A Change is Coming

The last few days there has been a definite change in the temperature of the air. While it is still generally warm, there is now a distinct chill and I need to have a shawl or a light jacket when I go out. It seems to me that the chill has arrived somewhat early this year and rather abruptly. We don't usually notice the shift until the day after Labour Day (the first Monday of September).  This year Labour Day is on September 4, 2018.

The sky was looking quite cloudy when I came home from an appointment around 4 p.m. on Thursday.  There is no rain in the 14 day forecast but the temperatures are anywhere from 6-10 degrees cooler each day than they have been for months.  I don't mind because the Fall or Autumn is one of my favourite seasons. I do not do well in intense heat.  I far prefer the chill of autumn when it isn't yet cold and one can wear cosy sweaters and scarves. In some years the Fall season can go on for some time. Those are special times.

After I finished my errands I stopped for this breakfast/lunch. It isn't my favourite place to dine but it was handy and I enjoyed the omelette and sourdough toast.

The next few photos were taken on Wednesday. You might notice that the light of the day is not a intense as the past few months.

The photo below was taken at 7 p.m. It was still quite bright out but now the daylight hours are shortened by 1-2 hours each day.

I'm reading my 45th book of the year.

 

It is very interesting.
 I haven't gotten to the sad part yet but it will come.

Here is a synopsis of the book taken from the internet.

On July 12, 1969, Ruth Davis, a young American volunteer at Dr. Jane Goodall’s famous chimpanzee research camp in the Gombe Stream National Park of Tanzania, East Africa, walked out of camp to follow a chimpanzee into the forest. Six days later, her body was found floating in a pool at the base of a high waterfall. With careful detail, The Ghosts of Gombe reveals for the first time the full story of day-to-day life in Goodall’s wilderness camp—the people and the animals, the stresses and excitements, the social conflicts and cultural alignments, and the astonishing friendships that developed between three of the researchers and some of the chimpanzees—during the months preceding that tragic event. Was Ruth’s death an accident? Did she jump? Was she pushed? In an extended act of literary forensics, Goodall biographer Dale Peterson examines how Ruth’s death might have happened and explores some of the painful sequelae that haunted two of the survivors for the rest of their lives.

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I watched the much hyped first episode of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video. If you have a chance to watch it I would recommend it. It is very well done and quite riveting. 

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I managed to get my documents photocopied yesterday to add to my earthquake kit.

If you missed my post on earthquake preparedness you can find it here.

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I've always loved zebras. They are so beautiful and these ones are from Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya. I'll never forget my safari there.
I'm sharing them for Saturday's Critters with Eileen.

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Last but not least, I am remembering my mom today.
She would have been 82 on Friday.

 These photos are from the last celebration of her birthday and were taken a few days after her stroke.
We were surprised to arrive and see her driving her wheelchair. She couldn't swallow yet so she she couldn't eat the cake that's why we only bought a small one. We usually bought her a chicken, seafood or Chinese dinner but this day we didn't want to eat in front of her so we only bought a cake to mark her day.


I always liked to treat her on her birthday.
 She loved her roses, her cake and balloon.

I remember wanting to wait until she was able to eat with us to celebrate. My youngest brother insisted we celebrate on her day. I'm so glad he did because it was the last time we were able to do so and see her smile.

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 That's all for now.
Wishing you all a wonderful and safe weekend.

Joining with

Skywatch Friday

Friday Foto Friends

and

Saturday's Critters

The Week Flys By & There is So Much to Learn

Hello friends,

It's been a very busy week  and I managed to get a lot done.  Top it off the weather has cooperated so nicely. Instead of the rain we were anticipating at the end of last week, the weather has remained sunny and even quite hot at times.

My little garden has seen it's better days but is still blooming so I'm enjoying the colour.

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I don't think I've ever shared in this space that I have intentions of writing a book. 

It has been on my list of things 'to do' for awhile now.

My mom and other family matriarchs are no longer alive.  Once I am gone there will be very little remembrance of certain things, especially the spiritual heritage but also other important family information. 

If you have ever grown up in a family knowing little about your family background you will appreciate how important it is for someone to leave a record behind for you. 

Even a partial record is a true gem to the recipient.

My late mom and I had plans to co-write a book but she changed her mind along the way.  The actual planning and writing was too stressful for her to contemplate when she had so many other things on her mind. She loved to share her stories orally.  She wasn't technologically inclined and we could never get to the point of capturing her stories on recorder or video due to competing priorities. Whenever I thought we might finally be at that point her health or some other issue would demand attention.

