What's Happening This Week?

While I've been convalescing I have been very busy with my hands. I've already shared some photos in this post but have added to my work.

Another crocheted afghan. This is another lap cover for when one is watching television on a chilly night. I've spread it across an armchair so you can see the colour and the pattern.

This is Toffee Brickle in Caron Big Cakes yarn.

It took awhile for these colours to grow on me but now I really like the blend because the brightness "lifts" the grey, cloudy days when there is little to no sunshine outside. I enjoy this pattern once past the first 2-3 rows and have already purchased yarn in Mint Fudge colour to make a 3rd and final afghan for the year. I haven't started making it yet.

I also made several knitted dishcloths. I seem to go through quite a lot of these.

It's probably because I like to hand wash all the dishes rather than put them through the dishwasher. I also use a bit of bleach in the wash water. It's something my mother did and I now do.  The bleach is rinsed off with very hot water after the dishes are washed.  When I was a young teenager in Home Ec. class I never forget the teacher telling us that "many" people got sick from germs on the dishes. I don't know where she got that information but it makes sense. I don't recall the teacher using any bleach but I do remember her being very focussed on germs and the need for sanitation and sanitary conditions in the kitchen.

Once I have a bit of a rest, I plan to make a few simple tops and pants for myself in linen, rayon and cotton. These are obviously for the warmer temperatures ahead *smile. I've started cutting out the pants but didn't feel much like working on the clothing over the past few days.

In the meantime, I finished reading this "cosy" mystery. I was correct in my assessment of "who dunnit" but the book kept the mystery quite well until the end.

The next book I'm reading is called Refuge about a daughter and father relationship written from the point of view of the daughter who escaped Iran and  made a new life first in America, then in the Netherlands.  I've started reading it and I already like the author's style of writing so I'm looking forward to getting into it further.

This is a description from Amazon

An Iranian girl escapes to America as a child, but her father stays behind. Over twenty years, as she transforms from confused immigrant to overachieving Westerner to sophisticated European transplant, daughter and father know each other only from their visits: four crucial visits over two decades, each in a different international city. The longer they are apart, the more their lives diverge, but also the more each comes to need the other's wisdom and, ultimately, rescue. Meanwhile, refugees of all nationalities are flowing into Europe under troubling conditions. Wanting to help, but also looking for a lost sense of home, our grown-up transplant finds herself quickly entranced by a world that is at once everything she has missed and nothing that she has ever known. Will her immersion in the lives of these new refugees allow her the grace to save her father?

 

On my reading list for later in the week.

What about you dear reader?

What has been keeping you busy?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments box.

For those reading Sally's story, I will post the next installment soon.

Part 1 can be found by clicking here.

Thank you for your interest. 

Joining with Our World Tuesday.

