A Friday to End November

The sky as seen from the patio on Thursday, November 29th, 2018.

It has been raining for much of the last 2 weeks and most days it has been quite heavy rain.

It was nice to have a clearer day today. 

The sun was out a bit earlier but I wasn't able to take a photo of it.

I've had a different kind of week.

I've been feeling very tired and my neck is very tight causing me to feel nauseous. I get like this from time to time.

So mostly I've been resting and reading and doing a little tidying here and there.

I finished my berry and pink coloured afghan but I still have to tie off all the loose ends in the back.

This is time consuming but I am pleased with how it looks. Very pleased.

I haven't started on the last afghan of the year but hopefully next week.

My little tree is up and all my presents are wrapped except for one more I must buy for my niece.

I'm so glad the job of wrapping is finished as that is the most time consuming part of everything

I never did get around to completing the task of putting up my curtain rod.

I just was not up to it.
Perhaps I'll feel up to it in a few days. I also need to finish the Christmas decorating but the decorations are in storage downstairs.

~~~

I've also kept a bit pre-occupied with technical issues this week.
I don't know how many of you try to watch DVDs on your computer.
Since I downloaded Windows 10 long ago it has messed up my usage of the CD/DVD feature on my desktop.
It also makes my scanner more troublesome to use.

I got my brother to try to adjust things but he had no more success than I did.
In the end I purchased an inexpensive DVD player so I can watch DVDs from the comfort of my sofa.
 Mostly I borrow DVDs from the library but from time to time I also watch one from my small DVD collection.

I also had an issue trying to sync my Kobo reader (Canada's version of Kindle).
It's been a long time since I charged it up. In the meantime it no longer recognized it's Wi-Fi connection at home.
Despite inputting the correct Wi-Fi address it just would not connect to the internet.
My brother is more tech savvy than I am.
 He got it working again by deleting some public Wi-Fi addresses I'd used in the past.
I was very happy since I've recently purchased the book
Shadows Along the Zambezi as recommended by blogger friend, Diane at Photo Diary.

I also have many other novels on it which I would like to read.
Now my library is up to date and I can start carrying the little reader with me. 


~~~~~~

The following books are in various stages of completion.

I want to return them to the library this weekend or at latest by Monday.

Half finished. I'm not enjoying the stories as much as I'd hoped.  Most are quite bleak.

A complex piece written by a Vancouverite. I'm enjoying it but the story doesn't quite flow easily for me.

Half finished. My completion was hampered by the fact I do not intend to begin the meal plan although I guess that could change.

An easy read but an odd and only slightly satisfying story.

A satisfying read which kept me engaged until the last page. My enjoyment was enhanced by learning the author is Canadian.

