At the Half Way Mark in the Month

I had a super busy day on Monday, October 19th (approximately the half way point of the month) and it was the start of a very busy week.  While I ran my errands the rain stopped and sun came out so I snapped a few photos to share on Skywatch Friday this week.  I hope you enjoy. 

Dinner was quick:  stir fried pork cubes with Swiss chard from my garden and daikon radish (and spices) and a dish of stir fried noodles with a variety of vegetables and chili garlic oil.  I ended the day with a clean sink and all the dishes put away. I mostly wash the evening dishes, cutlery and pots and pans but I don't always finish the job. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf because everything put away makes the evening and the morning much nicer.

This month is flying by so quickly. We had two family birthdays a month apart (and celebrated them differently due to Covid).  We also celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada on October 12th and cooking a traditional dinner takes time whether it is for 2 people or 10 people .  I'm doing a major declutter of paper.  I've been going through a long, long process of fully decluttering my home and I am  now on the paper files. I've got so many that accumulated mostly while my late mom was ill. I didn't want to throw anything out. Now I've got to sort through it all and keep only what I really need of hers, my late sisters and also my own paperwork.  It feels good to finally get rid of paper that have been cluttering my space and my mind for so long. 

I have also been getting rid of larger items, not just items from the kitchen cabinet and closets. I could finally be offloading the very large power wheelchair which is taking up a lot of space near the entry way.  Friends of mine have been fund raising to replace the battery and charger and ultimately gift the chair to a paraplegic lady who can really make use of it. The fund raising efforts are very slow.  But it sounds like they have more than enough now to at least have a technician come over to evaluate everything.  I will know more in a week or two.

I've also been busy learning a new routine for running the household and though I'm not fully on board with the program it is a big help. I suppose any method one uses to keep on top of the household is helpful. I never found the household maintenance to be very difficult when I was younger.  I guess I have slowed down a lot because these days the running of the household seems to take up more time. I think the key is to find an approach you like and stick with it and consistently apply the routines.  If anyone is interested, check out FlyLady or Diane in Denmark, both of whom are on You Tube. Diane actually was a Fly Lady mentor for many years and still teaches others how to implement the system.  I enjoy her sparkly personality and motivational pep talks.  What I like about the system so far is that many things are done in 15 minute increments.  As they like to say, "you can do almost anything in 15 minute increments".

I'll be linking up with Skywatch Friday later this week. I send you my best wishes for a beautiful and safe weekend. If you missed my post about Kenya you can read it here.

Saturday's Critters ~ Another Exotic Adventure

 

This  is my post for Saturday's Critters.  If you came for Skywatch Friday, please click here.

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In several of my trips to Kenya, I travelled to some very small villages to the east of Marigat, Kenya. 

The first two photos are of the small town of Marigat.

 

I've circled two areas in the map below. One is the town of Marigat which you see in the photos above. The second is the approximate area of where we travelled (click on the map for a larger view) and which are captured in the photos below.

On this particular trip we were headed to a very dry area to learn about the water needs of the people. They wanted to show me the area and explain the vision for the project to bring water to the community. I don't know why they thought I could help as I am just one person.  But as I believe in a good God, I gladly accepted their invitation and went to visit them.  After we explored the area we prayed over the area and for the needs. Sometimes you just have to step out in faith, take the first step and not worry about how things will get done. Just believe that they will and do what you can and let God do the rest. So it was that day.

Along the way, I also did some sightseeing at Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo before we reached our final destination. One thing I learned early on in my Kenyan travels is that if you are going somewhere you better be prepared for a very bumpy ride.  You also need to start out early in the morning say by the break of day since it isn't advisable for foreigners to travel after the sun goes down.  The sun rises and sets like clock work each day and the sun goes down about 6 p.m every day.  the other thing to bear in mind is that it takes a lot longer to travel shorter distances than it does in North America.  I think this is due to heavy traffic and frequent traffic jams, road blocks and road checks by police, unforeseen roads conditions and so on.  Since my first trip to Kenya in 2007, the highway infrastructure has been very much improved.  But those improvements don't extend to the backwoods and back roads. Starting off early and getting to your final destination by 6 p.m. is still advisable. Otherwise be prepared with a place to spend the night.

In the first photo we are driving eastward out of Marigat and into the back country. Notice the road and we are not even out of town boundaries.

 

Despite how dry the area obviously is I found it quite beautiful.  It was very slow to travel and very dusty because we were travelling over the land and not always on roads. The earth was also very soft.

