This and That

 Hi friends,

It's been a busy week and I've been fighting a cold. It is something I fight every year in October when the weather transitions from warm autumn to cooler autumn. It's a bummer but it is what it is.

This October I have been busy decluttering and I've written about it in this space from time to time, not just in October but over the past long while. Some weeks and months I do much more in terms of decluttering than other weeks and months.  This  month the kitchen seems to be getting a lot of attention and so far I've gotten rid of many items from my small cupboards.  Metal bake ware, plastics and Tupperware which are long past their prime and lots and lots of glass jars, plastic and metal coffee containers, papers, cardboard and so on have been recycled.  I also got rid of lots of small items from the bathroom and many items from the closet, dresser drawers and shoes I no longer fit or need, have been given away. Several items were taken to the storage unit in the building and one standing fan had to be taken to the recycling center. I also have 2 large metal patio chairs which are past their better days. If they fit in the car they too can go to the recycling center.  Otherwise I'm not sure when I can take them.

In between decluttering jobs, I clean the cobwebs from the corners. Literally.  I did this less than 6 months ago but the cobwebs seem to accumulate very quickly as does the dust. I've been trying to keep on top of it all.  There is still a lot to recycle and to get rid of but I'm starting to see a real difference in the spaces in my home. I will keep at it and when I am all done with the tasks I will see what I can do to free up actual floor space.  I am not aiming for a minimalist home as such. But I am aiming to pare down the items I use and keep only what I actually use.  I intend to keep doing my hobbies too and hobbies tend to take up a lot of space.  I am trying to find a happy balance for daily living and for hobbies, some of which may be more sporadic.

I'm still doing Flylady routines almost every day.  It seems to help everything run more smoothly even though I haven't implemented the full Flylady system. Once I get started on doing things and cleaning things I just keep on going.  It means much more is getting done every week.

The weather here has been beautifully sunny this past week with the exception of Friday when it poured rain.  But it has also been very cold. I took some garden photos on Saturday. I'm sharing what might be the last of my garden photos for this year.

 

It has now been about 2 months since I did any work in the garden so I'm amazed at how well the plants have done though many of them are way past their prime.  This week I noticed that the pansies and the petunias are pretty much done. I think it was simply too cold for them as our temperatures went down to 4 at night. The geraniums are still producing a lot of new blooms but I'm not sure how long that will continue. 

Something was eating the leaves in  my garden this year but they didn't touch the leaves of most of the flowers. This is the first time I've had this happen and I'm not certain whether it is pests, rodents, or my neighbour's cat.

 

In any case, I am hoping that I will put the garden to rest by the end of October and wash and cover the patio chair cushions. I don't have storage for the patio things but I do try to keep the cushions out of the rain over the winter and I move the table umbrella and the table and chairs so they are no so directly impacted by the winter elements. As a side note, I read that the Farmer's Almanac forecast is for a mild November and a very cold winter.  The other day, our local meteorologist said that this year we are experiencing La Niña.  La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific and is the colder counterpart of El Niño.

The Black Eyed Susans have now lost all their yellow petals.

But the zinnias have new buds! I can't believe it. But they were very late to bloom this year and maybe they are confused.  The photo shows evidence of my neglect of the garden over the past 2 months since summer ended.

When it gets cold outside I usually start baking.  I saw this cinnamon loaf at Mari's Blog called My Little Corner of the World.  Check it out if you like cinnamon and sweets. I misread the recipe and ended up making two loaves but I only put frosting on one of them.  After trying both, I think it is better with frosting.  Overall though, the recipe is to sweet for me and I have to be careful about that due to blood sugar issues.

On Friday I went to the hospital to have a colonoscopy. I had one just under a year ago but the doctor couldn't find the one small cyst she thought she saw during that exam so I had to return in 6 months.  The follow up appointment was delayed due to Covid 19 and I also put off the appointment as long as I could.  But I had to get it over with or forfeit my spot in the GI follow up care and Friday was the day.  This time the doctor had a good look around she discovered I didn't have a cyst after all.  What she saw last time was actually a part of the colon itself. That was good news. 

She did find something, but it wasn't quite a cyst. I'm not sure what it is called but she said they are common and are often left intact. I suggested she cut it out anyway and she agreed. It will be biopsied as per the usual practice. 