Sally's Miracles ~ Part 1

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 

Mark 1:35 (ESV) 

~~~~~~~~

Some of my long time readers know that I do some missions work in the country of Kenya, East Africa.  I've been doing small projects here and there for approximately 10 years.  The work is done on a small scale and I do not have any financial partners in carrying out the work though from time to time friends have assisted.

The sky is beautiful almost every day here and you will often find goats in the middle of the highway near Marigat (north of Nakuru) in Kenya.

During the 10 year period, I have been engaged in many different aspects of humanitarian work and in all cases I work with local pastors and lay leaders in small villages. Primarily the work has been based in and around the small city of Kericho in the Great Rift Valley but has also extended to the northern and northeastern areas of Kenya where the Pokot and Samburu peoples live.  From time to time, the work has also extended to small cities and towns like Garissa (near the coast), Nakuru (northeast of Nairobi), Olenguruone (in the SW Mau National Reserve), Narok and Bomet near the Masaii Mara National Reserve and in Nairobi City.

Street scene in Marigat, just opposite the market.

The work is challenging due to lack of financial support but for anyone who has a calling you know that you press on despite the challenges and trials and you pray a lot for God to help you meet the call.  I believe that God placed a burden in my heart for the people of Africa and for the people of Kenya in particular.  I pray for God's leading and direction and help for

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:62 (ESV)

I want to be faithful in what I am doing but I also want to be fruitful. 
In that I must trust that God leads me to those he would want me to help and and encourage. 

The life in the villages in Kenya is very difficult indeed. 
While the country is very rich in resources and there are many well to do people, the poverty level is extremely high and unemployment is at a rate which would be totally unacceptable in the west. 

The last time I checked, unemployment was at approximately 70 percent and the World Bank reported that 45.5 % of  Kenya's population lived in poverty.  Many Kenyans have pursued higher education despite great sacrifice as a way to try and become employable but even those who graduate from university or other training have a very hard time finding a job. 

In a report I read last year, the daily newspaper stated that on average it took 5 years for graduates to find work. Approximately 80% of the country's population is under the age of 35 so you can guess that there is a very high dissatisfaction rate amongst the majority of Kenyans. 
At this moment, I happen to know several graduates ranging in ages from 24 to 39 years of age.  
Some of them have  multiple degrees but only one of them is employed and that was after years of short term jobs and trying to find stable employment. 
I hope this short overview of the country's poverty and unemployment situation gives you a bit of background into why my work though small is extremely important to those that receive it. 

Over the past decade my work has transitioned from helping with educations costs for orphans, seeds and fertilizers for widows and single mothers, food relief for starving people in the north and those in Internally Displaced Peoples(IDP) camps.

These days most of my efforts are in helping people receive medical care.
This is an area where there is great need and the cost of one person's medical care is not inexpensive. 
In fact, I would say the cost of medicines and certain treatments costs the same as in Canada if one had to pay for it. In Canada we do have great medical insurance but we do not yet have a national drug plan and there are still the odd persons here and there who do not have insurance.

It is then easy to see why people need assistance with medical costs in Kenya. Otherwise they simply die.
Sometimes they die anyway as in the case of a few people we have tried to help over the past year.

About one year ago it came to my attention that a very elderly woman who lives near the town of Bomet, Kenya (near Narok which is located northwest of Nairobi.) was having difficulty with her eyes. 
She could no longer see very well and since she was living alone it was getting more and more difficult for her to collect firewood, make fire and feed herself.
The woman's name is Sally.
Sally is 103 years old and the mother to 12 children, 9 of whom are still living.  She has been a Christian for approximately half of her life and is a staunch believer in prayer and in living a Godly life.
 I am not sure how many grandchildren and great grandchildren she has but they are all in dire economic straits as approximately half of the country's population.

I asked my youth pastor friend to please take Sally to the missions hospital in Tenwek for an eye check. 
At Tenwek they attempted treatment but Sally's was a difficult case and they referred her to Sabatia Eye Hospital in the western part of Kenya.

Sabatia Eye Hospital is only one of two eye hospitals in Kenya. The other, called Lions is located in Nairobi. 
Sabatia is located in Vihiga in Western Kenya (near Kakamega in western Kenya) and it offers both inpatient and outpatient services to patients who arrive from all over Kenya.

 (Promotional photo for Sabatia Eye Hospital)


 Going to Sabatia required a long bus journey and a stay of several days at the hospital lodgings which of course entails a lot more resources.  Time is needed to enable an eye assessment, eye surgery and follow up care.  
Sally did get the eye surgery she needed. It was very successful and she

was extremely happy.
In Kenya many of the elders do not look at the camera straight with their eyes. They mostly do not like their photos taken too and wonder what tourists and foreigners do with their photos. 
I can certainly understand that and have learned to ask first if it okay to take a photo.
In this case, my friend took photos at my request and after Sally's surgery, she gladly looked straight into the camera as if to show me that she can now see.

Sally shortly after returning from eye surgery. She was suffering from a bout of malaria in this photo.

  At Sally's advanced age, she is still able to take care of her personal needs but was finding it harder to go long distances to collect firewood and to safely cook over the fire.
I felt led to do what I could to help her in her day to day life. 
Sadly, just today I read in the Kenyan paper how an elderly woman of 77 years of age fell into the fire while trying to cook and died. Unfortunately no one heard her and her grandson found her later after he arrived home from school. 

There are many issues related to cooking in Kenya but I will say that for another day.
For now, I focus on Sally's story.

After Sally returned home from Sabatia Eye Hospital I asked my friend if he would assess Sally's household needs so she could be made more comfortable in her old age.

He let me know her house was in need of repairs, she needed a water filter, a new bed and chairs.
I agreed and I also determined she needed new bedding and some warm clothing as it rains a lot where she lives.

My friend set about getting Sally's son and other relatives to assisting in the work that was needed and he went to buy the items. One of Sally's daughters was able to take care of the clothing requirements.
My friend also found a young female relative who needed a job who could help with collecting firewood, cooking and taking care of any of Sally's other needs.
 

When you buy goods and take them to the village you must usually walk a far distance from the road up paths  and through fields to your home. When it is wet or raining the paths can be very muddy.

In Kenya there is still  no national pension for old people though it is expected to begin sometime this month of January 2018. It will be a process before everyone over the age of 70 years of age will be enrolled and start receiving funds. Once established the elderly will receive approximately $28-30 Canadian dollars every other month. It isn't a lot but it will help the elderly to buy some basic food items.

Some of the gifts being presented to Sally. Her son looks on.

In addition to hiring a helper for Sally, we purchased a bed, mattress and bedding, and warm clothing. Sally already had wooden chairs but my friends purchased some plastic chairs which are easily moved in and out of the house to sit outside when the weather is agreeable.

See into the doorway where the mattresses are propped up. These photos were taken before the house repairs.

One of Sally's daughters looks on.

My friends also helped to hire people to clean, tidy and spruce up the humble home by making repairs to the mud plaster exterior walls and the tin roof.  

Iron sheets for the roof repair.

 

This is the house after repairs. The kitchen  (see far left in 1 of the photos above) has not been repaired.

Finally we were able to locate and purchase a large water filter though I am not sure it actually works properly and the funds may have been wasted.  The kitchen which is in great disrepair is a job that I was unable to deal with due to lack of funds.

Water filter made and sold by a local non-profit group.

It wasn't too long after all this work was completed when Sally started having health problems.
Since then she has been admitted into hospital several times.

