A Different View

Joining Skywatch Friday today

This week I'm sharing night photos of the sky.  Not day time photos. I was out and about doing errands and just had my phone with me. The phone camera doesn't have great clarity especially at night but it will do in a pinch.  I couldn't go out without trying to capture the beautiful colour and mood in the sky.

I took this photo because I like how the windows in the building reflect the colours of the sunset.

This photo is taken towards the south. Can you see the crescent moon peeking through the branches?

Bus stop in the same general vicinity.

This is a wonderful coffee shop that also has great pastries and sandwiches.

The weather has been dry all week along with blue skies and sunshine. It's a nice treat after so much rain in September and October.  We have now gone for a record setting 13 consecutive days without rain. I hear it may rain this weekend but it is not a guarantee. Next week it should be dry and sunny for most of the week.

The next part of the post is more of a record that I can look back at in years to come when I need or want to reflect back on what I've been doing with my time. Of course it doesn't cover every detail. Only the highlights or the key things taking up time.

READING

In my Bible reading I have now started on 2 Corinthians in the New Testament. In terms of library books I could not get too invested in the book entitled 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Petersen because I didn't have much time for reading over the past 2 weeks.  I was unable to renew the book even once due to the long wait list.  It will have to go into my "read later" list.   In the meantime I enjoyed, Memoirs of a Muhindi:  Fleeing East Africa for the West by Mansoor Ladha. I'm also half way into a book entitled Jackie, Janet & Lee:  The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill.  Once I'm finished I have 2 books on style and fashion to read for a book club I'm in.

PERSONAL

This week I've been very busy getting my calendar organized for November and December. My friend and I have confirmed our tickets for the Christmas concert in mid December.  There are another 2 concerts that I just learned about and they are coming up in a few days.  One is free and one is by donation. I've heard the orchestra before and so I know the concerts will be top notch. If I'm able I'd like to get to at least one of them and am awaiting word about whether a friend can join me.

I've been busy trying to shop the sales on line for some of my clothing gaps for next summer.  Most of the items don't fit well but several of them are perfect. I've also ordered most of the smaller gift items I need to wrap for Christmas.

I have a few medical (colonoscopy and knee assessment for possible surgery) and a dental (bridge replacement) procedures that must be done soon.  In fact, I had a colonoscopy Thursday morning but it wasn't able to properly completed so I must return in 6 months. The doctor found a very small polyp but she didn't snip it right away and when she tried hard to find it later after a full examination of the colon she could not find it again. I really don't look like these procedures (who does?) especially because I thought I was getting the same doctor I had last time (he was very efficient and I felt virtually nothing.  I was disappointed to get a different, albeit nice, doctor today.  In the end  my disappointment was justified because the outcome was a failed procedure.  If anyone (probably many of you) has had this procedure you know it isn't much fun preparing for it or going through it. I am still grateful that we have access to these kinds of detection measures though. We are very blessed in this day and age.

I'm also sorting out an outstanding bill with the dental office.  It should be fairly straightforward but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to be. It involves multiple people at the dental office and one, if not two, insurance companies. The dental staff say my insurer didn't pay all the cleaning costs because some of it is not covered. This is all new stuff for me because my insurance has always fully covered cleaning procedures. This year I even had more cleaning units than every before but now the dental offices want to charge me more.  It makes no sense to me. I figured it was an error but it may turn out to be otherwise.  When I press the patient coordinator, she can only give me a partial explanation which wasn't sufficient.  I told her I want a clear and justified bill before I pay and that I'd like to resolve it before getting the bride work done before the end of this calendar year.  I'm now waiting for a call from the billing department.  It gives me a bit of time to carefully go over the bill they've sent and to prepare my questions.

All this is time consuming.  But I've found when I'm proactive about such matters I end up saving myself money.  For example, for the colonoscopy, when the district hospital staff book an appointment for me they send all the instructions to me including instructing me about the over the counter medicine to purchase to cleanse the colon (Colyte or Peglyte).

