Another Christmas Gone By

Hello friends,

Another year has come and gone and another Christmas Day celebrated.

I was out of town for a few days to visit with my mom and some family members and we had a great time. My brother and I spent the first night together relaxing over food and drink and talking about former career experiences and life's lessons with my nephew. My nephew was blown away by everything he was hearing. He kept saying "how come I never knew about this?"

It was too funny.

It just goes to show that while you are living your life and working, there are many things even your closest family members don't know about you for one reason or another. Now that my nephew is soon to graduate and move on to do his master's degree, he is old enough and far more interested in hearing (and learning) about the experiences of his older relatives.

All of us had a few nights to relax, eat, visit with my mom, visit with my niece and do a few tasks and things to tidy my mom's room and get her things organized.

Nothing was too stressful, I almost got enough sleep, and I was able to make a wonderful Christmas dinner that all (even I) enjoyed. I put myself in brackets because it is often the case that the cook doesn't enjoy the meal as much as his/her guests, though am not quite sure why. My mother always used to say that to me and I never understood it until I started doing a lot more cooking for others.

This year the turkey was purchased pre-cooked and it was delicious!  I purchased a pre-cooked Christmas dinner at Safeway.  I did this once before for mom about 5 years ago and the price has considerably increased since then. Roasted potatoes, instead of mashed comes with the store bought meal.  Neither is turkey stuffing provided so I made both. I really wanted to make a Christmas dinner this year so I could take my mom some home cooking.  That is why I rented a motel room with a kitchenette. Though the dinner is pre-cooked you still need to put it in the oven for about 90 minutes and warm up the gravy. I  like to make sure my bird is cooked so I kept it in the oven for 2 hours and it was perfect; so moist and delicious.

My nephew pointed out that it was good to have an apartment style place to hang out and relax.  That part was true enough though I found the decor and building itself is somewhat old and dated.  It could use a few updates to make it much more comfortable but overall it met our needs quite well, not least of which was having a working oven to be able to make the Christmas dinner that we could all enjoy together. My mom absolutely enjoyed her Christmas turkey too and it pleased me to give her some home cooking that she could at and enjoy.

We arrived in good time on Christmas Eve day whereupon after checking in to my motel, I was able to spend several hours visiting with my mom. I also gave her her quilt early after showing it to her. I wanted to put it on her bed right away so that I could see how it was working out for her over the time we would be visiting her.  Staff immediately noticed it and told her how beautiful it was so that was gratifying.

On Christmas Day after preparing and eating an early meal we visited mom for awhile before taking my niece to the last installment of The Hobbit movie. I sure enjoyed it and found it very sad to see the end of the age of the dwarves and the elves.  I was also sad that the Hobbit movie series that my family members and I go to every year is now at an end. I hope next year there will be something equally good for us all to watch.  As the movie was playing it's last scenes, my niece pronounced "good movie" which is high praise coming from her.  She does absolutely look forward to this annual movie togetherness that we have been undertaking now for several years and I enjoy it too.

I started the tradition of taking in a movie on Christmas Day many, many years ago. At first it was my mom and I. I took her to a movie as a way to get her out at Christmas and because she always said she didn't like movies and couldn't watch them. I guess I wanted to test that theory, lol. She did enjoy some of the  movies and to this day we still laugh over one comedic movie we saw called "Johnny Dangerously".  In those days, the movie theatre was almost empty and only a few hardy souls ventured out. As the years went by, I started taking my niece to movies, then my nephew (sometimes nephews) joined in and now one brother also joins us for his 1 movie a year, lol.  Fast forward to Christmas Day in 2014.  The lobby of the multi-theatre complex was jam-packed with people in several different line-ups for tickets and for snacks. I didn't think we were going to get in but fortunately most the people were going to different theatres.  We were able to get into our movie with no problem.

After the movie ended, we had a long drive to take my niece home and so off we went so she could have another bite of Christmas dinner before sleep beckoned.  Then we headed to see mom for another visit before she went to sleep too. Afterwards we picked up a friend of my nephew's who came to spend the evening with him at the room.  They talked, ate and drank, played games and watched movies while I watched television in my room, cleaned and began to do all the packing. With so much that we had to take on the journey besides clothing and gifts, there was a LOT to pack and get organized. I also had to label some of the new Christmas clothing items mom received before we departed. I was kept busy the whole night long but nothing too stressful.

