Air Quality and Other Things

My niece has been gone for about a week and I've been trying to catch up with things. It seems I'm doing loads of laundry, lots of dishes, a bit of grocery shopping, a bit of reading, a few personal care appointments (foot reflexology and body massage) and connecting with friends near and far. It's been steadily busy but not so hectic.

The air quality all week was very bad as the state of emergency and the wild fires continue around the province. Today I read that it is the 2nd worst year for fires and poor air on record. Last year was the worst. Our provincial premier said a few days ago that these kind of summers might be the  "new normal". That's not a good thought.  The following photos show the recent skies.

Sky on Sunday, August 26/18

Rain on Saturday, August 25/18

At the same time as the poor air quality has been occurring, I've been tracking earthquake activity around the globe. It's scary stuff but one has to try and be prepared when they live in the earthquake areas.

In the past week alone there have been over 70 earthquakes around the globe. Two of them have been closer to home (off the coast of Oregon and off the coast of northern Vancouver Island). Every Sunday a fellow who calls himself "Dutchsinse" on You Tube predicts earthquakes.  He posts 3 videos a day and on Sundays he posts a vlog forecasting where he thinks earthquakes will hit over the next 7-10 days. The "experts" say that they cannot predict earthquakes and that there is no credibility to what "Dutchsinse" is doing. However I would say that if you watch him yourself and track things each week you will understand that he is on to something.

Little by little too his theories are being confirmed by research.  Most recently by the University of Oregon. Click here if you are interested in that study.  If you are interested in following him or at least listening once click here. His motto is "Don't be scared, be prepared" and his aim is to educate people to be aware and be prepared if there is an earthquake alert for their part of the world.  As for me I've been on a mission to let my loved ones, friends and professionals I deal with know about the potential earthquakes. A lot of people don't like to think about it and would rather pretend it won't happen though one young Brazilian lady I know told me that a number of Brazilians she knew who resided in Vancouver, have opted to return to Brazil.  At least Brazil is not located along the Ring of Fire so the likelihood of a huge quake is much lower. In  my household I've dragged out my emergency kit and bag of things I would need in case of emergency. It was a few years ago since I prepared it and I need to change out the water and the food.  Since I last updated my kit I've noticed that the earthquake preparedness store has moved to an area where I never go.  That means I have to plan specially to go and get what I need.

A few weeks ago I wrote that I now am a fan of meal planning and batch cooking. I've pretty much used up the fod I prepared in batch cooking last time so I need to get started again.  Having my niece visit put me a little behind schedule but it's okay. I now need to get into some much healthier eating once again. While she was here I just let her enjoy her holiday and we had all kinds of food that are not really the the healthiest. It's okay because she is only here one week out of 52 and I do try to incorporate some healthy salads and fruits and vegetables during the week as well.  Meal planning and batch cooking are not yet habits for me and to make them into habits is going to take some consistent planning and time.

Today is a busy but good day.  I'm folding laundry done earlier in the week, vacuuming, washing dishes and floors and making dinner.  Later, if I am up to it I have some paperwork business to catch up on. Alternatively I will wash all the fruit and vegetables and store them for use in batch food preparations this week.

My reading has slowed down a lot though I've read

The Night Visitor by Lucy Atkins

A strange story but really well written. I gave it 4* out of 5.

Right now I'm slowly working my way through The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald.  I'm reading because it came in a book of 3 novels in one.  The first book I read in the consolidation is The Bookshop.  I didn't like that one so much but it was better than the one I'm reading now. Truthfully I'm finding her books rather boring and unappealing on many levels (did I really say that?).  But I like to finish what I've started and I hope to finish all three books though I'll do it slowly.

I attended a festival yesterday called Harambecouver. They had an excellent line up of performers but it rained heavily early in the day (the first real rainfall in months) and the turnout was dismal. Perhaps the festival lacked promotion too and as this is only it's 2nd year they are still learning what to do.  I spoke briefly with the festival organizer and he mentioned moving the festival up by a few weeks so as to avoid the rains we usually experience in Vancouver from mid-August onward.