The good news is I don't need to have another procedure for 5 years and I'm very happy about that.  Not only do I dislike the preparation but I get very nervous about the procedure itself. They sedate me but I am wide awake as per my preference. Due to the light sedation I didn't even need 10 minute recovery afterward.  They let me go but not before making sure my ride was there as stated.  I took a few photos but haven't posted any with people due to privacy issues.

Photo of the nursing station

Photo of the recovery room before they start bringing the patients in for recovery.

We had snow in the north and at higher elevations (none in the city) for the past two weekends. The record snowfall  created havoc on the highways and some serious accidents as well.

 

 

 

On Saturday we also had a provincial election. I voted by mail in ballot along with almost 700,000 other people.  Approximately 500,000 people returned their mail in ballots on time to be counted but the counting doesn't start until November 2nd.  Even without the mail in ballots, the election was handily won by our incumbent Premier John Horgan.  He now has a majority government by which to rule.  That was his goal when he took a gamble and called an election a year earlier than required. His win is historic in that it is the very first time that the New Democratic Party (NDP) has won 2 consecutive elections in the province.

 

In other big political news, the Opposition Party of Canada,  brought a "No Confidence" motion against the Prime Minister of Canada on October 21.  They wanted to create a special committee to probe the government's ethics and spending in response to the pandemic and a scandal related to the WE Charity.  Members of Parliament (MPs) voted 180-146 to defeat the opposition motion, with the NDP, Greens and Independent MPs voting with the Liberals.  It means we will not have a snap federal election this fall.

I hope things can settle down for awhile with all the politics here.  People want and stable governments to help steer the nation while we recover from the pandemic.

Thanks for reading my post today. Stay safe everyone and do what you can to stay happy and high in spirits. May you be blessed today and each day hereafter. May you and your loved ones have continued health or improving health. May you have the material things and the finances you need and last but not least, may you have the strength and confidence to handle whatever comes in your path. 

 

It's Another Friday

 This is what it looked like on our Thanksgiving Day last Monday.

I already forgot what it was like on Tuesday and Wednesday but I know yesterday it was quite nice and the sun came out. I was able to do some errands like deposit funds at the bank and pay some bills. My local branch is still  not open and the ATM is only available until 6 p.m. on most days. I did see staff in the branch but I'm not sure if the branch was open to the public or staff was just working in there. If you want to do in person banking you have to go to a different branch.  I also dropped off my back pack for stitching and stopped off for some groceries and a quick stop at McD's. I didn't have time to stop at the dispensary to get refills on body wash because the shop closed earlier due to Covid like most places. 

I pick up my back pack today so I'll stop off for the body wash as well. Before that I have some parcels to pick up at the post office. Hopefully they are there. The tracking information tells me they should be there today but maybe not until late in the day.

Today it's a rather dull, gray day and it will probably start raining very soon. I checked the long range forecast and it doesn't look much different for the rest of the month. I guess I left the clean up of the garden for too long. If I do it soon I will most likely be working in the rain. I've found it cold indoors this week. I turned my heating on in the bedroom and living room for the first time last night. I didn't leave it on overnight. 

Here is the sky photo for today. It looks almost the same as Monday's sky.  It is 9°C or about 49°F. As we transition from late autumn to winter, the sky will not vary much unless there is a sunny break.  Then we could see some more interesting cloud cover.

As they say in Copenhagen, 'you make our own sunshine'. I never hear anyone say that where I live, lol. We love to talk about the weather and complain about it, then we laugh. I like the Danish view of bad weather.

While I was out running errands the sun came out for awhile.  It's always nice when that happens. It tends to make me forget about the rain even if it rains later.  When I snapped the next few photos the sun was gone again but at least there was colour in the trees.

 

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today. Have a happy and safe weekend.

A Little of This and That

Here are a variety of photos from my garden. I'm reluctant to put it all to bed until the rains begin for the season of winter. We are having sunshine this week until Thursday. The rains will be here in time for Thanksgiving. It will rain for almost a week and then the sun is expected to come out again but I notice the temperatures will be quite frigid. I guess I'll need to try and get things done outside around that time.

