Status Update

Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of June so far.

I have been kept busy with the usual: gardening, doctor appointments, family, changing financial advisors, dealing with estate matters and other legal issues, catching up with friends and reading.

It has been a bit hot this week but not for overly long.  Thank goodness. Tomorrow we are supposed to have a bit of rain. I hope we get a good amount to help the gardens along.

Right now I'm suffering from a lot of inflammation. I have both a tooth infection, resulting in headaches and knee pain. The pain is almost constant and for the first time ever I've had to take Tylenol for pain. I've also started to seriously contemplate knee surgery or least speaking to the doctor about it.  To try and help myself  I've been back on the whole body vibration machine,  taking daily walks and various supplements.  In the last 2 days the knee pain has eased a lot.

I scheduled a dental appointment but due to some issues with the front desk staff at the office there have been delays in getting insurance approvals for the dental work.  My appointment is almost 2 weeks away and I've asked to be on the wait list. In the meantime I'm trying to do pain management. I don't expect to be on line much due to it being hard to concentrate with toothaches and headaches.

On a brighter note, I was able to volunteer to raise awareness of Compassion Canada. There were about 140 of us who went to the Pacific Coliseum where Hillsong United of Australia was playing to a sold out crowd. Our volunteer efforts consisted of handing out child information package and collecting completed applications.  Afterwards many of us stayed to listen to the concert.  Of course we were not allowed into the areas where people paid for their tickets and we had to be respectful of security staff who were very sensitive about it all. Each volunteer received a free Hillsong CD and a Compassion T-shirt which was nice. Many of the songs sung in the concert are from the new CD.  I really enjoyed the worship experience and many of those in attendance said the sinner's prayer at the invitation by the band leader.  I pray that these dear ones would be able to grow in their faith as the days and weeks go on.

Update: I received an update from Compassion staff on June 5th. The total volunteer count was 187 people. Two hundred ninety three children received new sponsors.  There is potential for an additional 93 sponsors because that is how many child information packages were handed out but have yet to be turned in.  That's so awesome.

Orientation Leader

Band Rehearsal

Volunteers enjoying the Orientation Leader's sense of humour.

Hillsong United concert underway.

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In Other News

Ernest in Kenya has gone home to recover from recent leg surgery however he will have a long recovery ahead.

So far we still need $180 Canadian to clear the hospital bill and a bit more to cover transport back and forth (a vehicle needs to be hired) medicines and doctor follow up care and possibly some medical supplies.
For further information kindly click on the top left of this blog.

If you are able to help with a donation  you can make it

via 

Pay Pal

To send money you need an email address.

You can click here for it.

Otherwise, please consider sharing this fundraiser within your circles.

Thank you and have a wonderful week or two while I'm off recovering.
I will try to visit your blogs here and there.
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Early Sunday Morning on the Patio

 I snapped these photos in the wee hours of Sunday morning. 

I couldn't quite get the clarity I wanted but I did enjoy my time in the quiet.

The seagulls were not out squawking for some reason.

Instead there was a beautiful chirping sound from an unknown to me bird. 

It was lovely.

I hope you enjoyed these photos.

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I also wanted to invite my long term readers to please take a moment

to read and

 share the following link with your networks and friends.
(I've also added the information on the side bar, top right of this blog).

 https://www.facebook.com/donate/378998659402985/?fundraiser_source=external_url

 It only takes a few seconds and you will help by making it possible for more people to read and possibly respond.
Thanks so much for your time

and have a lovely week.

Joining

Our World Tuesday

A Little Rain on the Way

Hi friends,

Today it's a sunny day and rain is expected tomorrow and several days next week.

I got out last night to the community garden plot and felt a few sprinkles on my head though it waited until overnight for the rain to come down. 

After I left the park I ended the day by going to a local coffee shop with my latest book.

I passed by this magnificent rhododendron bush and stopped to admire it awhile.

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It's been a hectic year for me so far in 2019 with many things to accomplish.
I'm trying to pace myself but now and then things get a bit hectic.
I enjoy brief times of respite by going to the park, puttering around in my balcony garden or reading a good book at home or at the coffee shop.

Joining with 

Skywatch Friday.

Have a magnificent weekend.

Starting the Week off Right

Last week was the first sunny week for some time and in fact the week ended on quite a hot note. That is about to change and thankfully I was able to complete planting both my balcony garden and my community plot before the weather cools a bit. It is expected to cook by about 10 degrees Celsius this week and hopefully it will rain for several days.  According to the weather forecast it looks like the best chance of rain is on Tuesday with 90% chance of rain and Sunday and Monday with 70% chance of rain respectively. I find the garden does much better with rain water than with tap water and the ground just soaks up the rain which is great for the tender plants.

On Sunday evening (Mother's Day), I was walking back from the community plot and came across these gigantic poppies. They were simply too beautiful to pass by without getting a photo or two even though the sun had set about half an hour earlier.

The photos are not the best quality but I think they look a bit like paintings.

I went out on the patio in the wee hours of Saturday morning to take a few photos. I was excited to find a hummingbird perched high on a nearby tree.  My camera battery was dead and I had to use my phone so the quality is not the best but I think you can make out the outline of the bird at the top of tree (right side of the photo).

