Perth Here We Come

Some time ago I signed up for a dish cloth swap being organized by Rhonda and Sharon over at the Down to Earth blog. I guess I didn't remember to specifically leave them my email post so I got left out of the swap but was kindly picked up by Judith from Perth, Australia.

I had an olive coloured dishcloth set with mixed light yellow and cream colours but I thought that those colours would be too dull for a place like Perth, Australia. So I came up with these tropical, summer colours instead.

There are two simple dishcloths in this set.

I thought Judith might also like some photo postcards of Vancouver.

This was a fun swap. I can't wait to see what my dishcloths from Australia look like.

Judith said she was aiming to send them about a week ago and I'll be interested in seeing how long it takes a small parcel from western Australia to travel to me here in western Canada.

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It was a Glorious Day

Yesterday as I took a long walk home after a hair appointment, I was pleased to hit on a scene perfect for a Blue Monday submission.

Can you see the sign "peeking" through the branches and blossoms?

Even this blue sky with the hanging pink blossoms is good for Blue Monday.

Aren't the colours amazing?

These are the last of the spring blossoms on the trees. I was fortunate to be able to capture some at this late date.

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Blue Monday, April 11, 2011

How would you like to take a spin in this little blue number? * wink.

On another topic altogether, I managed to get rid of the clutter below. Someone from the local Freecycle kindly came and took it off my hands. I feel so much better that someone else will get some use out of it. I never like to throw things away and would have to take it to the charity shop if I couldn't give it to someone. Next I'll be on to shredding all my old paper records.  This can be done a little at a time.

Have a HAPPY BLUE MONDAY!

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An Old Fashioned Day

The weekend is over. I did a lot of sleeping and napping. For some reason I felt quite tired. It was probably a combination of things: raining weather again, a full few days of cleaning the previous week, chronic illnesses. Some old pains in my stomach resurfaced after a long period of dormancy and when that happens I can only sleep it off. Nonetheless I am so grateful that I made a good start at Spring cleaning and today I am more mobile again.

Today I made some hamburger soup with macaroni and vegetables in a tomato base.
 

This is my go to "comfort soup".

The soup tastes extra good in my blue bowl on Blue Monday ;-)

I also made some easy oatmeal bread to go with it and I thought I would share the recipe. I have shared a recipe for oatmeal bread before but that one was for making in a bread machine. If you like, you can read it here. Today the bread I made required me to knead and let it rise, in the old fashioned way.

I've finished kneading the dough. I'm now going to cover it and let it rise for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

------------

2 cups water

1 cup quick cooking oats

3 tbsp. butter or oil

1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp. bulk yeast)

1/3 cup warm water

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. white sugar

1tsp salt

5 1/4 cup flour (I used roughly half and half white flour and whole wheat flour)

Heat 2 cups of water to almost boiling. Add oats, butter, brown sugar and salt. Let cool.
Meanwhile, add 1/3 cup warm water to a small dish with yeast, along with 1 tbsp. of white sugar to proof. Once the yeast has proofed (foamed), add it to the oat mixture.

Next, combine the oat mixture with 4 cups flour and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Add more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled.  This takes about 30 minutes but will vary depending on your elevation and the warmth of your home.

Punch down. Let it rest about 10 minutes.  Shape into rolls or loaves and place on a greased pan. Let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I think it turned out well. I cooked it a little bit longer than I planned.

After all this cooking and baking it was time to wash all the dishes I dirtied plus last night's dishes and the dishes from breakfast and lunch today.

I normally wash my dishes in a dishwasher but today I felt like doing them by hand.  They had a fair bit of crustiness on them from last night's dinner. Since I always run my dishwasher on a short wash cycle to save water, I just decided washing by hand would be a faster way to get everything clean today.

After all this talk of food and cleaning, I wanted to give you something pretty and natural to look at. Here is a photo of the evidence of Spring.

If you click on this photo to enlarge it you will see the pretty red coloured blooms coming out on the trees.

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More Signs of Spring

Glorious sunshine graced part of my day. As I walked home from church, I took these photos of beautiful spring flowers to share with you.

THE CROCUS

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Beneath the sunny autumn sky,

With gold leaves dropping round,

We sought, my little friend and I,

The consecrated ground,

Where, calm beneath the holy cross,

O'ershadowed by sweet skies,

Sleeps tranquilly that youthful form,

Those blue unclouded eyes.

Around the soft, green swelling mound

We scooped the earth away,

And buried deep the crocus-bulbs

Against a coming day.

"These roots are dry, and brown, and sere;

Why plant them here?" he said,

"To leave them, all the winter long,

So desolate and dead."

"Dear child, within each sere dead form

There sleeps a living flower,

And angel-like it shall arise

In spring's returning hour."

Ah, deeper down cold, dark, and chill

We buried our heart's flower,

But angel-like shall he arise

In spring's immortal hour.

In blue and yellow from its grave

Springs up the crocus fair,

And God shall raise those bright blue eyes,

Those sunny waves of hair.

Not for a fading summer's morn,

Not for a fleeting hour,

But for an endless age of bliss,

Shall rise our heart's dear flower

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My Safari at the Nakuru National Park Continues

A big welcome and thank you to my newest follower, Maus Tratos ao Idoso Denuncie, which I understand translates to Report Abuse of the Elderly. This is indeed a worthy cause.

For those of you who have been following my travel series to Kenya, I'm happy to report that I will resume the series.  At the end of this post you will find links to the other posts in this series.  I've also started a new series on frugal living and, I will continue to post about little Kigen's progress on this blog also.

When I left off the tour in the last post on this park, we were seated in the car discussing which road to take. We decided to turn right.

Amongst the trees you will find a group of zebras. Did you know that a a group of zebras is not called a herd but a harem?  I just learned that by looking it up on line today.