I went with friends and we stayed only an hour or so and had a bite to eat. When we were leaving my friend's son ran up to the stage to listen to a performer sing "One Love".  he wanted to dance. When he came back he asked "did I dance good?" I thought that was so cute.

 

Here is his mom, his brother and a church friend watching him dance from afar.

Here is his dad.

And, here is the young boy having a well deserved drink of juice.
I couldn't get a good shot with my old compact camera.

Sunday dinner is traditional roast chicken with red potatoes. It's a lazy dinner so I can work while the dinner was cooking. I also picked a few strawberries from my garden. I'm not up to making salad today so this will be it. I did roast a few onions and carrots under the chicken. Normally I roast until the all the skin of the chicken is browned but I felt I had the oven on long enough so I aborted roasting once the fowl was cooked through and the potatoes soft.

 ~~~~


One final thing before I go.

~~~~

You may have noticed I changed the theme of my blog. I like it but am not sure how long I will use it  because there seems to be a glitch in the template.  

The preview function doesn't work and so that makes it hard to check on photo placement, spelling errors and so on. I'll wait awhile and see if that gets fixed before deciding whether things have to be changed again.
I'd be interested in what you think of this format.

~~~~

In closing, air quality here is not expected to improve this coming week and the temperatures are expect to climb again.

I hope you are keeping well wherever you live.

Thank you for stopping by!

Update: I think my blog has been hacked or hijacked.  Either that or there are numerous issues with this template making it a pain to use.
If I cannot resolve this I will have to start another blog from scratch.
I'm not sure how much time this is going to take me.
Another update:  I discovered that the Contempo theme which I'd tried to use has some glitches when it comes to use of widgets. I found out I wasn't the only one with this issue and once I'd deleted some widgets I could access the templates. So far I've had two comments about the new new blog format and I appreciate them. I reverted to the original them with a different background and header as I too wasn't quite happy with the Contempo theme and don't have time to learn how to tweak the html code.
My apologies and thanks for bearing with me as I try to correct and improve things.

I Say Goodbye & Welcome Some Cloudy Days

I said goodbye to a friend of mine recently. We met at church many years ago and haven't been keeping up well with one another since she and I no longer attend that church. She also lived another municipality away.  Though she was very busy packing and cleaning, I wanted to take her for a farewell lunch.

My friend Celia did not want to leave the  City of Vancouver.  But most of the condos in her building were bought out by a developer and thus in the end she had to sell too.  She has purchased a much larger home in her new city. It sounds like a wonderful location near shops and a man made lake with walking areas surrounding it.  Now that all the decisions have been made, a new house and furniture purchased, she is looking forward to the move.  Everything has worked so smoothly in her favour that she believes it was a divine event for the benefit of her future.  I'm quite certain she will enjoy living in her new home.  She has the added benefit of her daughter and grandson living nearby. Her daughter has been coaxing her mom to make the move for some time. As my friend Celia says, she had to be forced and now that she has been she is very accepting of the situation.

Here is my friend answering the phone. She was being invited out to dinner the same evening by yet another former church friend.

Salad Bar

Cabbage and Spatzle?

Beef Roulade and perogies

Breaded trout with beans in mushroom sauce

Bratwurst

A small portion of the desserts on offer

We had a fabulous visit but we visited so long that my throat was dry and parched afterward. The only thing that separated us is she began to run behind schedule for dinner! We had a lot of catching up to do and hopefully we'll have a chance to visit again in her new city.


~~~~~

On another subject I haven't participated in a long while in the Saturday's Critter's meme. I'm not sure why but it never seems to be the right time for me to take photos of animals or creatures of any kind.

I found one bee or wasp while I was taking photos of the geraniums.

The seagulls were photographed on my recent harbour cruise. It's always interesting to watch birds flying against the wind.

The last photo is of 5-6 seals lying on the logs, also from the harbour cruise.

Can you see them?
Click to enlarge and it will be easier to see the seals.
I'm afraid I don't have a good lens to zoom in close enough.