 ~~~~
Given the length of this post, I will report more on Sally's hospitalizations in the next installment of her story.

Thank you for stopping by and for reading about Sally.

I hope you will come back for the remainder of the story.

~~~~~

Linking up with Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

and 

Saturday's Critters

My Week

It's been a busy week of homemaking and staying indoors as I'm still feeling a bit poorly. 

Alterations for my niece.

Baked cinnamon buns

Added frosting so I could use up the cream cheese. I didn't realize I put it on so messily.

Rustic bannock bread to go with the soup in the Instant Pot.

A version of comforting hamburger soup bubbling away.

Third book finished in 2018.

Second afghan under way.

I won't be making any more baked desserts as it isn't good for  my blood sugar but it sure tasted good!

I hope you are having a good week wherever you are.

Joining in with 

Our World Tuesday.

Two Loaves

I was surprised to discover I hadn't made any basic white bread for quite some time. Years in fact. I more or less know how long because I inevitably post the bread images and recipes here.  This bread I've made before and you can find it by using "bread" in the blog search box (upper left corner).  My last few bread baking sessions have focussed on making healthier breads but on Wednesday I felt like some good white bread.

I didn't think to take photos until the baking was done.  I could hardly wait to taste the bread but it needed to cool first. When I finally had a taste the bread was very moist inside and crunchy on the outside. Just perfect. Is there anything better than warm bread with butter or jam or both on a cool day? Next time I go shopping I will see if there is any multigrain flour in the shop. I haven't looked for it since the grocery store changed hands. If there is none I can purchase some whole wheat flour and perhaps a small bag of white flour too. In thinking about the title for this post it reminded me of the miraculous story of the five loaves and two fish, except instead of two fish I have two loaves *wink.  Many of you will know the story very well. Others of you may not have heard how Jesus fed a multitude of people (5000 people) on five loaves of bread and two fish that a young boy in the crowd had with him.   

