Light & Lasagna

Hi friends,

I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend.

I had a mostly indoors weekend though I did get out for a short time on Saturday mostly to post mail and pick up some milk.  I also spent a lot of time online pricing and looking for various light bulbs. It seems all of a sudden my hallway lights, oven light, dining room lights and bathroom lights, including a heat lamp bulb, all needed replacing. Most of the bulbs I needed were found at Walmart but they had an even better selection at Canadian Tire.

My oh my, bulbs can certainly be expensive. I haven't had to buy any for awhile because I usually buy ahead and store some but needed to replenish my stock. Personally I've found that even if I buy more expensive bulbs they don't seem to last any longer so I'd rather buy less expensive ones.

About one third of the bulbs purchased.

Now I know energy consumption and conservation are issues and I do take them seriously. I minimize the power usage as best I can. Lights are not kept on very often. Only when necessary. Whether to turn lights off when you leave the room depends very much on the type of light bulb you are using.  If you are interested you can read more about it here.

Also I use the lowest wattage possible especially when a fixture requires more than one bulb. Not only does it consume too much energy to use a higher wattage but the bulbs also throw a lot of heat.  I  buy flood lights for the hallways and for my floor lamps which are LED lights.  I detest the light provided by the flood lights. Even though they are the "right" wattage and lumens, the light they give is so minimal and so cold looking.  To be honest I can barely see in my bedroom hallway.  But I use them anyway because it is actually difficult at times to find just the right bulbs and I will make do with what I have. Maybe there is a different brand that is better but when I've looked in stores these kind of bulbs are usually only made by 2 different manufacturers (GE and NOMA).


It rained heavily but today (Sunday) the sky broke for a bit and I managed to get some lovely sky shots.

The sky looks like there is light behind the clouds.

I made lasagna for dinner.  I'm hungry and look forward to eating since I'm hungry.  I've only ever made lasagna about 3 times in my life as it isn't something I crave very often. I just had it a few days ago as part of a buffet in a restaurant. The lasagna was not good at all. It was so dry and tasteless.  But I didn't go to the restaurant for lasagna, that was just a side thing I decided to try. I was mainly there for the BBQ ribs and salad bar which were delicious. They also had a lot of beautiful desserts but I was so full after salad, soup and main course dishes that I had very little room left for dessert.

Lasagna before baking.

I don't have a recipe to share for the lasagna. I cobbled together a few recipes from on line as I didn't have exactly everything for one particular recipe. There are some simpler recipes that don't call for ricotta or cottage cheese but I wanted cottage cheese in mine.  I also wanted to use some fresh spinach I have since I won't be making salad today. I might just cut up some English cucumber slices and have some grape tomatoes on the side.  I used no boil lasagna noodles though I know some ladies use the regular noodles and they add a bit of water in the pan before the dish goes into the oven.  The water helps the noodles cook. The lasagna was very delicious and there is a lot left over for freezing and future meals.

The finished product.

I tried and failed to get a good macro shot of a slice of lasagna.
I'm not sure why but since I had my eye surgery I find it difficult to get good indoor macro shots.  Maybe it's just the night shots in winter. I'll have to see how things progress.

That lack of clarity in taking photos is the only real change I've noticed since I had lens implants.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?
I am continuing with the Systane Balance and thanks to Eileen I checked into the prices at Walmart.
I'm happy to say the price is much better there and I can get two in one box so that keeps me from running low too quickly.

~~~~~~~

The weeks ahead

I've got plans to see friends I haven't seen in a long while, get several doctor and dentist appointments out of the way and hopefully participate in a workshop or two.

If you caught my last post here you'll see I've also got a lot of reading (and I've added more books!), crafting, paperwork and so on. I don't expect I will get a lot of these things done this coming week but I have enough on my plate to keep me busy with fun things in February. Well, mostly fun things. I don't enjoy the paperwork largely related to financial matters.