The man in the white shirt in the next photo is the local pastor, my host and escort for the tour of the borehole area.  The man in the blue shirt is my driver. They were discussing whether we should cross the stream.  In the end I walked across since the water wasn't that deep and I wanted to cool my feet.

I am absolutely fascinated by how a place can look uninhabited yet people will seemingly come out of nowhere. I'm also fascinated by where and people live and you see homes dotted everywhere in what seems to me like unlikely places but the people have probably been living there for centuries.

The inhabitants of the hut in the photo below had just done laundry and laid the items outside to dry.  It is the practice in the rural areas of Kenya to lay freshly washed clothes on the bushes and on the grass to dry rather than on a clothes line.  In the city they hang the laundered clothing on the line.  It doesn't take long for the clothes to dry in the heat. All over the countryside you will see people's washed clothes lying on the bushes or grass to dry.

I went into one of the thatched huts and was very impressed by how cool it was despite the blazing heat of the day.

The walls of the hut were decorated with news paper cut outs, the first I'd seen in a village home. Often I did see newspaper lining the walls like wallpaper, but not hung loosely as a decorative elements with the cut out designs.  I can tell by the items hanging on the wall like the kerosene lamp, the calendar with pictures, the alphabet letters and shopping bags, that this person really cared for her home. The hut was very small inside and was one round room.  It was also very cool inside.  What a relief it was to be out of the intense heat for few minutes on that very hot, dry day.

I am always delighted to see the local animals, both wild and domestic. I am not sure what kind of cows these are.   There appears to be several varieties of cattle in these photos.

 

After my visit to this area, I spent a few years trying to help these people get a borehole. Through my contacts in Kenya we found a consultant to produce a report to locate where the water was and identify where to build the borehole. 

All of this was rather expensive and I could not progress much further in the project with just my own finances.  I tried unsuccessfully to find donors through the local churches, including my own and also through my blog. I was finally able to find a group of service oriented Christians in Jamaica.  The Jamaicans travelled to Kenya for their own reconnaissance mission and the Kenyans thoroughly enjoyed hosting them, meeting them and travelling with them. The Jamaicans committed to getting the borehole completed and they were in fact able to move it along but they ultimately did not complete the project. I believe it proved too expensive for them and the major donor they were counting on in their church had to draw back. It took time and persistence but the local community in Kenya finally managed to get a group of believers in Israel to step in and bring the project to successful conclusion.

This huge ostrich was running around in the village. You don't want to get to close to an ostrich. I understand they have a very powerful kick.
 

I don't have an updated photo of the borehole as I was not directly involved at that stage of the process.  I was an interested person from afar and Pastor Jonah kept me generally updated through his contacts in that community.  I was unable to travel to the community again in my last visit to Kenya due to being very sick for much of my time there.

 

 

I did have one other connection to the pastor and his wife a few years later when they were in hospital ready to deliver their new baby, a first child. There were some complications and high medical costs and it was my privilege to be able to assist at the time. Since then most of the missions efforts have been focussed on assisting individual with the exorbitant medical costs they incur when seeking medical treatment.  The needs are very great and the available helpers is very small but the helps are extremely necessary.

In conclusion, I am very happy for the people who got their borehole after years of struggle and belief.  They have so little in the way of material things but now they have water and their daily lives have improved.  I am also happy that I didn't run away from such a big need and project. Though I cannot say that I did a lot;  I did what I could and I believe that big things come from small beginnings.  The people needed someone to listen to them, hold their hands, believe with them and try to find supporters for them so that they could one day have water. I was able to do some of those things and get them the consultant report which they really needed.  In the end, it was their sheer persistence, dogged determination, faith and their prayers and the many prayers of others, that helped to complete the project.

This is a post for Saturday's Critters.  It became about much more than the animals after I realized that the cows I was going to post about were a window into a much bigger story and I could not let the story go untold.

I hope you enjoyed it and that it inspires you to branch out in your dreams and visions of helping people.  Even small things are a huge help to someone.

 Thank you for stopping by. Have a safe weekend.

 

It's Another Friday

 This is what it looked like on our Thanksgiving Day last Monday.

