Sunday, November 29, 2015

A Frosty Day & Shopping with The Kenyan Boys Choir


It is still Fall but it has been quite chilly and I think chillier than the norm.
Perhaps that will change as the season progresses.
So much for El Nino bringing us a mild winter season.


 I don't find it so bad when I go outside but my knees do. 
I took these photos on Sunday in late afternoon.
Usually we do  not have frost that hangs around past morning and
usually we get a lot of rain. When it is raining the temperature is several degrees warmer so there is no frost.


I find the designs in the frost quite beautiful.
It reminds me of my childhood when we had a lot of snow and frost on our windows.
The frost was very thick and always had such lovely and intricate patterns.
Our household heating seemed to work very well compared to what I have now.

When they designed my place they didn't think about cold weather and where to put the radiators.
It is too cold and drafty (though I do plug things up to stop the drafts).


My poor bird bath, which I should have emptied of the rain water before it got cold,
suffered a mishap.
But like I said, we don't usually have this level of frost and freezing so I was not prepared.
The frozen water snapped the finial.


I'm not complaining.
I just wish it was a bit warmer inside (I do wear heavy socks and leggings too)

I do love the beauty to be found in the frost.

Where in the world do you live and what is the weather like now?

Here is a wonderful video to warm your spirit and your heart.
I get a kick out of the faces on the many shoppers when they heard something unusual to their ears.
I've watched this video several times now and it always brings a smile to me.
It's been shared at 180,000 times now on the internet.


 The Kenyan Boys Choir have now left Canada and are in California.
If  you like this video as much as I do, I hope you will share it via Social Media and push the numbers well beyond 180,000.

Thanks so much!

I'm joining in with Our World Tuesday with Lady Fi
and Sue over at Image-in-Ing.

Have a blessed week!

Friday, November 27, 2015

Saturday's Critters







In the past several weeks I've noticed large flocks of birds every where I go.

I am not sure if they are migratory birds that are flying south, or if there is another reason.

But they are interesting to watch.

It is hard to capture them when they fly so quickly though.

Joining in with our host Eileen at Saturday's Critters.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Skies in November


It's always pretty to see the sunlight glinting off the windows in the far distance.

 

At this time of year when the light is scarce, a clear and sunny day is a precious gift.

 Have a great evening.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday today.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Great News ~ Update on Baby Fidelis

Hello everyone,

Some of you will remember from earlier posts that I was trying to assist a child named Baby Fidelis and her family, to raise funds for medical help.  The funds were needed to travel from Kenya to Canada so that the baby could undergo reconstructive surgery. Medical costs were to be donated to the family but the family had to get to Canada and have funds to live on as well as funds for after care once they return home.

After a tumultuous start to their journey, the baby and her mother arrived in Toronto, Canada in August, 2015.  It's been awhile since there has been any news but thanks to a news agency in Kenya, there is now a public update. I'm sharing the photo and story below. Credit goes to The Star, Kenya.

Baby Fidelis underwent successful surgery last week in Toronto. There aren't any new  photos of how the baby looks since she is barely a week out of surgery. But I will update the photos of the baby if, and when, they do become available.