A close up of the water buffalo with some kind of white bird in the foreground. I'm afraid I don't know what it is. (Graham from Namibia tells me they are egrets.  Thanks Graham!).  There are also several species of birds behind the buffalo.  You can get a better view by clicking on the photo to enlarge it.  The ones at the far back are Lesser Flamingos and Great White Pelicans.  There are so many kinds of birds that feed at this lake but the largest in  numbers are probably the flamingos.

A snapshot of the lake's beauty.

A Kenyan water buffalo grazes on the wet grass while two flamingos fly overhead. I was delighted to capture the flamingos in flight.

A Thompson gazelle grazes on the grass.

I want to get a closer look at the flamingos.  They are much farther away from the shoreline than they usually are. That is because there has been so much rain and the lake has been artificially enlarged but the flamingos remain where the lake's natural shoreline is located.

The water buffalo in the foreground and the flamingos in the background make for a pretty picture.

This is about as close up a shot as I could get on this trip. I don't have a fancy camera with the ability to zoom right in.

I believe these birds are called the Helmeted Guineafowl. My driver didn't know the name of them as he isn't a tour guide. He just kept telling me that the bird tastes very good.

Here is a close up.  We came across these birds several times during our tour of the park.  I think the spotted pattern on the feathers is so pretty.

The Great White Pelican. I love the look of their beaks.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see the beak up close.

I am not fully certain but I think this blue bird might be the Lesser blue eared Glossy starling.

I thought it was so pretty and it ran across the road several times during our trip.

Come back again soon so I can show you more of this beautiful country called Kenya.

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it.

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Mercy Mission for Kigen Goes Forward

Since leaving a post on Saturday about little Kigen, we have been involved in a whirlwind of activity.

I know this photo is hard to look at but this is little Kigen and this is his reality. He is nine years old and he has some kind of skin problem. We really do not know what it is but we know he needs immediate help.  Kigen lives in a remote part of Kenya amongst the Pokot peoples and there is no road to get to where he lives.

My friend Jonah has been on a number of mercy missions to the Pokot people over the years. His most recent journey was about one week ago. During that trip he met little Kigen and his family. They all prayed together for this little boy to be helped and to get the treatment and healing he needs.

This is my friend Jonah on a different trip to help the people in the drought stricken area near Marigat, Kenya.  You can see it is dark. When they travel to help people and they do it on few funds they must journey night and day sometimes to get to where they are going. This way they can avoid costs of extra days car and driver hire and also save on lodgings.  Kenya is an expensive country which many people in the west do not know. The people must save money and be as frugal as possible. Your dollar will be used wisely.

Jonah just returned from a mercy mission on Thursday morning last week but is now back on his way to get Kigen and his family. He had a lot to do before he could leave on this mercy mission.  First, he has to get supporters and pray for the mission. He cannot act without support. He needs our help.  Once he knows he has our help, he then has to get word back to Kigen's parents that this mission will go forward.  Then he has to hire a car and take care of all the logistics.

Kigen's mother

When I saw the photos of Kigen and his family and heard of their plight, I really had to do something.  So I posted about it here on my blog and sent word to my friends to share the information. Jonah also posted on his blog and tweeted about little Kigen.  Some donations are coming in due to these efforts and importantly people are also praying for Kigen and this mission. The people that have already sent their donations or who have promised that they are on the way, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  It means the mission is now underway.

Jonah praying with Kigen's family.

For those that are praying for this mercy mission, we also thank you!  It is through prayer that things will change. It is through prayer that people will be moved to join this effort.  It is through prayer that little Kigen and his family will have the faith and strength to make this long journey.  It is through prayer that Jonah will have the strength and resources to physically and emotionally undertake this mercy mission again so soon.  It is through prayer that the medical staff and hospital will be prepared to properly diagnose and treat little Kigen.  It is through prayer that we will have enough resources to properly undertake this mercy medical mission.  I believe in the ability of prayer to move mountains.  Particularly, this mountain in little Kigen's life.

I'm so happy to report that since Saturday Jonah has done a number of things. He planned to be in Eldoret, Kenya on Monday (it is now night time Monday in Kenya so people should be fast asleep). Up to now Jonah has also been coordinating with the hospital in Eldoret to see if they can undertake the kind of assessment that Kigen needs.

A car that can withstand the travel of the roads ahead will be hired in Eldoret and word has been sent ahead to Kigen's family through the mission station in the area. This  needs to happen so that Kigen's family can make the journey to meet him and get their ride to the medical centre.  Little Kigen and his family must walk 5 or 6 hours on a long and dusty path to get to the mission station.  There is no road that goes to where they live.  It will be a difficult journey for them all.  Especially considering Kigen's medical condition and the fact that they just made the same journey a few days prior in order to get food assistance.

At the mission station, Kigen and his family will get some rest and freshen up.  There they will meet up with Jonah and the driver and make the long journey to Eldoret. The journey to Eldoret will be a little easier as they will not be walking, they will be riding.  Nonetheless it will take a whole day.

So the mercy mission to help little Kigen is underway. If you have played a part in this mission through a donation, prayer or by spreading the word to your contacts, I thank you so much. Your efforts are not in vain. You will have an impact beyond measure.

If you are just now hearing about this story and want to do something to help, we still need you. There are so many needs to cover in this medical mission and a number of people who we need pay for services.  Kigenkerichojoy[at]gmail.com

UPDATE:  It is now just after 1:00 a.m. in Western Canada. Received word from Kenya that little Kigen is awaiting surgery. Please keep him and the surgeons in your prayers. I'm praying just now before sleep. God bless.

Photo credits:  All photos the property of Missions of Hope, Kenya, Pastor Jonah.
If you wish to share this story, photos may be used with credit. Many thanks and blessings.

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