I already forgot what it was like on Tuesday and Wednesday but I know yesterday it was quite nice and the sun came out. I was able to do some errands like deposit funds at the bank and pay some bills. My local branch is still  not open and the ATM is only available until 6 p.m. on most days. I did see staff in the branch but I'm not sure if the branch was open to the public or staff was just working in there. If you want to do in person banking you have to go to a different branch.  I also dropped off my back pack for stitching and stopped off for some groceries and a quick stop at McD's. I didn't have time to stop at the dispensary to get refills on body wash because the shop closed earlier due to Covid like most places. 

I pick up my back pack today so I'll stop off for the body wash as well. Before that I have some parcels to pick up at the post office. Hopefully they are there. The tracking information tells me they should be there today but maybe not until late in the day.

Today it's a rather dull, gray day and it will probably start raining very soon. I checked the long range forecast and it doesn't look much different for the rest of the month. I guess I left the clean up of the garden for too long. If I do it soon I will most likely be working in the rain. I've found it cold indoors this week. I turned my heating on in the bedroom and living room for the first time last night. I didn't leave it on overnight. 

Here is the sky photo for today. It looks almost the same as Monday's sky.  It is 9°C or about 49°F. As we transition from late autumn to winter, the sky will not vary much unless there is a sunny break.  Then we could see some more interesting cloud cover.

As they say in Copenhagen, 'you make our own sunshine'. I never hear anyone say that where I live, lol. We love to talk about the weather and complain about it, then we laugh. I like the Danish view of bad weather.

While I was out running errands the sun came out for awhile.  It's always nice when that happens. It tends to make me forget about the rain even if it rains later.  When I snapped the next few photos the sun was gone again but at least there was colour in the trees.

 

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today. Have a happy and safe weekend.

Missed Opportunity - Car Story

 Hi friends, 

This is just a quick post to update about my car and a few other matters. 

The car tires needed to be changed today from summer to winter. They get changed again in spring from winter to summer.  Of course all this costs money but is also a good time to find out whether the car needs this or that.  Last year at this time, the front brakes needed to be replaced and the conclusion was that the rear brakes looked good. This time they said the rear brakes need to be replaced and the car would not make it another 6 months.  The lug nuts also need to be replaced.

All in all, the car has been kept up to date over the years with oil changes, tire needs, windshield replacements due to highway stones putting cracks in the windshield, windshield wiper replacements and a little maintenance here and there.  Total costs for this year's tire and brake jobs is about $1600 which is not that bad.

The car is now getting old by car standards (2013) and due to declining sales the Ford company has decided to discontinue the model. In August 2020, the Ford company announced it was pulling the plug on making Ford Fusion cars and would instead focus on SUVs, crossovers, pick ups and the iconic Mustang. I missed my chance for a trade in while the car could still bring in a good penny for trade in value.  I  don't believe in paying a whole lot of money to get a car of my dreams since they depreciate so quickly.  That means I will probably keep the car as long as I can continue to repair it at a reasonable cost.

Another cost factor in car ownership is cost of car insurance and petrol/gas,  Where I live the cost of car insurance for one year is through the roof.  Almost a year ago I paid more than a return flight to Kenya for the car insurance and would have  paid much, much more were it not for a long and good driving history which gave a 40%  discount. I don't know how young people were able to manage the costs. I had read horror stories like the one about one young woman who was working as a waitress while to university and her car insurance was going to cost $5000. Petrol or gas as we call it, is also extremely expensive. The cost was $1.40 a litre pre-Covid ($1.06 US). Right now it is about $1.20 a litre (.91 cents/litre or $4.54 per gallon US). For the longest time, the cost was about $1.30 a litre so it has come down now that people are not driving so much.

The government runs the car insurance program here so it has a monopoly and there is no competition (it's different in other provinces). They say the high cost of our car insurance is due to ballooning cost of motor vehicle related litigation and court judgements in such cases. Quite recently our provincial Attorney General put forward legislation which limited the kind of payouts one could get for certain types of injuries and the legislation was passed.  This change is supposed to lead to reduced car insurance rates and possible rebates next year in 2021.  I hope that  this intended result really happens in my case as far too often I hear how this or that has been reduced only to discover later that the benefit doesn't accrue to me for one reason or another.

Below is a photo of the make and colour of  my car.  It isn't my car but this is what it looks like.  I love it because of the look and because it is roomy and comfortable and has many places to put your drinks in both the front and back.  This is very convenient when travelling out of the city.  The trunk is large and the seats can be put down in the back if you need more room to transport things. 