Thank you to those who  prayed for this mother and her child and  contributed to helping them financially.

~~~~

Baby Fidelis Muthoni in Canada before surgery. Photo/COURTESY BY ALICE WAITHERA


























Baby Fidelis Muthoni has successfully undergone a corrective surgery in Canada to remove a growth on her face.

The one-and-a-half-year-old baby has been suffering from frontal bone defect since birth, which disfigured her face.

According to her father Kenneth Kinuthia, the baby underwent a surgery that took the better part of Tuesday and is now recuperating in the intensive care unit.

Kinuthia said his wife called him on Wednesday evening to tell him Muthoni was even able to speak, hours after she was out of the theatre.

“Muthoni has finally had the operation and we are now hoping she will get better and live a normal life,” he said.

on Thusrday, Kinuthia told the Star on the phone Muthoni’s doctors are confident the baby will recuperate soon and may leave Canada sooner than expected.

Muthoni has been undergoing tests in the country for two months prior to her surgery and was expected to live there until February as the doctors monitored her progress.

In August, a relative conned the family out of Sh2.8 million that had been raised by Kenyans for Muthoni and her mother's flight to Canada for the surgery.

President Uhuru Kenyatta contributed Sh500 for their air tickets while Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wairia gave out Sh300,000 for accommodation.

Monday, November 23, 2015

A Beautiful Sunrise

A few weeks ago I had the good pleasure of going with a friend to our local central library for an event but haven't had a chance to write about it here.

The occasion was a reading and book launch by local author, Carol Cram.


She was launching her latest book, A Woman of Note.

Here is a summary of the book as provided by the Goodreads site

"Virtuoso pianist Isabette Grüber captivates audiences in the salons and concert halls of early nineteenth-century Vienna. Yet in a profession dominated by men, Isabette longs to compose and play her own music—a secret she keeps from both her lascivious manager and her resentful mother. She meets and loves Amelia Mason, a dazzling American singer with her own secrets, and Josef Hauser, an ambitious young composer. But even they cannot fully comprehend the depths of  Isabette’s talent.

Her ambitions come with a price when Isabette embarks on a journey that delicately balances the line between duty and passion. Amid heartbreak and sacrifice, music remains her one constant."
~~~

What appealed to me about this launch is that the author was going to give a reading and her brother composed a piece of music which was going to be unveiled especially for the book launch. He is the clarinetist in the photo below and travelled all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver for the performance.  It's an all day journey by plane across Canada.  What a wonderful brother he must be!


The composition was performed by a trio.  The pianist is hidden from view behind the beautiful piano.  The piece very powerful. While I wouldn't say it was my favourite piece of music it was certainly interesting and enjoyable in many ways.  An unexpected bonus in the program is that the author also played a piano piece which was composed by a little known 19th century woman composer.  The piece was very enjoyable.

Of  course there was an opportunity to purchase the book. I paid my $20 (it is less expensive on line) to the author's husband and the author signed it.  If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy, it is easily available on Amazon in digital and paper paper formats. I haven't started reading it yet but it is in my 'to read' pile. It should be very interesting because I'm intrigued by the the subject matter of women composers in early history since there is so little known about them. The author spent time in Italy reviewing documents as the background research for her book.

~~~~
In other news, I had a chance to visit my mom. 
I wanted to go last week but had a cold and didn't want to pass long any germs.
It so happened that there was a major storm last weekend and early week as well as an accident which closed the highway for considerable length of time.  So the delay in travel was a god thing.

There were a lot of things to take on this trip.  Mainly food related items though mom also needed socks and a few other items.

This time mom also requested some fried bread. I made a small batch of it the day before. The best way to eat it is with a bit of butter and jam but you can also use cheese or other spreads or just eat it plain.  This kind of bread has to be eaten when it is relatively fresh so one can't make it too far ahead.


I do not usually fry foods.  But in the case of fried bread, it must be fried. One should also have the grease properly heated so the bread fries very quickly. 

I didn't quite have my oil hot enough but after it was done I let it rest on paper towel to absorb the grease. After sampling I realized I didn't put enough salt in it.  That is okay since too much salt is not good and given the jam topping, the salt wouldn't be missed.

 


On the day's journey we were met with a dazzling sunrise. The colours were out of this world however the phone camera doesn't really do it justice. The following photos were taken on the highway near the City of Chilliwack.


"Sunrise looks spectacular in the nature; sunrise looks spectacular in the photos; sunrise looks spectacular in our dreams; sunrise looks spectacular in the paintings, because it really is spectacular!”
~
Mehmet Murat ildan (Turkish novelist and playwright)






Further along up the mountain highway past the Town of Hope, I captured these clouds above the mountains. I thought they made an interesting pattern.


I'm always in awe at the beauty and majesty of the mountains. 

We were able to enjoy a beautiful, sunny day for most of the journey.



   
The last photo I'm sharing was taken near the approach to the Town of Merritt on the Coquihalla Highway. 
You can see it was starting to cloud over and that it the way it looked for the remainder of the drive (approximately another hour and fifteen minutes).


The weather was nice and brisk. Not too cold. 
We were also fortunate that road conditions were very good for both legs of the journey.  

Thank you for stopping by. 
I'll be joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.
Have a terrific week!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Fauré's Requiem

I went to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra tonight.


The VSO website described tonight's offering as follows:


Maestro Bramwell Tovey presents a performance of  Fauré’s luminous and profoundly beautiful Requiem. Stravinsky’s deeply moving Symphony of Psalms and Haydn’s rich and aristocratic Military Symphony set the stage for Fauré’s choral masterpiece.
  • Conductor / Performers

    Bramwell Tovey conductor
    Nathalie Paulin soprano*
    David John Pike baritone*
    Phoenix Chamber Choir *
    UBC University Singers *
    Graeme Langager chorus director

  • Repertoire

    Stravinsky
    Symphony of Psalms*
    Haydn
    Symphony No. 100 in G Major, Military
    Fauré
    Requiem*




    Just before the choral masterpiece the Maestro gave a few touching words about the loss of innocent lives in Paris and other parts of the world earlier in the week. He also encouraged concert goers to give a few moments of silence after the choral requiem. 




    I apologize for the quality of the photos which were taken with my cell phone. I was fumbling and inadvertently had the flash on. I wasn't quick enough to adjust things before all the final bows were finished.


     Afterwards I walked to my bus stop to make my way home. I passed by this building which is obviously light up in honour of France like many buildings around the world.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Sky Over Vancouver, November 19, 2015

Beautiful Day November 19, 2015

This was the day and sky today after heavy duty rain and wind storms earlier in the week.

The sky was nice and bright blue.

How is the day where you are?

Joining in with Skywatch Friday

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Ni Wewe Bwana (It is You Lord)




This is a lovely gospel song sung in Swahili and has special meaning for me.

It is special because on my first trip to Kenya a group of orphans encircled me and sang this lovely song. It really touched me.

No one translated the song for me at that time.  Though I could not speak Swahili I knew it was a worship song unto God.

I tried to track the song down for a long time.  Every time I would ask a Kenyan friend, no one would know which song I was trying to recollect.

I only knew the words "Ni wewe bwana" and decided to search on YouTube when I couldn't get any of my friends to help me find the song.  Guess what,  I found it! (Update: It has already been some years since I found it and had a Tanzanian friend translate it for  me.)

The version I'm sharing is the same song but this one on the video is sung to a slightly faster beat.  It is sung by well known (now deceased) Tanzanian Gospel singer, Fanuel Sedekia.

This song gives me joy and lifts me up. At a time when the world is mourning for Paris, for Syria, for Beirut, for Japan, for Kenya, for the Ukraine and many other places, some of us need a lift.

God bless and keep you and your loved ones safe.