I've been busy trying to keep up with the Fly Lady routines after participating in the Fly Lady Babysteps "course". Everything is going well, perhaps better than I expected. 

I surpassed my reading goals back in August so I've slowed down in my reading habit. I just completed the 3rd book in a series by Lesley Downer. I really enjoyed the first two books and I also enjoyed the 3rd one but not quite as much. I believe there is one more in the series.

Currently, I'm reading The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker.  I've seen the author here and there on You Tube and I'm enjoying his book so far.   It's doubtful I'll be implementing Mr. Becker's system though I agree with his philosophy of getting rid of unnecessary things so you can enjoy the things you deem necessary.  I also just like reading about different approaches to major decluttering like the Kon Mari Method, Swedish Death Cleaning, the Fly Lady and so on).

I've got a simple dinner in mind for Thanksgiving as there will only be two of us and no guests this year. Ham (I'll save the turkey dinner for Christmas and New Year's dinners), sweet potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, maybe some scalloped potatoes too, a few crunchy veggies (crudités) instead of a salad and a pie of some kind. Perhaps cherry pie just to be different.  I always make more than enough food so we can enjoy leftovers and I can make ham and pea soup once or twice. Soup is always good but especially at this time of year when the weather starts turning cool.

What about you dear reader? What is the weather like where you are? Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If yes, what will you have for dinner and what will you remember to give thanks for in 2020? As for me I am very grateful that my family members and friends far and wide, are safe and that I am safe. I had a bit of scare last month when a friend of mine had a family member test positive for Covid in the country of Kenya. Thankfully they had very minor symptoms and are fully recovered.

Thank you for stopping by. I'm joining in a little late with Our World Tuesday.

End of Summer

 Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

I've been meaning to post these photos since the latter part of August. I took these at sunrise. I will miss getting sunrise photos now that summer is pretty much over and the sunrise later.  Once we are into our rainy weather there won't be much of a sun to capture so I will enjoy through my photo memories. I hope you like these ones.

I didn't spend much time in the garden over the summer or sitting on the patio as I had planned. Nonetheless the patio garden gave me enjoyment whenever I went out to take photos of the sky.  The garden has just a bit of life left but it won't be long before it will be completely finished for the season.

I'm not much of a gardener and I don't honestly enjoy it all that much. But I do enjoy seeing colour when I go out on the patio and that is why I do it.  I have two gardens.  One at home and one at the park.  This year the one at the park didn't get any attention.  Due to Covid 19 I hardly ventured out.

 How about you dear reader? Are you a gardener? I think most of you have much larger gardens than I do.

I much prefer to read or crochet.  Right now I'm reading my 50th book, A Letter From Paris.     You can read more about it here. 

 

 I've really slowed down the reading since I completed my 45th book, as 45 is my goal for 2020 because  I want to start doing some other hobbies soon. That plan might be a little difficult because I've currently got a lot of books on hold at the library and the local branch is reopening in 4 days.

I finished the following books since my last post on books.   I can recommend them all except the book, Behind Her Eyes, was not my cup of tea at all due to the metaphysical aspects of the book ,lucid dreaming and body switching.  I didn't know what I was getting into when I read it. I just thought it was a murder mystery thriller.  I understand they are making it into a movie so it's probably a movie I will pass on.

     It is a long weekend here at home but I have a lot of errands to do.

I hope you all have a safe and healthy weekend.

   Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

End of July 2020

Hi everyone,

I was reflecting this week that it was almost 6 months ago when this Covid scare began and the business of  self-isolating.  For the most part I've been okay and have not needed to do more than go out for food and medications. I did not go to the community garden much at all though I had planned to do so.  Things may change a bit in the next few months as at some point I'll need to have a doctor's appointment, a dental appointment and perhaps a minor hospital procedure and I really should go and get some lab work done.  But have no desire to expose myself to new people and new germs any more than I must  The hospital has been calling me to schedule a procedure on a non-urgent basis and I've basically been avoiding the calls. I will try and give them a call next week.

I've been thinking that it will be at least another 6 months before we can really get out and about and or even contemplate travelling. I thought I cannot go an entire year without seeing anyone in my circle so I'm hoping to organize a day here and there to visit with a family member and one or two friends.  Of course we will visit and keep our distance for safety reasons.