In doing some research I discovered that these two medicines appear to be covered by one of my insurers but I wasn't completely sure because of the pharmaceutical name.  When I spoke to the pharmacist I usually deal with, he insisted I needed a prescription. I told him it doesn't make sense to request a prescription for an over the counter medicine but he wouldn't budge so I left things and called the insurer. The staff person was useless. She wasn't the DIN number even though I didn't purchase the product.  I told her what the pharmacist told me. She suggested I just get a prescription. I told her time was of the essence and there was no time to book in with the doctor.  so she wasn't helpful at all. She just suggested the pharmacist is the one who could answer my question by putting in the DIN number to the system. I already knew that wouldn't work with my primary pharmacist because I'd already spoken with him and he knew the answer.

I went to a 2nd pharmacist. They did what the 1st pharmacist should have done. They processed my ordered under my name with whatever information they have to provide to the system and the claim was processed (meaning the medication was covered).  This is a savings of $33.00 (thirty three dollars Canadian) for 30 minutes of my time in 3 phone calls and discussions.  I won't have to repeat these questions because I have an answer. In 6 months I have to buy this product again and (also into the future) so it is a regular savings of at least $33 dollars each time.  When you add together all these small sums of money it begins to really add up.

I also informed my regular pharmacist that he was in error.  He seemed perplexed  and continued to tell me that their system doesn't put the claim through. I suggested it might be their own computer system that needs tweaking.  He agreed it might be the case but I know that he is a franchise owner so he wouldn't be the one to try and resolve the system. It is much bigger than he is.  To be honest, I have heard that this very large pharmaceutical company always acts like they don't know what you're talking about when it comes to coverage for over the counter medicines. It means that other people like me are experiencing the same issues and getting a run around. I have no idea why a company would turn it's nose at money and not try to get to the root of the issue. Perhaps they are like me. Requiring a lot of time to analyze, assess and ponder before acting to correct things or perhaps it is just such a large company that trying to rejig the computer program is too difficult.  Eventually they may get around to it.

In other financial activity, I've finally cancelled some financial products that I've been wanting to cancel for a few years.  I just never was fully ready to cancel them for one reason or another.  Then unexpectedly my financial advisor switched companies this year.  Rather than follow him as a client, I decided now was a good time to make the switch.  He was disappointed but I haven't even met him once in person in over 10 years so I figure I am not losing by moving on.  In fact, I'm hoping to gain something like a more personalized experience.  Now I am caught up with the investment and financial product decisions I need to make.  I will continue streamlining things where I can and making a few adjustments here and there as needed.

KENYAN MISSIONS

Another thing taking time is my Kenyan outreach.

The man name Ernest who was run down by a motor vehicle has had his cast removed. He still has a follow up visit to see if his leg is straight as it seems maybe it is a bit bent. I'll know more about his condition in a few weeks. One friend generously helped him with money to help him buy nutritious food during these months he has been convalescing and it has really helped him. I am hoping that if I am able I can help Ernest to start a small barber business from home to provide modestly for his own needs. If any of my readers would like to help Ernest with food, a cow for milk needs or his barber business, please let me know.

Eunice, the woman with the issue of blood (chronic anemia likely brought on through long term poor nutrition) has been slowly improving on a special diet and on hormone medicines.  However from time to time she has a set back and lands in ICU.  She was recently in ICU for a few days this past week but is now back in the general ward. Since she has been on the special diet and the hormone treatment her set backs still happen suddenly and dramatically but they appear to be shortening. We continue to believe for a complete restoration of health after a time on the medication.

If anyone would like more information please see the link at the top right side bar.  If you are able to make a donation we would greatly appreciate it.

The two boys in Kenya (John and Ian) who I sponsor through Compassion Canada were writing their examinations this past week and I'm hoping to get a good report from them when the test results are in.  Both boys have a vision for trying to achieve more in school and I encourage them in their goal.