I'm a bit behind in posting as I still have a post to share with you about the harbour cruise.


Joining in with

Saturday's Critters

Thank you for joining in.

If you missed my Skywatch post you can find it here.

Have an awesome weekend.

The Weather Around These Parts

In Kenyan news

My young friend, Alvin has graduated today with his Bachelor in Engineering. He is hoping to do his Master's Degree in approximately one year but first he needs a job and to save some money.

That is Alvin on the left and Nathan on the right. Alvin is my friend.

 I met Alvin a few years ago when the choir he is in (Kenyan Boys Choir) were in the city.
Saturday they will have a big luncheon with family and friends to celebrate this great achievement.

My elderly "grandma" is still in hospital. She has been back and forth between the Intensive Care Unit and the private ward at the mission hospital where she lives.  She has pneumonia which she contracted while in hospital being treated for a bacterial infection.

She is a strong woman but she is very old and it is hard to recover.
I continue to pray for her recovery.

In sad news, a friend's uncle, Kipkoness has succumbed to heart problems and passed on.

I met him on my very first trip to Kenya. I am sorry I will not have a chance to meet him again when I return next to Kenya.

In local news

I'm keeping very busy getting parcels and cards out in the mail in preparation for Christmas. Next up will be wrapping the presents for family members. I also had to go to the eye specialist for laser surgery this week. Some of you remember I had cataract surgery but scar tissue grew rapidly due to healthy eyes and needs to be removed. One eye was done yesterday. The other will be done in a month. 

I'm breaking up all the errands with one of the things I like best, the opera. I have several performances to attend. I wrote about one of them a few days ago.

 I said I would be reporting on a special event. That will be posted in a day or two.

Thanks for joining me here.

I'll be sure to visit you if you let me know you were here.

Checking in with

Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

and 

Saturdays Critters

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend. x

Remembering

I'm remembering better weather with clearer skies....

I captured these shots just over a week ago.

Trees are in the sky! 

Seriously these trees are planted high above the ground as they are part of an apartment building built over top a shopping mall.  This photo was taken near the entrance to the shopping mall but if you want to enter the apartment building the entrance is on the opposite end and at ground level.

Some trees have been looking a little bleak.

I'm remembering trees full of green leaves.  Within the last two weeks many trees have lost their leaves. It is at times like this each year that one appreciates the greenery that remains with all the coniferous trees we have. I am truly grateful.

I'm remembering a colourful container garden.  

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I wouldn't clean out the debris from my garden until the Spring. I meant to empty out the container garden and store the pots though I haven't yet. 

I'm amazed to see how the geraniums have managed to stay so green.

I'm remembering walks to the beach on sunlit days.

On my last walk down at the beach I found these cute critters.

