It's a New Week

A visit is like rainwater; you pray for it when it stays away and its a problem when it rains too much. ~ -Hebrew Proverb

It's a new week and wow what do we have? More rain!

This was the picture weather-wise this morning. The sky looked ominous.

Rain  means I don't have to manually water the garden which has only recently been planted. I haven't even completed all my container gardening but the geraniums are looking water logged. They should do fine when the sun comes back.

You could no longer see the mountains by afternoon.

The hostas in the garden and in the containers are growing very quickly.  This is the first year I am growing them. I heard they grow easily and they didn't disappoint.

The tomatoe plants are in their cages. I am growing both regular tomatoes and a variety of smaller tomatoes.

The crows have been up to mischief. They pulled the plastic liner out of my planter box. The crows have also been using the bird bath as their personal spa every day.  They have damaged the bird bath and destroyed the finial though I am not sure exactly how.  Perhaps it was actually cold weather that damaged the finial more than the crows.  But the crows are annoying me.  When they are around the little birds do not stay to play and enjoy themselves.

My garden went in very late so it is no where near the mature gardens I am already seeing on line across the nation. The rain will help establish it. I hope it will grow well this year and I'm looking forward to harvesting tomatoes and peppers for salsa, salads and other meals.

Despite the rains I've got a busy week ahead. I've been contemplating lasik surgery and have had several appointments with different laser surgeons as well as my Dr. of Opthamology.  Based on everything I've learned, I don't think I'll be moving forward on laser surgery given my advancing age. The cost involved at a later stage in life when one may soon have to deal with cataract surgery just doesn't make it practical. My Opthamologist suggested early permanent lenses (to avoid cataract surgery later) and though initially appealing, I really don't like the thought of getting my eyes cut until I have to. The laser surgery option would have been what they call "no touch" and somehow I thought that would be better though I realize there are great risks in that approach also.  Not everyone who goes through laser surgery has a good experience and some people come away with lasting damage.  So for now, I put the decision on hold and have gone ahead with getting my year's supply of contacts and a new pair of glasses. My word, I could not believe the cost of glasses since the last time I ordered a pair a few years ago. Unfortunately my prescription has also gone up which increases the cost also.

Some of you may remember my short experiment with vegan eating some time ago. I did enjoy the food but didn't enjoy all the preparation involved. It seemed like all I ever did was buy veggies, wash veggies and chop veggies.  But now it is summer again and in summer I love to eat salads and fruits. I've ordered a book on vegan eating from my local used bookstore.  I only ordered in on Saturday evening and they already called today to say it is in so I hope to pick it up tomorrow.  I can't wait to read and learn  more about vegan eating and to see what recipes I might learn to enjoy.

I've also been busy with a lot of business concerning an upcoming move for my mother. She will be moving into a brand new facility in the not too distant future so there is a lot involved with that. She is excited and I am excited for her.  Though she has only been in her current home for just over 3 years, it really is time for her to move on to hopefully greener pastures. I think that the new place is going to be very different for so many reasons not the least of which is the style and material of the building.  The building where she lives now is quite old and is a sprawling one level building.  The design of the new residence is a multi-story building and has been designed with the landscape in mind.  The design has a lot of natural elements like wood, stone, natural rocks and natural colours. I don't have a photo yet but I've included an architectural drawing.

Besides having a different and brand new, pleasant space, there will also be some nice changes to her services.  Mom will continue to have the usual benefits of a doctor, podiatrist, hair dresser, launderer, meals etc. but she will also have access to a dentist and dry cleaning service which she currently does not have. I only wish that the developer would have incorporated a guest suite or two for visiting family members.  It costs a lot of money to visit on a regular basis and stay in a hotel.  (A day after posting this artist's sketch, I got some photos of the new facility.  The photo below is the front of the building and it looks a lot like the artist's sketch.  However it doesn't have stones on all the exterior walls, only in the center where the entrance is. I have now seen a number of photos from various angles of the building and the structure looks quite enormous. It isn't quite completed but should be soon and most of the parking areas are paved and some of the landscaping and planting of flowers is now complete).

My mini e-reader that I mentioned here, arrived last week and I've set it up to sync with my computer and also put some e-books on hold at the library. It looks like I'll have a wait for the e-books I want but that is okay. Once they are available it will be a simple process of downloading them rather than making a trip to the library to pick them up. Fantastic service!  I was so excited about this that I finally made some efforts to read e-books that I'd previously downloaded once I synced them to my mini-reader. So far I'm reading Tess of the D'ubervilles which I enjoy a lot but haven't made enough time to finish reading it.  I'm also enjoying The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I'm amazed at the genius and creative mind of Mark Twain. I read this book way back in grade 7 but appreciate it in a different way now. If I have time and energy when I'm finished I may have a comment or two about the book, or I may just want to keep reading.  Now that I've got several books on my mini-reader, I'm finding it easier to read a few pages here and there.  When I am on a roll with my reading, I don't like to stop. Is anyone else like that?

Many other things are happening in my world.  Most of it good but just too busy these days.  Too much to get into but just wanted to touch bases with you all. I wish all of you a very wonderful week ahead!

I'm linking up with Our World Tuesday today.

Crisis near Kisumu

Hello dear friends,

It has been a long time since I've written about Kenya so I hope you will be touched by these photos and brief report.

It has been raining a lot in Kenya and for a rather long time. Different issues have arisen here and there in the country, primarily flooding and destruction. My friend, Jonah has been in Kisumu, north west of where he lives. There is has been volunteering to try and help some of the flood victims. (Click on photos to enlarge).

(All photos belong to the Kenya Missions of Hope)

The workers had to use  boats to reach out to the people in the far flung islands created by the floods.

Please pray for the rains to stop in Kenya.

The people are praying for help and for the rains to stop.

If you would like to make a contribution to help them, you can send donation of your choice to kerichojoy[at]gmail[dot]com

If you would pray for the people that would be so encouraging also. Thank you so much. Click on the link to join others for Our World Tuesday.