Alvin, one of the young men who graduated from Engineering has done very well on his English as a Second Language Test.  He is currently looking for a thesis supervisor whilst also preparing a graduate studies application to a university in Vancouver, Canada.  Carolly, a medical graduate will, as of today, November 8th, 2019, be a fully licensed doctor in .  This is a huge achievement for him and we are very proud of him.I will add some photos to this post once received.

That's it for now. Thank you for your visit. I hope to see you soon in Blog land.

Thanksgiving Dinner, Fall Leaves and Eunice

In my last post I mentioned that Canada celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend and that I was under the weather.
Thank you to those blogging friends who prayed for me. I am feeling better and am on the mend.

🦃🦃🦃

I mentioned also that I was to make dinner for family. I did and took my time. It was a relaxing day and we enjoyed a quiet celebration.

My brother pronounced the turkey as the best I've ever made.
I think what he really liked was the crispy, golden skin. 

You can see all the liquid at the bottom of the roasting pan. It isn't all grease from the bird.
When I was growing up my mother always added water to the roasting pan.  I copy her approach. It helps to steam cook the bird and keep it moist. It also provides more drippings and liquid for making the gravy.

Roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots tossed in olive oil and coarse sea salt.I didn't make so much of this because I didn't want them as left overs. I also omitted green salad because no one ever eats it at the holiday meals.

No matter who cooks the bird I always go for the wings when it's time to eat. The wings are my favourite whether I'm eating turkey or chicken.  I stuffed the bird with bread stuffing and made extra for cooking on the side. I ignore all the expert opinions about stuffing the bird as a big 'no no'.  No one ever got sick in all the years my family and extended family and friends cooked a stuffed bird.
To round out the main meal we had mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce.

We had pumpkin pie and/or bread pudding topped with whipped cream for dessert.
The pie was not home made but the pudding was.

There were plenty of leftovers to eat during the week and I've saved some bones for soup stock.

I hope to make some turkey pot pies soon too.

 🦃🦃🦃

We've been having so much rain off and on for well over a month.  We did have a break in the rain for about a week and a half.  It is so beautiful here when the sun shines and the glorious blue sky and the red leaves of autumn abound.

I love the canopy made by the leaves in the above photo.

Looking at and taking photos of the sky through leaves is one of my favourite things to do.

🍁

In other news,

my friend Eunice was tested to see how well her body is absorbing and utilizing the medicine she is on. The test results are now in and there has been improvement in the oxygen in the blood.
I'm so thankful for that.

She has improved but there is still a ways to go with her recovery.

Medicine and special food as well as oxygen and blood when needed (less frequently now) is very expensive.

I am still trying to raise awareness and raise funds. Take up is very slow but there isn't a deadline. I will keep

trying until there is a definite outcome for Eunice

Click here for the Go Fund Me page.

Please take a moment to share it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or email. 

It only takes a moment and you will be helping to save a life.

If you are able to contribute that is even better and we thank you so much for your giving.

Whatever you do, please do something.

I have added a photo of Eunice and  a link to the side bar for anyone who would like to come back later and link to the campaign.

Thank you 

and have a wonderful weekend.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday this week.

Update - Kenyan Missions

Eunice is the woman in the photo. Eunice is a widow of many years and has raised several children mostly on her own.  Like many people in Kenya, she and her children live in the villages and they eke out a living as best they can. They have little for their own needs let alone funds for dealing with major life challenges. It is a real challenge just to try and eat, let alone eat a nutritious diet.  Other things that we in the developed nations take for granted like eating out, travelling, buying books/clothing/household needs,  medicines and so on are luxuries.  The small amount of funds they are able to make are mainly used for meager food supplies and telephone data. Everyone in Kenya must have a phone of some kind as that is the way to stay in touch, do business and banking.

Eunice is from a village near Kericho, Kenya where she taught Sunday School for over 40 years. She retired from this role a few years ago but before she could enjoy her down time she became sick and has been in and out of hospitals for treatment.  She has been in a private hospital in  Nakuru, Kenya for several months after spending time at the mission hospital in Tenwek near Bomet.  The hospitals are several hours away from her home and family. Her main health challenges are acute anemia and high blood pressure which seem to be health issues on the maternal side of the family.

