Short Update

Hi friends,

This will be a very brief update to let you know why I have been silent.

My eldest nephew, the horseman was in a very bad accident yesterday (Sunday) in Kamloops (5 hours north of where I live).  The weather was very cold and stormy which is unusual weather for Kamloops even at this time of year. He was hit by a train while out looking for horses in distress.  My nephew's horse took the brunt of the force from the train and my nephew was thrown into the air and then the ground. The horse is dead and my nephew suffered physical damage but he is alive. He is awake and he is talking but cannot remember much. Please keep him in your prayers or send good thoughts. It is a miracle he survived the accident.

My my nephew and his wife (Photo credit: Candace C)

Also yesterday I learned that one of my primary credit cards was compromised. I signed up for email alerts every time my card is charged so I learned about this fraudulent charge almost right away.  The charge was significant and made to a university in England, a university I have never even heard of before.   I had to spend some time with the bank yesterday and it being Sunday it took more waiting time than usual. But at least the card is cancelled.

The weather is very bad across the province right now. It means that the mountain highways will be very dangerous. In Vancouver where I live, we have had snow off and on since last Friday.  The first snowfalls of the year.  There was even a warning to keep off the city roads if you were not prepared for challenging driving.  In this city the roads become like ice rinks once the temperatures drop given the dampness of the climate.  My brother and I are hoping that once the new card arrives and the snow and wind storms pass through the province we will make a quick trip to see my nephew.  He needs a few days to rest and get stronger before he would be comfortable with visitors anyway though I understand he had some today.

Downtown Kamloops in snowstorm

My general neighbourhood, note the ice on the streets.

In Vancouver we do salt or sand the roads and sidewalks but things still get very messy and icy.

* None of the photos were taken by me.

In Kenya, Jonah who I've been working with for many years has contracted some kind of bacterial infections likely caused  by contaminated food. He has been in hospital since late last week and now that lab tests are back he is on the proper medication and has also received IV fluids. My friend Eunice is still in hospital and so no one has been able to attend to her while Jonah has been sick. Still praying for her recovery. If anyone can assist with her medical costs the Go Fund Me page is still open (see the side bar at the right). Ernest, the man with the injured leg had to have a 2nd surgery as his leg was not straight after the first surgery and months of healing. I don't have an update on how he is doing at the moment but will update when I can. Last but not least, my young friend Alvin, has been busy preparing his university applications for study in Canada, study scholarships and is looking for work in Kenya. I pray for his success.


Thank you for stopping by. I hope regular posts can resume before the end of the month.

Images of Kamloops

I am visiting in the Interior of British Columbia this week in a town called Kamloops. It is about 4.5 hours drive from my home to here.

The weather and scenery in winter is rather dull. It has been foggy all week but today the sun came through. As you can see there is very little snow here. Kamloops doesn't get much snow in winter these days but this year has been very mild both here and at home in Vancouver.

I hope you enjoy these few pictures. Perhaps you can see that the geography is quite dry and this is a semi-arid area with some desert scenery and temperatures in summer. It can be quite lovely on a nice day and the area is a wonderful area for those that love ranching or the great outdoors.

A Quick Annual Trip

A few family members and I took a quick road trip to visit my niece.  We had a lovely time and took her to lunch, a movie and dinner as well as had a nice visit and delivered presents. My niece didn't let me forget any of  my promises right down to the popcorn at the movies and the hot chocolate before taking her home. She is so cute and we had a brief but loving visit with her.

We rushed back to Vancouver Saturday to try and avoid the snow that was forecast for the mountain highway. I was very pleased that we beat all the bad weather and traffic though we certainly saw a lot of traffic heading north. We made a stop at Harrison Hot Springs to try and find eagles that were resting there before making their annual migration but we didn't find any. Along the highway two passed us in flight overhead and I spotted one young one (at least 5 years old because it had a white head but it's body was small) perched on a tree as we rode over a bridge. I couldn't get a photo.

Since there were no eagles to be found we stopped at Wal-mart in Chilliwack. It was super busy with long line ups at the cashiers in all lanes including express lane check out. Even the self-service aisles were full which is saying a lot because Canadians really dislike self-service as a check out option.   My companions decided to skip shopping but I didn't know that so I wandered about buying a few groceries. Fortunately the express lane I was in was moving along quickly.