A nice documentary about a wonderful human being. I cried at the end.

 ~~~~~~

I found this cute little children's poem about the end of November.

I hope you enjoy it.

It's the end of the month.

The glory of Fall has passed us by and in some cases barely arrived this year.

I started the month by wishing you a month of adventure.

I hope you found it despite the inclement weather in most of the northern hemisphere.

As we move into December and wind down 2018 

I wish each of you peace and time to reflect upon and enjoy the month ahead.

Thank you for your visit.

Joining in with 

Skywatch Friday

and

Friday Foto Friends

A Busy Week Ends

I made it to the end of the week!

I trust my American readers had a fantastic Thanksgiving.
There is always so much to be thankful for and I've been reading some of your gratitude lists this week.

There is lots to report on the missions in Kenya and in other things too.
I've organized everything by subject so you can skip ahead to those areas of interest
My photos are sprinkled throughout this post.  All photos are from my archives with the exception of the baking photos & the graphics.

 MISSIONS OF HOPE, KENYA

The first bit of good news is that my friend Jonah in Kenya was released from hospital on Sunday. Since then he has been staying in a small hotel in the city of Nakuru and seeing the doctor for follow up. Tuesday was the last follow up visit and on Wednesday he expects to return home to Kericho.  He is still a bit weak but the doctor said he will recover his strength in time. He had been incorrectly diagnosed with food poisoning when in fact he had Typhoid Fever. It is the first, and hopefully last time he will contract this disease. I surmise that he picked up the bacteria at the small hotel where he stayed and ate in during his most recent trip to Nairobi.

 Lake Elementeiti, Kenya. You can just make out the lake through the trees

In other news, I've met a young medical student in northern Kenya who finishes his residency training in a week. I met him through an Indian woman I've known for many years. She lives in Guwahati.  She ministers at various Christian meetings in India through Word and song.  When I met her she lived in Mumbai and then returned to Mizoram, her home state after marrying an American.  She now makes her home in Guwahati.  She adopted the young medical student as her spiritual son and I told her when I next get to Kenya I will visit him and take photos for her and give her a report.

The young man is in the very last stages of his medical training. He needed help with his rent and food for this month so I offered to help him.  The amount was very modest but so much needed.  After paying his rent he shared the food he purchased with his grandmother who raised him after his own mom died. His biological mom died because they were impoverished and she could not afford medical help. Before she died she told her son she wanted him to be a doctor so that he could help people like her. It is amazing that he was only 5 years of age when his mother spoke these words but now he will soon fulfill her wish and his destiny.

In a week I will send a little more money for his grandmother.  This will help her get through the Christmas season because her grandson will travel to Nairobi where he volunteers with the Red Cross during school breaks.

In January 2019, he returns to university for one more class and after that expects to graduate in May 2019.

Kenya has very high unemployment hovering close to 90 percent but this young man should be one of the fortunate ones and be snapped up by one of the hospitals.  Medical personnel are very much needed in Kenya and there is currently an inadequate supply of doctors in the country.

Another student I am assisting has just returned to university for his final year of a Bachelor's degree in Engineering. Actually he graduated a year ago and we celebrated his achievement.  Unfortunately the university's program was not accredited and in order to get recognized he must take another year of study. He isn't alone in this.  When he enrolled at the university he and his fellow students were told that the program would be accredited.  By the time they graduated they found out the accreditation had not been achieved.

What it means is they must all return to university for one more year to get accreditation.
After he graduates he hopes to get scholarships to enable him to study abroad and possibly find employment before returning to Kenya. 

The other engineering student I was helping was not able to find steady employment.
After 2 years of  start and stop jobs where I assisted him with starting all over again several times I told him I was unable to continue supporting him if he couldn't find work or create a job.
He was able to secure a small loan from the bank.  Sadly the loan was insufficient for the purpose of opening a small hair salon and barber shop.
I matched the loan to try and help him get established.  Even with the loan funds I've provided it is a very modest start and it is difficult to get things going.  There have been various challenges to the business operation but he is trying hard to make a go of things. It is really up to him now to make or break because he doesn't have many choices.
Young men in Kenya have a very hard time to find work. In fact anyone who isn't very creative at creating their own business will find it very difficult to provide for themselves and to get married and start a family.

I am really praying he will succeed so he and his girlfriend can marry and he can also help provide for his disabled mother.

There is much more to report but I will save it for another post.

YARN

It's been a busy week working on my long list of 'to dos' which included several shopping forays to buy yarn.

In my last post I wrote about how I'd purchased and lost, the yarn I bought for the afghan I'm currently crocheting.

Once I got home I  called several stores where I'd stopped on my way home but none of them had my bag of yarn.

I was resigned to buying the needed yarn again so on Tuesday night I went back to the store. When I got to the cash desk the young lady that helped me on Sunday said  that I had left my shopping bag behind. She blamed it on her distracting me. I wasn't upset in any way because she had distracted me due to trying to find various discounts to save me money.

I was very happy to find my yarn.

Not only did I get my yarn back but I realized I actually needed just a bit more yarn.
I was able to purchase the required skein  for 55% off the regular price.

It was a nice bonus. 

Another nice bonus was the young lady who served me.

I often have wonderful service but this young lady was extra special.

She was so pleasant and kind and it was nice just to see her smiling face again.

I wish we could all be like her. It makes life so much brighter when you meet happy people.