Eunice's family and I have been trying to get her the medical help she needs and it has been difficult to fully understand the nature of her condition.  Mostly we have been responding to urgent medical needs to keep her alive.  Such interventions include keeping her supplied with oxygen, blood and special food as needed.  But these treatments have only been keeping her going rather than healed any underlying health issues.

Her family and I have been trying to get her the medical help she needs but it has taken a long while to fully grasp the nature of her condition. Thus far we have been able to keep her going and to do the urgent things for her care.   We have been keeping her supplied with oxygen, blood and special food when we can but it has been challenging financially to do what is required.  Whatever we have done has only kept her alive and hasn't addressed any underlying health issues. 

We are now at the point of trying some expensive medications and a more consistent special diet to see if this combined approach will give her the boost she needs to fully recover.  It has been about 8 days on this new regime and Eunice seems to be stabilizing but once again we are running out of funds. We are urgently trying to raise the funds needed so she can get the required treatment for at least another month.

Funds are needed for pay for the medications, blood and oxygen when required, care in Intensive Care Unit and if moved, general ward costs. Since she is in hospital hours away from her home town, we also need a bit of funds for food for her son or daughter who accompany her and visit her every day. They do not live in Nakuru where Eunice is currently in hospital and she cannot be moved due to an unpaid hospital bill.  Eunice actually has medical insurance but the hospital costs are much more than what insurance has paid and what I could add.

Here is a budget breakdown for the next month or two.

Current medicine costs are 5000 Kenyan shillings (KSH) for every 5 days (approx $65 (Canadian), $50 (US), $71 (Australian), $44 (Euros) 39 Pounds Sterling.


Funds are needed for at least one month  5000 KSH  x 6 = 30,000 KSH. Two months is 60,000 KSH.
Approximate costs for oxygen and blood is 7000 KSH (approx $95 Canadian) for each pint of blood or each tank of oxygen.  She will likely need more than one of each.

High Dependency Unit (called in Intensive Care in some countries) or General Ward costs would be additional but for now we seek support for medicines.

For family support costs for one person is as follows:
Food costs are 1500 Kenyan shillings for 2 days or 1500 x 15 for one month is =22500  Kenyan shillings.
30,000 +22500 Kenyan shillings =52, 500 Kenyan shillings minimum per month  ($673 (Canadian), $507 (US), $746 (Australian), 458 (Euros), 404 (Pounds Sterling)

Other costs, travel back and forth to the hospital (5600 KSH per month), occasional travel to home 3000 KSH per month), food (30,000 KSH per month), lodgings (45,000 KSH per month). Approximate cost for one month 83,600 KSH.  Cost for 2 months approx. 167,200 KSH. 

The family expresses gratitude for anyone who is able to contribute.  They realize that it is a completely selfless act. One person cannot do it all but many people working together can do a lot.

Please share this need as widely as you can. Thank you so much.

~~~~~

Thank you to those who have been touch.

If you would like to contribute you can do so at this link 

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In Other news

Most of you know that Ernest (in Kenya) has been recovering at home from the leg injury he suffered after being run over by a motor bike taxi. 

As of Friday, September 20th he will have the plaster removed from his leg and be able to walk without the crutches he has been using over the past months.

On behalf of his family, thank you to those who helped him with medical costs.

~~~~

If anyone would like to help this man he has an ongoing need for nutritious food ($50), diabetes medicine  ($7) and delivery of clean drinking water ($40).  All funds stated in Canadian dollars for a one month period.

You can reach me by email if you would like to help Ernest.

Photos show Ernest at his release from hospital and in the field at home.

Eunice Needs Medical Help

*Awaiting Access to Go Fund Me page to update. 

Thank you.*

Please share widely

One of my faithful readers asked me privately about a month ago if I have considered a Go Fund Me Campaign for Eunice.  I had not due to being so busy with other things but now I've had a moment to do so.