I love seeing the ducks on the water as the sun set.

~~~~

Most importantly, I'm remembering that on November 11, at 11:00 o'clock, cities and towns across Canada will celebrate our fallen war heroes.

I've always felt the poignancy of this day and the sacrifices made on my behalf.

The poem, In Flanders Field was written by Canadian physician, Lieutenant Colonel, John McCrae after officiating at a funeral of his fallen friend and soldier, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. If you have a moment watch the video to hear the poem narrated with lovely photos.
If you don't have a moment, I've posted the poem below for you to read.

LEST WE FORGET

Joining with 

Skywatch Friday

Friday Foto Friends

Saturday's Critters

Goal Met & Some Sunshine, September 13, 2017

Hello friends,

I'm so excited to be able to say I've met my reading goals for the year. 

It was an eclectic mix of books for sure.

My official reading goal is modest . I've only selected 35 books for the year.
I already have a few more books on the go but these are various coloured icing on the cake :-)

I hope all is going well for you wherever you are.

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

I'm so pleased to know that many of my blog friends in Florida have now reported they are safe after Hurricane Irma and they all came out reasonably unscathed. Thank God for that though I am still waiting to hear from one friend in Orlando.

Hurricane Irma also left many Canadians  stranded in the Caribbean.  Some on holiday but also residents and seasonal residents, students and business people.

Canada has airlifted 1,652 citizens out of the Caribbean since Saturday, according to the latest figures from Global Affairs.

Some Canadians are unhappy that the government help arrived a bit later than the help for the citizens of other nations. Some are thinking about those who travelled to these hurricane prone countries even though there was a severe travel advisory against travel. I'm sure there will be much more in the news to come.

(Source:  CBC News, September 13, 2017)

Closer to home the wild fires still rage across a good part of my province, next door in Alberta and farther east in the Province of Manitoba.

Yesterday, the BC Wildfire Service reported that as of September 12th, there are still 136 wildfires (over .01 hectares or larger) burning in the province.

So far in  the fiscal year 2017, the province has seen 1,246 wildfires burn 1.28 million hectares. That compares to a 10-year average of 154,944 hectares burned.

(Source: The Georgia Straight, September 12, 2017)

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

Weather here is quite a lot cooler than it was a week ago. I'm needing a bit of adjustment as I'm still using summer covers and have my windows wide open all night.  Last night for the first time I felt a distinct chill and a cramp coming on. Reluctantly I realized it is soon time to change out the linens and blankets change my habits a bit to accommodate the cooler climate.

The days are beautiful and sunny though I realized last night that the sun sets over 2 full hours earlier than it did in the middle of July. I miss the longer days but Fall is one of my favourite seasons.
The only thing I don't like about Fall is that Winter will arrive soon and it seems to be a longer season than Fall, Summer or Spring!

I haven't had time to clear out the garden.  I've decided I will probably just leave it until the Spring.

Joanne from Cup on the Bus,  reminded me that the birds can come and eat over the winter if I leave my garden as is.  It makes good sense given that my city is not usually covered in snow for very long.

I know in previous Winters I have enjoyed watching the birds come to peck around in the garden and am always grateful then that they have a garden to come and peck around in.

~~~

Our World Tuesday

It's a Great Friday

Hi friends,

It is summer and I'm doing all my Spring cleaning now! LOL. Each time I've been preparing for summer guests, it has given me an opportunity to do some cleaning, organizing and generally getting things refreshed. 

Today I re-arranged my living room. I haven't done that for awhile. Because my home is on the small side and I have a lot of stuff, it takes awhile to accomplish anything. Things are constantly being moved from here to there.

But I am very pleased with progress made over the past few days both indoors and outdoors just generally getting rid of garbage and freshening things. I have some plans to freshen paint in the master bath too but had to delay on that for a few days as I ran out of time.

The photos I'm sharing today were taken a  few weeks ago when I was out and about in another part of the city. I haven't had a chance to share them until now.

I like the flower pots on the top floor.

These are all taken with my cell phone camera.

Some people don't like telephone wires but they are a fixture in cities and towns everywhere and bring us our much needed electricity (unless you have solar power). so I leave them in the photo.

It looks cloudy in the photo but it didn't rain that day.

 However it has rained on and off since that day in early July.

Now suddenly yesterday it turned blazing hot. I don't think the hot temperatures will last very long.

I'm grateful that we haven't had many scorching days like last summer.

If you missed the Swahili worship music video I posted last night you can catch it here if you have time.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday 

and Friday Foto Friends  today.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Beautiful Blues and Blossoms

We had a wonderful break in the weather today. After two days of heavy rainfall the sun came out unexpectedly. The sky was a beautiful blue. The icing on the cake was the beautiful blossoms which I mentioned in this post as being several weeks too early. But I can certainly enjoy them now.

We are expecting more heavy rain throughout the next week. I imagine that will destroy a lot of the beautiful blossoms depicted in these photos. Hopefully there are still many trees in other parts of the city that haven't blossomed yet and I can enjoy another week.

 

 

 

{All photos taken with my Android phone camera}

 I've got a lot of catch up to do after being sidelined by a bad cold for the past two weeks. I'm not 100% over it but close enough. I'm relieved! I hope you have all a wonderful weekend full of fun things.

If you missed my post for Our World Tuesday you can catch it here.
The sky was definitely different.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today.