For my part, I've made a modest start by drafting a rough outline.  I've even written a few rough chapters.  However there is still a long way to go to finish and to redraft before it is ever published.  Let's face it, time challenges are huge these days for most of us. There are only so many hours in a day.  If you are a beginning writer such as myself, it takes a certain discipline to figure out how to move forward and to actually do it.

My "classmates"

Last weekend I went to a presentation by a local best selling author. Her talk inspired me to get serious about the writing and helped me understand that the writing needn't take years and years.  I now have a much better idea about the publishing process, through both the traditional publishing route and through self publishing. I also have some rough estimates of costs associated with the process. There are also Christian publishing and Amazon publishing to look into.

Over these past few years  my blogging friend, Linda from Spiritual Memoirs 101, has also been a huge encouragement.  I first came to know of Linda when she still published a blog called Grandma's Letters based on her missionary experience in Kenya. We share a love of Kenya and of missions.  Through reading her blog posts at Spiritual Memoirs 101, I've kept alive, the idea of writing as a future possibility.

Now I need to get organized and make a plan for consistent writing. From the outset, I've only ever thought of my memoir as being for family members but that  may change. For now, it is enough that it is for family and it is important I get it done for that reason alone.

I also have a few children's books in mind and I'm hoping to get those to a wider audience.  The hard task will be to find the right illustrator as I have a very specific style in  mind.  I have done some searching for just the right illustrator but haven't found the right one yet.

Anyway enough about writing for now.  There will be more to come at a later point in time.

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I've also been very busy this week with a number of seminars.  One of them had to do with fashion challenges.  It is helping me assess my current fashion sense and style preferences, as well whether I am actually implementing what suits me fashion-wise.

Once upon a time when I was working I had a very classic style and I enjoyed the look. Now that I am retired I've gotten into a bit of a style rut.

Over the past year or so I've been trying to build up a nice wardrobe that meets my current needs. I've made some inroads into building a look but now I need to take stock and figure out what is missing.

All of my purchases have been things that have been on sale.  It means I did not always get what I wanted in the colour I wanted.  That's what happens when you shop end of season sales.  Now I must take stock of where things are at and I think start looking at capsule wardrobes.

The concept of a capsule wardrobe is to be able to mix and match many looks from a smaller quantity of clothing items per season. Nonetheless I find it still adds up to a lot of clothes and more than I would normally buy. I suppose that is why I never quite have the outfits I need. I also don't do a good job of coordinating the colourways and items needed per season. I just buy what I like and hope it goes with other things in the wardrobe.  This approach also results in too many clothes and nothing to wear.

My goal will be to pare down the number of clothing items I have and better assess how everything goes together.  Then I can fill in the gaps and only purchase what will round out the wardrobe.  The other thing I am trying to pay attention to is buying clothing for my body type.  This is much harder than it sounds (at least for me) and makes finding just the right items that much more difficult.  All in all though, I've had fun looking at what other ladies deem to be 'nice' outfits and learning about their struggles and challenges in trying to dress well. The group I am participating in even had a woman from Kenya join in. Small world!

Another interesting webinar I enjoyed this week was a Christian seminar presented by Donna Partow's of Women's Empowerment University. I heard of Ms. Partow through a friend of mine but didn't realize that she had an online university with extensive topical teachings.

The one I took the other day was just what I needed and has reminded me of the importance of making time for deeper intimacy in my prayer life and walk with God. Intellectually of course, I already know this.  But it can be challenging to ensure one keeps space in daily and weekly life for spiritual matters. Over time I am making small changes here and there in hopes of having quality time and more time for my spiritual life.

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I rounded my week with a free seminar in my community on nutrition and reading food labels. None of this is really new to me but I do so much appreciate the chance to review the information once again. When with a group of ladies and enthusiastic team leaders, it is so much more fun than reading and learning on my own! We even did some line dancing and had healthy snack as breaks from the presentations.

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Life is always better when one takes time to smell the roses so I made time to do one of my favourite things; visit the waterfront and take photos.

It was such a fantastic day.
I strolled along the waterfront, took photos, had something to eat, sat on a log and watched the waves and talked to others looking at shells on the sandy beach.

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This critter enjoyed fetching a stick from the ocean.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home and had to rely on the phone camera.
In bright sunlight the photos are never quite as good.
Or at least I haven't figured out how to make them look as good *smile.

Thanks for reading me today. 

I know it was a long post.

Enjoy your weekend. ♥

Joining in with Skywatch Friday 

Friday Foto Friends

and

Saturday's Critters

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Interesting Skies Before Fall Arrives

I captured this interesting series of sky photos with my cell phone a few days ago.