~~~~

Update: Since a few people have tried to help me find the song and translation I'm posting the translation here as provided by my friend from Tanzania.

(Sedekia) ee ni wewee ni wewe bwana ni wewee ni wewe bwaana.( trans) ee is you, is you lord ,is you, is you lord
(Vocals) ni wewe ni wewe bwana ni wewe ni wewe bwana.(trans) is you, is you lord , is you , is you lord
( Sedekia) ee ni wewe-- as above.
( vocals) as above.
(Sedekia) ee ni wewee unayetujali  ni wewe bwaana ni wewe bwaana ( trans) ee is  you who care for us, is you lord, is you lord
( vocals) is you, is you lord, is you, is you lord
(Sedekia) ee ni wewee unayetupenda ni wewe bwaana ni wewe bwaana( trans) ee is you who loves us, is you lord, is you lord.
Vocals: is you, is  you lord, is you, is you lord.
(Sedekia)ee  Ni wewe uweza  ni wako ni wewe bwana ni wewe bwaana.(trans) ee you're almighty, is you lord , is you lord.
(Vocals) is you, is you lord, is you is you lord.
(Sedekia) again as above (almighty.)
(Vocals.) as above.
(Sedekia) ni wewe mamlaka ni yako ni wewe bwaana ni wewe bwaana ( trans) you have the authority,is you lord is you lord.
(Vocals) ni wewee wewe bwana ni wewe ni wewe bwaana( trans) is you, is you lord , is you , is you lord.
(Sedekia) ni wewe uweza ni wako ni wewe bwana ni wewe bwaana(trans) you're almighty, is you lord is you lord.
(Vocals) is you, is you lord , is you is you lord.
(Sedekia) ni wewe mamlaka ni yako ni wewe bwaana ni wewe bwaana.(trans) you have the authority, is you lord, is you lord.
(Vocals) is you, is you lord, is you, is you lord.
(Sedekia)  ni wewe uweza ni wako ni wewe bwaana ni wewe bwaana( trans) you're almighty, is you lord, is you lord.
(Vocals ) is you, is you lord, is you, is you lord.Sedekia and vocals ) is you is you x 15.
( the lady) ni wewe ndiwe ngome yetuuu ( trans) our fortress or castle
(Lady) ni wewe msaada wetu naa( trans ) our support and
(Lady) ni wewe ndiwe baba yetu Jehova(trans) our father Yah
(Lady) ni wewe ndiwe jemedari mkuuuu( trans) you are the great centurion .
( all ) is you  x 25.
(Sedekia) ni wewe glory( trans) ni mwenye utukufu.
(Sedekia) x7  - twakutazama wewe, kwa Kuwa ufalme ni wako  na nguvu na utukuuufu na hata milele, milele x 8 mh oo Yesu.( trans) we are looking you for yours is the kingdom and power/ strength and glory forever  forever x8.
Mh oh Yesu.(trans) mh ooh  Jesus.
.The end.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Movember & El Nino Calling

