Macro Flowers, September 30, 2011

When out on a walk to the neighbourhood movie theatre I spotted this flower in someone's yard.  The gentle breeze was rocking the tall stalk of flowers back and forth and giving me a bit of trouble in capturing the flower.  Valiently I tried to capture a macro in fading light with a dying battery. I was trying to "see" inside one of the blossoms and capture the bumble bee without getting stung.

I finally did manage a glimpse of the prize; the bumblebee!

Sad News of Loss in Kenya

It was sad news that greeted me this morning.

A friend in Kenya informed me that Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Wangari Maathai has died after battling cancer.

This was sad news indeed. Sad because the world and the country of Kenya have lost a courageous woman of vision. I'm thankful that she left this world a little better place and I hope someone is there to continue on her important work and that others would make it grow. I'm happy too that she is now out of pain.

Wangari Maathai was the first woman from Africa to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. What I loved about her was she founded a movement in Kenya to plant trees so that women and girls could get the timber they needed for making fires. This resonated well with me because of  my interest in providing jiko stoves for the women and girls in Kenya. (You can read more here about jiko stove project).

The story of this brave woman reminds me of the power and influence that one person can make.  Remember, you too can make a difference wherever you are. Each of us can make a difference.

After you read the basic story of her environmental activism (below), you can learn more here about how this remarkable woman's life and actions epitomized this well known quotation,
All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men (women) to do nothing.

Story and photo from CNN, Inside Africa

Kenyan Nobel laureate Maathai dies

From David McKenzie, CNN

September 26, 2011 -- Updated 1730 GMT (0130 HKT)

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Kenyan Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died Monday after a battle with cancer. She was 71.

"It is with great sadness that the Green Belt Movement announces the passing of its founder and chair, Prof. Wangari Muta Maathai, after a long illness bravely borne," her organization said.
Maathai, an environmentalist, had long campaigned for human rights and the empowerment of Africa's most impoverished people.

More than 30 years ago she founded the Green Belt Movement, a tree-planting campaign to simultaneously mitigate deforestation and to give locals, especially women and girls, access to resources like firewood for cooking and clean water. They have since planted more than 40 million trees.

In 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote sustainable development, democracy and peace. She was the first woman from the continent to win the prize.

"Her departure is untimely and a very great loss to all of us who knew her—as a mother, relative, co-worker, colleague, role model, and heroine—or those who admired her determination to make the world a peaceful, healthy, and better place for all of us," said Karanja Njoroge, executive director of the Green Belt Movement.

Born in Nyeri, Kenya, on April 1, 1940, Maathai blazed many trails in her life.

She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. In December 2002, she was elected to Kenya's parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote.

She was honored by Time magazine in 2005 as one of 100 most influential people in the world. And Forbes listed her as one of 100 most powerful women in the world.

In April 2006, France bestowed its highest honor on her: the Legion d'Honneur.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called Maathai a "global icon who has left an indelible mark in the world of environmental conservation."

Maathai leaves behind three children and a granddaughter.

Update on My Leg

Well, I'm trying very hard to be on a diet (about my 4th day now) and also to eliminate water to reduce edema and relieve the pressure on my leg. I am still seeing the acupuncturist and I am also now receiving pneumatic compression therapy on the legs.

I look a little like the lady in the photo immediately below when I get my legs compressed except that the garment stops at my hip area. The compression feels a little strange but I enjoy it because it relieves some of the pressure and heaviness I feel in the legs.  Hence it reduces the pain in my knee and my foot though the feeling doesn't last so long.   I will get about 8 of these treatments altogether as they are very expensive.  I also continue to get the acupuncture.

Photo credit: Squidoo

Photo credit: me

My acupuncturist has me on several herbal medicines to eliminate excess water (not drugs as those weaken the kidneys even more so) and to address pain issues. These aren't working that quickly so yesterday I just found an herbal remedy containing boswellia and tumeric for aches and pains.  It seems to work quickly but is double the price of what my acupuncturist gives me. She only charges me at cost not at retail prices. I will continue the boswellia mixture for a short time while I wait for the Chinese herbal remedies to hopefully take effect soon.

My diet is self-initiated and consists of lots and lots of steamed veggies of all kinds, canned tuna and wild salmon,  beans & legumes, millet, squashes, sweet potatoes/yams, basa fish fillets and a piece of fruit each day.  I have very little red meat or dairy though I will allow myself a sweet treat about once every week or two.

In the Chinese medicine belief, excess weight is caused by too much mucous and water in the system and the presence of these makes it nearly impossible to loss weight. That might explain why diets and exercise very seldom do anything for me no matter how much I try.  The doctor also says I have too much damp cold inside and my body has to work hard to warm it up and hence I get too hot.  Additionally, she says that wind or cold is not good for me.  All this makes a lot of sense since I tend to get leg cramps when I have wind blowing on my legs. I'm sure she is on the right track but it does take time and I am impatient. After all I just want to get over the pain and be able to walk again.

Today's treat is chocolate no bake macaroons. I will take some to my acupuncture doctor tomorrow who is always happy to eat whatever I bring her.  I also have someone at home who enjoys the treats.  That way I am not tempted to eat too much.

No Bake Chocolate Macaroon Cookies

Here are the cookies setting before going into the fridge/freezer.  As you can see, I didn't bother to make them too perfectly shaped.  I like my cookies in different sizes and a bit "rough" around the edges.

  Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Directions  In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, milk, and margarine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then boil for  2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the oats, vanilla, cocoa and coconut. Spoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool for at least an hour then put them in the refrigerator to harden up.  Store in an airtight container.

Recipes alterations:  The recipe has far too  much sugar for me. I reduced it to 1 cup and there was no problem with the mixture sticking together. It is still plenty sweet enough. You can use splenda or some other artificial sweetner but given my issues with water retention I try never to use any artificial foods or at least to eliminate them as much as possible. I will look for some stevia next time I can get to a health food store.  You can also use 1% milk or skim milk like I did. I imagine that a milk substitute like Almond milk would also be fine if you are lactose intolerant or a vegan. You will also need to use a margarine substitute. In  my case I used real butter rather than the artificial margarine. If you use slow cooking oats, you will need to cook the mixture for a minute or two longer. 

I think I've only had these cookies once or twice since I was a school child. A school chum would bring these for lunch and sell them to me as my mother never made them. I wonder if the girl ever became an entrepreneur. These cookies are approx 100 calories when you use the full amount of sugar so I calculate my sugar reduced cookies at 50-70 calories each depending on their size.  Not bad at all.

Macro Flowers, September 23, 2011

Purple flower Hostas and white Astilbis. Thanks to all who identified these.

Believe it or not these lovely plants are planted by the roadside on a quiet residential street near my place.  Isn't it amazing that people will plant small spaces in the city just to give the rest of pleasure?
I don't know what the white bush and the purple flowers are but they are lovely. I see there are also numerous varieties of hostas planted here. Maybe the purple flower is even from a hosta. I can't quite tell from my photos.

Purple flowering Hostas.

Another Message of Hope: This Baby Needs Your Help

This is an awesome story of how the Missions of Hope is bringing hope and help to those who otherwise have none. Please read and share this story with your networks.

I'm praying someone or several someones, can help this little family go the next step in the care required for the little one. Blessings! (click on the title in red font below to read the story).

Missions of Hope: This Baby Needs Your Help: Hello friends, This is the little girl in pink. For over a month now I have been coordinating efforts to save this little girl from loo...

Photos

Hello friends, I just realized I am now over the basic storage limit of 20G so I will be considering what to do about my posts before I continue with more posts here. I may move my blog to another service or I may continue here with more photos posted from my computer rather than uploaded to picasa web albums. I ask for your indulgence as I contemplate what to do since it will likely mean many of my photos disappear from posts.

Stay tuned.

Last Update From Turkana

Once again I'm promoting the humanitarian and Christian relief effort to the Turkana people in northern Kenyan. I hope you will read (click on the highlighted words in red font below) and comment on this last installment, especially if you haven't commented already. In my part of the world our weather has turned to rain.  In Kenya, when it rains, it is considered a blessing.  As you can imagine when you have little to no water, rains truly are a blessing.

A dignified and beautiful Turkana woman.

 Missions of Hope: Last Update From Turkana: Hello friends, This is my last update about the Turkana relief effort. We had a great time in Turkana serving the people there with our l...