Mastering 100-Day Challenges: My Journey

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

Have you ever heard of “100 Days of Hard”? Apparently, it was an incredibly intense exercise routine that you had to do for 100 days – without missing a day. And there are lots of them – especially on Minecraft. The first one I heard of was physical fitness – and from the report, it was also HARD. I thought I might adopt it for posting on my blog and vlog sites. Can I do it? Check out the evidence!

I’ve been doing Wordle for a long time….and I just got my first 100+ day streak! A few months ago, I finally (after over 1000 games played) got a streak of 100 finishes – and I’m still going (138 in a row, so far). And yes, I do use help to sustain it but rarely.

Way back in October, 2014, I decided that I would do a 100 day geocaching streak. After 2 false starts….I managed to go over 100 days with that too. Lots of snow, including a blizzard. It was too cold to take a picture that day, though. The successful streak started at the beginning of January, 2015 and ended in June, as I prepared to move to China! Enjoy the pictures of caches below. Lots of tricky ones, and the top right one was dangerous. There’s a gap of water between the land and the pole. I am still pretty proud of that streak!

SO…this is proof that I can be consistent, even when it’s hard. And Wordle, too. But what about the other stuff? Like being a blogger/vlogger? Being a micro-preneur? And hey!, I even went to the gym every day for a year. I did that. Surely I can do this again, right?

Alas…,

I posted my Refracting Rainbows vlog on Monday and committed to every day except Sunday. Yesterday was Tuesday – Day 2. Did I post a blog here? Nope! I went to the coffee social. I worked on my knitting projects. And it was Seniors day at Value Village so I can’t miss that. No pants or Pj’s, but I did score six ‘Wings of Fire” books for the grandkids! And pool in the evening. No blog. Didn’t even think of it!

So, what happens next? Clearly I’m not doing what I wanted to do. Am I a failure? Unreliable? Stupid? …. It’s amazing how quickly you can beat yourself up about this. And I’ve had a lot of practice with that kind of internal talking. And I know it’s not true…I have evidence.

I am someone who worked out at a gym 365 days straight. Someone who, in the dead of a Calgary winter started a 100 Day plus streak of finding geocaches! I finished over 100 Wordles in a row. I have options so here are some of my thoughts about this.

  • I could throw in the towel.
  • Do I really have time for this? No.
  • Can I do this a different way? Lighten the load a little?
  • Why do I want to do this? That’s a big question that should be answered -probably about lots of things I added to life in December.
  • I should have thought about it earlier – instead of just jumping in!

I kind of like thinking things through in this way. I probably should have done it before, but now I have a plan.

Enjoy this first week of Advent!

Marcia

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Is JOY an Act of Resistance?

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

For years, I have been making cards proclaiming JOY! As in “Joy to the World”, the third Sunday of Advent…the shepherds. I guess it started with celebrating Advent at church…something I still practice. But, what does it mean, exactly? Especially now, as we face situations that can work to suck away our joy—-what miniscule amounts of it some people have.

I read Tristan Katz’s Substack article d “Joy as Resistance” and that’s helping me rethink my ideas of what it means beyond Christmas and Advent. Is JOY for everyone? How do we “make” joy? Can we make it? What is it going to look like in these complicated times? How can I bring joy into this crazy, crazy situation?

These images came from a Google search. And I’m trying to figure out why Joy comes from Resistance.

Joy is somthing that we can create. Make a wall hanging that looks nice and hang it on the wall. Add colour and butterflies and flowers. Find happy art. Make happy art. And when I look up I see exactly that – a frame I made years ago, complete with butterflies and flowers. And yeah, it’s still here, after lots of decluttering! Maybe this is the easiest way to create joy for ourselves. If we have the time.

Joy needs to be fought for – not only the getting of it, but the keeping, too. People targeted by those who are ‘anti-woke’. People of colour. They are fighting for it. Both Living Resistence and Black Joy are books about that fight.. People living in poverty, struggling to make ends meet. People whose loved ones are missing and perhaps murdered or trafficked away. Both Living Resistence and Black Joy are books about their acts of resistance.

I have come to the realization that JOY is not what I thought it was. It’s bigger, it’s more, and I haven’t really had to fight for it. I came at the idea of JOY at church. Originally, and still, there are two angels. The O used to have a circle beside it – the tomb of Jesus. Now, I wonder if this is too simplistic and too safe.

I’m not sure if any of this is helpful to anyone else, but I hope it is. If nothing else there are two books help me broaden my understanding of JOY in the world we are living in.

Marcia

PS: Both books are available on Audible, just an FYI.

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Wisdom Cries

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

Lexio Divina is a process of sitting with a passage, usually biblical, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s something I want to do with things I see on Facebook. Poetry that is shared with me.

How it “works”

  • Read – this is the lexio part. Read slowly. Which words or phrases jump off the page and into your head?
  • Reflect– or meditatio, aka meditating. Read again. How is this making you feel? What emotions are coming up? Sit with them. Let those feelings be in your body. They are important.
  • Respond – Oratio is where we do something, or say something. What ideas does this third reading bring to your mind – journalling? A letter to your political representatives? A conversation with a friend? A blog post? Some of these things happen later – you get ideas for responding, perhaps?
  • Rest – Now we contemplate –Comtemplatio. This is the last of the 4 readings. Where all the things combine. (and perhaps before we write letters, blog posts, call our friends.

My contemplation today was in Proverbs 1: 20 – 23. The words that hit my hardest are “wisdom SCREAMS’ even though it says she cries out.

Why SCREAMS? With all the stuff that is going on these days, wisdom has to blast its way through. In both the US and Canada there is an outcry about temporary foreign workers (legal and illegal) who are usually not white. Here in Canada, Pollievre and the Conservatives want to scrap the Temporary Foreign Workers program In the US, the Republicans are complaining about how there people are using Medicaid and that’s why they can’t negotiate with the Democrats.

Why SCREAMS? Because this is being framed as one thing, but it’s really quite racial. I listened to this short from Brian Tyler Cohen talking about the situation in the US. Canada isn’t there yet, and we are quite subtle in our racism. It made me think about the rhetoric in my country and deeper layers of what’s going on.

Did this video impact my reading about wisdom? Yeah, it did. Politics is framed as Left or Right, Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat, woke or unwoke. None of what our governments do is about these things. It’s about the PEOPLE. The bottom of the triangle that upholds the little top part. And we, the people all want the same thing…to have enough, to be healthy, to enjoy our short journey on the earth. We don’t want to be vulnerable to every whim of politicians and their supporters.

This also came to my mind as I was thinking about wisdom screaming for our attention.

This was another deep post. Maybe because I am currently quite vulnerable. Even as I know some financial security is coming for me, so many are facing loss of income, loss of homes, and it costs us more than someone who has more than enough.

I hope this is helpful to someone. Writing it down here has served me well.

Thank you, all!

Marcia

PS: Don’t forget to like and subscribe ot this!

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Homestead Playbook: Week 1

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I am privileged to receive an inheritance. I know not everyone gets one. But, I do. And the question is, “How do I use it to make my dreams come true? What do I want to be the end result? These are big questions. The biggest answer is that there will be a piece of property with our homes on it – mine, my child, and my grandchildren.

There are other things I want as well. I want to generate an annual income of $20000 through my social activities (including this blog!) Pattern sales would add to this income as well – maybe $10000 a year! (that’s a lot of patterns)

So I wrote out a paragraph with all that information and gave it to ChatGPT. Never thought I would do such a thing, but I’ve heard it works and I needed help. I got a three year plan and a plan for each year. Thanks to the prompts I now have weekly plans for the next two months!

My tasks for this week – Research HISA and EFTs. Open an account for the land purchase money. Draft a budget.

Today I had a meeting with my bank wealth specialist. A high interest savings account is not that lucrative an option, but I will need to move some money into that space – 3 month’s worth of income. The best option seems to be a 3 month term deposit at 3.5 percent. Not great moneymakers, but a start. Can’t open the account, but I have some ideas of how I will handle it!

REALITY CHECK: I am still living on the edge. I might be on that edge until next year. Food banks are still on the table for me right now. $117 doesn’t go far!

Still, you can learn a little bit about your options. That way, when you win the lottery, you will have a plan! Even if it is a small win!

