A Neighbourhood Stop

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you're well.

Over the past week, I've found it quite cold on several days but we are creeping toward warmer temperatures in general.

That usually means looking for cold treats to have while out and about.

I happen to love ice cream and so the local Dairy Queen (DQ) is one of my favourite places in the neighbourhood on a particularly warm or hot day.

My favourite DQ treat is a Banana Split but I don't have these too often since they've become quite expensive. I usually have a small sundae or a dipped chocolate cone. I know these treats aren't too healthy but when you grow up having these kinds of things with friends or on a family outing, it evokes happy memories and it's often hard to give them up completely.

In fact, the other day when I was there a man sat at the table next to me. While he was eating his sundae, he turned to me and asked  how I was enjoying my ice cream.  Then he began telling me about his memories of visiting this same DQ location all through the years. He told me he is 53 years old and had been coming to the location for as long as he could remember. 

His wife offered that he is a good dad and because he made sure to bring the children for an ice cream treat knowing that their daughter is a huge ice cream fan like myself.  It was nice to chat with them over a simple thing like an ice cream treat. Clearly,  the dad was nostalgic.  When his kids grow up they too will have memories of going out for ice cream together with their dad.  The mother is Japanese.  She told me she couldn't figure out her son can eat so much and why her daughter likes ice cream so much.  I told her her teenage son is a growing boy and needs lots of calories.  As for her daughter, well I understand being a fan of ice cream, lol.  I guess the mom didn't grow up eating ice cream so her outlook and desires are different.

Well friends, that's my little story for the day. I hope you have a great day with some fond memories either recollected or newly made.  I'd love to read in the comments what fond childhood food treat memory you have. Thank you for stopping by!

Early August

Hello friends,

It's the end of another week. Time passes so quickly.

I had great news today. My nephew has successfully completed his Master's Degree in Psychology and will commence his PhD studies in a few short weeks. I am very proud of him. We have long had a "deal" that once he has completed much of his education we will travel together to France. He reminded me of it today.

In other news the wild fires which have been burning for weeks now continue to wreck havoc several hours to the north of me. The air quality in much of the province is very bad and has now affected my city for a few days.  Have a look at the sky in the photo below.

This has been the picture for much of the past 3 days. Our province has not seen fires this bad for about 60 years or weather and we've been smashing temperature records all week. What we need is some good rainfall but there doesn't seem to be any in the forecast. The moon has turned orange. You can see it peeking out of the trees in the photo below (sorry the trees are in the way and I wasn't high enough to see over the trees). I read on line news today which said a controlled burn a few days ago is now an uncontrolled burn due to high winds (*sigh). It is threatening a power station that supplies electricity to Vancouver Island and Vancouver. Crews are working hard to make sure it isn't impacted but at this stage only God knows the outcomes.

 As of 6:23 a.m. PT Friday, 10 communities had reached a seven out of 10 on the Air Quality Health Index:

• Central Fraser Valley.
• Central Okanagan.
• Eastern Fraser Valley.
• Kamloops.
• Metro Vancouver - NE.
• Metro Vancouver - NW.
• North Okanagan.
• South Okanagan.
• Squamish.
• Whistler.

When the index shows a number of seven or higher, Environment Canada recommends that children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions "take it easy" and reduce outdoor activities.
The general population should do the same if they start to cough or feel an itch in their throat.

(Source: CBC News, August 4, 2017)

Yesterday when I was out running errands I had to make a dash for the bus and I ran as fast as I could for almost 1 block.  I noticed later in the evening that my throat was very sore. I've also had an intermittent, irritating cough for a few days. I'm largely indoors but it is too hot to go without throwing open the doors and windows and running the fans so I guess I must be breathing in the small particulate matter which is in the air.

With the run of hot weather I haven't felt up to much though I am keeping very busy with the daily things of life. I've made a bit of progress with some household updates; mainly buying new accessories for the kitchen, dining and bathroom areas. This has also meant decluttering a bit in these areas and giving away things.  All the giveaways take time because one must take photos, place the advert, respond to emails and phone calls and then hope the people show up to pick up what they requested. Sometimes there isn't much interest in what is posted. It is all a matter of timing.

With the really hot weather this week I haven't done much reading. Even so it won't be difficult to meet this year's reading goal as I'm several books ahead of schedule.  Currently in my reading pile is The Legacy of Pemberley by Rebeccah Ann Collins. It is the 10th book and final book in the series. The funny thing is I didn't know that when I picked it up so I've had to try and decipher who everyone is.  If are a Jane Austen fan I'm sure you will enjoy the book just as I'm enjoying it.

There Was a Country:A Memoir  by the late Chinua Achebe is also in my current reading pile.  It is about his personal account of the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967-1970.

Besides these two books I've got several more on hold request at the library.  I've also downloaded several free ebooks this week from both Amazon Kindle and Kobo (Canada's version of Kindle).  I probably wouldn't spend money on these books but since I got them for free I will now be introduced to some "new to me" authors.

