Moment at McDonald's

It was one of our rare sunny, Spring days this year. I was enjoying looking out at the green grass, and cherry blossoms at the UBC campus.

This big tree and all it's lovely blossoms made a huge frame behind the McDonald restaurant's famous Golden Arches signage. 

The cherry trees that beautify Vancouver at this time each year, were gifts of the country of Japan.

In the early 1930s the mayors of both Kobe and Yokohama presented the Park Board with 500 Japanese cherry trees for planting at the Japanese cenotaph in Stanley Park honouring Japanese Canadians who served in WWI. And so, as the impact of cherry tree plantings began to reshape the city’s landscape, Vancouverites were soon smitten by their fleeting beauty, their clouds of blossoms, as they heralded spring’s arrival each year. (Source:  Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival).

Vancouver has about 55 varieties of cherry trees.  On the news the other night it was reported that some of the rare varieties of the trees now need help to thrive since the strict plant health regulations prevent importing trees from outside Canada.  The news report also featured a partnership between the University of BC's Botanical Garden and BCIT’s Biotechnology Department to help save these trees. Students are regenerating some of the rarest of the cherry trees by harvesting plant cuttings and growing them in test tubes before eventual transfer to greenhouses and then planting.  They are having good success in growing these cuttings and that means good news for those of us who live in Vancouver and enjoy the beautiful tree blossoms each year.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday. I hope you will have a chance to visit the link and view other beautiful skies from around the world.

Happy Skywatching!

Sampling Dim Sum

This is how my day looks today. It looks worse than it feels. It is actually cloudy but warm and the sun came out when I went to the laboratory.

When I go to a restaurant, I prefer to have small portions of a lot of varieties of food; rather than big plates of the same food. So I really love tapas, which are small plates of Spanish snacks or appetizers.

The Chinese also have a type of tapas. There is a Cantonese style of cooking called dim sum which consists of small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.

When I first came to Vancouver I would attend dim sum for lunch with my work colleagues.  There I would sit entranced as the served walked by with fully laden carts of ready made foods.  You would simply point to the plates you wanted and the servers kept track by punching holes onto a card left on your table.  Each plate was about $1.50 (Canadian) and there was really only one size. You could easily get filled on 3 orders or plates of food but when you went out with a large group everyone ordered what they wanted and so we sampled many things. It was always a bargain at about $7. per person.

These days most of the restaurants that serve dim sum, and there are fewer than before, have gone high scale. You very seldom get carts of food rolled by your table. Instead you order from a menu.  Sometimes the menus feature coloured photos of the dishes for the uninitiated.

In other restaurants you simply mark the quantity of a particular dish you want on a menu list (like the photo below). The server then picks it up and places the order. I had a choice of 4 sizes of plates at the restaurant I went to today. I ordered the smallest size.

Last night and this  morning I had to fast in preparation for blood work today.  I got a late start to my day so by the time I finished at the laboratory I was quite hungry. I went across the street for dim sum and made it in time before it closed the dim sum service.

Food (L to R - rice rolls, shrimp dumplings, steamed buns, pork dumplings).

I ordered:

- pork (dumplings) sui mai
- steamed barbque pork buns
- shrimp (dumplings) har gow
- rice rolls with beef.

The order was a little much for me but I decided to place a 2nd (take out) order of everything except the shrimp dumplings (oops, I meant except the pork dumplings).  Jasmine tea accompanied my lunch. I also had condiments of chili oil, mustard and hot sauce.

The grand total came to $19.95 (including tax). The prices have doubled since my first experience of eating dim sum. I think it is still a good bargain for two meals especially when the food is very tasty.

I took the photos with my camera phone today. The resolution and colours are not the best but it works in a pinch.

 
Update:  My blood work was normal. Praise God! I hope to keep it normal with hard work and prayers.

I'm linking up with Our World Tuesday today. I hope you join in too!

Meet Little Elina

Hi everyone,

I wrote here about the new children I sponsor in Zambia.  I learned there is also a little girl named Elina who desperately needs help.  She has a medical condition where her bones are too soft and they break.  She is not able to go to school and needs help to get special food to help her health. She also needs a special kind of wheelchair to help her family move her around the bumpy terrain.

Photo credit: Chileleko Christian School

My friend Shelby is looking for 5 sponsors who could give $10 a month to help this dear child get medical attention, proper food, clothes and schooling.

Elina now has 3 sponsors who will give $10 a  month.

We are looking for only two more people who can give $10 a month toward Elina's care.

If you can't give monthly but want to help out on a one time basis or give now and then, that is fine too! Some people even give $5. monthly. If you have any questions send Shelby an email here.

You can make donations on the Chileleko Christian School page (click here). Simply write Elina in your description.