 ~~~

The Black Panther, the new Marvel Comics movie is being released on February 16th and my brother and I are looking forward to it.  We don't do so many things together but we do like to go to Marvel Comic movies together. We also like to see Star Wars and Star Trek movies when we can but we also try and take our niece and nephew when it works out. We are all fans of these movies.
I still haven't seen the latest Star Wars movie because I had hoped to see it with my niece.
Then I delayed my travel due to illness. I won't be able to travel soon so I may end up having to see it as a rental. I prefer to see it on the big screen.

~~~

Wishing you an awesome week ahead.

Frugal Notes & A Short Update

This week I've been trying to get back into a normal schedule and have had a very busy week.

I've taken out my wall calendar and plotted the appointments I've made for the months of September, October, November and December. Doing this makes me feel more in control and less frazzled and enables me to pace my days and weeks so as not to get too tired. When a friend calls for a get together it is also much easier to see when I can easily get together without feeling too squeezed for time. When I get together with friends I love to have a free day  so I can easily spend time with them and afterwards have a relaxing time of shopping or making my way back home.

It's also been a good week of frugality.  The freebies and good deals are welcome indeed because expenses have been rather high with all the travel and associated expenses to visit mom and the health care and daily essential needs of people in Kenya.

Ways I've saved money this week:

• free haircut and style (another has been booked for November). I colour my own hair as needed and purchase colour on sale. Sometimes I use henna which is much less expensive than hair colour but I don't like all the muck it entails.  Henna is a messy and time consuming process but very frugal.
• free movie (Jason Bourne) using points I've accumulated over several months
• free movie at the local library (Eye in the Sky)
• used a 50% off Subway sandwich coupon today. I purchased a foot long and shared with a new-to-my-street homeless woman. I also gave her some cash and asked her a few questions as well as talked to her about the local shelters.
• free purchase ($85 worth) of vitamins and personal care products using accumulated points at the pharmacy.
• Flyer food shopping. I've saved oodles of money this week buying 2 sides of pork loin that I cut into slices for stir fries, roasts and pork chops. This is an enormous help to the food budget and will last me a very long time.  I had also hoped to get a side of roast beef  on sale so I could do the same.  But the store didn't have the advertised sale when we got there today.
• large heads of cauliflower purchased for less than $2. (the lowest price we can get here and in fact $1. lower than usual). I will be making faux mashed potatoes with it.
• 10 kg bag of flour for less than $6. This will last a long time as I don't do a lot of baking these days.
• Okanagan peaches which cost $2.69 a pound at my local grocer were priced at $1.49 a pound at the produce store a few blocks away. I don't normally purchase peaches but I have a craving for peach cobbler now that cooler weather has arrived.
• Lots of other great deals which will really help with the food budget this month and into next month. I will likely do some menu planning which I haven't done for some time. I want to ensure that all the fruits and vegetables I purchased will not go to waste.
• Bedding linen - I purchased comforter duvet set and 400 TC sheets for a birthday gift. These were a  real steal at 50% off clearance  prices and I know will be used and appreciated by the recipient. 
• Borrowed several books from the library. Inexpensive entertainment and I don't need to store them or give them away once I'm finished.

New Books on My Reading Shelf

First up is The Illegal by Lawrence Hill. I've had this one on my "to read" list but see there are a lot of people waiting for it at the library. I noticed it on the Fast Read shelf this week so picked it up and am enjoying it immensely. It is quite a powerful book and evoked several emotional responses from me already.  You can read more about it here.

Update:  I finished the book on Saturday.  This book deals with the timely issue of undocumented aliens unwanted in the countries where they have sought refuge. It is set in fictional countries. I was moved by the book and thoroughly enjoyed the telling of the story.

I picked up this next book by a new to me author. I  have no idea what it is about but liked the first page when I read it. You can read more about it here.

I started this book on Saturday. It is a book about a man newly diagnosed with dementia. He travels from England to Spain where his newly separated son is living in Lomaverde, a Spanish utopia for expats.

Last but not least is

Dr. Zentner has herself struggled with weight loss and is currently an internal medicine specialist in Vancouver where she works with obese patients. In the book, Dr. Zentner defines and offers specific tips for those who fall under various eating personalities: the emotional eater, the calorie drinker, the fast-food junkie, the all-or-nothing dieter, the portion distorter and the sitting duck. Her book is a practical guide for how to address obstacles to weight loss for each of the  eating personalities.

I'm now reading about the portion distorter and will soon be finished before reaching the recipe section. The book is quite interesting and I think can be useful to anyone who wants to better understand his/her relationship to food and weight gain or loss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather here has turned from sunshine to rain as of today. In a few days Fall will officially arrive. I'm sad to see the end of the longer days of light but there is always the Spring to look forward to again.

Besides catching up on reading goals I've got a lot to do to catch up on things around the house. I'd  like to paint the master bathroom and get it organized before the Winter arrives. I already purchased shelving and racks, etc. and have painted the shelves.  But still have to purchase paint for the walls and get the shelves and racks put up.  Now that the growing season is over I'd also like to clear the garden in readiness for Spring. Normally I don't do this and just wait for Spring to do all the work but I want to be more organized for the next growing season.  At least that is the plan.  I also have a number of sewing projects (altering clothing for mom and for me) and making progress on works-in-progress (crochet and quilting). Besides all these projects, I have a few personal goals I want to embark on.  I'm still doing research and trying to get a few things in place. We'll see how far I get.

Update on Mom:  Mom is more or less the same. She calls me most mornings and struggles valiantly to speak. I notice that when I talk to her about relatives or family she is able to respond with clearer speech. My brother who lives in far north will be visiting her this weekend so I will delay my next trip to see her for another week or two.

Update on Eunice in Kenya:  Eunice's son took her to the hospital where she was treated after her stroke for her one week follow up visit. They kept her for several days which was unexpected. But whatever they are doing seems to be helping her. She is now able to walk a bit using the aid of a cane.  Unlike my mother, Eunice is able to speak.

Please continue to keep these women in your thoughts and prayers.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sky Over Richmond

I took in the new Star Trek movie tonight. It was an IMAX 3D experience with prices to match. But it was worth it to see the newest movie in the Star Trek franchise and to experience it in 3D. I was surprised that the seats were not as big and comfortable as I'd expected though. I've had better seats in a less expensive theatre in town.

The movie itself was great. If you like space movies or Star Trek movies I'd recommend it. Let me know what you think after you've seen it.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday
and
Friday Foto Friends.
 Have a wonderful weekend.

Sky in June

Hi friends,

I hope you have all been faring well.

Since my post about the rain damage and flooding in the northeastern part of the province I've spoken to one of my cousins who lives there. Thankfully she didn't have any rain damage to her home. Her married daughter and children who live in the next town over were out of town when the rains happened. They managed to make it back to home on back country roads before those roads were shut down as regular highways were impassable. I haven't heard of any horror stories (that doesn't mean none have occurred). About 213 people were stranded in back country areas after roads were washed out. I read that generators, fuel and food were being taken to them though am not quite sure how it was getting through.

