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.

Thanksgiving 2019

Hi friends,

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so I'm popping in to wish my Canadian readers a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

It is a quiet and more relaxing weekend for me though I am making the traditional turkey dinner. It is always sad to me when I meet many newcomers to Canada or immigrants who have come in the last few decades but they do not ever partake in a traditional turkey dinner at Thanksgiving or even at Christmas. Even vegans in Canada do celebrate thanksgiving with substituted dishes of course.  Whenever I am up to it I do try to invite people to my home for a traditional meal but the past two years I haven't felt up to it.

Even right now I am feeling tired and a bit run down. For some reason the Fall season doesn't agree with me physically.  It is a pity because I absolutely love the cooler (not cold) weather and the gorgeous colours in the leaves.

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend wherever you are in the world.  I hope you will also find something for which you are thankful even if you are not celebrating an official Thanksgiving like I am.

I've been away from this space a bit longer than I intended.  These days I am trying to get as much rest as possible and it takes a lot to deal with people with serious health or another needs who live half way across the globe.  But I will be back to more regular blogging soon.

Despite not feeling up to par, I want to close with a list of things I am thankful for at this time.  The list is always long but I will try to keep it a bit shorter for you *smile.

* Better health for a long time friend who was given very bad news by his cardiologist about 2 weeks ago.  He was told he would die imminently as the medicine he has been on hadn't been successful in restoring heart function which was now only 33%. Today he was called by his General Practitioner who said he had "great news".  Another test (I forget the name but it involves dye) given just last week indicates his heart is now at 55%. That is a real miracle and we give thanks.

*  I'm thankful I live in a country where there is freedom to vote for the leadership of your choice and that we can vote on election day without worrying about our safety (our national election is on October 21 for our Prime Minister and our federal ministers). We cannot take these freedoms for granted as things are getting more difficult in free countries each year.

*  I'm thankful that the Lord provides my daily bread and that I can choose (or not choose) to study his Word.

*  I'm thankful for young friends that feel free to discuss their spiritual walk and challenges with me and that they readily thank me for listening. Not only do I help them but they help me understand that I am in God's will concerning being a mentor for them.

*  I'm thankful that after several weeks of almost non-stop rain we've had a few weeks of mostly sunny days and blue skies.

* A friend in Kenya needs a Police Certificate called "Certificate of Good Conduct". They need such a document in Kenya for all kinds of purposes. He thought it would take a month but when he went to apply it only took 3 days and he didn't even have to go to Nairobi to do it!

* Another friend in Kenya has been studying for his English language test as part of his applications for graduate school in Canada. Praise God he has written several tests this week and we pray for great results.

* A friend from Tanzania has successfully defended his thesis at the University of British Columbia and can now call himself doctor.  I was invited to witness the event.

*  Another friend in Kenya has written and successfully passed his licensing examination for medical practise. He will graduate on November 10, 2019.

* Ernest in Kenya still has a leg plaster but his health is improving greatly due to a dear friend who contributed food money so he can eat nutritiously.

*  My friend Eunice has been in hospital for over 8 months now. We have a Go Fund Me campaign for her medical care, nutritious food needs and family needs as they don't live in the city where she is hospitalized. Though we haven't raised much of the funding needed, I thank God we have managed so far and that her health has improved. We are now awaiting results of tests to show how effective the medicine has been and what further course of action is needed. In meantime we continue to pray for the support needed. Check/click here if you are interested in the background.

There is so much more I can list but I will end it here. I hope you enjoyed reading and would love to hear what is on your gratitude list.

Until next time I wish you joy.

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

Thanksgiving Weekend

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Hello everyone! It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and it has been a busy week so I haven't had a chance to post for a few days.

First up in the week I received a very nice package in the mail from my blogging friend Caroline at Lonicera's World  (please take a peek at her blog).  She wanted to do something nice for my mother who is dealing with the challenges of transitioning to a new care facility.  Thank you Caroline.  You are a sweetheart.

