On the Home Stretch to Christmas

Hello friends,

It is the final week before Christmas and I am enjoying the lead up to the big day.

I finished wrapping the small gifts I bought some time ago and will be dropping them off before Christmas to different friends. I have also decided to try and finish the lap quilt for my nephew and larger quilt for mom that I was going to gift last Christmas! These have just been sitting in the corner all year and waiting for me to add the finishing touches. I have so little to do on the lap quilt but the larger quilt requires a bit more work.

Lap quilt

Mom's quilt-in-progress

I have also just finished making two half slips for my mom. She hasn't been wearing slips for years but with the advancing age I think she feels it would be another layer to keep her warm.  When I went to purchase fabric to make the slips  they didn't have the usual colours (white and ivory) so I purchased a teal-ish green and a navy coloured fabric. These will be fine for her needs as they tend to be the colours in some of her dresses and skirts. I am also going to see if I can make a fuzzy vest for her. It is made out of slightly slinky fabric but it is a nice burgundy colour which she likes.


Earlier I asked her whether she needed any sweaters and she said a blue or green sweater would be a welcome addition to her wardrobe. I couldn't believe when I managed to find a blue sweater. It is rather a long one, probably longer than she needs but I think she will still like it because of the colour and because it is a little heavier than the sweaters I've been buying her lately. I gather from talking to her that the staff haven't been putting on the long sleeved tops and long pants I bought to try and keep mom warm. Just last week, one of the nicer staff "found" a lot of the newer clothing items I'd purchased and mom told me she didn't know she had. She does get a little forgetful now and then.

Mom's new sweater

The new phone

Lately mom has been having problems with her phone. My brother is visiting her for a few days right now.  In his investigations he found talcum powder that seems to have been knocked over and unfortunately got in between the key pad buttons and in the base of the phone. I'm glad he found the problem so he can buy another phone set and set it up before he leaves. Phone problems really upset  my mom's sense of well-bring. This is understandable since the phone is her connection to the outside world, including her children.



My nephew called today with exciting news. He has just finished his last exam and is now working in the laboratory with "his rats". He has been accepted to one of the top universities in eastern Canada. He is still waiting to hear back from the other 5 or so universities to which he has applied for his graduate studies, including where he is studying now. Wherever he decides to go (hopefully in the city where I live), he will be there for about 7 years so he wants to make the right decision and is planning a trip to the east to check out the universities before making a final decision.

He will also be coming with me sans girlfriend this year to visit his grandmother. So I am looking forward to that since we seldom spend time together given how busy he is with studies, work and a girlfriend.  I have rented a 2 bedroom suite with full kitchen so that my family members all have a place to stay since none of us live in mom's city. We will all have a chance to get caught up with one another and have the comforts of home at the same time. Now I just need to get my grocery list together and take some extra posts and pans on the journey.

My heart is also in Kenya right now with the poor villagers that need so much. With the help of my friend, Jonah we had a food distribution and party at one village church. Though he tried to keep it quiet, word got out to surrounding churches and many others attended for the party. A special thank you to one of my blog followers who helped make the party possible ( I won't say names as he probably wants to keep it private but he knows who he is). I will be posting photos as soon as I get them. In the meantime, plans are underway to do a food distribution to the orphans at Grace House where Grace and the 20 or so orphans she cares for need food and other things. The other place we will do a small food distribution is at one of the smaller Internally Displaced People's camps. In the end I did not have enough funds to also purchase the much needed sanitary napkins for the women and girls of the camp. Read here for more information.

If any of you wish to help with these two food distributions please contact me.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday.

Blessings of the season to each and every one of  you.

Keeping Busy

It was such a gorgeous, mostly clear day today.  I couldn't help but take a lot of photos. 

This beautiful day comes after a week of coastal storms that wreacked a lot of havoc along the Pacific Coast. California was hardest hit but we saw some damage in British Columbia where I live.

The sky was clear to the north of me.

There was light cloud and a contrail above.

What a beautiful, blue sky!

Can you spot the small plane (photo below) between the tall ornamental grass (see the top)?

It's been a comfortable week or tidying and organizing the things I will take when I visit my mom for Christmas.

I have also been reading some good books.

I just finished, The King's Curse, an engaging novel about King Henry the 8th and his inability to sire a legitimate male heir to his throne.

This well researched biography of  the Romanov sisters, the 4 daughters of the last Tzar of Russia, is another book I am just finishing.  The book is actually the story of the entire royal family and not just the 4 daughters. It is a good read if you want to understand something of Russian history.

Paris in Love is a lighter read I am half way through.  The book, is written by Eloise James, New York Times best selling author and a Professor of Shakespeare.   After discovering she has cancer, Eloise and her husband sell their home, pack up the children and move to Paris.  The book is not a story per se but is written from the tidbits she posted on Facebook and Twitter while living  in Paris.

I also picked up Nomad at the library on Saturday. It is a book written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali who fled her restrictive life in Africa for Holland after being promised in marriage to an older, man in Canada. The book is about the author's ideas about how to truly integrate Muslims into the West in a manner which will help avoid tensions and problems with an ever growing Muslim population. Needless to say her books are provocative and her efforts to speak up against Islam have placed her life in danger. She made a documentary with a young man who was later killed for working with her. I am just getting started on this book and think it would be a valuable read for most of my blog readers.

Last but not least, I am reading  Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren.  I had never heard of this man who is a leader in the Emergent Church movement until a friend in Kenya met him (in fact, I know next to nothing about the Emergent Church).  Now I am introducing myself to his writings. This is not a new book by the author and I am just at the part where he is searching for a deeper meaning in his walk with God. I'm sure it will be a good book as I sense this man thinks of the deeper issues of spirituality and that is mostly always a good thing.

I wrote here of plans to bring Christmas cheer to many poor Kenyans. My friend Jonah in Kenya was to start the Christmas food distributions to villagers on Sunday. I am excited and hope to share pictures later.

There is still time for you to be a part of Christmas food gift distributions to the orphans at Grace's House and to the Internally Displaced People.  If you would like to help with a monetary contribution you can contact me at the address on my profile page. Thanks!

I am late for Skywatch this week but
 contributing anyway.

Have a wonderful week!