On Monday and Tuesday this week meetings were being held in some communities to help people apply for Disaster Financial Assistance which is administered by the Provincial government.  This assistance is available to homeowners, residential tenants, small business owners, farmers, charitable organizations and local government bodies that were not able to get insurance to cover disaster-related losses. The province's Transportation Minister says crews were working around the clock to get highways and roads back in order. Five of 6 highways were re-opened and another will be reopened on Saturday though it may take awhile longer to get all lanes opened on every highway.  The financial cost of mitigating all the flood damage is very high especially when combined with the annual costs of forest fires. The provincial government is calling for more federal funding aimed at programs to prevent floods and wildfires due to the fact these are now happening with greater frequency.

Down in the south where I live the weather has been quite unsettled this week. There has been a mix of sun and rain all week. I've been fortunate to get out in the sun several times this week. I don't like hot weather but I do like sunshine. So when the weather is mixed sun and cloud it suits me fine. Tonight it started raining and I think tomorrow there will be more rain.

There was a very interesting movie about a man I'd not heard of before. It stands to reason since I am not a mathematician and this man is from India. The movie is called "The Man Who Knew Infinity".  It was playing at a very late hour but I decided to go and see it.  I'm sharing a trailer for the movie. If you like it I recommend you go and see the full movie if only to learn more of the genius upon which this story is based.

I've been making slow progress on  many things on my 'to do' list which is why I am not posting so frequently these days. I'm enjoying the slower pace as I've scaled back a lot on internet time. I am still visiting many blogs and so many of you will have received a visit from me.

In closing, these are my sky photos for this week's Skywatch Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend. I hope to see you soon!

Rounding Out the Week

These sky photos are from late last week when our weather was glorious, sunny and clear. As of last night we are back to our usual rain.  But I can't complain about the weather this winter as it seems like we've had more sunny and clear days than usual.

In my last post I mentioned I planned to go fabric shopping and make my mother some new dresses.  She wanted purple and turquoise fabrics. I purchased fuchsia/purple and navy fabric and have a dress that I will alter slightly which is turquoise/black/white.

The light knit jersey is the right composition (polyester and spandex blend) so it can stand up to the washing in the care home. The hand is quite soft and lovely but I fear it might be a little too flimsy. It will have to do as I can't take the fabric back.  It would probably help to make another slip or two for her to wear underneath.  She does still have the 3 slips I made a year ago but I think she wears 1 more than the others. After a year they are getting a bit ragged with daily use and hot water washes.

It is hard to get just the right amount of weight and stretch in the right colours when shopping for fabrics. Next time I'll stop at Fabricland.  They seem to sell just the right fabric at the right weight.  But I'm not a member there and that means I pay a lot more for fabrics.  Membership is a bit steep at $30 annually.  I don't sew enough or purchase enough fabric there to justify the membership cost so I will just have a look at clearance fabrics.

Here are some photos of the fuchsia/purple and navy dresses. I have to finish the dresses (the neckline on one dress and the hemming on both).

 And, the ready made turquoise/black and white dress.

 This dress needs to be modified up the back.  I love the Ikat design though it may be difficult to see in this photo.

I also bought some fabric to make a nightgown for her but haven't made it yet. Here is what it looks like. It is nice and soft and I know she will like it.

I purchased some nightgown fabric for me as well.  Here it is.

Lastly,  I bought some beautiful fabric to make a jacket which I have in mind to give as a gift.  It's been a very long time since I've made a jacket.

Besides fabric shopping and sewing, I picked up some movies at the library.

- August: Osage County Meryl Streep plays a cancer stricken, pill popping foul mouthed matriarch who lets her anger spill out various family members who gather to bury her late husband.  I found this movie somewhat depressing but probably close to the real life that some people have.  It is wonderfully acted by a long list of distinguished actors including Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor & Benedict Cumberbatch.
- The Iron Lady Released in 2012, this is a movie about Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of England in her twilight years as she is suffering from dementia and about to dispose of her late husband's belongings. Meryl Streep plays the title role. Along the way you learn about Mrs. Thatcher's life and entry into politics.
-  An Englishman in New York is a 2009 biographical film that chronicles the years gay English writer Quentin Crisp spent in New York City.  The title is taken from a song by Crisp written by Sting.
- The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2007 romantic drama. The film focuses a book club formed specifically to discuss the six novels written by Jane Austen. As the characters delve into each book, the club members find themselves dealing with life experiences that parallel the themes of the books they are reading. There is a large cast of wonderful actors including Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Lynn Redgrave and Jimmy Smits.

The first two movies I wanted to see in the theatre but missed my chance. The other two movies I picked up because they looked interesting. I found all of these movies to be rather sad in different ways but wonderful acted by all. I probably enjoyed The Jane Austen Book Club best but then I am a Jane Austen fan.

Have any of you read the book by Bishop T.D. Jakes on Destiny? I saw him on Dr. Oz earlier in the week and googled the book on YouTube.  He has many videos on YouTube but I enjoyed this one in case you are interested in watching it.

Over the weekend I hope to continue with some sewing after Friday's errands. We are back to a lot of rain so indoor activities are just the ticket. 

 Linking up with Skywatch Friday

I hope you all have a great weekend!

The Beautiful Days of January

The first few days of the year were quite hectic what with the earthquake and activities and missions in Kenya. But since then I've been taking things slowly. This year I feel the need to take care of my energy levels and rest more so I've been looking at ways I can do that yet still keep in touch with people and continue blogging.

I've been spending a lot of time on organizing myself for better health and wellness. That includes all aspects of health:  physical, emotional, spiritual & mental.  I won't go into the details of each area like I've done in years passed.  That would be time consuming and I'm not into doing that this year.  I'm also not into choosing a guiding word for the year. But I do have everything clear in my mind as to what I want to work on and how that will guide my daily and monthly activities.

The last week or two have been quite enjoyable. I've just been taking my time to do this and that and moving at a comfortable pace as opposed to the frantic pace I seem to always set for myself.  I've managed to reconnect with several friends who had been going through some difficult and/or very busy periods. It's always nice to reconnect with people who you've lost touch with.  I actually have several more people to reconnect with but there are only so many people one can keep in good touch with. Of course I cannot forget my friends in Kenya who are often on my mind as well as my sponsored boys in Kenya and Ethiopia who need to hear from me on a regular basis. Since last Fall I've been trying to make sure they hear from me more often.

Reading is always a big part of my life and this year I started off reading two books: A Girl in the Woods and the Orphan Train.  The first book I happened upon when I went to a movie in November. A woman was lined up for the show and intently reading the book. I asked her what it was about and made a note to read it and borrow it from the library.

A Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada.  She went on the hike after being raped in his first year of college.  The story is not only about the hike but about her survival and growth from teenager to young adult.

I picked up the Orphan Train at a second hand shop.  The book is about trains that ran between 1854 and 1929 from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children to be adopted or fostered.       

Both of these stories are based on true events. I would recommend both of them if you are at all interested in the subjects.  Though I cannot say either of the books were my all time favourite reads, they both taught me something.

Last week I attended an educational seminar on health matters and I learned so much. I took many notes and all of it will come in very handy this year. In fact, I have already started to put the knowledge to work to try and improve my health and wellness. That is always a goal of mine and every few months I tweak what I am doing to try and keep moving forward in a positive way. While I was at the seminar, I met a retired teacher who invited me to join the University Women's Club. I haven't given an answer yet but I know the club is on it's annual membership drive and will be until late next month.  I've actually considered joining this group before.  The membership dues are rather high and I already participate in a number of similar activities through free groups (or groups that charge a very nominal fee).  Whenever there is such a  large expenditure of funds involved (I'm talking hundreds of dollars annually in  membership dues alone), I always think the money could be better spent on  missions needs in Kenya. Especially now that the Canadian dollar is so lacking in strength on the world market.

A big part of  my focus this year will be on health and wellness.  This is true every year because I have a number of chronic health issues.  Mostly on this blog, I address the diabetes issue just because it is all consuming condition and eats up a lot of my time (no pun intended). As I begin the new year, I'm studying a lot of health and nutrition information; both from the seminar I went to last week and from a fitness consultant I 'met' on line last year.  I've also made a good start on using and applying the information I've learned.

Food shopping is a big part of health and wellness management and anyone who runs a household (whether it's a household of one or a household of several)  knows that it is very time consuming to manage all the household needs. Shopping is a big part of managing the household and with the ever increasing prices of food and the falling loonie (Canadian dollar coin), it becomes more time consuming and challenging to shop healthy and eat well.

Just last week I discovered that the celery I'd purchased a came to almost $5 for the bunch and it wasn't even organic!  I purchased it without even looking at the price because celery is something I use a lot.  The situation has become so alarming that the local news station did a story or two about the skyrocketing prices. I like to purchase multiple varieties of vegetables each and every week as well as fruits so I'm going to be more adventurous and change what I eat slightly since I'll mostly be buying those things that are on sale.  There is only so much I will pay for a particular vegetable or fruit or meat for that matter.  So far I've been managing to do most of the shopping for a reasonable amount of funds each week.  It takes a lot of planning and effort to shop the sales but I enjoy this part of the week as long as I'm not too rushed in the doing of it. It is also a time when I usually check to see what bills need to be paid.I can't complain too loudly because I read in internet news very recently that  3 out of 10 Kenyans (mostly those in rural areas) do not get a daily meal. I'm still eating daily and that is a blessing so nothing to complain about here but there are adjustments that must be made.

I've also been looking into sources of cashew nuts and almond nuts so I can begin making my own cashew and almond milk. The nuts will be raw and organic so it is quite a splurge for me in terms of costs since nuts have to be imported.  Given the long drought in California the nuts have to be imported from Asia.  Some of you may remember that I tried making brown rice milk last year.  It turned out okay but I wasn't a big fan of it and it took too long because the rice must be cooked first.   With cashew and almond milk you simply soak the nuts first though some people don't soak them at all.  I purchased a Vitamix blender last year to make smoothies, flours and nut milk.  So far I've made a lot of blended green smoothies but haven't yet tried making nut milks or flours. I've cut down on the baking (a lot) due to the need to manage my blood glucose levels better.

The other place I practice careful shopping is at the local pharmacy. I've been making sure I only buy those things I really need but also looking for those things that will get me a lot of in store points.  By doing this I managed to get 4 free movies tickets last week. A friend and I went to see the  movie "Brooklyn". I enjoyed it but it turned out rather differently than I was expecting. It's always a good thing when a movie or book isn't overly predictable.  Movies are another luxury so I try to get as many free tickets as possible. I have a points card so that when I go to movies I get a few points for it and if I purchase concession foods I get a few points there too. Eventually I get enough points to go to a "free" movie. I tend not to buy concession foods because they aren't healthy but now and then I treat my niece to a movie and I must buy her popcorn or she will throw a hissy fit, lol. When I went to the movie with my friend, I took some hot tea in a thermos and some home made popcorn with nutritional yeast for flavouring. I also took an apple and protein bar as it would be awhile before dinner.

For all my careful shopping at the pharmacy I accumulated enough points to spend $195 (Canadian) in store. It took a few months to accumulate the points but now that I have them I will use half to purchase health supplements as needed and the other half to purchase daily/weekly items (milk, eggs, bread, toilet paper, etc.).

The weekend saw me doing some minor alterations.  A top I'd purchased with Christmas money gifted by a friends had some loose beading on the bodice which needed tacking down.  The top is actually too large but it was on clearance so I bought it. I sewed the sides in and made the armholes a bit smaller.  It feels much better now though there is still plenty of give in the fabric. I do tend to shop on clearance items mainly these days so I also managed to purchase a summer dress and some earrings with the same Christmas money gift.  Again, the dress doesn't quite fit and will need a few simple alterations. I've already made great use of the earrings as they match the beading on my top (as in the photo below).  The top looks a bit wild but it is a great summer top and matches so many plain coloured items I already have in my wardrobe.

Early in the week I plan to go fabric shopping to make some more dresses for my mother.  It was Fall 2015 when I made her 2 dresses (2 tops and 2 skirts) but I find the dresses are a little too baggy in the front area.  I want to make some that fit better. I always ask her for her colour choices and try and buy them if they are available.  This time she has selected purple and turquoise for 2 separate dresses.

Now I leave you with some sky photos I took on a beautiful day late last week. In fact, I was on my way to the movie. I could not believe that the trees were already beginning to bud.  We've had a lot more sunny days this winter than we usually have and now the weather too is quite warm during the daylight hours.

In case it isn't so obvious why I titled this post "The Beautiful Days of January", it is because I feel great about the slower pace and good process I'm making on a number of fronts. I'm also very happy with the weather we've been having.
I also have great news that the Pokot man that was injured by 3 black mamba snake bites is now doing much better and ready to be released from hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. Jonah of Missions of Hope, Kenya had to return to the hospital for a check up a week after release and was able to get an in person update from the man.

The Pokot man's hospital bill is enormous and he cannot pay it. Neither can I help him.
But he is still so very appreciative that I was able to send the deposit which enabled him to get medical treatment and save his leg. He is believing for some miracle from the hospital concerning the hospital bill.
 I like his positivity and optimism.
 ~~~
How about you dear reader?
How is your January going?
Are things progressing well?