Hi friends,

I decided to post once again about Movember and the Movember campaign by the Kenyan Boys Choir.  Movember is a campaign to raise money for it in support of the fight against several men's diseases.  Am not asking for your help in this post. If you do want to find out more you can click here.

How many of you have heard of Movember?

It is a global charitable cause set up to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's mental health. The idea is that men grow mustaches in the month of November and try to raise funds for the fight against these diseases.

If you have ever had prostate cancer, testicular cancer or mental issues or, you have a loved one who has, you may be touched by the efforts to fund raise.

My friends in the Kenyan Boys Choir  have been moved to grow mustaches and do their part to  raise funds for the cause.  In Kenya where they live the treatment options and care available for anyone with cancer is very minimal and there is a lot of suffering involved if you have cancer and no treatment options at all.


The photo I've used is not mine but a professional photo of the Kenyan Boys Choir.

 Those members of the Kenyan Boys Choir who are touring in 2015 are in this photo.  Other choir members are back in Kenya.

In Kenya the country is facing the ravages of El Nino.

The following photos are taken by Kenya news agencies over the past several days.

Near Lake Baringo.
 
The mom (along with her baby and the missionary escort) helped with surgery recently has had to delay getting home.  The highway to her home looks like this.

The highway from Kapenguria to Turkana.

Men, women and children have been stranded in an unsafe area for 3 days without help.  Even if you have funds there is no where to buy anything.

At least the Pokot mom made it back to her relatives in Kapenguria where she should be safe.

People stranded in West Pokot area of the Northern Rift Valley.


My friend Jonah and a pastor friend of his have also been caught up and stranded away from home in the rain.
They have been stranded at Lake Baringo for 2 days. All the budget hotels were quickly taken due to a huge conference happening in the area and all the other stranded travellers. they are staying at Soi Lodge which you might remember from some of my earlier posts.

This is his photo showing the impassable roads near Lake Baringo.


Meanwhile, here at home we are having a coastal storm today.
  The ferries to the island have been cancelled and 3000 homes are currently without power.
There is a snowfall in the mountains so I will have to monitor the situation to see whether travel plans this weekend have to be adjusted.

This is a photo of BC place.  It holds 50,000 people & was renovated a few years ago.  It has a retractable roof that turns different colours at night.
My cloudy sky picture was taken a week ago.


Joining in with Skywatch Friday
&
Friday Foto Friends

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Update on Pokot Woman & A Little of This and That

I've been busy with a little of this and that over the past few days and still fighting a bit of cold symptoms. I've been taking my daily Emergen-C (packets of Vitamin C & B which I mix with water before drinking) and it seems to help keep my energy levels up and the sniffles at bay.