In some of my more recent posts I said I was going to adopt a (rescue) cat.  My application was accepted at one organization and I actually had virtual visits with 3 different cats.  Then I began to get cold feet. It thought it would be better if I met the cats close up and personal instead of just virtually.  That would mean two trips 1) to see the cat and 2) to pick up said cat. In the end I decided to wait until the 2nd wave of Covid 19 is well behind us. In the meantime I have a lot of jobs that continue to keep me busy.

Over the summer's cooler weather I've been catching up on paperwork and decluttering.  In between I read books or I cook and do a bit of cleaning.

I'm reading books 42, Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah and 43, The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey.  My goal for 2020 is 45 books which I'll likely reach in August.  At that point I hope to redirect my focus to crafting and sewing.  I also have more paperwork to get rid of before I can commence some small house projects. I wanted to finish the house projects this summer but now I may not get to them until 2021. The interior light is not good once summer is over and so some things are better left until Spring.

Last week and again this week the summer heat finally arrived.  I spent some time doing more intensive cooking than usual. I like easy dishes in general that don't require a lot of standing at the stove but sometimes I feel like trying new things. The rice pilaf and tuna steak were 'new to me' dishes and both were tasty.

Chia seed pudding, fresh blueberries and raspberries with plain yogurt and pumpkin granola for breakfast.

Grilled Greek Chicken, rice pilaf, roasted lemon garlic potatos, tzatziki sauce

Cheddar Smokies, Greek Salad, Potato and Egg Salad

Grilled tuna steak, rice pilaf, Greek salad

I took the following photos after 9 p.m. Tuesday night. The light was already insufficient. I tend to get better photos around sunrise.

The next set of photos were taken on Thursday evening.

I love the golden colour in the sky. Usually I only see this hue in the very early morning hours.

The Kenyan Missions

Since my last post, I learned that the primary crop we planted (corn/maize) won't be ready until October since we planted several months later than the norm.  Those who planted in January have been harvesting over the past few weeks but we did not plant until much later. 

In Kenya, the farmers plant and harvest corn and then they dry it in a shed.  Preferably a shed on stilts because it helps  with air circulation. Corn can get green mold or aflatoxins in the field or in storage and researchers have discovered that these aflatoxins are contributing to male infertility. Throughout the year the people take their dried corn to the posho mill to have it ground for unga (flour or maize meal). This maize flour is then made into ugali, a staple of the Kenyan diet. 

Ugali is not really nutritious but it is a common food and it helps to fill the belly. It is eaten virtually every day for the main meal and on a modest diet will be eaten with greens or sukuma wiki (fried collard greens though the Kenyans usually refer to it as spinach).  If the budget allows there might be chicken or beef stew as well. For a real treat at Christmas there might be goat meat.

Regardless of the issues with corn or ugali, Kenyans absolutely love ugali and they crave it just like in North America people where people may crave rice or potatoes. If you google the nutritional aspect of corn flour it sounds rather nutritious and perhaps it is relatively nutritious in the scheme of things. But when it becomes your primary source of food and there is little else that goes along with it, I think it leads to a malnourished society. I'm not a scientist but I'm finding that a lot of the adults we've been helping with medical needs are highly malnourished and it leads to challenges in trying to get them healthy again. First they have to have a much more nutritious diet on a consistent basis before they can start to get better. In fact, many Kenyan doctors now recommend their patients to take vitamins or eat a certain array of foods. This is all very challenging if you are a subsistence farmer. There isn't money left over for much else besides one's daily meal.

Photo Credit:  Cookpad Ugali and Sukuma Wiki Recipe

~~~

Pastor Jonah will be travelling soon to Kericho government offices to check on the status of Eunice's pension application.  Eunice applied for the pension for the elderly some years ago but has never received it. She has been in hospital for well over a year so cannot follow up on on a new application. I am hoping and praying that Jonah will be able to straighten this out for her and that she will get her pension soon.

It isn't a lot of money.

It amounts to about $18.00 (US) a month but it is paid every second month at approximately $ 37.00 (US).  If you've been to Kenya in recent years you know just how far these funds would go and how little it will buy for a foreigner.

If you are a Kenyan and you are buying food you can make it stretch and you know where to shop. It won't feed you nutritiously but it will help stave off hunger.

If you are in need or medicine it will perhaps cover the cost of one pint of blood or perhaps a month's supply of blood thinner. When Eunice gets here pension we will all rejoice as this is something that has been long awaited and much deserved for Eunice has been a life long community and church worker.  She's never expected anything in return and it would be nice if her last years could be made more comfortable.