We were ready for check out right on time and packed the car before one last journey to see my mom and say our goodbyes. While my brother and nephew visited with her, I was tidying her closest and drawers and trying to rearrange things for easier access to her clothing and socks.  I then spent some time with her letting her know where she could find her new items of clothing that she got for Christmas before we took our leave. It is always hard to say goodbye. I asked her if she enjoyed her Christmas this year. She nodded and said "yes".  I know she was in a lot of pain while we were visiting with her but I also know it gave her a lot of pleasure to see her family members over a period of several days. It doesn't happen so often that we are able to get together all at once.  We  mostly try to stagger our visits so that she doesn't have to have such long periods where she doesn't see a close family member.  Before leaving town we dropped off a gift for one of her friends, refueled the car and headed out to the highway.

Driving back was uneventful as the road conditions were excellent. We stopped a few times for coffee and snacks and about an hour or so from home we all stopped to do a bit of shopping.

It is always good to get home. It is wonderful to journey to see mom but it is also nice to get home.  There were lot of bags to bring in and things to be put away. Today I ran a few errands and am doing laundry. Tomorrow I hope to go to church and there are still a few friends to see over the remaining holidays.  I am also hoping to see my cousin who didn't join me at Christmas after all.  She hopes to visit before the New Year and flying home.  I'm looking forward to seeing her if it works for her schedule.

I know some people don't like to be around others at Christmas and prefer to spend a quiet day by themselves. I understand that because I do prefer quiet get togethers rather than a social whirlwind and loud and large gatherings.  I made it a point this year to have a Christmas as stress free as possible and with as few expectations of myself as possible; while at the same time enjoying giving to others and spending quality time with them. Except for the last few nights before my trip where I was busy sewing into the late nights, I think I succeeded in having a perfect Christmas with loved ones this year.

 I hope each of you had a lovely time at Christmas in the ways that you like to spend it. I also wish you the very best of the coming New Year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. Wherever you are, may you find a joyous happy time alone or with friends and family. I want to thank you for stopping by and tell you your visits mean a lot to me. I hope to read from you more in days, weeks and months to come. Now here is a card I got from a young artist named Sammy who lives in Nakuru, Kenya. I found the Pygmy prayer on line.

In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is the word which comes out of your mouth.
That word!
It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.

African - Pygmy

Keeping Busy

It was such a gorgeous, mostly clear day today.  I couldn't help but take a lot of photos. 

This beautiful day comes after a week of coastal storms that wreacked a lot of havoc along the Pacific Coast. California was hardest hit but we saw some damage in British Columbia where I live.

The sky was clear to the north of me.

There was light cloud and a contrail above.

What a beautiful, blue sky!

Can you spot the small plane (photo below) between the tall ornamental grass (see the top)?

It's been a comfortable week or tidying and organizing the things I will take when I visit my mom for Christmas.

I have also been reading some good books.

I just finished, The King's Curse, an engaging novel about King Henry the 8th and his inability to sire a legitimate male heir to his throne.

This well researched biography of  the Romanov sisters, the 4 daughters of the last Tzar of Russia, is another book I am just finishing.  The book is actually the story of the entire royal family and not just the 4 daughters. It is a good read if you want to understand something of Russian history.

Paris in Love is a lighter read I am half way through.  The book, is written by Eloise James, New York Times best selling author and a Professor of Shakespeare.   After discovering she has cancer, Eloise and her husband sell their home, pack up the children and move to Paris.  The book is not a story per se but is written from the tidbits she posted on Facebook and Twitter while living  in Paris.

I also picked up Nomad at the library on Saturday. It is a book written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali who fled her restrictive life in Africa for Holland after being promised in marriage to an older, man in Canada. The book is about the author's ideas about how to truly integrate Muslims into the West in a manner which will help avoid tensions and problems with an ever growing Muslim population. Needless to say her books are provocative and her efforts to speak up against Islam have placed her life in danger. She made a documentary with a young man who was later killed for working with her. I am just getting started on this book and think it would be a valuable read for most of my blog readers.

Last but not least, I am reading  Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren.  I had never heard of this man who is a leader in the Emergent Church movement until a friend in Kenya met him (in fact, I know next to nothing about the Emergent Church).  Now I am introducing myself to his writings. This is not a new book by the author and I am just at the part where he is searching for a deeper meaning in his walk with God. I'm sure it will be a good book as I sense this man thinks of the deeper issues of spirituality and that is mostly always a good thing.