What about on the food front?
Have you too noticed the high cost of food and how are you managing to deal with it?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Update on Pokot Woman & A Little of This and That

I've been busy with a little of this and that over the past few days and still fighting a bit of cold symptoms. I've been taking my daily Emergen-C (packets of Vitamin C & B which I mix with water before drinking) and it seems to help keep my energy levels up and the sniffles at bay.

I was glad to have finished writing a few letters and post cards to my sponsored boys in Kenya and Ethiopia which I put in the post today.  I am prepared for Christmas for them. Though I didn't send funds for Christmas gifts for the children, I opted to send  family gifts so that the boy's families could have a nice Christmas without financial stresses.  Christmas is the time in Kenya where the families like to try and get a new set of clothing and also have a meal that includes meat or fish rather than just starch and veggies.  I hope that they will be able to also get a few other food stuffs they need since inflation is rampant in Kenya right now.  I am not quite sure what the situation is in Ethiopia but I know the people are very poor so they will be able to benefit from a family gift.  I was also able to get some post cards and note cards in the mail to other friends. I don't prepare much snail mail anymore and so it felt good to get these off in the post.

When I checked my post box at the post office today I had a wonderful surprise. A dear friend from Colorado sent me a cheque because she read my post here about the woman in Kenya who had fistula due to female genital mutilation (FGM).  She has to be rushed to hospital to deliver her child and after that rushed to a larger city center for proper medical treatment. It's been a challenging time to get the funds together to take care of the hospital bills for this woman.  Somehow through prayers and the grace of God we've managed to pay the medical bill so the woman, her baby and the lady missionary are now all on their way home.  Initially, the plan was to send them to stay with friends in Kericho (which is even farther south from the mom's home) because we felt the young mom needed to rebuild her strength and recover from surgery.   We were a bit concerned that she wasn't quite ready to go home due to blood in the breast milk. Though the hospital was prepared to release her we knew it wouldn't be  easy to get her back to a major hospital again if it turned out that she needed more help.

