My World Tuesday ~ Inspirations

I felt like some inspirational words today.These are a few of my favourite quotes and inspirational thoughts, as well as some new ones I've recently read. I've interspersed them with some beautiful scenes of my beloved Kenya which you can click on to enlarge.

The truth shall make you free. -- John 8:32

Success is never found. Failure is never fatal. Courage is the only thing. -- Sir Winston Churchill

Life isn't easy for any of us. It is up to us to be cheerful and strong, so others may draw strength from us. -- Rose Kennedy

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. -- Lamentations 3:22-23

[En route to Lake Naivasha, Kenya.]

It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart. -- Unknown

Be a blessing to someone today -- Proverbs 11:25

If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart. -- Arabian Proverb 

Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. -- Thomas Jefferson

Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. -- Ancient Proverb

He that waits upon fortune is never sure of a dinner. -- Benjamin Franklin

 [Overlooking Lake Naivasha, Kenya.]

A politician thinks of the next election - a statesman, of the next generation. -- James Freeman Clarke

No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? -- Lee Iacocca

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. -- Zig Ziglar

If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place. -- Nora Roberts

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -- Mark Twain

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know; the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.  -- Abert Schweitzer

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. -- Charles Dickens

[Naivasha Golf & Country Club grounds.]

When we hurt each other we should write it down in the sand, so the winds of forgiveness can make it go away for good. When we help each other we should chisel it in stone, lest we never forget the love of a friend. -- Christian H. Godefroy

Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. -- 1 John 3:18 NRSV

No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important. -- Mary Kay Ash

If you're sincere, praise is effective. If you're insincere, it's manipulative. -- Zig Ziglar

Many marriages would be better if the husband and wife clearly understood that they're on the same side. -- Zig Ziglar


Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.--  Leo Buscaglia

You were united to your wife by the Lord. In God's wise plan, when you married, the two of you became one person in his sight. -- Malachi 2:15

I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.-- Dr. Jonas Salk

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.  -- Chinese Proverb

[Birds singing on my patio "spring is here".]

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self. -- Aristotle

He who is filled with love is filled with God himself. -- Saint Augustine

 [Photo credit: Edit Free Zone]
 

More Images of Kamloops

It's been a week or so now since I returned home from Kamloops. I didn't get a chance to post some of my photos when I was there. I am always too busy when there to do much sightseeing or blogging in the way I would like.

Hopefully these snap shots I captured on my errand days will give you a good sense of the area. Maybe I can get some photos of different areas next time. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge.

I also found this wonderful and short video tonight. I am not a mountain biker but Kamloops is a well known area for mountain biking so for those fans, you might really like this. I think it also gives a good view of the surrounding terrain. Isn't it beautiful?

Click here to learn more about the city and surrounding area.

Click here to visit some Kamloops webcams

Click here for a map to see where Kamloops is located.

Scenic Sunday Sunset

A beautiful sunset in Kamloops, BC, Canada. Even the telephone poles are a scenic part of this snap shot.

Click for more scenic sunday photos.

Those Pesky Pills

Those pesky pills that appear on clothing are equally annoying with towels. I recently purchased 4 new towels on saturday, two dark blue ones and two tan coloured ones. In my rush to launder them I put them in the washing machine together. Big mistake! All the towels have pilling all over them.

Thankfully I have a trusty gadget which I purchased many years ago. I am not sure the name of it so I will simply call it a pill remover. Usually these are small gadgets that fit in your hand but this one is rather large. I am so glad I purchased it. Though I don't use it that often, it has more than paid for itself over the years.

I took a photo of the pilling on my dark towels and the pill remover. You can see that the pills are rather large.

After several minutes of moving this gadget all over the towel (as if you are mowing the cotton threads), the towels are looking better. I have completed removing the pills from the tan coloured towel and have half finished the darker ones. I will continue in the morning with the better light.

You can see in the photo above that the "catcher" in the pill remover has captured all the dark blue fuzz.

I am so happy for having this gadget. It not only saved me the frustration of removing the pills painstakingly by hand (or with some sticky tape wrapped around my hand) but also saved me from losing the clean look of my new towels.

I would be interested in knowing what method you use to remove pills from your towels or sweaters.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church

It was a glorious day of sunshine today in Vancouver. My first day out since my return the other day. I snapped this shot of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church just as the sun was setting.