So, now you know what the first two images are about. The photo of all the people is from the protest I went to on Saturday #Draw the Line. It was easier to get to Georgetown, so I took the GO bus there. Speakers about the environment, justice, stopping Highway 413. All important concerns. As a senior, I have more time to give to this – and it makes a big difference to the grandchildren I love. My sign said “PEOPLE, NOT PROFIT”.

The hat is my design project. I’ll be posting the pattern in a few weeks. The hat is for sale – $30 CDN. Let me know if you would like it!

Finally, don’t forget to support your local foodbank. You don’t know which of your friends or family might be using one.

Have a good week!

Marcia

PS: I am in the picture, all you can see is a bit of my orange shirt!

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You Should Read This, I Think

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

This book is recommended for twelve-year-olds and up. The white grandmother in me screams, “No..wait until they’re a little older, maybe sixteen or seventeen, Safiya’s age?” This is hard stuff. The reality is that Indigenous peoples, brown and black people, immigrants, migrants -live with the reality of this story from the time of conception. Maybe even in the lives of the grandmothers who bore their mothers. We, who do not experience this, need to know and feel this book.

I speak from experience. I am mom to one Metis-Cree daughter and Oma to her five beautiful children. I am white. They are brown. Mine is the privilege of being white. Theirs is not. So I read. And so I share.

The first thing you read is a section of A. E. Houseman’s A Shropshire Lad. Two lines stand out to me.

“In all the endless road you tread, There’s nothing but the night”

I hear the news – Indigenous reserves with undrinkable water, starving children in Gaza, migrant workers in the US and Canada (we are not off the hook here). Government cuts are being made that hurt the people on the margins – the disabled, the poor, the unhoused, the elderly.

Cover of Hollow Fires, image of Samira Ahmed

I also value “The Glossary of Intangible Things”. Not The Catalog of Truths and not Taxonomy of Lies. They are worth quoting here since they introduce many of Safiya’s journal entries.

  • Fact: Something that has a concrete, provable existence; an actual occurance, an objective reality
  • Alternative Fact: A disguised falsehood presented as true. See Orwell, George, doublethink: the simultaneous acceptance of two mutually contradictory “facts” without a sense of conflict or cognitive dissonance
  • Truth: A quality or state in accordance with reality; the actual or true state or nature of a person, place, thing, or event Fidelity, Honesty
  • Lie: A false or misleading imipression. A deception you tell yourself so you can sleep at night.

Hollow Fires is two stories. Safiya’s story begins in 2023 (a year after the book was published) She is remembering the events of her last year at a private highschool. She is seeking the truth. She is also a student – brown in a school oozing with white privilege for those that can afford it. She has a scholarship. Her references using the Glossary of Intangible Things provide insight into what is coming. They are not to be ignored. She hears a voice.

Jawal is several years younger and attends a public school. He and his parents are refugees from Iraq, where his father helped the Americans. Iraq was no longer safe for them. As it turns out, neither was the US.

The story unfolds as Jawal (missing for most of the story) connects with Samira as she and her friends search for the truth. They fight to keep the story of his abduction alive. They keep looking for him and the truth.

Reading this book will give you a deeper awareness of racism, Islamaphobia, and white nationalsim. Because of that, people of colour may be triggered by events in the story. They know the truth better than white people. We need to know more.

I hope you read or listen to this book. Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks for popping by!

Marcia

And if you’d like to help me pay the bills in September, feel free to buy me a coffee or two.

https://buymeacoffee.com/dblhfsfuj

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Creative Ways to Cope with Sudden Loss of Income and Making Ends Meet

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

If my mom was still living and needing care, I would not be writing this post. Just so you know. But she isn’t. She’s probably singing her heart out like she used to. She’s happy. And I’m short on rent and living.

  • My ideas for creating a surplus:
  • Going back to teaching ESL, part time or as a sub.
  • Getting a business phone and putting my name out there to tutor
  • Creating and selling snowflake decorations
  • Creating and selling Christmas cards
  • Creating patterns and selling them on-line
  • Being a paid companion
  • Learning to be an “end of life” doula
End Of Life Doula

Things have been coming into my addled brain and out of my finger tips. I’m on track to finish my Professional Development requirements. 6 hours left in that!