The hummingbird was perched quietly on the tree top for almost 30 minutes in total.  I was hoping it would make it's way to my patio garden but it never moved until it flew away.  I spotted another hummingbird flitting about and drinking nectar from the blossoms on the Solomon's Seal on my patio.  It moved  far too quickly to take a photo and didn't stay very long to enjoy the nectar.

The sunrise is always so peaceful and beautiful. I love the golden colour of the sky.

At about 4:30 a.m. it gets rather noisy with the seagulls squawking overhead. They zip back and forth and back and forth like they are going crazy. It is almost like they are excited about having freedom in the skies at that early hour. I do not know why they don't do this during the day time too.

There are always several seagulls flying about but I only managed to capture one as my main subject was the hummingbird.

Thank you for your visit to my blog.

Wherever you are in the world I wish you a fabulous week ahead.

Our World Tuesday

This and That

In my last post I mentioned the long delay in planting my garden due to inclement weather. While I was waiting to plant  I've been catching up on other things like reading.

Here is a photo display of the books I've read so far. I've mentioned before that I have a modest goal of 20 books but with current books I'm reading I will soon surpass the goal.  Once I achieve it I don't have ambitious plans to set a higher goal. Instead I'll spend time doing other things like arts & crafts, sewing, gardening, decluttering and simply enjoying life as much as possible this summer. It seems there is never enough time to do everything but stopping to enjoy life is very important especially enjoying time with family and friends while you can.

I'm in the process of building a new life as it's been 2 years since my late mom passed, 1 year since my sister in law passed, 1 year since a dear old friend passed, almost 1 year since we lost Grandma Sally and 2 months since a young cousin passed.  The last while has been a time of many losses.  Though I do believe I will see all of them again one day it has still taken it's toll on me. I miss them and the losses leave a void in my life.  I've had to try and rebuild my life without them, with some it is a bit easier to do than others simply because of distance or time spent with them but they were all a big part of my life and now they are are no longer here.

I've kept super busy over these past two years trying to move forward and clear out a lot of things that are no longer needed.   I've also spent time trying to catch up to my own personal needs and business.  Some of that will continue.

A while back I mentioned I wanted to change financial advisors. In serendipitous timing my current advisor called me late last week to let me know he is moving on to a different company. It will cost me money if I follow him to wherever he is going.  Though he is willing to split the cost with me I think the time has come to move on though I'm still mulling it over.

This week I met with a possible new advisor.  We had a good first meeting but I'm still exploring options, pros and cons and so on. In my next meeting with the new advisor I will see what he has to say about my current investments and what he might recommend. I also want to learn more about him personally. I don't know about you but when you see a financial advisor you basically lay your whole life bare because your whole life is tied up in your finances, your spending, future spending, income, investments, retirement, wills and so on. So I think it's only fair that you learn something about them personally.  Also, there are many people out there who call themselves financial advisors or planners but they have no real credentials or experience. Canada is thinking of regulating this area (you would think this would have happened before now). It pays to do your homework.

If any of you have experience of changing financial planners and/or investment advisors please let me know in the comment section how you went about it and whether you were satisfied with the outcome.

I've also been trying to carve out more time for personal prayer and study. I'm currently participating in a forty day (40) prayer and Bible study.  This is a huge commitment because it adds hours a day to my already busy schedule.  I have 18 days left in the commitment. Once it is done, I'm hoping to be able to establish the right balance and daily and weekly routines. At least I'll try.

But right now I'm enjoying this intensive time of prayer, Bible study and fasting (from meat and poultry).  As you can imagine, something has to give in the schedule so it means I'm spending less time chatting with friends abroad as well as less time blogging and on entertainment activities.

To be honest, I'm also feeling quite tired. On top of that my knees have gradually begun to bother me again to the point where they are almost constantly in pain.  I've been needing to take pain relief nightly which I've never done before.  I'm not certain how much fatigue is health related, pain related, or even related to the fast and change of diet (I've increased my supplementation with Omega 3, broad based vitamins and turmeric or perhaps more accurately I've started being more consistent in taking them).  Thankfully I haven't really been craving meat or fowl that much but I'm not used to going long periods without meat protein and I'm finding I just don't feel good so I'm trying to go easy on myself.  Today I managed to make a more nutritious and filling meal (vegetarian curry  made with onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach and peas over rice). It was nice and of course there will be left overs which is always helpful.

Finally, I was pleased to get the community garden plot in yesterday. I was so happy and blessed to have the help of the young woman who has the garden plot right next to mine. My knees were so bad and though I didn't share that with her she just pitched right in and volunteered to turn my soil, recommended where to plant my various seeds for best results and dug out a huge rosemary bush which I asked if she wanted.  She was very happy to accept the rosemary bush as she said she had been admiring it for awhile.

Night descends on the community garden at a small, well used park near my home.

Now I just have to make sure to visit the plot often enough to keep it well watered.  The young lady offered to water the plot today because she was visiting her plot anyway.  I will make sure I get over there tomorrow since I still want to plant a few carrots and some kale. I need to buy the seeds tomorrow.  One thing I'd like to learn more about before next year is companion planting. I don't tend to plan my garden too much because I usually use starter plants.  I have to go with whatever plants are available when I shop in the stores.  Often they don't have what I want. With the veggie garden I'm mainly using seeds.  It provides more options and ability to do some companion planting.

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