Westham Island ~ Pt. 1

Joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Beauty in Twinkle at Twilight

I am blessed. 

 This week, I was admiring all the twinkling lights and freshly fallen snow on the mountains. 

So I stopped to take a few photos.   

As I did, many stopped to admire the beauty too and acknowledged me by smiling and saying some wonderful words about the beauty before us.  I was glad to pause and commune with others in gratitude for the beauty that is here.

For when we live in a place of such beauty we should never neglect to give gratitude. 

When we see moments of beauty we should always pause even ever so briefly and drink it in.

Today I say "Happy Birthday" to my beautiful (late) sister who was born on this day.

We miss her still and have the hope that one day we will reunite.

Today I also bid adieu to an auntie who I will not see again on this earth.

Rest well in God's arms until we meet again.

Today I give thanks that the Pokot man and my friend Jonah have both had surgery and come out of it.

Now I pray for their full recovery.

Time on earth is in God's hands alone. 

Let us give thanks for every breath we take.

~~~~~

In beauty I walk 

With beauty before me I walk 

With beauty behind me I walk 

With beauty above me I walk 

With beauty around me I walk 

It has become beauty again 

It has become beauty again 

It has become beauty again 

It has become beauty again 

(From the Navajo Way Prayer and Blessing)

 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday

Nostalgia & Gratitude

Hi friends, It is Sunday night and I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. I was looking at old videos I had made. They are rather amateur but I would like to share some in the next few weeks.

This first video is probably the best video I made and also one of my first ones. The sound quality seems to be much better than some of the later ones I uploaded.

I hope you enjoy.  There is soothing music to go along with it the photos.  It is raining here today and far from the beautiful bright days you see in the video. Nonetheless I had a good day because I was able to sleep in, rest, catch up on computer work, connect by text with a number of friends, connect with my mom and help her out by prayer and advocacy.  I also got to make plans to meet two friends,  later this week; one who is from out of town.  I'm looking forward to seeing both of  them.  I also have a busy week of appointments, errands, phone calls and will be grateful to make it through the week intact and not too tired.

Graphic credit: 30 Days of Gratitude

Whenever I have a lot to do I try to plan out my days carefully. I plan out the time so that I can accomplish what is in my calendar at a steady pace rather than a hectic pace. It usually works out well.  I also try to work in rest periods, coffee or lunch stops and time to read a bit of whatever book I'm reading. This week I must return books and need to try and finish one of them which I started long ago. It's called Currency Wars by James Rickards. Very interesting but I can only digest a few pages at a time.  I recommend you catch the author on youtube if you don't want to read the book.

Much love to you all and thank you for stopping by to visit.  I send you all loving thoughts for a beautiful week ahead.

Beauty in the Sky

A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. ~Leonard Louis Levinson 

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. ~ Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther 

And they were canopied by the blue sky, So cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful, That God alone was to be seen in Heaven. ~Lord Byron 

Join here for Skywatch Friday. 

Bright Lights

We had a wild, windy day yesterday with great big, wet snowflakes falling fast and furious. It was unwelcome weather because I was going out to a dance performance (more about that in a later post).  The big white strips caught in mid-air are the snow flakes. The snow was falling so fast that it was difficult to get a photo of it. You can see the large flakes lying on the patio floor.

 It is rather late in the season to be getting snow where I live. We also got a large snow fall early in the season which is again unusual. The weather is largely unpredictable around the globe these days. 

My small garden will have to wait awhile until the weather warms up but I'm sure the skiers are happy with the fresh snow.
I like the pretty photos snow helps to create and I simply love looking at the bright lights at night on a snowy mountain. I can see these scenes from my desk.

It is most difficult to get a night shot with my camera.  

I'm happy with these few that I'm sharing with you. 

 I hope you like them too.
Please click on badges below to see more blues and scenic photos!

Ever Changing Weather

I was reminiscing about a road trip to visit my mom last Spring. Just look at the ever changing weather and sky in a few short hours. In the case of the bottom photos, it is only a few minutes between photos.

Join Scenic Sundays hosted by the Holleys to see more beautiful scenes from around the world.

More of Seton Lake

The other day I featured a few sky photos, taken on the drive from Vancouver to Seton Lake, near Lillooet.  I thought it would be good to post more photos of this spectacular area as my submission to this week's Scenic Sunday Meme. I do hope you enjoy them.

 

 I think these photos will give you a sense of the driving conditions and the mountainous terrain.

 
 You can see that there are some extreme switchbacks in the road.

If you look in the far distance, you can see the blue plastic shelters (around the middle of the photo). Those are Aboriginal fishermen of the St'a'imc (pronounced Statleum) First Nation, who have set up camps to do their annual food fishing for salmon.

Here is a closer view...

 

and here are the fishermen right on the water (below). It can be dangerous as the river is very powerful.

Fishing for salmon may be the most important part of the First Nation's culture in in this area.  The  people used different styles of harvesting the fish including spears, dip netting, and net fishing.  This annual fishery is called "food fishing" and is distinct from fishing as a commercial venture, and distinct also from the sport fishery.  The annual food fishery is protected by the country's law and is a much fought for right of the First Nation's people.  

Much of the salmon harvested in the summer months is preserved for the winter months.  Aboriginal people preserve the salmon through wind drying and also through smoking it. Of course, the people also have the option today of freezing it and canning it. 

Whatever way you eat it, it is delicious. Thank you for stopping by and reading my post for Scenic Sunday. I encourage you to click on the badge below and join in all the fabulous posts from around the world.

Photo credits: my brother

I'm Home and a New Chapter Begins

Hello friends,

I've been away for almost two weeks in the interior of the province. I've been visiting mom at the hospital, packing up and clearing out my mom's apartment, readying things for her move to the nursing home and making  her a "welcome home' quilt. (If you like you can see the finished quilt here).