As you can see, I won't be without reading material any time soon.  The nice thing too  is that I'm already prepared with reading materials for any future travels. While I still prefer reading a paper book you can't beat the convenience of an ebook. I can carry an entire library of books in my mini Kobo.   Such wonders. My grandfather and great-grandmother would have marvelled at the thought if they had lived long enough to know about it. I think my grandfather would have especially liked an ereader. Every time I saw him he would be reading.

My niece will visit me in a few short days and  I'm looking forward to her visit. We always have fun and I do things with her that I wouldn't otherwise get to enjoy.  While she is here we will celebrate her recent birthday and her brother and I have a few surprises planned.

In coming weeks and months,  I'll be trying to solidify future travel plans with my nephew.  He is a very busy guy so it will be difficult to pin him down over a mutually workable period of time to travel. I do hope we can work it out.  I'll also be working on a few other fun plans.  More about these in future.

I've been busy helping students and widows in Kenya.  There is always great need there. Sadly the little toddler with the cancerous tumour on his eye passed on.  We were unable to save him though the doctors tried hard.  My friend Jonah worked tirelessly to get the City of Nairobi to provide land to bury the lad who died while being treated in hospital in that city.  Ordinarily one would be buried on the family compound.  However the sad fact is this young lad and his mother were turned out of their rural home due to the boy's tumour. The father thought his wife and the boy were cursed.  As a result they had been living in a shelter for some time and the boy had been many hours away in hospital for much of the time.

Last but not least, Kenya will be having it's national elections on Tuesday, August 8th, 2017.  It is a always a very tense time.  If you are a person of prayer,  please pray for peace and safety for the nation and it's people as well as fair election outcomes.

Take care until next time.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Friday Foto Friends.

Appointment Follow-Up

It has been very hot here. At least hot for these parts though I know in many parts of the USA and other countries it can get much hotter.

All week we've had temperatures of about 35 Celsius at the local airport. That usually means a few degrees hotter where I live. I've had the fans going night and day, am wearing very loose cotton clothing and very lazy to do anything but drink cold water, eat lightly and read a good book. So I finished The Known World.

I didn't quite know what to expect from this book. I would say it was quite eye opening for someone like me who didn't grow up in the South.  Though I have seen various movies and read various books, watched different interviews about slavery, etc. I can always stand to learn more about the slave trade and what life must have been like for slaves and their families.  I would recommend it if you haven't already read it. I believe in educating oneself about different issues affecting our world.

I have also been preoccupied this weekend by the passing of an older cousin of mine, and by issues pertaining to my mother's health (pressure wounds) and on going wheelchair issues.

My cousin is the eldest daughter of my aunt who died a couple of years ago.  My aunt's funeral was the last family funeral I attended and I won't be able to make it to this one either due to the very long journey.  It is so sad as you see your elders passing. Not only for those left behind but because the family becomes smaller to those of us who are older. There are so many younger relatives that I've never met and will likely never meet. I never thought that would ever happen.

Mom's wheelchair stopped on Monday. Again! This is like the 5th or 6th time since she first came into possession of it in January 2014. It seems a screw fell out after the chair was "bumped".  Loss of the screw affected the tilting mechanism and more, which rendered her chair unusable. The mechanic couldn't make a service visit until Tuesday.  When I talked to mom Tuesday night she said the staff told her that she would be out of bed early on Wednesday and that the chair had been fixed.  These days she is usually in bed every other day all day to alleviate the pressure on her sores. She is then supposed to be turned on her side every few hours to help with the healing process.

Also on Monday, the nurse practitioner performed a treatment on mom by opening up her wounds to have a look below and see what is going on.

The good news is that the healing of the wounds below seems to have progressed over the past 6 months. That means the staff and nurses will continue doing what they are doing to treat the wounds.
That was great news to me because I wasn't sure what they would find.

However, I didn't get the promised phone call about a rescheduled appointment with the doctor after the original appointment got cancelled last week. I called today to get an update.  The appointment is now set for August 19th at 8:30 a.m.  This means a day trip is out of the question.  But between now and August 19th it is possible that her wounds will heal well enough that the doctor's appointment may not even be necessary.  They will assess the situation about a week in advance of the new appointment.

It means I won't be seeing mom for another month or more so I have to prepare another care package. She is always in need of over the counter items from the drug store, some food and items of clothing. I don't know why but it seems like mom always needs or wants something that is very hard to find.  She doesn't do that deliberately. It is just how it works out.  It means more time is required to hunt things down for her before they can be delivered.   I also have her clothing repairs to do but will send those later when I have time and energy to do the mending. Besides, right now it is too hot to sit at a sewing machine.

I have a question for those of you out there who are cooks. 

I'm wondering what you do on very hot days for meals so that you don't overheat your kitchen?

It is supposed to be back to rain here by Saturday but in the meantime we have several hot days ahead. It will be fun to read how you deal with hot weather meals.  On that note I am heading out soon to buy some watermelon. I love it but I am only supposed to eat a small amount due to the high sugar content.