In the end, the new mom stayed in hospital for several days longer due to inability to cover the medical fees. That meant she was a little stronger and we felt she could travel by the time I was able to get the funds together.  The mother, her child and missionary were finally on their way home two days ago.  They were planning to rest for one or two days at a relative's house in a small town called Kapenguria (near the Kenya-Uganda border). They would make the final leg the journey to Itibet (not on the map) over a rough road after their rest.  You might remember that the woman just had surgery not even two weeks ago to repair fistula damage and is recovering from child birth too.  So the travel is not easy. Thank goodness she has relatives along the way that can house her for a bit of rest.

If you look to the west on the map, you can find Eldoret.  This is the larger city center where mom was in hospital for surgery. It is not the city where people from her area are supposed to go.  They are supposed to be taken by ambulance to Kitale.  But the young missionary woman that escorted her and the baby, had the foresight to tell the ambulance drivers to take her to Eldoret where the medical hospital is much better.  Of course this added to the cost.  But when you think that someone can lose a life or go to a better place and be sure to get good medical help then you must do what you can to get the best medical help.

From Eldoret, you travel north to Kapenguria.  This is a much smaller town and where the travel party stayed with relatives for a night or two before journeying home. Their ultimate destination is not on the map but is very near the border of Uganda. In Kenya distances can be short but travel time is much longer than in Canada or the USA due to weather and road conditions.

The donation I received today and another recent donation from a blogging friend in England, really made us feel supported and helped alleviate some financial stress.  It will be put to good use in helping the impoverished woman to purchase baby formula and pampers.  Cloth diapers might be more cost effective and  environmentally friendly but very impractical.  It is a dry and dusty land where they live.  There is little water for drinking let alone to have a regular bath and do laundry.  That makes cloth diapers out of the question.  We would like to provide this mom with assistance to buy formula and pampers until the baby is past the milk and pamper stage.  If anyone would like to help with this need please feel free to get in touch.

Now on to a few other things.

In a recent post I shared with you that I was going to attend a book launch and a ballet performance. These occurred on Wednesday and Thursday and both were fantastic.  This was very frugal entertainment for me because the book launch was free.  The ballet performance I attended only cost me one dollar (Canadian). I got in on a deal with a group I belong to and that is why the cost was so minuscule.  A regular ticket would have been $81.50 plus service charges.

I didn't get photos of the ballet performance as photos are not permitted for performances of any kind at most of the venues in the city.  I think it is like that all over North America and Europe.  In the ballet, the first half of the performance was set to the live choral music of Chor Leoni, a local men's choral group. The music added  a lot of depth, power and beauty to  the performance. I'm very glad I had a chance to experience it. The book launch was also a unique experience and I did get a few photos there too but wasn't permitted to take audience photos (more on the launch in another post).

I like to join in with hostess, Eileen at Saturday's Critters whenever I have time to shoot a new bird or other critter photos. This week I managed to get a few bird photos on 2 different days. The first one is a sea gull flying around the high towers of the city. The other bird is a black crow.  We seem to have plenty of both in this city.

This was the dark sky on the night of the book launch.

This bird was high up in the tree. I wouldn't have found him but for the zoom lens.

I captured this black bird on a beautiful sunny day.

I also used one beautiful, sunny day to go out and get more photos of fall foliage. It seems one can never get enough of those.

Lovely red maple leafs against the green grass.

I spotted this human critter across the street from where the bird was perched.

Some of you read about the movies I was watching in my recent post here.  I've been enjoying watching movies on DVD so much that I borrowed 3 more DVDs from the library:

• Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

• Frost-Nixon with Frank Langella (as President Richard Nixon) and Michael Sheen (as David Frost)

• Heaven is for Real with Greg Kinnear.

My favourite movie out of the three is  Heaven is For Real.  Greg Kinnear played pastor and father to 4 year son, Colton Burpo, played by Connor Corum. These two actors gave outstanding performances and the entire supporting cast were terrific.  In case you are unfamiliar with the film, it is about a small-town father (played by Greg Kinnear) who must find the courage and conviction to share with the world his son's life-changing experience of going to Heaven.  Understandably it was not so easy for the father to believe that his 4 year old could have gone to Heaven.  But a few things the young boy saw and experienced there and later relayed to his family, ultimately led the father to believe his young son.  The story is about what happens as a result of the young boy's experience.

Of course all these DVDs were free to borrow from the library so it has been very frugal entertainment. My local library seems to be expanding it's DVD offerings.  I will gladly make use of this service again in 2016. I've discovered that even though DVD loans are only for 1 week rather than 3 weeks like books, you can renew the DVDs even if someone has it on hold. Renewing books that are on hold doesn't work in my library system but it does work for DVDs. I'm not sure why but it works for me!

Playing in theaters right now is another great film if you are into spy films., the latest 007 movie "Spectre". I won't give anything away but I did see the film on Friday.  It is a quintessential James Bond movie with thrills from beginning to end.  The only thing I did not enjoy was the steep price of the movie ticket ($12.55 Canadian).  My friend and I went to the matinee thinking we would get a cheaper entrance that way only to discover the theater is newly renovated.  It now has a bar and lounge area and let's movie goers select their own seats prior to paying.  For these benefits you pay a premium price whether you use the bar or not. It is just one way that movie theaters are now trying to attract or compete with restaurants and bar and other forms of entertainment.

