Featured Image: View from my front door
The view from my front door

Welcome to ‘Gaelyne’s Sanctuary’. If you’ve visited in the past (welcome back!) you probably noticed I’ve given my site a new name and look. I’ve spent several months working on this revamp – mostly trying to find the time to work on it. I chose the name ‘sanctuary’ because I found working on it has given me a sense of peace while the rest of my world seems to be falling apart. My husband was fighting lung cancer, so life was a little crazy then. It’s a place where I can come and make one small corner of the world a little brighter.

I have a variety of interests but they boil down to cooking, writing, taking photos and playing Bingo on Facebook. I hope you enjoy your visit and feel free to talk to me in comments or on the contact page.

What's in my Sanctuary?

My Blog

I had a few off-site blogs before deciding to have a blog on my own site. I don't blog very often, but when I have something I want to share, I'll write about it. The topics range from general, fitness, cancer, diabetes, vaping and maybe a rant here and there.

Recipes

I love cooking, sharing recipes and enjoying myself in the kitchen. Most are recipes I wanted to share with my kids or have available so I wouldn't lose them. I don't do fancy stuff, but I like challenging myself with learning to cook something I've never made before.

Photos

I enjoy taking photos with my camera and have a few projects I do such as Photo of the Day, and 12 of 12 days and a group on Flickr and Facebook called Challenge Friday. If I happen to cook something I'm pleased with, I'll often take a photo of it for my pic of the day. Mostly the photos I take are snapshots of my life, which is pretty mundane, I think. But my world is different from what my family in the USA experiences so sharing seems a nice thing to do.

What's New?

Don't Miss...

Challenge Friday

I’ve joined another photo group, where a challenge word is given on Fridays and we have a week to take photos that represent our interpretations

Read More »

Random Instagram Pics

My Facebook Fitness Page

flitterbyg

1,617

5Jan22 This is my 2nd Grandchild. This was from a video they made playing We will Rock You on an organ. You just can't beat such a great smile!! #2022pad #grandkid

Open
5Jan22 This is my 2nd Grandchild. This was from a video they made playing We will Rock You on an organ. You just can't beat such a great smile!! #2022pad #grandkid

11Sep22 Neurmal has a style all her own. She looks grumpy with a resting b*tch face, but is the sweetest cat I've ever known. She doesn't bite, she only scratches the side of my bed *!!) and her scratching posts. She waits, ever so patiently in the mornings until I drag myself out of bed, and only THEN does she meow like a crazed hungry kitty waiting for her food. She makes biscuits on the floor (kneads the floor with her paws) while meowing for her food so it can look like she ...

Open
11Sep22 Neurmal has a style all her own. She looks grumpy with a resting b*tch face, but is the sweetest cat I've ever known. She doesn't bite, she only scratches the side of my bed *!!) and her scratching posts. She waits, ever so patiently in the mornings until I drag myself out of bed, and only THEN does she meow like a crazed hungry kitty waiting for her food. She makes biscuits on the floor (kneads the floor with her paws) while meowing for her food so it can look like she stamping her feet impatiently. Which makes me laugh, and in the mornings - that's really amazing for me. She has taken over as the only cat in this villiage and takes her patroling duties seriously. Plus, she's my gym advisor and tells me when I'm slacking off. #cf22 #style #catsofinstagram #catstyle #softkitty

18Jan22 Oh ick. I am NOT showing you what the porch light looked like. Cleaning the porch and porch light were not my job and wasn't something I even thought about over the last 3yrs. Until it started looking like this. The blackness is from the dust and dirt across the road (where there's a large horse paddock). When the wind comes from that direction, even with the windows closed I get a film of dust and dirt over everything. And obviously cobwebs are not immune from it. So I ...

Open
18Jan22 Oh ick. I am NOT showing you what the porch light looked like. Cleaning the porch and porch light were not my job and wasn't something I even thought about over the last 3yrs. Until it started looking like this. The blackness is from the dust and dirt across the road (where there's a large horse paddock). When the wind comes from that direction, even with the windows closed I get a film of dust and dirt over everything. And obviously cobwebs are not immune from it. So I took a couple cleaning brushes with extensions on them and tackled this area as well as the porch light. Rod used to bring the globe around the light into the house and wash it. I can't do that. I'm not safe on ladders. So I'll just get it to be less scary looking and call it good. Before I tackled this job, the area was sprayed with my favourite spider killer. Were spiders hurt? Geez, I hope so. And I hope they stay away for a long time. #dirt #cobwebs #porchcleaning #eww #spiders #latergram