Eunice is the women in the center of the photo and she has been in hospital for months because she cannot afford the proper treatment for her medical issues. 

I need everyone's help in sharing and spreading this campaign page.  I'm not sure if this is the right fundraising platform to start a campaign but with your help in sharing we can do something to help Eunice.
Here is the link for copying and pasting

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/eunice-needs-our-help-with-medical-issues?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

You can also get to the campaign page to copy and page by clicking on the photo caption.

I will update the page as I get more information.

Thank you for your help.

Note:  Since I posted this item it's come to my attention that blogger is preventing some people from leaving a comment. I know that happens from time to time as it has happened to me on other blogs too. I hope it won't deter you from sharing or from donating as you are able. Thank you on behalf of Eunice and her family.
In retrospect it probably doesn't make sense to keep comments open. I will try to figure out how to disable ethe comment feature. It doesn't seem so straightforward as before.  I would rather people took a few moments to share this need within their social networks rather than leave a comment here.

After the Pain

Hello everyone,

Since my last post I have suffered a lot of pain. After taking so many painkillers I decided to call the dental office and let them know I needed to get in sooner than my scheduled appointment. I had been on wait list but had not received a call. A few people commented on my last post that their dental offices have space for emergencies. I guess I didn't consider my situation an emergency because I didn't realize that the tooth giving me a problem still had roots.