I stayed at the Thompson Hotel downtown and it was the first time I've stayed there. I enjoyed my short stay. All the staff was friendly.  My room was quiet and the bed was comfy. It was a bit cold overnight and the shower wasn't very hot but it was good enough.  I could have adjusted the heating but I was too lazy to figure it out.  I was disappointed that the pool and hot tub were not functioning but there is nothing the hotel can do about a pipe problem except to fix it. The breakfast was very satisfactory.  I would stay at the hotel again if the price was right but I do also like to check out different hotels.

Over the years I've stayed at 6  different hotels and 4 motels In Kamloops. I prefer several of the hotels (Sheraton Four Points, Holiday Inn on the North Shore, Pacific Inn & Suites and the Thompson) and have stayed at the first 3 on several occasions each. I would not recommend other hotels (unnamed) I've stayed in because of cramped rooms, dark rooms, poor breakfast set up or bit sketchy area. I also recommend the Fortune Motel on the North Shore.  It is very clean and roomy and they have a rudimentary kitchen set up if you like or need to cook or have snacks that need refrigeration. You need to specify that you want a kitchenette or you will get a standard room. They also have a swimming pool though I haven't used it.  Across the busy street you will find a small mall with a full scale grocery story, fast food,banking and so on. The only drawback is it is on a busy street though after hours the traffic is really not that bad. You can ask for a room facing toward the mountains and you should be fine. Also the motel is a cinder block motel just in case that is important information to you.

 

A nice breakfast was included in the room cost.  Sausages, scrambled eggs, waffles, cold cereals, various breads and muffins, yogurts, fresh fruit, juices, water, coffee and tea were all on offer.

I took my swimming suit but unfortunately a pipe had burst in the hotel's new pool area so it was not usable while I was there. I can't count the number of times this has happened to me while visiting various cities and towns. I wasn't too upset though as it allowed me to get more sleep before breakfast.

My view looked out over the parking lot, the shopping mall, the bus transit area and the industrial park and mountains beyond. The last several years these mountains had snow on them and there was lots of snow in the valley. This year there is none but that can change rather quickly. The first year I spent in Kamloops the snow didn't fall until December 24th on Christmas Eve.

The residential development on the mountains is located on Indian Reserve lands. There is a wonderful view of the city from up the hill.

Sorry for the blurred photos.
You can see how the weather changes dramatically.
All the snow you see is less than an hour south of Kamloops.

Linking in with

Our World Tuesday this week.

Enjoy your Christmas holidays.
 

Leaving Kamloops

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country,
your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

Genesis 12:1

A brief (and "rough") video of my recent trip home from Kamloops in the Interior of BC. Set to the music of Buffy Ste. Marie.

Views of Kamloops

A week ago Monday, I was visiting my mom at the local hospital. If you'd like to, you can read about it here.  I had to walk up this hill to get to the hospital. I thought you might like to see some views along the way. It was a statutory holiday here in my province that day so the streets were rather quiet.

The big  building in the middle at the end of the street is the hospital. On the right is the red brick Catholic Church.

In the distance you can see an old brick school on the left side just beyond the parking lot. In the distance you can see the mountains. The city of Kamloops is located in a narrow valley and has been built up around the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers.

A quiet street  facing the front of the old brick school house in the previous photo. In the Summer, this street is the location of a farmer's market where you can purchase wonderful produce and baked goods. On market days this street is lively, colourful and lots of fun.

A building housing many of the city's doctors and a pharmacy.  See the reflections in the glass!

A long shot of the same building.

A view of a long standing hotel chain in the city. In the background the "mountains".

Here is a close up of the school which I reference in the photo near the top of this post.

A view back toward the city as I continue up the hill.

I do hope you've enjoyed the photos. More photos of this walk (to hospital and town) will be posted later.

On the Road Again

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again

"On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson

Another whirl wind trip has been completed.
I got home very late on Wednesday and was quite tired but had some missions business to attend to in Kenya.

