that is looked after by the landlord. When we discover an issue that needs fixing, the job is done no matter how big or small.

Processed with RookieWhat have you been grateful for this week?

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

(Join me and share something that you have been grateful for in the past week)

 

Contributions for the past week: 

Transitionally Speaking shares her gratitude for Bountiful Berries

Scrapydo shares her gratitude for the sparrows she sees every morning

Amy shares her gratitude for the hard work of bees

Amanda shares her gratitude for warm summer days

Grateful for Transit

~ Colline ~ 46 Comments

Since moving to Toronto, I have been grateful for the public transit because it has helped me get from place to place.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A train pulls into the station in Toronto. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Trains, buses and streetcars have taken myself and my family to many destinations: watching the circus displays at the Harbourfront, looking at the animals in the Toronto Zoo, shopping in Chinatown, exploring different venues during the Open Doors weekend in May, to skating lessons, to work.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A bus on the streets of Toronto. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

Even though we do not have a car, we are able to get to where it is we need to go. Buses and trains run frequently from our neighbourhood, and late nights do not prevent us from getting home.

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
A streetcar in Toronto. © Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is a reliable public transit system that I appreciate and am grateful for – especially as I come from a country where public transit is almost non-existent.

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© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014

(Grab a button and join me in documenting what it is you are grateful for. Please leave the links to your posts in the comments below.)

 

Things I Am Grateful For

~ Colline ~ 16 Comments

On 5 January, Shevy challenged her followers on twitter to write down five things everyday, for a month, that they are grateful for. These are the things I came up with during the past week:

5 January

I am grateful for:

  1. My health
  2. A husband who loves me still after 12 years of marriage
  3. Beautiful children who shower me with love everyday
  4.  A warm place to stay (especially during the ice-cold winter months!)
  5. The food we have to eat everyday

6 January

I am grateful for:

  1. The warm boots and coat I have to wear when I go out in the winter cold
  2. Access to the internet with which to communicate with loved ones
  3. The nearby well-stocked library
  4. My well-behaved children
  5. Access to clean drinking water

7 January:

I am grateful for:

  1. Finally meeting my brother
  2. Living in a city with an efficient public transport system
  3. The fresh and juicy fruit I ate this morning
  4. Being able to spend time with my family over the weekend
  5.  Having had parents who loved me while growing up

8 January

I am grateful for:

  1. My ability to walk when I want to
  2. Lazy afternoons when I can curl up with a book and read
  3. The beauty of a clear, blue sky
  4. The happy sound of children’s laughter at play
  5. Quiet times during which I can be alone

9 January

I am grateful for:

  1. My life in a peaceful country
  2. Being able to eat any type of nut I wish
  3. Warm, mild winter days
  4. The ability to communicate with loved ones by telephone, or via social media networks
  5. Waking up pain-free in the morning

10 January

I am grateful for:

  1. The friends I have to spend time with
  2. My ability to listen to the music of nature, the music created by talented artists, and the music of my children learning their instrument
  3. The running water I have in both my kitchen and bathroom
  4. The time I have at the end of the day to relax and watch a programme on tv
  5. My eyesight and being able to see all that I do everyday

11 January

I am grateful for:

  1. The education that my children are receiving
  2. The health care system that we have access to
  3. The chances I have had to improve my education
  4. The experiences I have had travelling to other countries
  5. Being able to smell baking bread, and the tantalising scent of a meal that is cooking

Doing this exercise has helped me to realise how many things I have in my life that I am grateful for. Too often we focus on what we do not have, and what we feel we should have. Focusing on what we have, instead, helps us to be more positive about our lives and what we have.

What are some of the things you are grateful for? Will you take up the challenge of writing them down for at least a week?

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2012