~~~

We have helped a few other elderly to get their pensions.  Some have received it quite quickly but some others have not.  I would say, more often than not there are hurdles and challenges to any Kenyan getting a document or money from the government in a timely manner. It is always a wait and see what happens next kind of story and people who are entitled give up easily at times believing it will never happen for them.  But I am so happy when one of them gets a pension approved and paid or any other kind of government document. When I first started travelling to Kenya and helping the people there was no such thing as a pension for the elderly and the disabled.  Over time the government has been trying to improve many things but there always seem to be great setbacks and challenges, some created by thieving politicians.

My young doctor friend, Carolly's grandmother is now out of the hospital and seems to be doing well for a woman of advanced her age (she is over 80 years of age). Carolly is slowly building her a new home to replace the one that was damaged during the floods in March. I do not have an update on the other gentleman and his family (7 members in total) who were flooded out of their home and coffee farm. I was not in a position to offer them any assistance at the time so I have no news.  In Kenya when you start asking questions about people's dire circumstances the expectation is that you are planning to help them. It's best not to ask questions then unless you really think you can do something helpful.

~~~

In the month of August I have been focussed on providing sheets and duvets to several households. In a few months it will be rainy season in Kenya and it will be cold.  In fact, last night I chatted with Sarah from the Kibra slum in Nairobi.  She said it was very cold.  Sarah has a few children and no husband and not enough blankets or food.  We helped to buy her some food and another blanket to try and keep warm.  Fortunately she lives very near the Toi Market so she can walk there and find what she needs.

There is no heating in most Nairobi homes that I've had the privilege of visiting and it can get rather chilly during certain times of year.  Warm bedding is a luxury in many village and slum homes and food, education, medicine and telephone air time would take priority.

Two gentlemen also received a duvet set (cotton duvet, bed sheet and pillow cases). Basically this involved researching prices and preferences as well as figuring out how to order and get the product to the intended recipients.  One of these is Alvin, the Engineering Graduate who was hoping to do a Masters degree in Canada. His application was not accepted but even if it was Covid 19 would have made it a nightmare to travel here and begin studies. He is now considering seminary and if accepted will likely continue studies in East Africa.

~~

The other man who received funds for bedding is Ernest.  He is the gentleman with diabetes. Each month we provide him basic food and medicine.  If we could provide a more nutritious, consistent diet it would help him so much but we do the best we can.  He is the man who was run down over year ago when he was walking to hospital to get his diabetes medicine. It has been a long journey toward healing and I'm not even sure his leg is completely healed. When last I inquired he was still walking with a walking stick and his ability to walk longer distances was slowly improving. I had hoped that if he could stand on both legs he might be able to go back to being a barber and thus be able to help support himself. That is still my hope.

~~

I had an idea to also provide some cooking equipment for Pastor Jonah; either an electric pressure cooker or an electric frying pan.  This way he might reduce the cost of buying tanks of cooking gas and it would relieve the pressure on his back of having to bend down.  He usually has a large gas tank which sits on the floor and then you put one pan on the top and you have to bend down to cook.  The tanks are not even 2 feet high so that is hard on one's back.

It might save some money to cook with electricity but even if it doesn't there will be a much greater ability to eat a variety of nutritious foods using either one of the gadgets. I told Pastor Jonah to research and pick the most suitable cooker for his needs.

~~

Last but not least, we've sent a bit of funds to a young husband and father I met about 12 years ago when he was selling books on the street.  After graduating from university he set up a small scale tourist operation.  However with the tremendous downtown in tourism he, like many others, is struggling a lot.

Prayers continue for Kenya.

Please contact me if you are able to help any of these individuals with food, clothing, medicines, transport or in any others ways (see side bar for further information).

I'm not sure when I will write again.

It will depend on when I can get some new photos and have something newsworthy to share.

Until then, take good care of yourselves.

Joining in with

Skywatch Friday.