Long story short, I did go in a few days earlier to the dentist and it was discovered that I had an abscess which needed to be cleaned out right away. Since then I only had a bit of pain after the freezing came out. I've now got antibiotics and pain killers to use as needed. I return Monday for the work to be completed. I'm not sure yet about other work as there is another major piece of work that needs doing under a bridge which now needs to come out and hopefully redone. When I saw the dentist a few months ago he thought he could work around it so I'm not sure why he says something different now. Maybe the x-rays tell the story but the affected tooth has no roots. So I'll wait and see. The main priority was getting rid of the tooth pain and is more or less gone. Thank goodness!

~~~~~

These sky photos were taken around 5 a.m. from my patio

Sunrise June 9, 2019

Sunrise June 9, 2019

Sunrise June 9, 2019

These plants are all from my patio garden

Geranium in a pot.

Catmint (not cat nip)

Remember the pansies were almost dead before I potted them but they are doing very well now.

Pink petunias

Basil

I've been taking a 1 mile walk each day in my neighbourhood (running errands, going to appointments and to the community garden plot), I spend 10 minutes a day, sometimes 20 minutes on the whole body vibration (WBV) machine, I take supplements for arthritis and try to eat more greens.  The knee pain has greatly reduced but is still there in the background if you will. I will continue with my regimes and next time I see the doctor I will ask for a referral to the arthritis specialist to discuss what my options are.  There can be quite a long wait for knee replacements where I live but they assess each person to see whether you should go on a priority list.

On my last post Yoko commented that I must strengthen the thigh muscles to help the knee pain. I remember when I was getting physiotherapy for the knee I was given some exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee so I will start doing those again. The WBV machine also increases muscle mass in my legs so that helps.   The knee pain returns when I haven't been using WBV. There have actually been studies showing that WBV is good for arthritis sufferers (if you get the right kind of WBV machine) and I did experience great relief for several years after first being afflicted by arthritis many years ago.  My situation was much worse back then and I was eventually able to walk pain free after a lot of rehabilitation (as described above) and supplements.

I continue to keep very busy with the missions in Kenya. Right now I'm trying to help Eunice and her family who are dealing with life and death issues and the heavy financial burden.  Some of you may remember that Eunice  suffers from a blood issue. Either the blood is clotting and causing sudden hospitalization or she needs a lot of blood transfusions. I fear that she cannot go on much longer as she has already been through so much but God only knows for sure.

The main source of need is to pay for blood at a cost of 3000 Kenyan shillings per pint ($40 Canadian/$30 American) and she needs blood every other day. It gets expensive.  Her family has been getting relatives to travel in from several hours away to donate blood to try and reduce the costs but even this is a hardship because most of them are very poverty stricken and its hardship to spend on the transport and try and eat a bit on the journey to hospital and back. Kindly keep this woman and her family in prayer as the hospital she has been in for some time is several hours away from her home. The specialized kind of care she needs isn't available where she lives.

Ernest Ruto has gone home from hospital but there is still an outstanding balance of about $180 Canadian owing to the Kericho District Hospital. It's important to clear the bill not only because the money is owed but because it is the least expensive hospital option in Kericho Town and if the bill is not paid Ernest will have a hard time to get future medical assistance. I thank God for those who helped get this man home to recover. He is far happier to be recovering at home. Another benefit is that the hospital bill is not increasing since Ernest is no longer occupying a bed.

About a month or so ago I finished the last crochet blanket I was working on. I let it sit around for weeks as I just couldn't seem to get to tieing off the ends and taking a photo.

Finally I put all the loose threads to the back so I could take a photo of the blanket. I spread it out on the grass at the park because it is too large to get a good photo at home.  It is a twin size blanket so I also can't get a good photo of it on the sofa or on a larger bed.  Since I took the photo I have finally woven in and tied up all the loose ends at the back. I just need to prepare the blanket for mailing to my aunt so she can take it to my uncle.  I do hope it won't go missing at the care home where he lives as I've learned that things often get stolen in care homes.  That reminds me that I need to put a name label on the blanket before I mail it. It might help a bit.

I had the service man from the telecommunications company here to upgrade the modem and digital and PVR boxes. The equipment I had was first generation stuff from about 10 years ago and it really needed to be upgraded. What a difference it has made too. I no longer have such long delays and pauses when I use the remote controls. I also now only have to use one remote control rather than 2 and the speed of everything is much better even though I'm still on relatively low internet speed.  I've been waiting for years to get the fastest internet speed and it has been available now for awhile. But sadly the strata council and the telecommunications representative had an issue which led to a stand off and the end result is we cannot get the high speed internet right now.   So the upgrades are a God send and really correct the main issues I've been having. The service man will return in a few weeks to do one more thing which will allow me to have more streaming capability in the apartment. When you have guests or roommates it is much better to have more than 2 streams at a time to use for HD television (2 for watching in different rooms and one for recording). I am probably not explaining things properly but some of you may know what I'm trying to say, lol.

Other that that I've finally got things handled with the new financial advisor and I've made a few financial decision which I had put off for some time while I deliberated about finding a new advisor. I'm pleased with the progress I've made and will be doing more analysis and tweaking over the coming months.  I asked my new advisor if there were any incentives available for making the switch and I was given a choice of gift cards in the amount of $100. It was a bit disappointing since they give $300 for new bank accounts but I am still happy to have something. If I didn't ask I wouldn't get.  I chose a gift card for movies as that is one thing I like to attend throughout the year but I don't like paying today's prices.

Weather here has been very hot. It is usually me complaining about the heat but as I walk down the street my neighbours and some times complete strangers complain to me about the heat. Usually people just love hot weather but it seems this year those that don't are a bit more vocal. I am sure we are off to another dry summer and I just hope we get a few good rainfalls here and there. In May we only had 30.5 mm of rain which is just barely over 1 inch and well below the norm.

Every day or every other day I water my small balcony garden and go to the community plot to water that too. The community plot I have has a mish mash of plants because there are things coming up that were planted by the previous tenant.  I don't want to pull anything out until I can see what is growing. My lettuce, sunflowers and beans seem to be doing well. I didn't have poles for the beans when I planted so now need to get some up pronto so I purchased some 5 foot high bamboo poles. I didn't have time to go searching for alternatives and just bought these in a package of 25 at a store in my neighbourhood.  In future I hope to have some good enough photos to share of the little plot.

Joining Skywatch Friday

Thanks for reading. I hope you will come again.