She is now in the home and her personal things are with her. Photos are on the wall (I forgot to take a picture of them) and her bookshelf is set up with her TV, small stereo system, a few books and even more CDs. Her other mobility aids are with her. They are still settling her in and she hasn't really gotten into the routine yet. Everything is done very systematically there and it takes time.

Mom is chomping at the bit to get up and around. She also misses her telephone which unfortunately took a few days to connect. She should be able to make phone calls to her heart's content after today.  I think it is hard to make the adjustments in the transition as everything is so completely different. She is now on someone else's schedule and not really in charge of herself. Someone else will decide what she can eat and a whole lot of other things but overall I think the changes will be beneficial. They already have her blood sugar at normal level. I am confident that once mom is able to get around and explore, she will be very happy there and she is looking forward to be able to get around.

As for me, I got home last night and I now have a lot of mom's things to sort through and organize to put away in my own home. Some of it will replace things I have which will go to the thrift store. I also have my own major decluttering project I am working on so this project has expanded.  As I won't have to travel to visit mom on such a strict schedule, I will have more ability to get things done at home and my visits to mom will be real visits as opposed to trips to get things done for her. I will likely also need an adjustment period but an adjustment of a different kind. I am relieved that mom is now in a place where they can monitor her and help her though to be honest it hasn't really sunk in yet as I've been far too busy.

I have been extremely tired over the past week and I can't believe I didn't go to sleep very early last night. I didn't even sleep in this morning. I'm now getting ready to go out and get my hair done as it is in dire need of a refreshing.

I want to thank all of you who stopped by to comment on my blog posts over the past two weeks. It means a lot to me. Please accept my apologies for not being able to respond to the comments or spend as much time looking at your blogs. Now that I am home and have much more bandwidth to use, I can review and comment on blogs again. I will also be uploading more photos and resuming my series on Kenya.

In the meantime I leave you with these beautiful photos of spring blossoms which will soon appear here in  my city.  I also want to wish you all an awesome and refreshing weekend.

Happy Friday

Thank you to my newest follower Colleen. Hello  my fellow Canadian.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.  (Kenyan Proverb)

In my last post I wrote about how I was waiting to pick up a table and chairs from the city. I have them home now and I am very happy!  I still have the antique dining table and chairs to offload so I haven't got a photo of new set in my home for you yet but I do have this photo of the exact table and chairs I purchased.

I'm sure I will like the set very much.  The table is round and they say that round tables are good for smaller spaces.  I was also able to gift my friends with a recliner that I wanted to sell. They have need of a recliner so it worked out great!

(Update added later:  As an afterthought I figured I should let you know that this purchase is the first furniture purchase I've made for the apartment for about 11 years, with the exception of replacing furniture ruined by the fire. Those costs were covered by the insurance company.  I'm working very hard to cut down or cut out other household purchases altogether in my quest for a simple life although my sofa and chair which are  almost two decades old may need to be replaced soon. I've been looking at reupholstery, second hand and new options for the sofa and chair.  Really I think they need to be replaced rather than reupholstered as they are a little too large for the space.)

I have now finished my 5th full day of the whole body cleanse which I told you about here. I haven't noticed any major changes though I can say the fibre and laxative are keeping me more regular and that is a key benefit for me right now. I do have a few breakouts on my face the past few days but nothing atrocious. I understand that this happens when toxins are being eliminated from the body. I think in another 9 days I will feel a little better, a little lighter somehow, and that is all good.

It snowed yesterday and overnight the night before.  This was very surprising after a warm spell but the snow didn't last long. In fact it is all gone today and there is still a gray sky with some light rain falling. I am grateful for rain and warmer weather because it means that spring will come early here and with that the lovely spring blossoms which I love so much.

A photo from Kenya. I was fascinated by all the bird's nests in each tree.

I may be taking a few days break from posting as I 

am busy with a lot of things at the moment. 

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend and your 

loved ones.  I'd love to hear what you have planned.

Another Sunrise ~ My World Tuesday

All week I have had difficulties sleeping. I go to sleep but wake up all night long. I don't sleep well at the best of times but this week was the worst in awhile. I pulled an all nighter last night.  Since I was awake at sunrise I took some photos.

I never cease to be in awe of a beautiful sunrise or sunset.  I also love all of natural creation and any living or growing thing. I know that's a lot but I simply love God's creation.

Click here to share your world.  http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Glorious Sunset

¹The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psalm 19 (KJV)

I was researching a venue on line tonight for a Christian women's retreat that I am hoping to attend early next month in Niagara Falls, Ontario (more on that later).

As I was telling mom about the virtues of the hotel where I have booked my room, she let me know that the sky was red so I "ran" to see out the patio.



I took these photos.



I think they turned out rather well despite the fact that the tallish trees across the street block out a better view. The trees in the photo above are a type of coniferous trees. Coniferous trees do not lose their leaves during winter and they grow "cones". I have even seen though smaller pine trees in Kenya which was rather surprising to me but it turns out there is a fantastic arbour in Kericho where there are numerous foreign plants and trees. That was a delight to see amongst other things in my visit there.

The photo below shows the cones from a coniferous tree down the street. You will see a lot of it's cones have dropped to the ground.





In the photo above is a young deciduous tree. This one will lose its leaves before the winter snows fly and return again by Spring.



Ah, God's glorious handiwork.

It always is a moment of bliss when I see such marvellous works.