Are you still with me? If you've hung in there all the way to this point in the post, I thank you. I wonder how many of you have heard of Movember? It is a global charitable cause set up to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's mental health. The idea is that men grow mustaches in the month of November and also try to raise funds for the fight against these men's diseases.  If you have ever had prostate cancer, testicular cancer or mental issues yourself, or, you have a loved one who has, you may be touched by these efforts. My friends in the Kenyan Boys Choir  have been moved to grow mustaches and do their part to  raise funds for the cause.They have set a modest goal of $500 and need your help to make the goal a reality.  Please contribute here if you are able. You can also make anonymous contributions if you prefer. (I believe this beautiful photo below was taken by professional photographer for the Kenyan Boys Choir).

 The members of the Kenyan Boys Choir who are touring in 2015. Only half of them are touring.  The others are in Kenya.

This week I will be busy preparing things for a soon visit to my mom.  As always I will be sewing a few things for her and getting all her food and medicines together and that requires time. I'm also looking forward to a visit from an out of town friend who is making an impromptu trip to the city.  It will be nice to have some time to catch up on all the news. I might also have yet another movie to see in theaters. This one is a Christmas comedy with Diane Keaton, John Goodman and Olivia Wilde. It is an advance screening and I will get double passes for free.

I hope your week is an enjoyable one. Thank you for stopping by. As always I try to make a return visit to you too!

Joining in with Saturday's Critters a little late this week

and

Our World Tuesday

Skywatching on Wednesday

Hi friends,

It's been busy around these parts. I'm sure you've all been very busy too, especially those of you preparing for Thanksgiving (USA) and Christmas (world).

This Christmas and in about a month's time, I will have a guest come and stay for a few days. I'm feeling the need to get cleaning and get organized though I probably won't really do much to get ready until the month begins. That is when I hope to put up the tree.  There have just been so many other things to do and the time has been flying by! I seem to say that time is "flying by" more and more. I wish it would slow down a bit.

Location: 5th Avenue & Burrard Street

This past month has been busy with lots of routine medical visits. Some are quarterly and some are annual but for some reason they all seemed to come along in the last month.  It's also a good time to try and plan ahead for extra medical costs like medical and dental and re-examine insurance plans to see how these help with the cost. That kind of thing. It takes time to do it all. One thing I haven't got to in ages is a dental visit. I haven't got a dentist anymore and keep putting off finding one. It is hard to find a good one who will work within the standard fees that are usually covered by the insurance company.  Also, my doctor reminded me last week that have two annual medical tests that I haven't done yet. I will have to find time for those.

It is not good to put things off and usually I don't but this year I just can't seem to squeeze enough hours out of a day.  We all have the same number of hours to work with. I'm always amazed at what some people manage to get done!  You have to have good time management skills and good health in order to get a lot done in the time you have.

You can see the beautiful blue in the sky in this photo.

Each week or alternate week, I manage to get together with at least one friend.  I have one friend who is especially good about scheduling regular get togethers so we get out often for a coffee and a chat or a to see a movie. This past week we went to see a movie about Professor Stephen Hawking called "The Theory of Everything".  It was based on a book written by his first wife. The movie was quite good as showed what a good sense of humour Professor Hawking has and it was also touching and inspiring at the same time. The movie is also about his first wife and what she had to deal with in taking care of her husband when they could not afford in home care giving help.  She was a woman of faith and I'm sure that helped her to carry on though that isn't the focus of the movie.  If you have a chance, go out and see the movie. It isn't about God as such but about Professor Hawking disease and how he managed a brilliant career in spite of it. One of the professor's quotes is, "While there is life, there is hope". That's a wonderful view of life for anyone.

On my way to the movie, I took a few moments to capture the sky in photos spread throughout this post. You can see we had a lovely day.  Even though it is the middle of November there are still leaves with glorious Fall colour on some trees. That day (Wednesday) the temperature had warmed up a lot and by 6 p.m., the usual Fall and Winter rains had started once again.

Enjoy the photos.

If you haven't already read my post about gearing up for Christmas in Kenya, you can read it here. 

I'd love to hear from you. 

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday this week and Our World Tuesday. 
Have a wonderful week!

Saturday

It's Saturday today and a glorious sunny day it was.  Though I am feeling much better, I am still having issues with my digestive tract after food poisoning just over a week ago. I didn't realize that convalescence would take so long.

I'm not doing much yet but I have gotten back to regular appointments and errands.

Thursday a friend and I went to a movie called "The Giver" with Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Katie Holmes. While it wasn't the best movie I've seen, it certainly was good enough to make a person think about the world we live in. In the movie, people live in a world where there is no colour or emotion, no sickness or war, no pain and no human touch, no books or knowledge of history.  It makes one realize that there can be an absence of all these things for all the "right reasons", usually idealistic reasons.  Yet the world can still be missing something and there can be hardship of another kind like no joy, no love, no touch, no feeling.  With all the warts, flaws, sadness and suffering in our world, it is still a rich world and preferable for most of us to living in a tightly run world of ideals for the common good.  At least that was my take away from the movie. If you see it yourself, I'd love to know what you think of it.