 ~~~~~

John 6:10-14

¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

~~~~~~

What an awesome miracle.
 I have an equally awesome miracle to share with you. A miracle that occurred over Christmas.  For sure, Jesus is still in the miracle working business. If you've ever been a part of a miracle you know how exciting it is.  I will share the story here on the blog so please visit again soon.
Deb and her readers at Friday Foto Friends might be interested in this story.

This week I was also reminiscing about the beautiful walks along the waterfront that I took in late Fall. We had a spectacular Fall season. I always enjoy Fall. I have a few photos of dogs and birds which I want to share with Eileen and participants in Saturday Critters.

Can you spot the dog and the geese?  There's also a seagull in the background on the rocks.

Last but not least, I'm sharing a fabulous sky from the first day of this year, 2018.

 It was a real delight to have such a fabulous sky greet me on the very first day of the year. 

It is very unusual because it is generally rainy season. Having said that the weather has now warmed up several degrees and so we are back to some rain.  The weather can change very quickly on the coast.

The first photo was what it looked like here on New Year's Eve Day and on New Year's Day.

The last photo was taken at twilight on January 1, 2018.

I am blessed to see the beautiful mountains whenever the sky is clear.

Thank you for stopping by and sharing a piece of your day with me.

Joining in with

Skywatch Friday

 Friday Foto Friends

&

Saturday's Critters

A Few Good Days

Hello friends,

I hope you are all enjoying the first week of the new year. If you are back at work I'm sure you will be happy it is a short week this week. I know it is always difficult to get back into the swing of things after a bit of a break. In my last few working years I preferred working over the holiday when it was quiet and I didn't have the difficulty of transitioning back after Christmas and New Year's break.

I've had a bit of a cold over the holiday period. Just enough to make me less interested in being on line but not enough to keep me from other interests. It has been bright and cold over the past few days but today it warmed up several degrees and that always brings the rain. I'll take that to the heavy snowstorms they are dealing with across much of  North America.

In  my last post I showed you my crochet project. I finished my afghan the night before last but haven't yet put all the fringes on it. I just wanted to make sure I finished something sooner rather than later so I can move on to other projects. I've been enjoying hot cups of decaf tea late into the night while I work on the crochet project. I am happy with how the afghan turned out but I apologize for the exposure in the photo as I took this and the next photo late at night.

I enjoyed making this and may make another one in a different colour scheme.

I decided to get started right away on another project. 

This time it will be a doily.

I haven't made this pattern for many years. I've already had to unravel and re-do 2 times and will do so again.

The pattern requires a lot of counting and one error made means (for me) starting again.  Sometimes you can cover up mistakes. I don't like to do that where doilies are concerned. Once I make this I will immediately make one more while the pattern is still "fresh" in my mind.

I've got some minor alterations to do this week too before I can start on bigger projects of any kind.

My new reading material is called Arabic for Beginners.  It's about an American Canadian woman who accompanies her husband and small children to live in Jerusalem for a year. There she joins a group of  ex-pat women at her son's daycare and becomes friends with a young Palestinian woman. I'm in the early stages of the book. It is quite good in that it gives you insight into the Israeli-Palestinian life, politics and tensions. I've read several books of this nature and always find them helpful to understanding life in Israel.

The other book I'm reading is described as a cosy mystery. I can vouch for the cosiness of the book. Though not along the caliber of writers like Ken Follet, a few pages into it I can see it will be a satisfying read. It is a book by another Canadian author who is the author of two traditional mystery series. I only read mystery books quite sparingly. So far, I've enjoyed them.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment if you can. 

I hope you visit again when you can.

Happy New Year!

May you all have a fantastic 2018.

Happy New Year

Hello everyone, I'm just popping in to let you know I've been enjoying my Christmas holiday.

I spent a few days doing a bit of last minute shopping for stocking stuffers, tidying and cleaning and preparing for the Christmas meal which was loved and enjoyed by the invited guests. One of my guests was sick so didn't come but the 6 other guests made it and we had great time of feasting and fellowship.

I especially enjoyed seeing that my guests not only enjoyed the food but in some cases had 2-3 helpings.  I remember several of these same guests to dinner about 3 years ago when they were still fairly new to Canada. At that time they only ate sparingly. I don't know if it was due to cultural differences of what is polite, they didn't like the food or they were unaccustomed to the flavours of a Canadian Christmas.  What a difference a few years made!

I did a bit of last minute baking and one of the new to me items this year was Chocolate Crinkle cookies using Betty Crocker cake mix. I got the idea from Affectioknit's blog. My crinkle cookies didn't crinkle quite enough but they were tasty. I do hope to make them again as they are very simple to prepare.

Since Christmas, I've been slowly clearing all the dishes from Christmas Day and general tidying up. I've also gone out several times to shop for sales and to run a few errands. It has kept me busy enough though I made sure to skip the Boxing Day madness.  There are always so many people in the stores on Boxing Day that I prefer to avoid the shops. There are still lots of sales for the week after Christmas though you will have less selection as people go crazy snapping up the goods while they are on clearance prices. As for me, I try to do my clearance shopping throughout the year.

One of the places I went to was Michael's. I was looking for a small, table top Christmas tree to replace the one I've been using (above).  But they were practically sold out of Christmas items and there was not one tree in sight. Instead I purchased yarn, also on sale. I started making a new to me crochet afghan. Figuring out the pattern was a bit frustrating so after several tries I gave up and went looking for help on YouTube.

Fortunately the pattern is relatively simple once you figure it out! I normally gravitate toward brighter colours and was very tempted to buy bright blues or reds this time too.  But I like the soothing quality of the colours I selected. This afghan will be used as a throw in my living room on those chilly evenings.  The colour in the finished product will complement my living room furnishings better too.

Today (December 27th) I must go out and  buy a few items for New Year's dinner. It won't be a big dinner as we have a family tradition of remaining quietly at home and contemplating what is before us in the New Year.

Like many of you I do not make New Year's resolutions but several years ago I started setting out goals in several areas of my life (things I wanted to accomplish in each area of importance). 

This method has worked well for me to keep me moving forward in several areas of my life.

A few years ago I added a guiding word for myself to keep me mindful of a key theme I need to focus on over the year.

~~~

In 2017, I set my intention to rest but was only partially successful. 