 I'm now at the point of joining my granny squares together. I'm not sure how long it will take me to finish it but once I'm done I'll share a photo.

CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS

I've decided to give one of my finished crocheted afghans and some knitted dishcloths to my brother and his wife for Christmas. I told him he can use the afghan to keep his knees warm this winter (see more about this below under "Personal"). I've also been purchasing a few additional gifts and gift wrap items from the dollar store in my neighbourhood. Tomorrow or Friday I'm hoping to go to a different dollar store in Chinatown. I hardly ever get to the Dollar Tree (DT).  Whenever I'm on You Tube I see so many vloggers talking about their DT hauls and the fabulous things they make with the things they get at the DT.  Basically I need a few things to add to a basket I'm putting together for a young lady. It's a kitchen and baking theme. Earlier I purchased some baking pans and a Bundt cake pan. I will add various gadgets and utensils, oven mitts and some food items to the basket. I'll likely add a few of my knitted dishcloths too.

 I also purchased two Christmas gifts for the brother who lives locally.  I already gave him the gifts because I want to make sure he fit the slippers (he did). I also wanted to make sure he liked and would use the charging station I bought for his phone and devices.  He seems to like the charging station but I know he hasn't actually tried to use it yet. I will be making up a stocking for him to open on Christmas Day so he has a little something that is a surprise.

 I had a chance to put my new smaller tree together though I haven't had a chance to decorate it yet.  It already comes pre-lit so it doesn't need much.  I'm still keeping my eyes open for a white table top tree.

Last but not least, I've purchased a few items for myself as I like to do each year.  All items were purchased from Canada's home shopping network (TSC):  a pair of warm shoes with fuzzy stuff inside (Sketchers), gel soled slippers (Tony Little) and cashmere socks (Pajar). I haven't purchased any cashmere socks for well over 10 years and have been keeping my eye out for them. I finally found the best price on TSC and ordered them. I thought if I liked them I would order more but now they have sold out of their stock.  I haven't received my order yet. There have been mail delays due to a rotating postal strike but the order should be arriving soon.

I captured a lone gull bobbing on the water. There were a lot of them that day but I like this one off by itself.

PERSONAL

My brother had to go to the Emergency Room (ER) for observation a few days ago. He started hobbling in the morning and by the time he was at work he could barely walk due to acute pain in his knees. After testing the doctor diagnosed him with arthritis and gave him an injection of pain medication.

I had this same thing happen to me a few years ago though I didn't go to the ER. I waited a very long time to tell my doctor about it. When I finally did she sent me for x-rays and confirmed my fears about osteoarthritis.

When I first started having knee pain I could barely walk for 4 months. I went to the acupuncture doctor several times a week for several months.  When I didn't get any relief I just stayed home because I was exhausted from dragging myself around.  In that short space of time I gained 40 pounds and it took me years and very diligent effort to lose it.  Along the way I learned about rehabilitation walking poles, whole body vibration and curcumin.  These 3 things have kept me walking.

READING

I made some progress reading The Couple Next Door.  It isn't the usual kind of book I read but I am enjoying it so far.  You can click on the title to read more about it to see if you are interested.

Fellow blogger Diane at Photo Diary also recommended 2 books by Zimbabwean author, Diana M. Hawkins.
I purchased the ebook called Shadows along the Zambezi

 and recommended the Vancouver library purchase the second booked called Shadows over an African Heart.

The library agreed to my recommendation so I can borrow the book later and others can enjoy it too.

I believe these two books deal with the difficult subject of elephant poaching. 

Can you spot the gull atop the Inukshuk (the stone man)?

HOUSEHOLD

I started putting up the new curtain rod. 

I have to do this job in stages because it requires a lot of getting up and down on the little ladder and making sure

everything is as straight as possible because each bracket requires two holes.

I see there are actually 4 brackets in the box, not 2.  This is great because the sales lady told me there were only 2 brackets and I almost bought 2 more to make sure I had enough.  Now I won't have to purchase any more.

When I was out running errands I came across some free stuff outside of a thrift store. 

There were 4 tiles with printed scenes on them. I took two of them and the other two were scooped up by another woman.  When I put my two tiles together they make the face of an elephant and its tusks. I've put them on the wall behind the chair in my little reading area. They coordinate with the afghan I made for myself at the start of the year (the one on the top of the pile in gold, grey and off white colours).

 

BAKING

I made some cinnamon buns using the the same recipe I made bread with last weekend.

I made enough dough to also make one loaf of bread since all the other is gone.

The buns turned out perfectly. I used very little sugar and a lot of cinnamon spice.

Now that I've made bread twice in such a short time I probably won't be baking very often in the foreseeable future.
 I might bake something for Christmas (cookies or squares of some kind, maybe buns) but I don't really need that much since my family is not very large.

I try to capture the birds flying in the morning but they are very fast.

 Take care everyone.
Thanks for visiting.

Joining in with

Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

Saturday's Critters

Making Slow Progress

The week has flown by! My time has been spent dealing with the missions in Kenya and following up on Jonah's care and stay in hospital. If all goes well he should be released on Friday, Kenyan time.  Thank you to all who prayed for his recovery.

I made a bit of progress reading my latest book by Dr. Don Colbert.

Book #52

I was interrupted at the coffee shop when I went there to read the book of short stories, Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie. A fellow patron who happens to own a used book store nearby started chatting and wanted to know more about the author.  I told him what I know, which isn't a lot and we briefly discussed another of my recent reads, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Then he went on his way and I had to dash to other errands.

Book #53