I haven't been out with my camera lately so have had to rely on my smartphone.

I need to try and make some time to get out with the camera but the days seem so busy.

September is fully booked with errands, appointments and things that really need to get done.

Then it will be October and Thanksgiving which comes a bit early (it seems) but it is always on the 2nd Monday of October.

A friend will be visiting from Toronto, Ontario and has offered to make the dinner.
He is a great cook who once owned his own restaurant so it is no sweat for him to do so.

 Many people have a day off work on the second Monday of October. They often use the three-day Thanksgiving weekend to visit family or friends who live far away, or to receive them in their own homes. Many people also prepare a special meal to eat at some point during the long weekend. Traditionally, this included roast turkey and seasonal produce, such as pumpkin, corn ears and pecan nuts. Now, the meal may consist of other foods, particularly if the family is of non-European descent.

My friend will also be visiting several other of his friends in the City and staying with each of us for a night or two. Though he has offered to make the meal things might change at the last minute so I need to be ready to step in.

I always enjoy Thanksgiving as a day to give thanks for my many blessings.

What about you dear reader?

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

If so, how do you celebrate?

I am joining in with Skywatch Friday 

and

Friday Foto Friends

this week.

Thank you for dropping by and paying me a visit.

Enjoy your weekend.

Changes

Every year at this time I am amazed at how the weather dramatically shifts from Summer to Fall. 

 Overnight the temperature goes from warm to chilly once September arrives. It never fails though often once that happens we continue with much warmer weather into September and sometimes even October.

Soon we will be singing this song (Fall officially begins on September 22nd this year)

These dramatic sky shots were taken with my smartphone while in the car home to Vancouver from visiting my mom in the Interior of the province.

Once in Vancouver it was also cloudy and has been cloudy and a bit rainy every day since.

Before I left for a week to see my mother I put most of  my potted plants in the shade and watered them.

They held up well but the season for growing is pretty much over, especially as far as pansies (violas) go.

 I took this horizon shot yesterday.

Today is the first day back to school for all university students and anyone in grade school.

The weather forecaster predicted rain until around noon but I think it seems to have stayed dry.  At least in my neighbourhood.

After the events of the past few weeks I am still recovering my energy levels.

I am finally going to meet a friend today.

We will see the new movie

The Light Between the Oceans.

(if you click on the linked title you can read all about ir and/or see a trailer).

I haven't read the book yet but I'm sure I'll enjoy the movie.

Update on mom:  She has improved the use of her right hand/arm and continues valiantly to speak. Some days it is hard to make sense of what she is saying but I know she is working hard at it. I find if I just ask her a question she can answer 'yes' or 'no' and that way she doesn't have to get frustrated. I know she has asked for prayer to speak again and I've assured her that is what we are praying for.

Update on Eunice in Kenya: Eunice underwent surgery late last week and returned home yesterday.  Thank God.

I don't know much more than that or even whether she can speak. I hope to find out more later.

I'm linking up to Our World Tuesday and later in the week, Skywatch Friday.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

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.

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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

Movember & El Nino Calling

Hi friends,

I decided to post once again about Movember and the Movember campaign by the Kenyan Boys Choir.  Movember is a campaign to raise money for it in support of the fight against several men's diseases.  Am not asking for your help in this post. If you do want to find out more you can click here.

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 try to raise funds for the fight against these diseases.

If you have ever had prostate cancer, testicular cancer or mental issues or, you have a loved one who has, you may be touched by the efforts to fund raise.

My friends in the Kenyan Boys Choir  have been moved to grow mustaches and do their part to  raise funds for the cause.  In Kenya where they live the treatment options and care available for anyone with cancer is very minimal and there is a lot of suffering involved if you have cancer and no treatment options at all.

The photo I've used is not mine but a professional photo of the Kenyan Boys Choir.

 Those members of the Kenyan Boys Choir who are touring in 2015 are in this photo.  Other choir members are back in Kenya.

In Kenya the country is facing the ravages of El Nino.

The following photos are taken by Kenya news agencies over the past several days.

Near Lake Baringo.

 
The mom (along with her baby and the missionary escort) helped with surgery recently has had to delay getting home.  The highway to her home looks like this.

The highway from Kapenguria to Turkana.

Men, women and children have been stranded in an unsafe area for 3 days without help.  Even if you have funds there is no where to buy anything.

At least the Pokot mom made it back to her relatives in Kapenguria where she should be safe.

People stranded in West Pokot area of the Northern Rift Valley.