Or should I say intermittently successful.

Mom's health deteriorated progressively in 2017 and she ultimately passed on Good Friday. 

After that I did take a good long rest which I sorely needed.

~~~~

In 2018 my word is "act" or "action".
(Col. 3: 23-24, 1 Peter 1:13, Titus 1: 16)

 Over the course of years a number of things on my personal agenda had to be pushed back or left undone due to circumstances and other priorities. 

I won't list my goals for 2018 as I haven't even set them down in writing yet.

There are a number of things to get done in 2018 (crocheting, knitting, a bit of quilting a bit of traveling) so I will be moving forward on those.  

Last year I also set a very modest reading goal of about 32 books. I say about because I don't remember the original number and it kept increasing as I read more books. In the end I finished off 47 books without having my nose in a book every day.  

In 2018 I will keep my reading goals to a modest number once again. For now it is set at 35 books and that number will likely inch up again.  A lower number lets me feel like I have time to do other things as well as partake in reading, one of my favourite hobbies.  If I didn't take the time to set other intentions then reading would be all I ever did.

 The goal will inch up fairly quickly at first because I already have about 7 books on the go which are at various stages of completion.

As for other goals those haven't been fleshed out yet but I have enough to get started.

We've had a few beautiful sunny days which usually means colder weather. It will warm up approximately 6 degrees and bring the rain.

Before I go I wanted to wish each and every one of you a safe and peaceful the New Year. 

 May 2018 be all you hope for and more.

 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.  
(Psalm 90:12)

Joining in with Lady Fi and the gang at Our World Tuesday

Make it for Christmas

This year I learned how to make a few things for Christmas gifts.

I made some Frankincense and Myrrh Perfume.  I didn't quite make it as per the recipe because  I had some issues getting all the right ingredients.  But I did try it out and next time I will  have everything in stock. I still have the 5 roll on bottles which I ordered from Amazon so I can make more  of this perfume or any other scent I desire.  I sourced the ingredients from local stores but they are also available on Amazon.

The bottle with the cap off and the steel ball roller is the one that I made.

One thing about the perfume is that several of the oils are quite pricey (frankincense, myrrh and the jojoba oil used as carrier oil).  Of course a little goes a long way but if you do not like the scents then you've made the perfume for naught.  I didn't mind the experiment because the frankincense and myrrh oils are associated with the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus but you might wish to at least sniff the essential oil testers if you buy in person.

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it yourself.

The other gift I made is called Vanilla Infused Sugar. I don't use a lot of sugar and neither do my friends but a little of this special sugar will be a treat.

This sugar will now infuse for one week and then I will strain out the vanilla pods.

I just made enough for several small jam jars (using about 2 cups of sugar and 3 vanilla beans).  I will give these as gifts when they are ready after tying some raffia around them or some colourful ribbon, adding labels and short notes with some ideas for using the sugar.

Here is the Vanilla Infused Sugar recipe.

Earlier in the week I also attended a workshop and learned how to make some very simple candles and bath bombs.

The candle making was super easy.  There were a lot of people in the workshop so the instructor decided to do an easy project which involved only two items:  beeswax sheets and rolls of candle wick. If you would like to make these items but don't have supplies near you these are items that can be found on Amazon.

To make the candles you simply place the wick at one end and roll the beeswax tightly.  At the end you gently squeeze the ends to the body of the candle. The wax melts and seals itself.  It surely cannot get any easier than that. Beeswax sheets now come in a variety of colours.  I used purple and the little candle below is just for me. I guess I should trim the wick a little as it is a bit long.

You can get quite creative with the beeswax sheets and use several colours placed in various ways to make a pretty pattern.  I think these candles would also make nice birthday gifts.

The bath bombs we made are also super easy to make.  The recipe is here.  The recipe link I've shared will take you to a very similar recipe to the one we used. The instructor also brought dried herbs and flowers which we could add to our bath bomb mixture and/or to the molds themselves.  One of the batches mixed by my group wasn't quite wet enough so a bit of it came apart at the top (see photo above, top right).  That's okay because these bath bombs are just for me.

I had a lot of fun with my workshop table mates.
They were all super friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Now I must get on to wrapping the rest of the gifts I am giving. Believe it or not I still haven't posted two parcels but I have to do a bit of sewing before I can post one of them.
The lead up to Christmas will now be spent cleaning, putting up Christmas decorations, buying food for Christmas guests and generally getting ready for Christmas.
I'm a bit late with things this year though I started my preparations (gift buying) early.
I really want to enjoy a Christmas of peace and joy.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a wonderful Christmas season.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday.