A Wedding for Two

In the last week we covered a lot of miles going to visit relatives and to attend a wedding. After returning home for one night, we then went south to Whidbey Island in Washington State.

Here is a map for those of you unfamiliar with the geography.  This  map give you a sense of the size of the Province of British Columbia  and also, of the State of Washington, to the south.  Believe it or not, I cannot remember when I last took a trip south of the border. I do know that it was long before 9/11.  Of course after that tragic event, I did not have the heart to deal with border crossings and high security checks.  I am pleased to say the trip was very pleasant and there were no unnecessary delays at the border dealing with customs officials.

The map above gives an overview of the the trip from point A (Vancouver) to point B (Kamloops). It is a distance of 710 kilometres or 441 miles round trip.   The trip south was about half of the distance but it is made longer by being "processed" at the border crossing. We didn't have unreasonable delays but it still takes time to wait your turn in the queue.


The weather in Kamloops was fantastic throughout the several days we were there. The area is a semi-arid climate and it often very hot, especially in summer months. We were fortunate to have hit a cooler bit of temperature. Just the week prior to visiting, the temperatures were in the high 30s.  While we were there, the temperatures were in the mid-20s (celsius).

In my last post I showed a sneak peek of the wedding.  Here are more photos. I hope you like them. I have a lot more photos but tried to pick those that would give you an idea of the overall theme of the wedding.

The chair ties are made of cedar boughs which are very important to native people. Traditionally the native people in this area made baskets out of cedar roots. The colours of the bow represent the white, black and teal blue wedding colours.

Little dog, Maisie. She was very friendly but she would not let me pick her up. Her owner said she won't let anyone pick her up.

 

Before he was a Marriage Commissioner, this man was a world reknowned Indian dancer. He opened the wedding ceremony with a song in his native tongue.

The sweet little ring bearer. I thought he was so cute.

The beautiful bride is walked down the aisle with her father. Her stepfather was also included as he walked her part way down the aisle and then handed the bride to her father.

The Marriage Commissioner is explaining the smudging process (purification) before the wedding ceremony begins.

A lighthearted moment for the bride and groom. The Marriage Commissioner said he wanted to make sure they were relaxed.

I don't know what the Commissioner said, but he made my nephew laugh.

The wedding party after signing "the book" and before posing for photos.

Newly married couple.

Signing the register.

A fun photo of the groom with his new bride and her bridesmaids at the reception.

I mentioned in my previous post that my nephew is a cowboy. He marked the occasion of his wedding with a horse race and won! I caught the end of the race on film.  He heard about it and came over to view the film on my Blackberry Playbook. He was excited about that.

Victorious in the race, my nephew raises his hand in the air.

I enjoyed the wedding a lot because my nephew and his new bride infused their own personal tastes into every aspect of their ceremony. I also liked the relaxed atmosphere that everyone tried to create so that all could relax and have fun.

I haven't been to a wedding in a long while and it was especially nice to see my eldest nephew get married. I pray a long and happy union for him and his new bride.

Come back next time when I will share photos of my journey south.

A Whirlwind of a Time

Thank you to my new followers. I appreciate you and hope you will find some interesting posts in the weeks and months to come. I will stop by and visit you too if you have a link on your profile pic.

I've been away for a few days and am home for the day before heading south for a short tour.  In my short visit, I had a chance to visit mom several times, attend my eldest nephew's wedding, meet his little boy for the first time, and visit my niece who came to the wedding with me.  My hotel was located next door to a quilt fabric shop so I had time to squeeze in some shopping. I was across the street from a mall so I also ran some errands for mom and managed to stumble upon a used book sale run by the local SPCA. I bought several new books, including "Out of Africa" .

Here is a little peek at my weekend.

First my mom's birthday. We always have a small celebration with a fruit cake and real cream. In this case the filling is made of bostom cream and the top layer has whipping cream and fresh fruits.  There is a little plaque on it which says Happy Birthday since we cannot write on top of the fruit in a legible way.  We had a feast of deep fried chicken, a couple of salads, french fries and gravy as well as sodas. Whenever we visit, mom wants to eat food she doesn't usually get and we always try to make her happy.

My mother's small birthday cake and her home made birthday card from one of her granddaughters. The cake was delicious  and so filling after eating dinner.  Though it was a small cake we couldn't eat it all and just like last year we provided some pieces for the elderly residents.

Here is some of my shopping. As you can see, I have added to my craft stash and to my reading hobby.

The wedding of my eldest nephew was the other main reason for my recent journey.

My nephew is a cowboy and he absolutely loves the lifestyle. He and his new wife both love animals and it was an obvious choice for them to have an outdoor wedding with a western theme. The weather cooperated very well.  The day was quite warm.  There was an intermittent breeze and we were happy to have the cloud cover.  Otherwise the sun would have been unbearably hot.

These two tipis (traditional Indian tents) belong to the groom's aunts. One of his grandmother's stands in traditional regalia.

The arbor under which the officiant and the bridge and groom said their vows. You can see the two saddles in the background. both the bride and groom love animals.

A close up of the saddles and the stunning pendleton blanket.

The Commissioner of Marriages is having a word with the groom while they are waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The groom, my eldest nephew,  waiting to make his entrance. His groomsmen were dressed in complementary western attire and also saddled up for the entrance.  I love this young man so much. He has always been a very responsible and loving boy and now a handsome and responsible young man.