My friend Jonah and a pastor friend of his have also been caught up and stranded away from home in the rain.
They have been stranded at Lake Baringo for 2 days. All the budget hotels were quickly taken due to a huge conference happening in the area and all the other stranded travellers. they are staying at Soi Lodge which you might remember from some of my earlier posts.

This is his photo showing the impassable roads near Lake Baringo.

Meanwhile, here at home we are having a coastal storm today.
  The ferries to the island have been cancelled and 3000 homes are currently without power.
There is a snowfall in the mountains so I will have to monitor the situation to see whether travel plans this weekend have to be adjusted.

This is a photo of BC place.  It holds 50,000 people & was renovated a few years ago.  It has a retractable roof that turns different colours at night.

My cloudy sky picture was taken a week ago.


Joining in with Skywatch Friday
&
Friday Foto Friends

Fall is All Around

These are current scenes of Fall/Autumn where I live. 

The first set of photos were snapped early evening just as sun was setting today on Tuesday .

You can see the sky is very dark and cloudy.  But we've had lovely sunshine and warmish temperatures for several weeks, interspersed with light rain for a day or two before the rain started this week.

I haven't done any gardening since about the middle of August. 

I need to make time to clean it up a bit before the winter comes around.

Many of the trees have lost their leaves due to wind and rain but there are still some lovely colours all around.

I snapped the next few photos when I went out for errands today.

It was quite wet!

These next shots will show October in a small Kenyan town in the highlands and were sent to me by a Kenyan friend there.

 My friends in the highlands have already started experiencing heavy rains.

It is expected to go on until December.

Residents in different parts of Kenya are being warned to evacuate but many have stayed put saying they have no where to go and no money to get there.

Besides being bad for people, especially the very poor, the bad weather makes it difficult for me to finalize travel plans to Kenya.

The wettest months are usually April and May.
The second rainiest season is October and November.
I would like to see or hear of a break in the expected El Nino rains and to determine how bad things are going to get weather-wise in the next month or so before I plan travels.

Nairobi (where I would spend considerable time) has already had very heavy rains and flash floods over the past several months. It has led to loss of buildings and even loss of life. Narok which is very close to Maasai Mara, one of the premier safari parks has also experienced flash flooding.

County governments have been clamoring for funds from the Treasury.  They need to prepare for the expected bad weather and potential dangers to people and property, especially in the low lying areas of Kenya. I don't know if they were successful in getting the needed funds.

I do know there is a lot of pressure on the national treasury at the moment.   Teachers have just ended a strike and medical personnel are constantly threatening to strike or are on strike.

The government says it has no money to pay the teachers.  To the governments credit, they have been doing some very good things which also cost a lot of money.  For example, these are the initiatives that come to mind: free education for many who used to pay; new hospitals; better equipping hospitals, digitizing a lot of government services and making them accessible on line; giving youth employment; improving highways; reducing cost of electricity hookup for those that live off the grid & expanding National Health Insurance at much reduced rates. Perhaps there is more they have done but this is the list that easily comes to mind.

Given all these good things, it is hard to stretch the national budget further.  Especially when so much is lost to corrupt practices.
Who can blame teachers and doctors for going on strike when corruption reaches the highest levels in the country and appears to be rampant amongst high ranking  politicians, business people and public officials.
Corruption is something thing that Kenyans want their government to end pronto.
I suspect that if they could really stop the corruption there would be a lot more money in the coffers to pay the teachers.

Kenyans have a lot to bear.
Life is not easy there at all for those that are trying to make an honest living.
It is a pity because the country has a lot to offer and the people are some of the most hospitable people I have met.

 PRAYER REQUEST

My thoughts right now are with a friend's relative and his family. A man named Edmond has a form of terminal cancer called Myelofibrosis. It is an uncommon cancer which affects the ability of the bone marrow to make red blood cells. He has had this cancer for long and is currently suffering much more than ever before.

Please pray for him and his family.  They are of very humble means and the emotional, spiritual, physical and financial stresses are overwhelming.  Not to mention the stress of how the family will survive when the head of the household is gone.

In African cultures, and for sure in Kenya, they do not like to speak of death.  So it is difficult to know how much longer this man has left to live. For now, he is in hospital and requires copious blood transfusions daily.

As I mentioned, Edmond appears to be suffering worse than ever before.
Pray too that the hospital will be able to provide the blood and medicines needed to keep him comfortable.
Kenyans lack so much of what we take for granted in health care.
Every week I read of drugs supplies that have run out or basic equipment that is not available.

Even though the government is doing a lot, there is still a long way to go to meet the needs.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday this week.