 ~~~~~~

I've made only a bit of progress on making granny squares. I like how they look so far though after I'm finished making squares and joining them there will be a lot of loose ends to weave in. This part can be quite time consuming.

The rest of the week I've been busy with errands and shopping for a few Christmas presents.  I 'm almost set now. I just have to finalize something for a niece and nephew. I also had to buy some tissue paper which I like to use to wrap around gifts before I stuff them in Christmas bags or wrap them in paper.  Wrapping presents seems to take longer than actually looking for and getting or making the gifts, lol. Tuesday and Wednesday I wrote out most of my Christmas cards and posted the international ones. My Christmas card list is limited to 20 cards this year whereas in some years it has been more like 60.

I was invited to an all day Christmas event on Saturday but have decided to stay home and rest.  I'm also hoping to get organized for the week ahead, do some crochet and hopefully some reading.  Right now I really don't have the desire to make nice with a room full of strangers so it suits me to stay home. I love to meet people but I have to be in the right frame of mind and well rested, otherwise being in a room full of strangers (minus my friend) is a lot of effort if you don't want to stand around looking like an awkward bump on a log.

~~~~~~~

 It's been raining here and sometimes cold. Last night I found it quite warm which was a pleasant surprise.
 At this time of year it is usually raining and warmer or not raining and cold. It is not usually clear and warm.
Given the overcast conditions here right now I'm sharing sky and critter photos from my archives.

~~~~~~~

The first set of photos with pink flamingos were taken at Lake Nakuru Provincial Park in Kenya.

Here is a view of the sky from my balcony taken on a clear day about 5 days ago.
You can see a bird flying in the sky. I think it was a crow. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo.

These small, colourful bird photos were taken at the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver. The conservatory has a lot of exotic birds which are always a treat for me to see though perhaps more common depending where you live.

Gouldian Finch at Vancouver's Bloedel Conservatory

 

Strawberry Finch at Vancouver's Bloedel Conservatory

I'm looking forward to the weekend. 

I wish all of you a wonderful weekend.
Thank you for stopping by!

~~~~~

Linking with

Skywatch Friday

Friday Foto Friends

Saturday's Critters

Another Week is Over

This was what it looked like a week ago when I went to Michael's to purchase yarn. 

I love the glow cast by the evening light and golden leaves.

I purchased one big ball of yarn to start a new afghan in shades of gray, black and white (Caron Big Cakes). I now have the 3 big balls of yarn that I need to make the afghan.  The afghan will be in the same pattern (Ocean Wave pattern) as the last few I've made.  But I also bought another smaller ball of yarn in Berry (Red Heart yarn) to make a Granny Square Afghan.  I don't have a pattern as such for the latter. I'll simply make a bunch of  squares and stitch them altogether when I think I have enough of them.  I might use a coordinating colour and I might not. I used up the Magenta yarn (Vanna's Choices, Red Heart yarn) after making only 6 squares and there is no more of the colour in stock at my local Michael's.

The joined yarns in two afghans on the left need to be finished but they are otherwise done. The squares are more portable so can be made anywhere (not that I usually carry it with me).  The  3 balls of yarn will be made in Wave pattern afghan.

The finished afghan for a friend's birthday. I've given it to her somewhat early but don't think she has opened it yet.

Try as I might I could not get a good photo of this afghan. It's long enough when full extended to cover the feet and all the way up to the neck and is longer than the pattern instructions. That way my friend can keep nice and warm on a cool night.

Here I've folded the afghan in half. I think it gives a better sense of how large it is.

~~~

On Tuesday I had a pleasant surprise when the sun came out and the skies partly cleared.