Yesterday, I went for my weekly appointment in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. I called a friend of mine the night before and we planned to meet for coffee and lunch afterwards. It was nice getting together with her and she had some gifts for my birthday which passed in May. It was such a nice gesture and surprise. She also bought me lunch to celebrate her recent promotion at work. We went to a new to the both of us place called Tang's, located at Broadway & Macdonald.  The food was delicious and I will have to go there again some time.  My friend had a deep fried tofu dish with chili and I had a beef and broccoli dish which came with hot and sour soup and pickles.  A nice added touch. The last time my friend and I got together I was treating her and her son to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Nirvana.  We were celebrating her new job but neither of us were impressed with the food or their miniscule portions.

At the post office today I picked up a parcel I've been expecting. It was my new Eurosteam iron (mine is blue not black).  I don't iron that much anymore but from time to time I need a really good iron for ironing cotton fabrics and shirts. If this iron is half as good as the demos, ironing will be a breeze.

I  bought this iron on line at a really good sale price and can't wait to try it out. I'm looking forward to being able to steam out wrinkles in a fraction of time than the usual.

After the post office I went next door to the grocery store and I bumped into a neighborhood friend I haven't seen for some time. It reminded me that the last time we bumped into each other at the coffee shop we exchanged phone numbers.  We both said we should make plans to get together rather than simply bumping into each other all the time.  I am not even sure where I have her number so I guess I should look for it. I'm either very good at keeping in touch with people or very bad.  Also, if I make a few efforts and the other party doesn't reciprocate then I drop all efforts because life is actually very busy and there is always someone else to see or something else to do.

Just yesterday I was also thinking about my former chiropractor.  I haven't been to him for adjustments in years since I worked at a downtown job  Unfortunately he was diagnosed with MS and recently retired from practice because the disease has advanced too much.  He and I promised to get together after his retirement but we haven't done so yet. I guess need to contact him and see how he is doing and whether and when we might get together.  He and his wife are just the dearest people you would ever hope to meet.  I think of him like a dear brother.  His wife is one of the most supportive spouses I've ever met. She gave up a promising career to be her husband's main office receptionist and supporter.  It was always a pleasure to go to the office and have a chit chat with the both of them.  When you meet people like that it is really important to try to stay in touch though it can be challenging in this busy age and time.

It has been raining this week but today the sun came out in all it's glory.   It is supposed to be another nice, sunny day tomorrow too.

I'm going to church and maybe after that I will get out to one of the southern "burbs" along the waterfront. There is a touristy kind of store that I want to check out because it might have some unique gifts.  I also want to take some photos by the waterfront because it will be the last opportunity  before summer officially ends.  If I don't get out that way tomorrow I will have to wait another week or two.  Rain is expected back in these parts on Monday and will likely last for most of the week.

Reminiscing about my safari in Kenya,

  I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

Some of the Things I Love

 “When I get a little money, I buy books. If any is left, I buy food and clothes.” 

~ Erasmus

I'm still feeling tired and sneezy this week from the cold I'm fighting.  Even so I've spent a  lot of time doing things I love as I recover.  Working on the two quilts as Christmas gifts saw me not only cutting, sewing and ironing but also running errands to purchase fabric and new blades for my rotary cutter.
I also modified two t-shirts into camis for my mother as I can't find any to fit her that don't have spaghetti straps.

When I needed or wanted a break from sewing and quilting, I spent some time on my other favourite hobbies, reading and catching up with friends.

Newest second hand book acquisitions this week cost a  grand total $3 (Canadian) and include:

~ Tower of the King's Daughter (Outremer #1) by Chaz Brenchley. I'm not sure about reading this one as I found out it is actually the 2nd book in a series.












~ Bel Canto by Ann Patchett









 

~ Almanac of the Dead, a Novel by Leslie Marmon Silko











The next book was borrowed from the library after reading about it at my blogger friend ClairZ.  The book is set in Kenya, land of my heart, and is about a woman who starts a mobile library in northern Kenya.  The books are transported on the back of a camel!

I also ordered a book from Amazon (total cost $7. and change included shipping costs) after reading about it on my blogger friend Martine's blog over at the Happy Sparrow. 

This book is an exploration of how women can live in beauty and grace, joy and peace in the midst of difficult circumstances. Real life stories are interwoven with biblical insights.








Last, but  not least, I put this book, Jesus and His World, on hold at the library and will be picking it up very soon. It's been on my "to read" list for awhile now.

I joined a for a fabulous movie called "The Sapphires", based on the true story of 4 Australian Aborigine women who form a singing group and travel to Vietnam to entertain the American troops during the Vietnam War.  It was a delightful, very funny and poignant story. All the proceeds went to a good cause in support of a local organization which helps young women develop self-esteem.

With the coming of the Fall season I've also been spending a lot of time working on my calendar and trying to make sure I have time for all the things I want to do. This always means making concerted efforts to get together with friends for coffee and a good natter.  I look forward to catching up with some friends this week. I'm also making plans to join a new Bible study group. I don't know if it will work out yet but I'm trying. September is always a busy and fruitful time though it can seem a bit frantic at times.  Next thing you know, Thanksgiving will be here. In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October.

Today (Sunday) it is pouring rain in Vancouver.  I'm relaxing and reading one of my new books.  If I get up some energy, I will continue working on my mother's quilt.  I hope your week was also filled with hobbies that you enjoy.

Joining up with Our World Tuesday this week.

Have a great Tuesday!

The first one of the Fall 2013 season.