 

I do not need a SUV or a pick up so this car does what I need for the most part. It took me back and forth for years in the last few years of looking after my mom. It has also made 3 long trips to the north country.  Mainly though the car is used for local jaunts on an intermittent basis not a daily basis.  It is not used for going back and forth every day and that is why the car insurance is such an issue for me. In 2020 I paid over $2000 Canadian dollars for a car driven for pleasure and not for work.

Everyone has a different way of approaching vehicle needs and much of it is tied into our other expenditures and income levels as well as insurance costs.  What about you dear reader? Do you have a car which you really love? Are you the type that splashes out on top model cars, leased cars or used cars?  Or do you buy a new car and repair until it is no longer feasible?

It's been that kind of day trying to get odd jobs done. Besides the car repairs, I needed to call the telephone company and try to get a deal on my internet and television needs. My contract expired one month ago. I spent an hours on the phone talking with two different people and we were about 2/3 finished when the call ended. The representative called me back while I was trying to call her. She said she could hear me but I couldn't hear her. So frustrating as that is time lost and I will have to explain it all and listen to someone else try to explain their complicated pricing and discounts again.

At least one thing went as planned today. I baked a ham the other day and saved a bunch for soup.  Today I made ham and lentil soup to go with the home made French bread I made last night. This is the second time I've made French bread in the last week. After this bread is gone that will be it for the bread making for awhile. I eat too much of it.

The soup was just right. Not too salty and I put cabbage and red pepper in it to use up leftover veggies.  Normally I only put onions, celery, carrots and potatoes.

I wrote before about a backpack my nephew bought me when we travelled to Paris together. I have enjoyed using the backpack a lot but a strap broke off on the weekend. I took the pack apart so I could restitch it and discovered my sewing machine will not sew through the thickness of 4 layers. I now need to find a seamstress with an industrial machine or a shoe cobbler. I prefer to find a seamstress.  The last cobbler I went to charged me $40 Canadian to sew a few stitches in 4 different straps. I can do it all myself if I just had the right equipment.

I hope all is well with you and life is treating you well. In my corner of the world I will be keeping busy trying to get things done. It seems like never ending list of things to do.

Bye for now and stay safe.

Update:  I found a seamstress who will reattach both straps, sew the opening on the inside and reattach the binding. She will do it for $21. Canadian and have it ready on Friday afternoon. I thought it was a fair deal as it saves me from running around trying to find someone to do it at a fair price and someone who will do it quickly. It also saves me dealing with 'fiddly work'.  I use this backpack daily when I go out so I would like it soon. It reminded me that I have a cross body purse that also needs repair so I'll have to get that done and have it as my back up. I have a lot of bags of various kinds but few purses with straps that will allow me to go about 'hands free'.

A Beautiful Day After All

 Hi friends, 

I awoke today to a beautiful day.  That was a very pleasant surprise as I thought we were going to have another gray, overcast day.

I didn't go anywhere but having a beautiful day always makes me feel like doing more work inside.

While I'm busy this weekend doing the usual routines of cleaning, cooking and laundry, I am also trying to rest, relax and enjoy life.

I've been feeling a little more tired lately so I am trying to take it easy a bit but still keep busy if that make sense.

I didn't do the Fly Lady routines in order or keep on top of it all but I did do the routines as best I could. I also did some other "projects" such as decluttering my closet and one dresser drawer. I gave all the clothing items to one young woman who wanted them for her mother and grandmother. I am always pleased when someone will take and use the clothing because to be honest, I didn't even wear half of the items. The other half were worn once or twice. As I've lost weight my sizing changes and also I no longer need most of those items so off they go.

Other projects included:

• cleaning the cupboard where I keep plastic items and some bake ware. I got rid of a lot of it that was no longer usable.
• purchasing some new bake ware on line which I expect will arrive in a week or two. It will be nice to have something pretty to cook and present Christmas dinner in. The bake ware is from the Temptations line which many of you may be familiar with.
• sorting through my cedar chest where I keep duvets and sheets. I thought I had items in there to give away but I must have cleaned it out last year. I did notice though that the fitted sheet in the only set of white sheets I have, was terribly yellowed. I have only used them once and they are kept in a cedar chest so I'm not sure how they got so discoloured. I thought to give them away but decided I would try to get rid of the stains. After much effort on my part, the sheet is almost fully white again.  In a week or two I will clean it again and it should be perfect. At the same time I cleaned my sheets I cleaned a white, cotton safari jacket I have had for years.  In the last several years it was starting to yellow and discolour at the collar, sleeves and cuffs.  I also had a few pillow case protectors that started to yellow and I was able to get all of these items nice and clean. I still have a lace tablecloth that has a few yellow spots.  The next time I do the sheets, I will also trwat and wash the table cloth.
• making a loaf of French bread for the first time. It turned out well though I have to work on shaping. The outside was nice and crusty and the inside was nice and soft.
  