This delightful package contains truffles and shortbread biscuits. Mom will be so pleased when I am able to deliver them soon.

Right now I am investigating a new home group and Church body and I very much enjoyed getting to know people at the new places. They seem like a fine bunch. I even met some Africans from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ghana which was a nice surprise.  Those of you who know me, know I have a heart for missions in Kenya and Africa in general.  Finding some "real" Africans at the worship service yesterday was unexpected and very welcome. There were more people from Africa who have recently come to Vancouver and are attending the Church.  Of course I only managed to meet a few of them but if I decide to make this my Church body then I will likely meet more of them.

The pastor was a very down to earth and welcoming guy.  I sense a pastor who is really working to accept people as they are and teach his congregants the same.  In other words, one is working toward building a body that loves without condition and judgement.  His communion message yesterday resonated with me as well.  It was about how Christ's message of eating and drinking in remembrance of him is really about breaking bread and eating with "family" as equals.  As members of the body we are all equal members of that family and we should be working toward seeing one another as human beings.  Not looking at one another where we see the colour of one another's eyes or skin. When we do that, there are still barriers between us.  We then had communion where each of us served one another.  We then had an opportunity to pray for one another as needed.  I am not doing justice to the message but it was a beautiful one.

One of the women I had met at Bible study a few days previously was seated behind me during the service.  She invited myself and several other congregants to lunch at her home.  Though I couldn't make it for the spontaneous invitation,  I was very touched. This has never happened anywhere, at any church I've ever gone to before. People these days seem to have a hard time showing hospitality to anyone.  I remember when I first came to this city, people were always inviting one another for lunch or dinner.  These days people still want to do that but most are too pressured for time.  But in this Church, I noticed the pastor was very much focussed on the message that we (the Church family) need to gather around tables (not just once or twice but on a regular basis) and eat and fellowship with one another.  Much of the family gathering will be done in individual homes and groups because the Church body is too large to enjoy eating all together every Sunday.

Other than that I have been busy making a few more pieces of my crocheted afghan. I didn't do so much this week but I did make some progress.  I also finally started sewing mom's quilt sandwich together. I am having some challenges with that one. Despite being very careful to smooth the backing fabric it keeps bunching up even while using a walking foot. I have had to redo a few little pieces here and there. I really will have to look into quilting spray glue.  I used it in the very first quilt I made and it made a world of difference.

I'm having people for buffet turkey dinner tonight.  So for now I've had to roll up the quilt and put the sewing machines away.   

My turkey is soaking in a bit of cool water because the core is a bit frozen.

The stuffing is ready to be put in the bird. I make it more moist than some people do. When it comes out of the bird it is very moist and tasty. These days everyone says don't cook the stuffing in the bird but I've never had any problems and neither did my mother when she used to cook the turkey.

Several hours later this is the cooked bird. I took the cover off the roasting pan for the last 20-30 minutes. It looks like I got it just in time.

I haven't had a chance to take any Fall foliage photos this year except for this one. I hope to go out early this week and get more if the weather cooperates.

I'm grateful for a number of things this year:  family, a mother who is still with us though I don't get to see her often, friends and the ability to make new ones, an opportunity to connect in a good church and home group, shelter, food, sunshine (because we often get rain), good books and good projects, and news that my friend's mother in Africa is doing better physically.  There are so many other things for which to be grateful.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, I wish you a wonderful time.
If you are not celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you will have some time to reflect on your many blessings.  Even if things are not going well in our lives, there is always someone who is struggling with even worse things. It doesn't make our pain any less but it can help us to keep perspective and to be grateful for the things that we do have.

I am still trying to help Elvis in Kenya get enough funds to finish the medical studies he is currently enrolled in. Not a lot of support has been raised but whatever happens, I trust the Lord will somehow meet the needs. If you can pray or give that would be awesome. You can find out more to the top right of my blog.


