SNAP THAT

This past Saturday I attended the 4th Annual African Descent Festival.  The big name entertainer for the first evening was Ezra Kwizera.  Currently he lives in Vancouver but grew up as a refugee in Uganda before returning to his home country Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.  His music is raw and powerful.   I enjoy his soulful sounds which are born out of tragedy. I've attended this festival for 3 years now and each year I can see it get more organized and grow in attendance. I wasn't there on day 2 but the crowed was about 4x what it was on Saturday as people came out in large numbers to see the Ugandan sensation, Eddie Kenzo. I am not familiar with his music but I know he is very popular. At the festival there is a combination of vendors selling their goods, stalls with information to raise awareness and food. This year I was happy to see the Nigerians have joined in selling their foods and that they had a very popular booth. The

Thoughts and prayers for the victims and loved ones of the horrific act of gun violence in Toronto. I was moved by the Torontonians who showed love and compassion to the injured and dying, ensuring they were not alone in their final breaths.  Let those of us left behind never cease to treat others with kindness, compassion and love. We never know what tomorrow brings. #RIP to those that have gone ahead. May their families and loved ones be comforted in their grief. ♥♥♥

Hi friends and fellow bloggers, This is just a brief update as I'm not yet back to regular blogging. We've been having a mini heat wave here so my on-going task is to stay cool. I had unexpected oral surgery a few days ago and am now in the process of healing. In a few weeks I'll get the stitches out. I hope just in time for my delayed hygiene appointment. As always it's been a process of dealing with insurance pre-approvals and claims as well as dentist schedules. So far so good but it keeps one busy.  The surgery itself went well but the dentist really worked hard and I worried I would feel the pain later. I didn't. So that is a good thing. Next step will be a crown but that will have to wait until 2019. In the meantime I'll get some other temporary work done to preserve the tooth. Some of you remember I purchased a new washer-dryer just over a month ago. Well a few weeks later my new dryer had a malfunction with the steam function.  So I've been d

This is my input to Skywatch Friday, Friday Foto Friends and Nature Notes this week.  These photos were taken on June 26th with my phone camera. I was out running errands when I came across this sight in the sky.  I was intrigued with the formation of clouds. At first I thought it was chem-trails but later thought it it might be different clouds like I had never seen before. At least I've never seen them forming into a V shape before. I'm really not sure what these were in the sky. In the photo below the domed building is of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.  On Friday night's the church hosts a traditional meal of perogies and sausages or you can purchase a bag of perogies from the church and boil and fry them up yourself. I haven't been to a dinner there for many years already. How times flies!     Since I was out late running errands I stopped to have a light meal. I decided on a Seafood Udon Noodle soup (with fish, calamari, fish balls, noodle

I'm always happy to watch the sun come up. Happy 4th of July to my American friends and readers.

On Friday I was blessed to attend the one and only concert of the Watoto Children's Choir performed in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I've heard of this Ugandan choir for many years and have seen them on television but never had the opportunity to go and hear them live.  This year's concert was held  at the Vancouver Chinese Pentecostal Church in East Vancouver. Pastor Ivan Chu gave a few brief introductory and welcome remarks before turning the stage over for the evening. This young man and his wife (not in photo) lead the contingent of the Watoto Children's Choir that travels throughout Canada for six (6) months each year. His wife conducts the choir. Together they have been travelling with the choir for the past 4 years. the children give a very high energy performance.  I love the expressions on their  faces. When they are not dancing, speaking and singing, they are very serious about the message of the gospel.  They are also very young. The girl in t