 

• making Cream of Broccoli soup for Sunday lunch.  A few days ago I found a bag of broccoli crowns on clearance sale for  $1. This is a photo of the soup before it was blended.
  

 

•  making a French Apple Cake. I had no plans to make an apple cake but someone posted a photo of the apple cake they made and I thought I had better use up the apples that were slowly going too soft. I've made apple cake before but this is the first time I've made French Apple Cake. I didn't have ice cream with it but it was really nice and I think I will make it again one day soon. Here is a link to the recipe I used in case you are interested.

 

Beyond cooking, cleaning, a few errands and household projects, I also watched a few movies and read some books. On Netflix I watched a few movies. One is called "The Inheritance" (not to be confused with the play of the same name) recommended by a friend of mine. It is a thriller/mystery and was good in a creepy kind of way, though not a horror movie as such. I also watched a cute movie called "Carrie Pilby", an American comedy/drama.  Book wise I'm making my way through "The Minimalist Home" which sets out yet another method of decluttering your home, and "The Convenience Store Woman", a quirky book about an unmarried Japanese woman who works at a convenience store and has to contend with the judgements of her family and co-workers.

Monday is Thanksgiving Day here so I will likely take the day off from reading blogs.  I have to prepare dinner and I want to enjoy a slow day of cooking and relaxing in the process. 

I wish you all a happy rest of your weekend and a pleasant week ahead.

Lakes Bogoria, Baringo and Nakuru in Kenya

The waters of several Kenyan lakes in the Great Rift Valley have been rising and in the process flooding many hotels, farms and residences.  Thousands of people have been flooded out of their homes and many businesses have lost their livelihoods. 

The flooding follows many months of unusually heavy rain but illegal deforestation and climate change also contribute to the problem.  What is happening is very alarming and threatens not only the people but the wildlife.

Lake Baringo is freshwater and Bogoria is salt water. At one time these lakes were one about 12.5 miles (20 kms) apart but now are so close together that experts fear they could contaminate each other and further threaten wildlife and the people.  The lakes have risen at least 30-40 feet and are rising daily.

Even Lake Nakuru adjacent to which Kenya's 3rd largest city, Nakuru is situated, is flooding.  I read from one tourist who said that the Baboon Point I showed you about a week ago (see this post) shows that 75% of the park has been flooded. This seems totally unreal to me.

Attacks on people by crocodiles and hippos have escalated, many schools and hospital have been flooded or cut off from their student and patient groups and wildlife has had food supply affected.

Given the back drop of all this sad news it makes my memories and my photos all the more important to me. I may never get another chance to enjoy and experience what I enjoyed in earlier trips.  Many of the pelicans and flamingos have disappeared from the lakes and I'm not sure where they have gone.

Here is a video for those interested in seeing the rising lakes. In the first few minutes you will see a huge building with thatched roof. That is the Soi Lodge located on the shores of Lake Baringo and where I stayed when I visited the area.

This is a photo toward the lake from the Soi Lodge.

 

I was greeted by ostriches at the entry to the lodge.

 

Here are a few photos of pelicans taken at Lake Baringo and the last photo of flamingos was taken at Lake Nakuru.  I had never seen flamingos or pelicans before and it was a real treat.

I am linking with Eileen and others at Saturday's Critters.

 

If you missed my Skywatch Friday post, click here.

Sky Over Vancouver - Thankgiving Weekend 2020

 

I mentioned the other day that we were expecting rain this weekend. Today is Friday and the heaviest rain was expected today. It is also a bit chilly. Right now the temperature is 14 degrees Celsius (approx. 57 Fahrenheit) at 5:30 p.m.

When you live in a place where you get a lot of rain life goes on and so you just press on. I don't really mind the rain but I like to have days of sunshine in between. 

Joining up with Skywatch Friday this week.

Update:  October 10, 2020:

On Saturday I was so pleasantly surprised to see we had a lot of sunshine and clear blue skies mixed with white fluffy clouds.  Another thing for which to be grateful on this Thanksgiving weekend.