Be well until next time.

Taxes, Retirement & Condo Living

I'm happy this week is almost over and I've managed to complete my tax returns for another year. I've  actually completed them just over a month early but can't file just yet. I have to wait for one final receipt and it will be at least another two weeks before I get it in the mail.  So I will just have to wait.

I dread tax filing every year.  I always want to have oodles of time to work on the taxes and just do it all in a leisurely way.  So I often put it off and in the meantime the task hovers over my conscience like a bad dream.

I  usually have to hunt around for receipts that come in during the year.  Though I do keep the paperwork in a bit of order, there always seems to at least once receipt that comes in much later than the others or doesn't arrive at all so it isn't only a question of when I want to work on the return. It is often a question on waiting on others.  I'm not so patient when it comes to these things.

Some receipts are only available on line, some are only receivable by mail and others are available on line and/or through the mail.  Each year there are also countless medical receipts that have to be kept, sorted and tallied to see if they can be used as a tax deduction.  Despite a lot of money being spent on prescriptions and dental work, it never seems to add up to enough to be useful on the tax return.  Likewise with charitable receipts.  Much of my giving is to grassroots charities in other countries.  Our government does not recognize these as charitable donations and only accepts donations from charities registered in Canada.

Then there are receipts for contributions to registered retirement savings plans. This is tricky because one has to have enough contributions to make sure you don't over contribute, or under contribute, such that you owe more taxes. I do save throughout the year for these contributions but it never seems to be enough.  So I have to try and find the funds in my budget to do a top up before the deadline.  Overall, as you can see, I get a lot of receipts.  Though it is time consuming to deal with all the receipts and keep on top of it all, it isn't actually that complicated to prepare the tax returns.  Especially if one has the right on-line tools for tax preparation..

In addition to these financial challenges, this is the time of year when our Strata has it's Annual General Meeting.  Like clock work, there is an inevitable increase in the overall budget of the Strata.  We usually have increases of up to 20% and it is a bit ridiculous.  These  increases to the Strata budget means increases to the personal budgets of each and every owner to cover the Strata's budget plan.  I have ever yet to receive a 20% increase in pay to compensate for these kinds of increases.  This is one thing I detest about living in a condo.  The complete inability to limit the expenses related to the overall condominium structure or limit the fees I have to pay every month.  On the other hand, I do not like the idea of living in a fully detached home (house) and all that that entails.

About 3 months ago a  long time neighbour who lives down the hall told me he was trying to sell his apartment.  He was going to take his condo unit off of the market because he was having difficulty selling.   Today he told me that he sold his unit and is moving in two weeks time back to the city where he grew up.  He also told me that 3 other owners on my floor have sold their properties and are moving!  Actually, it is more like two owners moving out because one of them simply sold his unit to move to a larger one on my floor.

Over the years I've heard many resident owners say they will not be able to retire and continue living in the suites in my building if the monthly condo fees keep going up.  This might explain the reason for so many owners moving now or they may have other reasons like retirement, job changes, growing families, etc.  Though I've thoroughly enjoyed living where I am,  I too have begun to consider the possibilities of moving on. Especially now that I know the Strata Council will be levying large fees next year to cover the cost of  re-piping the other half of the building.  Owners just paid multiple thousands each for re-piping the half of the building where I live the year before last. To be honest, I've lost track of the countless numbers of special assessments over the past decade. That is why I'm starting to think of the possibility of moving.  Also, my property taxes go up each and every year.  Even though property values went down in 2012 in my city, my property taxes still went up. That is what I call a fraud.  For now, I don't have definite plans of moving.  I will still enjoy the convenience of where I live and the beautiful mountains I get to see almost every day.

It wasn't my intention to write a complaint post but I'm being real. I'm saying just how much I find this time of year challenging, especially falling so closely on Christmas.  Dealing with financial matters and financial planning and trying to stay ahead of things is a never ending task for most of us.  Personally I find it a chore and it isn't my favourite thing but it must be done.