The weather on the way home was perfect. This was the scene as we crossed the bridge on the last leg of the journey home.

I hope you enjoy this sneak peek at my weekend.  I hope to have at least one more post of the wedding once  I get the photos organized. I'm also making a video for my nephew as I managed to capture some of his unique day on film and want to put it together for him along with some of my stills.

I'm linking up with Our World Tuesday. Please click on the link and join in for wonderful posts from all over the world.  A big "thank you" to all the ladies who keep this meme going in memory of Klaus.

Guerilla Garden

We are blessed in my city to have a lot of guerilla gardens.  In case you haven't heard of guerilla gardening yet, it is gardening on land that the gardeners do not have legal right to use, often an abandoned site or area not cared for by anyone.  We get a lot of guerilla gardening happening on the sides of city streets.  A lot of them are small little gardens planted around trees.

Guerilla gardeners certainly add a lot of beauty to the city and brighten up all kinds of neglected areas of land where people pass by.  These little gardens bring a smile to my lips and joy to my heart. I like to take photos of these gardens whenever I can.

Here is one guerilla garden.

And here is a  pretty pink clouds...just because ... it's Skywatch Friday.

 

Click here to join Floral Friday Photos and here for Skywatch Friday. 

AND

If you are new to my blog and you haven't yet read about Little Linet and her cleft palate challenges, please read here. We'd love to have your support. Thank you.

African Market in Vancouver

I had the great joy to attend an annual African Market today and had a good time shopping, eating and chatting with people.

The market was organized by the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS).  You can click on their badge on my sidebar and it will take you to their website if you'd like to learn more.

Here are some of my photos from the event. Unfortunately, I did not think to get a photo of the people selling food or of the dish I bought. I bought a dish of injera, cabbage with carrots and lentils. The spices MADE the cabbage and lentils divine.

A long view of the CNIS courtyard. If you look at the man and woman in the center back you will see the gospel singing duo from Kenya:  Alex Ominde and his famous wife, Mary Atieno Ominde.

One of the many vendors selling Kenyan jewellry.

Rasta-man icon, Bob Marley image.

Pioneer Kenyan gospel singer, Mary Atieno Ominde and her husband, Alex Ominde,  provided a short and rousing musical set of wonderful gospel music in Swahili. (Sorry for the poor photo quality).

This table is organized by a local education foundation that raises money to send Luhya children to school.  I spent a lot of time talking to the lady who started the foundation. It was good to speak with a local who knows so much about the Kenyan situation and is committed to helping children get an education.

This lady sells books through Barefoot Books.  I bought the three you see below and I hope to gift them to some Kenyan children.

I also bought some Ghanian soap for my mother and I. I haven't used these before but I've been reading wonderful things about them. I purchased the beautiful necklace from a young Kenyan student who is starting her second year of university studies in Vancouver.  Her mother makes the jewellery for her to sell and make pocket money.

Events like this are always wonderfully uplifting and inspiring. During the gospel singing several African brothers and sisters danced for joy before the Lord. I thought I captured a lot of it on camera and was looking forward to sharing with you. However I found out my camera did not record. I did manage to capture one song (minus the exuberant dancing) on my phone. Once I upload it to youtube I will share it here. In the meantime, if you have not yet heard about Little Linet and her prayer and financial need, please read here. Thank you so much for your visit.

Sky Over the North Country 2

I LOVE this series of sky photos which were all taken on an August evening between the northern BC towns of Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, British Columbia (far western province in Canada).

August is usually a good time to travel to this part of the country.   The days are still relatively warm and sunny. By mid-August you still have sun but you can begin to feel the slight chill in the air as the weather transitions to Fall/Autumn.

For more beautiful skies from around the globe, click here.

Little Linet ~ Update August 2012

The last time I wrote about Little Linet she had recently had her front teeth removed and she was having problems eating. She is now undergoing testing in preparation for cleft palate surgery.

All photo credits:  Jonah of Missions of Hope

Here is little Linet with her mother in their home.

Here Little Linet looks cautiously into the camera. I wonder if she knows what is really in store for her?  Probably not as she is still very young.

This is the environment in which Little Linet and her younger sibling live.   As you can see they are very poor and there is trash all around the neighbourhood because there is no garbage pick up.  There is no way the family could manage to give the little girl surgery without outside help.

Little Linet's next medical test will be on August 28, 2012. Shortly after that, we hope that she will be pronounced a candidate for cleft palate surgery. Then she can be free to run around and play like other children.  Her mother can also be free of the worries about her little girl's future because of the cleft palate disfigurement and the related health issues. Please join us in praying for this little girl and her family.

If you can help Little Linet to get surgery and perhaps give the family some assistance with food needs afterward, I would love to hear from you. We accept donations via Pay Pal. Donations can be sent to kerichojoy[at]gmail[dot]com  No amount is too small.

Please feel free to share this word with your friends or in your church or social circles with a link back to this blog or to Jonah's at Missions of Hope. Thank you so much for your help. 

Sky Over the North Country

This photo was taken on August 14, 2011, driving from Chetwynd, BC to Dawson Creek, BC. I love this photo because of the country road leading to the full moon.

For more Sky photos from around the world, click here.