I was glad to have finished writing a few letters and post cards to my sponsored boys in Kenya and Ethiopia which I put in the post today.  I am prepared for Christmas for them. Though I didn't send funds for Christmas gifts for the children, I opted to send  family gifts so that the boy's families could have a nice Christmas without financial stresses.  Christmas is the time in Kenya where the families like to try and get a new set of clothing and also have a meal that includes meat or fish rather than just starch and veggies.  I hope that they will be able to also get a few other food stuffs they need since inflation is rampant in Kenya right now.  I am not quite sure what the situation is in Ethiopia but I know the people are very poor so they will be able to benefit from a family gift.  I was also able to get some post cards and note cards in the mail to other friends. I don't prepare much snail mail anymore and so it felt good to get these off in the post.

When I checked my post box at the post office today I had a wonderful surprise. A dear friend from Colorado sent me a cheque because she read my post here about the woman in Kenya who had fistula due to female genital mutilation (FGM).  She has to be rushed to hospital to deliver her child and after that rushed to a larger city center for proper medical treatment. It's been a challenging time to get the funds together to take care of the hospital bills for this woman.  Somehow through prayers and the grace of God we've managed to pay the medical bill so the woman, her baby and the lady missionary are now all on their way home.  Initially, the plan was to send them to stay with friends in Kericho (which is even farther south from the mom's home) because we felt the young mom needed to rebuild her strength and recover from surgery.   We were a bit concerned that she wasn't quite ready to go home due to blood in the breast milk. Though the hospital was prepared to release her we knew it wouldn't be  easy to get her back to a major hospital again if it turned out that she needed more help.

In the end, the new mom stayed in hospital for several days longer due to inability to cover the medical fees. That meant she was a little stronger and we felt she could travel by the time I was able to get the funds together.  The mother, her child and missionary were finally on their way home two days ago.  They were planning to rest for one or two days at a relative's house in a small town called Kapenguria (near the Kenya-Uganda border). They would make the final leg the journey to Itibet (not on the map) over a rough road after their rest.  You might remember that the woman just had surgery not even two weeks ago to repair fistula damage and is recovering from child birth too.  So the travel is not easy. Thank goodness she has relatives along the way that can house her for a bit of rest.

If you look to the west on the map, you can find Eldoret.  This is the larger city center where mom was in hospital for surgery. It is not the city where people from her area are supposed to go.  They are supposed to be taken by ambulance to Kitale.  But the young missionary woman that escorted her and the baby, had the foresight to tell the ambulance drivers to take her to Eldoret where the medical hospital is much better.  Of course this added to the cost.  But when you think that someone can lose a life or go to a better place and be sure to get good medical help then you must do what you can to get the best medical help.

From Eldoret, you travel north to Kapenguria.  This is a much smaller town and where the travel party stayed with relatives for a night or two before journeying home. Their ultimate destination is not on the map but is very near the border of Uganda. In Kenya distances can be short but travel time is much longer than in Canada or the USA due to weather and road conditions.




The donation I received today and another recent donation from a blogging friend in England, really made us feel supported and helped alleviate some financial stress.  It will be put to good use in helping the impoverished woman to purchase baby formula and pampers.  Cloth diapers might be more cost effective and  environmentally friendly but very impractical.  It is a dry and dusty land where they live.  There is little water for drinking let alone to have a regular bath and do laundry.  That makes cloth diapers out of the question.  We would like to provide this mom with assistance to buy formula and pampers until the baby is past the milk and pamper stage.  If anyone would like to help with this need please feel free to get in touch.

Now on to a few other things.

In a recent post I shared with you that I was going to attend a book launch and a ballet performance. These occurred on Wednesday and Thursday and both were fantastic.  This was very frugal entertainment for me because the book launch was free.  The ballet performance I attended only cost me one dollar (Canadian). I got in on a deal with a group I belong to and that is why the cost was so minuscule.  A regular ticket would have been $81.50 plus service charges.

I didn't get photos of the ballet performance as photos are not permitted for performances of any kind at most of the venues in the city.  I think it is like that all over North America and Europe.  In the ballet, the first half of the performance was set to the live choral music of Chor Leoni, a local men's choral group. The music added  a lot of depth, power and beauty to  the performance. I'm very glad I had a chance to experience it. The book launch was also a unique experience and I did get a few photos there too but wasn't permitted to take audience photos (more on the launch in another post).