Comfort Foods

This week was a time of comfort foods for mom and I. We were blessed with a gift of moose meat. Today I cooked some up and this is what we had for dinner.

It was so good that mom kept saying "this is so good", and when she finished, she said she couldn't eat another bite. I didn't bother with any starch accompaniment. We simply had baby greens, radishes and sticks of English cucumber. Mom doesn't like salad greens chopped into pieces so that is why the salad greens look as they do. But they are good no matter which way you eat them! I also stir fried some slices of red pepper with mushrooms and stalks of celery. This mixture is what is obscuring the meat somewhat in my photos.

The moose meat has been cut into slices off a slab, pounded and dipped into flour on both sides before frying in hot oil. One must use enough oil so as not to dry out the moose meat which is very lean. Read more about the moose meat here.

Earlier this week, I made pan fried bannock. I've blogged before about oven baked bannock. See here and here. For the pan friend version, you omit the oil/shortening from the recipe. Once you form your rounds or pieces of bannock to be cooked, you heat some oil and fry the bread, turning it over once it has browned. Once cooked on both sides, you lay it on strips of paper towel to blot out the excess grease. Eat. It is especially good with butter and jam.

Here is a picture of what the fried bannock should look like.

Just as I was finishing this blog, mom's daily aide came for the night service. Lo and behold she brought some minced buffalo meat. See a photo of a buffalo here. Wow, we are so blessed.

Scenic Sunset

Southwest facing view of the mountains in North Kamloops, BC.

Sky Above the Valley

This was the sky above Kamloops this week.

The Sky's the Limit

For more sky photos see here

Tree at Dusk

This is a photo of a tree I took at dusk against a dark sky in late Fall. I thought the red berries looked so pretty.

Aboriginal People's Heritage reflected in Winter Olympics 2010

I am very proud of the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremony which incorporated so much of the First Nations and Aboriginal culture into the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I didn't mention it in my post last night about the Opening Ceremonies but Aboriginal presence and participation was one of the highlights of the show for me.

The First Nations of the traditional territories on which the games are being held were recognized as heads of state and seated directly behind the Canadian Prime Minister and the Governor General. Four totem poles were raised from the centre of the stadium, and greetings were given to the crowd (and the world) in the languages of the four host First Nations (Squamish Nation, Musqueam Indian Band, Lil'wat First Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nation), as well as English and French. The arms of the totems were raised in a traditional gesture of greeting to welcome the athletes and the world. The Aboriginal peoples later formed a welcome circle to prepare for the forthcoming Parade of the Nations and danced traditional welcoming dances as the athletes entered the stadium. In addition to the representation and welcome by the four host First Nations, there were representatives of the 52 tribal groups of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

[Photo credits: Canoe.ca]

[Photo credit: gymnasticscoaching.com]

This year's Olympic medals are stunningly beautiful and so unique. They reflect the First Nations heritage of Canada, and in particular, British Columbia, the host province for this year's winter Olympics.

It took a team of people two years to make this year's medals. It was a collaborative effort between Canadian Aboriginal designer/artist, Corinne Hunt, internationally renowned industrial designer, Omer Arbel, the Royal Canadian Mint, Teck Resources Limited, and VANOC’s in-house design team.

The medals are made from master artworks created by Corrine Hunt, a Vancouver, BC-based artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. Hunt chose the orca as the motif for the Olympic medals. Each medal is hand-cropped and no two are alike so each Olympic medal athlete will have a treasured and unique creation.

(Orca panels)

The orca, designed across four panels in the style of a traditional West Coast First Nations bentwood box, is often associated with the attributes of strength, dignity and teamwork.
The first of Canada's medals is a silver medal won by Jennifer Heil, from Spruce Grove, Alberta, for mogul skiing. Congratulations Jennifer! You make us Canadians proud.

In closing let me link you with the video to the full Opening Ceremonies.
I could not embed it so I've linked it here.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/collections/collectionid=40427/index.html

I decided to put this up after my dear blogger friend, Laura from Paris asked for suggestions. If you look at the bottom of the video screen you will see a long bar divided into several parts. The main portion of the Aboriginal participation is included in the first bar. You can also go to the link for more Olympic coverage.