That done, I tried to do a number of things: call my mom to let her know I arrived safely home, partially knit a new dishcloth, view & cull  trip photos and prepare this post.
I thought it would be nice to share a lot more photos this time of the road trip especially since the weather was quite variable throughout.


I'm not sure what happened but it took several tries before the mosaics were successfully saved.

Starting out in Vancouver it was raining. I didn't start taking photos until almost in Chilliwack. Here is a map just to help situate you if you are not so familiar with the Province of British Columbia.

 A map is always nice to situate oneself. We travelled from Vancouver through Burnaby, Surrey, Chilliwack, Hope, Merritt and Kamloops (Merritt is located just south of where it says Logan Lake).
Clicking on the collages/mosaics will enlarge them a bit.

Highway & weather between Vancouver and Hope

The weather conditions in both directions was much the same each way; raining in the Lower Mainland and 

scattered cloud in the Interior. 

The gusts of wind were quite chilly. Most definitely not like the past few months.

Highway and weather between Merritt and Kamloops

A small group of 5 enjoyed a combination of Chinese cuisine topped off with sodas and white cake as per my mother's favourite cake. It was all quite the starch overload today. 

I compensated by having water and a chicken Caesar Salad for dinner as well as the requisite road beverage, coffee!

The tops, skirt and care package here were all gratefully received but the telephone has to be exchanged since the new set didn't have clips to attach to clothing.

As always I managed to tidy the dresser drawers and closet, cull the clothing and put away all food snacks.
It is always a quick journey requiring days of preparation to make sure everything is done just right.
This trip went very smoothly and enjoyably.

I hope your week is going well.

Skywatch Friday

and
Mosaic Monday

Photo of the Day

A panoramic view of the city of Kamloops, British Columbia. Kamloops is in ranching country so you can saddle up and ride a horse, though not necessarily in the city proper. You can also enjoy a variety of outdoor sports in the area. There are numerous fishing lodges in the outlying areas and boating is a popular weekend summer activity. Temperatures are rather hot here as far as Canadian summers go. Shade, air conditioning and cool drinks are a must as well as sun protection.

Went for a Visit to the Hospital

I went to visit mom at the hospital Monday. It is a statutory holiday here so it was rather quiet around the town. I will post photos of the city later.

A view of the City of Kamloops toward the north shore from the hospital grounds.

A view to the hospital from my walk up the hill.

A view from the hospital window. See the Kamloops River in the background.

Mom is doing well but very eager to get out of the hospital. She feels uncomfortable in there because it isn't set up for her like her apartment. At home she not only has the comfort of home, but she also has a special lift chair, and many other aids for mobility and independent living.

In the hospital room they don't even put a sheet on the bed. I have no idea why because they cover most of the mattress with pads and small blankets so they might as well put sheets down. It makes no sense. When she has asked about it they tell her the mattress is covered (which is it) and it is like having sheets on it (which is isn't).

The mattress does have some kind of fabric on it which is very slippery so it is hard for her to get comfortable as she slides around on it. Also she finds the mattress fabric irritating to her skin.

Here is a look at her leg. It had cellulitis and she has been in the hospital bed for 3 weeks waiting for it to get better. You can read more about cellulitis here

 Can you see how the dead skin has just peeled off?

Leg with cellulitis and dead skin peeling off. As you can see the leg is still very inflammed.

Her left leg used to look like this too but now there is absolutely no redness and previous wounds have healed. I think the heavy duty antibiotics she was receiving intravenously for a week really helped.
Mom is really anxious to get out of hospital. She says it is too difficult to keep the leg from getting reinjured in there when they insist on her having physiotherapy while there and that she do everything herself. Given all the equipment lying close by it is easy to see how the leg can be injured as it is quite fragile when red like this.
Once she gets home, (today is supposed to be discharge day), she can rest her leg.

My brother washed the carpets when he was here over the weekend. I have also been making the apartment ready by putting everything that was moved during carpet cleaning, back in place. I also washed dishes, floors and the bathroom and packed some clothes for the discharge girl. That was how I spent my statutory holiday. In my travels to and from the hospital, I saw a lot of hub=bub on the city buses. The high school students were out in full force doing last minute school shopping and hanging out with their friends sharing excitment about back to school which commences Tuesday.

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.