I'm reading several books but slowed down. I'll focus on finishing this one

 ~~~~

I'm closing with a few photos from my archives.  These were taken in Delta, BC just over a year ago.

The eagles like to flock near the bog at an organic waste facility. As the salmon stocks in the ocean dwindles, the eagles are looking to other food sources. It sounds great. But it is perhaps not so great for the pilots and planes that fly in air space near by. Nor is it great for the many home owners who must now contend with traffic congestion on their country roads and influx of professional and amateur photographers as well as the simply curious.  On the day I went out to shoot photos it was a bit overcast and snowing so it was really quite deserted.

So many photos were taken but without better lenses it is not so easy to get a good photo

Thank you for dropping by. 

Please come again soon.

Joining in with 

Skywatch Friday

Friday Foto Friends

Saturday's Critters.

Hello November

Hi friends,

It's been raining heavily for much of the past week so I continue with my decluttering. Actually I haven't been decluttering so much as I've been posting my decluttered things for giveaway and arranging for people to pick things up. I took the photo of the sky and trees a few days before Halloween just before the heavy rains started. I love the colour of the leaves and the blue of the sky peeking out above the clouds.

I've been busy making my crocheted afghans and trying to finish the ones I'm gifting. My hope is to find time to make a few others for possible sale but we shall see how things go.  The berry coloured afghan is finished but I must still weave in the loose ends before it will be ready for gifting.  I tried hard to get a photo without shadows but it is difficult getting indoor shots at this time of year.

I also finished the other afghan I shared in my last post (the gray and gold one below) but didn't take a photo of the finished project yet.  The third afghan I am currently making is the same colour way as the gray and gold. I must  have been getting too tired as I ended up ripping out almost one third of it today. Actually it is the 3rd rip out I've done in 2 days due to mistakes I didn't like.  I don't usually make a lot of crochet errors but lately haven't been getting enough sleep.  I really love to crochet. I find it very relaxing and gives my hands something to do during long, dark, rainy nights.

Last week I was decluttering and this week I was posting stuff for giveaway and communicating with people to arrange pick up times.  The big balls of yarn I gave to a missionary ladies group that I've donated to before. they have a large group of industrious woman who are always making things and sending them abroad to Asia and Africa.  I love knowing that things will be put to good use and benefit others.

In future I will not be buying so much yarn in advance of actually needing to use it.  I thought I was saving money by buying yarn on sale but it takes too much room to store and if I haven't used it in 3 years then it's not likely going to be used soon.  My new approach is to buy one or two skeins at a time for projects I am currently working on though I also still have a stash of smaller skeins in a few colour ways. You will likely see some of them on this blog in a future project/s.

 

The photos below show other things I was able to give to others. After buying velvet hangers for my closet I had 70+ plastic hangers in a variety of colours to give away. Someone gladly took them off of my hands. I also had various tops and jeans, shower curtain and bath mat and an artificial Christmas tree (not in the photo) to give away.  I'm still waiting for someone to arrange to pick up a few smaller items at a mutually convenient time.

I meant to share the next photo long ago. I took it a year ago in October down at the English Bay sea wall on one of my walks. I stopped to buy a coffee and saw this gentle, old dog quietly waiting for his master.  He was very sweet.

 

I took a photo of the ducks down at the same beach. I like the way the sun is shining on the water.

A week ago Friday I went to dinner with two friends, one is a missionary to Taiwan.   It was really nice to chat with Cindy and find out more about her life and work in Taiwan. She has already worked in Uganda, the Philippines and Canada's far north. She's spent the majority of her time in Taiwan and it is her home now. She loves the people. I still remember the day we prayed for her at my former church as she was preparing to leave for Taiwan. I haven't seen her in many years and we had a good catch up.

Here is a photo of what the day looked like early evening Thursday on the first day of November.  We have a rain warning starting around dinner time tonight and ending Saturday morning.  As you can see by the photo, my plans to clean the garden up at the end of September never came to fruition. It's still a job I have to do and will try to do in the next little while in preparation for the winter months.

Good weather for one of my other main hobbies, reading.
Here are my current reads.

I found this November inspirational verse on line.

 

It will be  a good reminder for me to remain positive as we head into my least favourite time of year weather wise.


Here's to November.
May you have a blessed and adventurous one.

Thank you for visiting :-)

Joining in with

Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

and

Saturday's Critters