I wrote here of plans to bring Christmas cheer to many poor Kenyans. My friend Jonah in Kenya was to start the Christmas food distributions to villagers on Sunday. I am excited and hope to share pictures later.

There is still time for you to be a part of Christmas food gift distributions to the orphans at Grace's House and to the Internally Displaced People.  If you would like to help with a monetary contribution you can contact me at the address on my profile page. Thanks!

I am late for Skywatch this week but
 contributing anyway.

Have a wonderful week!

Christmas A-glow

Christmas decorating is not one of the things I excel at.

I wasn't actually planning to decorate this year because of my themes for the year of "streamline" and "simplify".  However, in the end I decided to decorate for my cousin who will be visiting.  It will be nice to have make things festive for her.

We don't get to see one another that often and it was around this time last year that she almost died. It was touch and go for a month or more and today she is a walking, living miracle.  We plan to go together with other family members to visit my mom this Christmas. She will also be visiting a sister of hers who lives just over an hour from me to the north east.

I am also busily preparing for Christmas in Kenya. Read more here.

 

My tree is not full size yet it takes a lot of time and baubles to decorate it. I like to enjoy it with the lights turned low at night.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.

Have a lovely week!

Blessings of the season to each of you as you prepare for Christmas wherever you are.

Christmas Plans for 2014

Hello friends,

I hope you've all been doing well and keeping warm.

Since I last posted here it has been cold with a light snow fall some of which remains on the floor of my patio. It is rather early for us to have snow. Normally we have rain at this time of year but in late Fall we've been having a lot of sunshine and cold weather. It warms up when the rains fall.

A typical Kenyan village hut.

I have been under the weather again. I seem to be under the weather a lot during our rainy season. I get very tired and my body seems to be "fighting" off  a cold all the time. At least this year I haven't felt cold indoors as I often do and I'm so grateful for that. I'm working on improving my circulation and I think it's working.  One big noticeable difference is that my lower limbs aren't numb and cold as they usually are (more about all this in a future post).

I'm gearing up for Christmas both here and for sending Christmas cheer to Kenyans.  I've been discussing my ideas with my friends as to what we can do for the people in one village near Kericho and for internally displaced peoples in a small IDP camp.

My friend said that for 500 shillings (about $6.50 Canadian), we can buy rice, cooking oil & flour so that the people can make chapati (a type of Indian flat bread). This is the normal diet of the villagers. The hard part is they cannot always afford to eat a meal each and every day.  There are approximately 50 families in this one church in the village that  I would like to help. Total - $350.

These village ladies were so happy with the food supply on one of my Kenyan visits.

It would be nice to add a bit more money ($50)  so that some candy or sweets and sodas can be purchased. My friends could then call all the villagers together after church or on another day and distributes the food to the villagers in one central location.  The extra funds will provide a bit of a party/celebration.  Whether I can host a small party like this remains to be seen. TOTAL $400.

Children everywhere love a small treat especially when it is rare.

I also want to give about 10,000 shillings (approximately $130 Canadian) to a woman name Grace. She looks after about 20 orphans on her family compound.  She does it out of the goodness of her heart through her own funds as well as on land she has donated.  She has enormous needs for food and a better  dwelling for the children.  I can't help with the dwelling but I can help a bit with food this Christmas.  The funds will cover  3-4 weeks of very basic food needs. TOTAL NEED $130.

When I got to Kenya there were so many women that wanted to meet. Before arriving in Kenya my friends in Kenya helped coordinate the building of new jiko stoves for each household.

Last, but not least, are the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). They need many things.  My friend tells me that the ladies in particular need sanitary and hygiene products.  There is no water at the camp but there are latrines so disposable products need to be purchased.  These kinds of things are a real luxury for women and girls in so many Kenyan communities. Lack of such supplies affects girls and their education because they have to stay home at that time of the month. It also affects women who are often the sole economic providers for their families.  It will cost about $200 minimum to provide one or two month supplies for the girls and women in the camp.

This is one example of the difficult conditions of IDPs. It really is important to try and help them.

It would be good to provide the IDPs with a bit of food too. There are 28 families in the small IDP camp.  If we provide the same food as for the villagers, it will cost approximately $181.00. Canadian. It would also cost a modest sum to pay for fuel for those who will transport the goods to the camp ($13.00)  TOTAL $394.