We also have raised 200 toward the cost of a wheelchair and are trying to find a supplier in Zambia.  If you could pray that Shelby & Pastor Emmanuel can find a good wheelchair supplier that would help so much.  If you want to contribute toward the wheelchair fund, that would be awesome! You can click here and find the donate button.

There are also many children already in school that need your help. You can browse the blog and read more about the children.


Thank you so much!

Moment at the Longhouse

A view of the sky through the skylights at the University of BC's, First Nations Longhouse.

I'm linking up with other folks from around the world for Skywatch Friday. 

Enjoy!

Reading Goals 2013 & Other Things

I've set myself a reading goal of 24 books in 2013. I've reached half of my goal and there is a lot of year left. I may end up reading another few books beyond my goal but I think I'll use the balance of time to continue with Bible studies and learning languages. (click on the photo to enlarge)

My book collection is rather eclectic this year and includes 3 memoirs (ranging from 353 to 592 pages) and 1 biography (592 pages).  I've also read a couple of books that make good Bible study helps on the subjects of Heaven (560 pages) and managing our money (254 pages); a couple of classics (A Tale of Two Cities (369 pages) & East of Eden (691 pages), contemporary and historical fiction (Vancouver (768 pages) and The Emperor's Children (431 pages) ; and two health books  "What You Don't Know May Be Killing You" (229 pages) and When the Body Says No (320 pages).

My favourite reads so far include: "managing God's money" which is about treating our money as God's money and understanding that He entrusts us to manage it well and for specific purposes.  The other book I really enjoyed is When the Body Says No, a book about the mind-body connection. It was fascinating reading about some of the author's case studies and all the medical research to back up his theories. I'm certain that there have probably been even more interesting medical research developments on this topic considering that the book is already 10 years old. The Julia Child biography and the fictional work called Vancouver are also great reads.

Paris to the Moon by Alan Gopnik is on my currently reading list.  Gopnik was a writer for the New Yorker when in 1995, he and his wife, and their infant son left everything they knew and loved in New York City for the  glamour of Paris.  I actually started this book in 2010 and read through much of it before I set it aside so I've decided to read it all over again.  I've been doing a lot of that lately.  The Zanzibar Chest & A Tale of Two Cities and  are two other books that I'd begun a few years ago, set aside and had to start all over again.  I'm also reading Money, Possessions & Eternity which is a longer version of "managing God's money". I wouldn't have ordered both of them if I had known they were essentially the same book.

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival in the post of several books for recreational reading and some for Bible study.

The Flame Trees of Thika (288 pages), by Elspeth Huxley

Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence (208 pages) By Craig Evans

Wildflower Hill (544 pages) by Kimberley Freeman

Holman Quicksource Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls (192 pages) by Craig Evans

A Yellow House:  A Novel   (368 pages) by Patricia Falvey


I've included page totals for the various books just in case you want to read any of them and want to know how long they are first. I've also added a link the 5 books I'm waiting for in the post in case you want to read a description of them and decide whether they appeal to you.

If you have any books to recommend me, please feel free to leave a comment.  I'm always on the look out for a good read.

~~~~

I am going for a visit to my mom soon. She wants some new, colourful clothes for Spring and Summer. So I've ordered a few bright tank tops and sweaters, along with a bit of costume jewellery that will go with multiple outfits. I couldn't find the kind of pants or skirts she needs (simple, stretchy and washable).  I've decided to make two or three skirts that I was going to make awhile back and didn't get around to doing.  The skirts are in basic colours:  black, teal green and tan. 

I wrote awhile ago about the upcoming Vancouver South African Film Festival which is taking place this weekend.  A friend and I have decided to see the film "Reconciliation:  Mandela's Miracle".  Beyond that it is that time of year for the eye exam and my quarterly blood work so am keeping fairly busy.

~~~

Happy reading and enjoy your week!

Pink Everywhere

Gazing at pink fluff

Everywhere there is pink stuff

Pink is beautiful!
(I managed to get these snapshots at the University of BC today).


I'm joining Our World Tuesday today. Join in and have a look.

Spring Is Here

Two months ago, I said that Spring was coming, lol. We had signs of new life in the garden. Sadly it ended up being quite cold for much of the time since but at last I think we've turned the corner. We've had glorious sunshine and warm temperatures this past week.

Currently we are back to rain but the sun will return in a few days. I am enjoying the cherry, apple and plum blossoms at this time of year.  I took these photos in my neighbourhood and deliberately shot into the sun on a hurried trip to the market.  I would like to get out to other parts of the city to enjoy more blossoms if I have time before these fleeting blossoms are gone for another year.

I hope you are enjoying your spring season.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday where you too can visit and see so many lovely skies from around the world. Have a lovely weekend.