I like to join in with hostess, Eileen at Saturday's Critters whenever I have time to shoot a new bird or other critter photos. This week I managed to get a few bird photos on 2 different days. The first one is a sea gull flying around the high towers of the city. The other bird is a black crow.  We seem to have plenty of both in this city.

This was the dark sky on the night of the book launch.

This bird was high up in the tree. I wouldn't have found him but for the zoom lens.

I captured this black bird on a beautiful sunny day.

I also used one beautiful, sunny day to go out and get more photos of fall foliage. It seems one can never get enough of those.

Lovely red maple leafs against the green grass.

I spotted this human critter across the street from where the bird was perched.






Some of you read about the movies I was watching in my recent post here.  I've been enjoying watching movies on DVD so much that I borrowed 3 more DVDs from the library:
  • Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
  • Frost-Nixon with Frank Langella (as President Richard Nixon) and Michael Sheen (as David Frost)
  • Heaven is for Real with Greg Kinnear.

My favourite movie out of the three is  Heaven is For Real.  Greg Kinnear played pastor and father to 4 year son, Colton Burpo, played by Connor Corum. These two actors gave outstanding performances and the entire supporting cast were terrific.  In case you are unfamiliar with the film, it is about a small-town father (played by Greg Kinnear) who must find the courage and conviction to share with the world his son's life-changing experience of going to Heaven.  Understandably it was not so easy for the father to believe that his 4 year old could have gone to Heaven.  But a few things the young boy saw and experienced there and later relayed to his family, ultimately led the father to believe his young son.  The story is about what happens as a result of the young boy's experience.

Of course all these DVDs were free to borrow from the library so it has been very frugal entertainment. My local library seems to be expanding it's DVD offerings.  I will gladly make use of this service again in 2016. I've discovered that even though DVD loans are only for 1 week rather than 3 weeks like books, you can renew the DVDs even if someone has it on hold. Renewing books that are on hold doesn't work in my library system but it does work for DVDs. I'm not sure why but it works for me!

Playing in theaters right now is another great film if you are into spy films., the latest 007 movie "Spectre". I won't give anything away but I did see the film on Friday.  It is a quintessential James Bond movie with thrills from beginning to end.  The only thing I did not enjoy was the steep price of the movie ticket ($12.55 Canadian).  My friend and I went to the matinee thinking we would get a cheaper entrance that way only to discover the theater is newly renovated.  It now has a bar and lounge area and let's movie goers select their own seats prior to paying.  For these benefits you pay a premium price whether you use the bar or not. It is just one way that movie theaters are now trying to attract or compete with restaurants and bar and other forms of entertainment.

Are you still with me? If you've hung in there all the way to this point in the post, I thank you. I wonder how many of you have heard of Movember? It is a global charitable cause set up to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's mental health. The idea is that men grow mustaches in the month of November and also try to raise funds for the fight against these men's diseases.  If you have ever had prostate cancer, testicular cancer or mental issues yourself, or, you have a loved one who has, you may be touched by these efforts. My friends in the Kenyan Boys Choir  have been moved to grow mustaches and do their part to  raise funds for the cause.They have set a modest goal of $500 and need your help to make the goal a reality.  Please contribute here if you are able. You can also make anonymous contributions if you prefer. (I believe this beautiful photo below was taken by professional photographer for the Kenyan Boys Choir).

 The members of the Kenyan Boys Choir who are touring in 2015. Only half of them are touring.  The others are in Kenya.

This week I will be busy preparing things for a soon visit to my mom.  As always I will be sewing a few things for her and getting all her food and medicines together and that requires time. I'm also looking forward to a visit from an out of town friend who is making an impromptu trip to the city.  It will be nice to have some time to catch up on all the news. I might also have yet another movie to see in theaters. This one is a Christmas comedy with Diane Keaton, John Goodman and Olivia Wilde. It is an advance screening and I will get double passes for free.

I hope your week is an enjoyable one. Thank you for stopping by. As always I try to make a return visit to you too!

Joining in with Saturday's Critters a little late this week

and

Our World Tuesday


Thursday, November 5, 2015

First November Skywatch




Some of you will recognize this church steeple. I usually show a long shot of it.

I thought it would be fun to show a different angle today.


It Was a Spectacular Day! ~ Skywatch

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, It was a spectacular, sunny day where I live. It's still rather chilly from my point of view but the ...