The photo above shows the distribution to the IDP camp in Christmas 2013. You can see that some of them are so joyful.

I don't actually know if I can fund all the needs I've described but I would sure like to try.

I will simply ask each of you to pray for these needs to be met.

Some difficult decisions may need to be made about what can be funded and what can't. It is hard to make such decisions when you see the true needs that exist.

I'm hoping to an post a report here about the distributions once they are made. Timing for that will be closer to Christmas.

Decorations I made for mail exchange last year with Tammy in Texas.

In the meantime, I am preparing to visit my mom at Christmas and have a lot to do before then. Several family members will be joining me for the out of town journey. We expect to have a good time and my mother is looking forward to the visits.

Do any of you send cards anymore? I've cut way back. This year I'm not sure I'm organized enough to send cards on time.

My friend, her sister and I will attend one of the free showings of the Annual Singing Christmas Tree this year. This extremely popular concert is  performed by the good people of the Broadway Church in the city.

 

God bless you as you begin to prepare for your Christmas.

If anyone reading this wants to contribute to the needs I've described in Kenya, please let me know.

Stay safe and stay warm. 

Gearing Up for Christmas

Hello friends,

I hope you are doing fine on this blessed Sunday. It has been awhile since I've posted. I've been feeling very tired this week so have been trying to get as much rest as possible.

Yesterday was the day of our civic elections and voting was very brisk. I went out to cast my vote  just a few hours before the voting stations closed. I overheard a number of the workers telling voters that the turn out for voting was very good and that there had been long line-ups much of the day.Later, on the news I heard the same report about long line-ups at many other voting stations. So that is the good news.

I cast my vote for mayor, city council, school trustees and the parks board. We were also asked to vote "yes" or "no" to a variety of big spending schemes. I didn't get the results I wanted but that is okay. I am just glad that so many turned out to vote.  We will see where we are at in 4 years time and in the meantime, I hope our city gets the kind of leadership and vision that we need and deserve.

Weather here has turned very nippy. Last night as I went out to vote at the station a few blocks from where I live, I ran into my neighbour who was coming back from work. She said it was very cold. As I got out and started walking I could see that the ground was covered in a lot of frost. We had frost earlier in the week but it has gotten even colder. I was properly dressed with scarf, gloves and warm jacket.

A few posts ago I said I would share some old videos I had made and so today I'm sharing one I made years ago.

It is just a very short clip of street boys near Kericho, Kenya at a Rehabilitation Center. These are young boys that get into trouble and most have no parents. My friend Jonah worked with them a lot over the years and would bring Vacation Bible School (VBS) to the children.

I would sponsor the event and helped pay the teachers who Jonah would recruit from the local Bible school and make sure they had food to eat for the week of the VSB as well as teaching materials and small gifts for the children to be handed out during the closing ceremonies. On the day in the video, I had made a trip to Kenya while the VSB was being held and I was attending the closing. I was so touched by these children and their heartfelt singing.  My short clip was taken on my digital camera in the days when the pixels were still not that large so forgive the quality.

Christmas is drawing near once again, I would like to do something for the orphans or the community of needy people in and near Kericho, Kenya.

One year I sponsored a small, fun outing for village children to join festivities in town.

 

In another, we took Christmas to the local prisons.

Jonah meeting and greeting one of the prison heads.

Men at the prison gathering.

Women at the prison gathering.

Another year Jonah brought cheer to the local hospital.

 

In Kenya when you are in hospital, you have to have family help you and make sure they bring you food. Jonah and helpers were taking different food treats to the patients.

For several years we brought Christmas cheer to the internally displaced people of Kenya.

 These are Kenyan who lost their homes and material possessions through civic strife after one of the elections.

These small shelters are how they have to live. There is no protection.

A close up of one of the shelters.

 It is heartbreaking to see the conditions in which the people have to live while they wait for justice. . They have been waiting years for new land where they can live safely. 

No child or grandchild should have to live like this but what choice do the parents have?

Each and every day and every year there are so many ways that one can help the people of Kenya. Christmas is an especially good time to remember them.

I will remember them this year once again and would be so pleased if you could join me.

I can assure you the funds will be put to good use. 

(You can find my email on my profile page if you would like to help out).

God bless. xx