The snowflakes deserve their own post – and maybe even a pattern. It sure has been fun using scraps of colours.

I am having a lot of fun with Lisa’s cat. I shared this in my last post. I decided to go with one face and a tail on the back…A lot easier, I think. It’ll be fun to see how many I can make and sell this year!

Being an end of life doula is something that also comes into my mind fairly often. I do need to have some time distance from the deaths of my parents.

I used to make cards every year…and I’m looking forward to getting back into it again. This card will probably feature a small snowflake that you can use for any occasion! There are lots of people who add colour to our days! Give ’em a flake or two!

I’m not investing in business-class WordPress just yet! Still, I’d like you to be able to support me. I have friends that use this, so I am too. Buy me a coffee! The scanning code is below, and the link to my page is next! https://ko-fi.com/kofisupporter4512

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Creating Art that Satisfies from Everyday Moments

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I have spent so much time wanting to draw pictures like an artist. I have books. I have plans, I have ideas. Youtube videos galore….But I never believe I’m good at it. You know what’s funny about that? I have helped my ESL students learn to draw – Minecraft bees, dinosaurs, polar bears in a snowstorm, elephants, monkeys. And I drew them too! Wed.Thurs.Fri?!?!?!?!

So what did I realize today? I make pictures all the time. Some of them aren’t so “pretty” – like the chair full of stuff, or a messy bed. A sink full of dishes. These certainly don’t spark muh joy for me. These “pictures” are easy to create (and maintain). Especially when life is in a state of flux (grief, stress, illness…)

On the flip side, I can create pictures that do satisfy. The empty chair showcasing a pillow or shawl inviting me to sit a spell! The tidy bed that calls me to get in and read some before I sleep! These pictures take more time and effort – especially the maintaining part. As always, a work in progress!

These are a few pictures that I made happen. I got my mom and dad to Lake Ontario and we made some great pictures before he died. Then just today I spotted this random sunflower in a bed full of roses. Great sparkles of joy in both of them.

The smaller pictures are things I have made – happy thoughts when I see or use them. My Ghana-ese grass basket repair became a piece of art! (More about that another day)! The bandanna I made and enjoy wearing…The cat charm I made yesterday to match my funky microwave. That’s a good reason to keep the cupboard doors closed!

We don’t need to be an artist to create “pictures” that satisfy and spark joy. We make them happen all the time! Drawing is only one way to get it done. Pictures are real and we can make them happen any time – sometimes just by washing the dishes!

You may still want to try your hand at drawing. I’m going to leave you with one link that is a good place to start. Art Hub for Kids has something for everyone, even 2 year-olds and 82 year-olds. They even have Bluey pictures to try! My grandkids will love that!

And the cat with some attitude? The one by the microwave? Lisa, from Green Fox Farm Designs gave us this one. I’m going to have fun making more, I can tell you!

I’m also excited to say that I’ve found my font size changer again!!!!!! By accident, clicking a button a little differently!

How do you create “pictures” in your home?

Share in the comments or on my Facebook Page

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Navigating Financial Challenges in Canada: A Community Approach

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

It’s no surprise, I guess, that money is in tight supply around here. Losing my mom also meant losing an added source of income. The books are no longer balancing. It’s not just me, though. This is true for about 25% of Canadian families. Something has to change – and that change begins with us. We can learn about our options! We can learn WHY things are the way they are.

PART ONE: LEARNING MORE

These are the people I’m following as part of my own learning journey.

I listened to Doughnut Economics – the link will take you to an introductory video. I learned more about capitalism, neoliberalism and their histories. Scary stuff. I remember Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagon. Raworth’s ideas are important in the face of Bills C-5 in both Ontario and the federal government. (Funny that they are both #5.) In these bills we see governments trying to bulldoze over environmental concerns and, more importantly, the rights of Indigenous peoples.

There’s a DECO collective in Toronto that I have contacted. Hopefully they will let me join their book club. Reading books and watching videos is good. Talking to people is better.

Steve Boots talks about Canadian Politics – something I am more than interested in right now. He posts quite regularly about topics we need to pay attention to. He inspired two letters to my MP about Bill C-5. That’s a new one for me!

The Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives is also on my learning list. I haven’t spent as much time there, but Steve Boots pulls me to their website every so often! I’m making it a priority to visit more often. We need to know what others are sharing.

This is the video that inspired this post. The details are thought-provoking. So, Steve, THANK YOU!

Mark Carney has disappointed me. I can’t quote the speech (early in the leadership campaign) but he spoke about caring for the whole. Public service cuts and cuts to social programs don’t do that. Making the wealth trickle down might.

Check these people out! Let me know what you think. I do read the comments!

You might have other resources for me to check out! Share them, too!

Thanks for popping in! There will be more. This isn’t over yet!

Cheers,

Marcia

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Embracing Change: My Journey After Loss

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I found this quote at Hearts and Minds, a site about ending poverty. The picture comes from a Facebook post.

It’s been almost 2 months since my mom passed away. Loss of parents, loss of income, rent to pay …. When you have a lot of changes in your life, it takes a toll. I know. It doesn’t matter if the changes are good, bad or ugly…your body, mind and spirit respond.

Just to keep your mind at ease, I’m moving forward. So here are some things that will stay the same for the next year or so.

  • I will continue living in my bachelor apartment, even though I can’t really afford it. Moving also creates stress and I don’t have the mental capacity to do this now. But it will come.
  • I am still an Oma with blue hair. I forget that it is blue, so it surprises me when people react – but there you go.
  • I love the Creator of Heaven and Earth who has given me so much in the past few months. This includes the suite that you usually have to wait two years for! I am meant to be here.
  • I’m still learning to play pool
  • I’m still losing weight for the last time! Thanks, Pahla B!
  • I’m still working through my yarn stash (and other peoples!)

Like I said, some things have to stay the same. Too much change, too soon is not good. BUT, to be honest, time does change things. Time, however is not the solution to my situation. I am not the same as I was a few weeks ago. I am embracing new things. I am finding new resources and I’m willing to get out of my comfort zone. So here come the changes….

  • I am learning about craft businesses by participating in Crochetpreneur
  • I invest in things that will help me move forward.
  • I am opening an on-line shop
  • I am being more open about my financial situation.
  • I am going outside.
  • I am going to be much more political in this blog and on social media!

In short, I am changing things myself. I have been given skills and I have acquired them. I am celebrating them and using them in ways that bring me and others joy and colour!

Stay tuned…I’m on the move! “Watch me backflip!”

Have a delightful day!

Marcia

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Finding Joy in Unpacking: A Personal Journey

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I wish I could find the sidebar that let me make this text larger. There are little things that annoy me and this is one of them! I also wish I had a picture of the pile of crates I was looking at all the time! This is life – and we will move forward.

Clearly, some video watching is in order, but not just now!

It’s been just over a month since I last posted. I have been “busy” moving through grief. This journey is long. Finally, with my sister’s help, I eliminated an ugly pile of plastic bins. TThere are two at the food of my bed and the rest stacked up nicely in my storage room! My eyes are happy!

The “dresser wall” helped me sort some of the stuff. Then I have 10 plastic bins that are fairly well sorted and out of sight! The TV still sits on that dresser as it did at my mom’s. I do not like looking at a black screen or the mirror! Problem solved with two crocheted curtains that my Oma made. Amazing what you find in a box! They spark great joy!

Here’s what this month of grief, change, and unpacking has taught me:

  • Big jobs can be done in 20 minute blocks over time. That’s how I worked through my bins.
  • Make a list of tasks you want to accomplish each day. Even brushing your teeth can go on that list. Mark the tasks off as you do them!
  • Take naps. Grieving is hard work, and your brain is working overtime!
  • Don’t judge yourself. Even when you some crazy things! This too, will pass.
  • Celebrate what you do get done!

I am building a life without my mother. It’s different from what I had envisioned back in September. Really different. I am moving forward, even if it’s at a snail’s pace!

If your journey has some sharp turns, I hope this encourages you!

Thanks for stopping by!

PS: I looked at the picture of the boxes under my desk. The more I looked, the more they bugged me in real life. So, they are in the storage room! Yay, me!!!!!!!!!! I get things done!

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