I'm just grateful that I have the capability to use my mind and skills to do what needs to be done.  The ability to use the computer and computer software for this purpose is another huge help and blessing. I know many who still are not able to take advantage of these helps like a few of my senior women friends.  When I started using an on line tax preparation program several years ago, my spending decreased from $130 Canadian a year (to get someone else to prepare my taxes), to $15.95 a year.  It sounds like a small thing.  But for all the increases in bills annually, one has to find savings somewhere.  These days, I also have the ability to minimize taxes by using the on line program to forecast taxes owing or refundable, based on the level of retirement savings contributions I make.  That is something I could not do when I went to an outside tax preparer.  I am more empowered now that I handle all these tasks myself.

 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

How about your dear reader?  How do you cope with taxes and retirement planning? Do you enjoy the number crunching or not?



 I need to take some photos concerning my giveaway before I can post the details.  I hope you will all join in.  Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving Dinner

 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 

Psalm 95:2-3

Main ingredients for the kale salad

Cooked quinoa

The salad is assembled with the steamed kale, the cooked quinoa, the cranberries, pumpkin seeds and dressing

Mashed cauliflower

Cauliflower with shredded cheese ready for the oven

Baked cauliflower and cheese ready to eat

Rosemary, garlic roasted chicken

Pumpkin mousse pie filling put into springform pan

After releasing the spring, it was obvious that the mousse did not set. We ate it anyway and it was good ;-)

Dinner assembled

The Thanksgiving Dinner was a success. It was the first time I've tried three of the dishes: the kale salad with quinoa and cranberries, the mashed cauliflower and cheese bake and the pumpkin pie mousse.  Everything was quite delicious and you can find all the recipes at my post here.  I could not eat the main part of my chicken so I wll save it for tomorrow's lunch. Needless to say there is a lot of mousse pie left. I would recommend making the pie when you have company because it is very, very filling.

The only problem with the dinner was when we went to eat the pumpkin mousse pie I discovered it wasn't set properly.

After reflection I realized that my little package of gelatin had about 1 teaspoon of gelatin rather than the 2 tablespoons required.  That would explain why it wasn't set properly! Nonetheless the filling was so good. I also ended up having to make my own graham wafer pie crust as there were none today in the grocery store. It was the first time I've made it and it was relatively simple.

If you are in Canada, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you had a moment or two to reflect on those things for which you can give thanks. We are so blessed here in this country.  For my blogging friends who live elsewhere, I am thankful for you and the time you take to share with me through your writings and your comments.

May Skies

A big welcome and thank you to Leovi for deciding to follow my blog. 
 
In everything give thanks: 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

It is nearly the end of May and our skies have been more like these photos show than what should be happening now...sun.

My garden is not fully in and whatever I did plant is swimming in a bit of rain. Hopefully there will be some pretty flowers and some veggies this summer. I am not complaining. Just observing. Things could be much worse than some rain.There are still lots of pretty flowers and greenery to look at elsewhere.

Have a look at more pretty skies from around the world by clicking here.

Give Thanks

Thank you and welcome to my newest follower, Ciccia from Sicily.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thess. 5:18

I want to give thanks for the prayers of faithful people and to God for looking after my mom these past two weeks in hospital. She was discharged from hospital on Tuesday afternoon (April 26, 2011).

She was in a bad way and we almost lost her two weeks ago from a bad infection. She pulled through though and is slowly gaining strength. She has been in hospital so often this past year that is it a wonder she is still with us. I know that given this backdrop her time may be limited so I am happy she is with us yet and I pray she can get stronger and enjoy some time yet with us for as long as possible.

Flower from my garden

I barely managed to plant some seedlings and bedding plants when I had to travel suddenly to see mom.
I hope to be going home by Friday and tend my garden.  I also hope to catch up on visiting your blogs :-)