17Jan22 And here it is all built and ready for a ride - my new, much better fitting recumbent bike. If you know me and have an interest in my old recumbent bike get a hold of me. My preference is for a friend to have it to use. If I don't get any takers then I'll put it up for sale. #2022pad #recumbentbike #bike #homegymlife #keepmoving

Open
17Jan22 And here it is all built and ready for a ride - my new, much better fitting recumbent bike. If you know me and have an interest in my old recumbent bike get a hold of me. My preference is for a friend to have it to use. If I don't get any takers then I'll put it up for sale. #2022pad #recumbentbike #bike #homegymlife #keepmoving

8Jan22 I set up my oil diffuser for an hour of really nice fragrance and set the colours on the diffuser to random. It's a nice way to end the evening. #2022pad #diffuser #aromatherapy #relaxing

Open
8Jan22 I set up my oil diffuser for an hour of really nice fragrance and set the colours on the diffuser to random. It's a nice way to end the evening. #2022pad #diffuser #aromatherapy #relaxing

11Sep22 I take a photo of these whenever I do a test because with catarachts I don't trust my eyes. It's easier to see for sure if there's a bottom line from the camera. Then I let them hang around so I know the date I last checked. Anyone else do that? This is called a RAT test in Australia. #2022pad #covidnegative #justchecking #covidrattest #rat

Open
11Sep22 I take a photo of these whenever I do a test because with catarachts I don't trust my eyes. It's easier to see for sure if there's a bottom line from the camera. Then I let them hang around so I know the date I last checked. Anyone else do that? This is called a RAT test in Australia. #2022pad #covidnegative #justchecking #covidrattest #rat

18Jan22 Noble, using portrait mode. It seems to really show off his soft side. #catsofinstagram #tripodkitty #threeleggedcatsofinstagram #2022pad #latergram

Open
18Jan22 Noble, using portrait mode. It seems to really show off his soft side. #catsofinstagram #tripodkitty #threeleggedcatsofinstagram #2022pad #latergram

5 Jan22 Neurmal hides herself in one of her little cubby holes. I think she's checking to see if anyone is watching. #catsofinstagram #playinghideandseek

Open
5 Jan22 Neurmal hides herself in one of her little cubby holes. I think she's checking to see if anyone is watching. #catsofinstagram #playinghideandseek

12Feb22 I woke up a bit confused because this routine should only play on the first Saturday of the month rather than every Saturday. YES. This is an Alexa routine, not an Apple Homepod routine. In this instance, Alexa is able to do more (like tell me the date and read my calendar to me) than Siri. But that's OK. I'm happy to use whatever works. #2022pad #alexa #routine #wakeup #latergram

Open
12Feb22 I woke up a bit confused because this routine should only play on the first Saturday of the month rather than every Saturday. YES. This is an Alexa routine, not an Apple Homepod routine. In this instance, Alexa is able to do more (like tell me the date and read my calendar to me) than Siri. But that's OK. I'm happy to use whatever works. #2022pad #alexa #routine #wakeup #latergram

22Jan22 I mailed my sister an older iPhone so she can get better hearing aids that work best with the iOS platform. That and she was given an Apple watch for Christmas and needs at least this model phone to make good use of it. And that was why I had this phone. I bought it to use temporarily with my watch while I waited for a newer phone. When it came time to sell this phone, I just had a hesitancy I couldn't explain - but I really thought it'd be best suited to go to someone I know...

Open
22Jan22 I mailed my sister an older iPhone so she can get better hearing aids that work best with the iOS platform. That and she was given an Apple watch for Christmas and needs at least this model phone to make good use of it. And that was why I had this phone. I bought it to use temporarily with my watch while I waited for a newer phone. When it came time to sell this phone, I just had a hesitancy I couldn't explain - but I really thought it'd be best suited to go to someone I know and care about rather than a stranger. And that's exactly what's transpired. With luck, she'll get it this week! #sisterlove #iphonegift #betterhearingsoon #sharingthetech #2022pad #latergram

21Dec21 I came home to find Neurmal sunning herself in the office window. #catsofinstagram #2021pad #latergram

Open
21Dec21 I came home to find Neurmal sunning herself in the office window. #catsofinstagram #2021pad #latergram

Hits: 384