Hello friends and fellow bloggers,
I hope the week has gone well for you and that you're looking forward to the weekend.
I've been busy with preparing for the move by sorting, cleaning, organizing and decluttering. But I took a few breaks. On this day I went for a walk to do some errands and to "smell the flowers" along the way.
Hi friends and fellow bloggers,
I love colour in the sky but I seldom get to catch a sunset. I can't see it from my home. But I can catch the sun rising and sometimes there are some interesting cloud formations and now and then there is glorious colour to go with it. I notice that the morning sky colour doesn't last very long so I'm glad I was quick enough to get some photos.
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| August 16, 2022 |
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| August 18, 2022 |
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| August 16, 2022 |
I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today.
Thank you for stopping by!
Hello friends and fellow bloggers,
It's been awhile since I posted for Skywatch Friday so these are a few of the sky photos over the past several weeks. These photos were all taken over the months of June and July. Enjoy and thank you for stopping by!
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| Roof top of the city's central (main) library |
It was an absolutely beautiful Thursday. I had an appointment downtown an took a few photos to share with Skywatch Friday followers. If you look at the map in the first photo, I've circled the specific area where I took photos (black oval circle on map).
I was tired today as afterwards I stopped at a food court, then went to look at fabrics in a store near the waterfront. Then I hopped on the bus and stopped at a pharmacy before walking home. I'm hoping to get to sleep earlier tonight as I've had a busy week and haven't been getting enough shut eye.
We are officially into the Fall season and the weather is much cooler than it was a few short weeks ago. We have been having a lot of rain and we expect more this weekend. However today is supposed to be a dry, sunny day. I look forward to it and will run some errands later in the day.
I hope the weather is good for you wherever you are in the world.
I have some happy and some sad news to report from Kenya.
The young man named Livingstone has now had his cast removed. I think they botched the job when they plastered his leg more than once. He is now taking a few sessions of physiotherapy to reduce swelling and other concerns. The good news is that Livingstone has stopped drinking and accepted Christ as his savior. We are overjoyed for him. He has been getting visits from a local pastor in his village and getting counsel from others. Through that and through the love and helps he has been getting during treatment for his leg and for Covid, he has decided on this faith step. He is now making plans as to what he would like to do to earn a living (raise chickens). It's an awesome change and the first time in years that he has a dream and a vision for his future.
Ernest, the other man who we have been helping in Kenya for the past few years, has also fully recovered from a few health issues though his diabetes is ongoing. His most recent health setback was a stint in the hospital with Covid and we're so thankful he has recovered fully. He's been very anxious to try and get back to work. His doctor advised him to stay out of the larger town center during this pandemic. For now it means he is only able to earn very small amount of money by cutting hair for the villagers, mostly children. The payment for services is not reliable since villagers have very little money but what he gets pays for his phone airtime. If he could purchase a good set of barbering shears he would be able to do better business. If you are reading this and want to contribute toward buying this item for him please let me know.
Now for the sad news. Pastor Jonah is in hospital after a very bad reaction to his second Covid vaccination (Moderna). His first jab was Astra Zeneca and his doctor recommended vaccine mixing for better effectiveness. This view is based on studies showing that a vaccine mixture can have a more potent immune response and thus give more protection against the virus. Though he expected he might have a reaction, especially since he experienced a bad reaction to Astra Zeneca, he certainly did not expect such a serious reaction.
On Wednesday night my time, I asked him how the vaccination went. He wasn't feeling well at all. As he explained his symptoms and showed me photos of his swollen limbs and his swollen tongue, I became very alarmed. His tongue which was about 3 times larger than it should be. I immediately told him to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. He went in to inpatient services on Thursday afternoon Kenyan time. I insisted he remain overnight (or longer) in hospital to make sure he is safe. He is now recovering and resting at the hospital under doctor supervision.
We covet your prayers for Pastor Jonah's full recovery and for the material needs of Livingstone and Ernest to be met.
Joining in with Skywatch Friday.
It's been a very busy and a very frigid week. It didn't start out so cold but as the days went by it got gradually colder and it isn't done yet. You can perhaps see the chill in the sky.
Sky
It was rush hour as I headed out to the library.
Books
After I picked up the new books I head straight to McD's for a hot coffee and began to read the new memoir written by the country singer, Sara Evans. I'm enjoying it so far and the other books look really good as well. At least I have my reading material for the weekend.
It snowed twice this week. Once on Monday and once on Tuesday but the snow didn't stick around. It is supposed to snow again on several days before the weekend is over. I found it very cold here and apparently the city smashed a 100 year record for cold weather in the last day or so. However the temperatures are nothing like it is in most of the rest of the province and in other parts of Canada and probably the USA too.
Meals
Saturday night I made some boiled bratwurst and had potato salad with it. Sunday night was the NFL Superbowl. We had BBQ ribs and chicken wings. I didn't have anything else. I don't actually watch the football game I just listen to the half time show and I was pleased and proud of Canadian, The Weeknd (not a spelling error) and his show. It's been reported that he spent $7M of his own money in addition to the production funds provided by Pepsi company, to create a fabulous show. I don't know if that is true or a rumour but I thought the show was very, very creative. Did any of you see it, and if yes, what did you think of it.
Monday night we had fried fillet of sole with lemon pepper, buttery corn niblets and steamed rice.
Tuesday night I made roasted pork belly, stir fried kale and crispy tofu and steamed rice once again. It is only the second time I've made pork belly and it is quite delicious. I bought a fairly large chunk of it and have cut and packaged enough for another two meals in future.
On Wednesday night I made a tossed salad with a variety of greens, grape tomatoes cut in half and red onions. The dressing was made of grapeseed oil, mustard, honey and freshly squeezed orange juice. We had steamed BBQ salmon and steamed rice. Sorry my photo of the salmon shows a partially eaten dinner. I had forgotten to take a photo before I started eating.
I think it must be some kind of record for me to make steamed rice so often in one week.
Friday's dinner is going to be beef brisket with a homemade brisket rub, nugget potatoes and salad. I might actually make fried rice instead of, or in addition to, the nugget potatoes since I want to use up the leftover rice. Whatever is not eaten will be good for leftover lunch.
Here are some photos I took when I went brisket shopping. I didn't actually know I was going to buy brisket but always keep my eyes open for a sale on it. It has become very expensive over the years.
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| These ones were far too big and close to $100 Canadian. |
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| I bought one of the smaller ones on the left. |
Kenyan Missions
Pastor Jonah has had a busy week too and was unexpectedly called to a village where he is helping a widow with land issues in a situation where her husband died intestate. The matter is proceeding through court to get legal land grant and I understand that land and court officials and the area chiefs (local traditional leadership) want to make a site visit to assure themselves that everything is above board. Once this is done I don't think it will take too long to get a court hearing to hear the final verdict. I'm not sure how much longer after that it will take for all the grantees to obtain land titles in their own names as the widow/executrix is subdividing the land amongst the rightful beneficiaries. Then she can breathe easier knowing that she has a place to live until the end of her days. It has taken long to get this far and also been costly. Kindly keep this matter in your prayers.
The usual helps have been given out to 5 people for medicine, medical care and food as well as some funds for medical insurance cover.
I was planning to go to the lab for blood work on Friday but was thinking of waiting until Monday due to the cold weather we're having. Now I see that it's Family Day, a statutory holiday on Monday so I either have to go on Friday after all, or wait until Tuesday.
Take care everyone and keep warm.
Linking up with Skywatch Friday
Hi friends and fellow bloggers, Happy Friday and Happy weekend to you all. I was very grateful to wake up Thursday to see that the rain stop...
