Ducks and More Ducks

These duck photos are from my archives.  They were all photographed at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC.

I love watching birds but I seldom get to see any variety. 

I have to travel a distance before I have any photo opportunities to capture birds other than pigeons, crows, seagulls and sparrows.

I guess that is true of anyone who is a city dweller and would like to photograph birds. 

I think the detail on the feathers of these ducks is so beautiful.

Joining in with Eileen and others at 

Saturday's Critters

and

Weekend Reflections.

Thank you for stopping by.

Beautiful Nairobi Sky

African skies have some of the most beautiful sights

Today I'm featuring two fabulous sky shots taken by photographer

Curtis Masafu of Eyeland Pictures in Nairobi, Kenya.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday
 and
Friday Foto Friends

Happy weekend to you all!

Miss Sally ~ Home At Last!

I'm happy to say that Miss Sally (Part 1 here and Part 2 here) has made it home after almost a full month in hospital.  It was touch and go on several occasions but by God's grace Miss Sally has recovered and gone home.

Her discharge date was delayed by two days. The hospital had ordered some medicines from Nairobi and wanted to both administer the medicines and run tests to ensure a good red blood cell count.

January 22, 2018 ~ Miss Sally is overjoyed to be home again.

It has been difficult for me to focus on much over these past few weeks since Christmas other than Miss Sally's condition, my own sickness and praying for a few other needs. On good days I have done a lot of reading, crocheting or cooking and baking. On other days I've just managed to do a bit of house work here and there.

Lovely fields of green

near where Miss Sally was in hospital (near Bomet, Kenya).

Miss Sally is not out of the woods yet.  She will need to have a better diet and possibly supplements. If things don't improve consistently she will require more medications. If you feel led to help her in any way, kindly let me know. Otherwise we would appreciate your prayers for Miss Sally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

While my sickness with cold and flu bug has dragged on I don't feel up to doing the usual things. I've spent a lot of time in prayer and reading the word but have also spent a lot of time watching television and programming on Netflix. I managed to watch two full seasons of The Crown and enjoyed it very much. Claire Foy does a fantastic job of humanizing the Queen while maintaining the dignity required of a Queen.  The cast of actors are all fabulous.

I'm on a free trial for Netflix and it expires this week. I would like to cancel my television channels and subscribe to Netflix or other streaming service but am waiting for high speed internet to be available in my building. I hope I won't have to wait too much longer as it has already been years, yes you read that right. I've been waiting years for the high speed internet. When I first moved into my building we had the fasted internet speed in the area and in much of the city. I felt quite smug, lol. That didn't last because now we have the slowest internet in the area. It still pretty good considering but I'll want the much faster speed if I am going to rely on the internet for watching television and movies. I would then upgrade to unlimited internet data for home use.

When I'm confined to the house during illness I tend to want junk food or comfort food, especially late at night. I haven't been buying "treats" because of the high cost and also for health reasons.  Instead I'm doing some baking here and there. though I haven't exactly made healthy options, I can do things like reduce the amount of sugar used and so on.  I can also freeze some and eat it later.  I did some baking today.  The results are in the photo below.

I must be on a health upswing as I made three different treats

First up was something called Butter Cake. It was the first time I'd heard of it.  I came across the recipe when searching for a simple, basic cake.  It was quite tasty but I doubt very much I will make it again. Too much butter for me.  I really don't know what I was thinking because I wanted a lemon cake to use up some of my lemons. I did use some freshly squeezed lemon juice in the batter but the butter overwhelmed the lemon flavour I was after. Oh well, next time I will make sure to make a plainer cake with lots of lemon.

I also made a dozen blueberry muffins and a few dozen jumbo raisin cookies. Most of these will be frozen and used as needed.  I far prefer home made muffins to store bought ones. I only like the store bought muffins at high end places. Otherwise they tend to have a lot of oil or a lot of air. I like my muffins with a bit more substance.  Same with cookies. I don't like sweet cookies and I do like to have them large so I can dunk them in tea or coffee. These are also good to take with me when I run errands and I need a snack.

The muffins and cake were baked in silicone muffin and loaf pans.  

Personally I don't like silicon pans as much as I like the tin or metal ones. 

I find they completely change the texture of the food.
If you are a baker have you noticed any difference?

Joining with Our World Tuesday 

Pictorial Tuesday

Sally's Miracles - Part 2

This is Part 2 of the story of the elderly lady named Sally that I introduced you to about a week ago. If you missed Part 1 and are interested you can pick up the beginning of story here.

I left off in Part 1 by saying how Sally began having health issues and had to be admitted to hospital more than once.  I guess that can hardly be surprising at the ripe old age of  103 years but she had been a vibrant, energetic woman throughout her life so this was a new thing.  Sally began having unexplainable fainting spells and weakness.  Once admitted to hospital she was alternatively placed in a private ward or an in Intensive Care Unit depending on her particular condition which would change if she was in the hospital for any length of time.

A week and a half or so before Christmas 2017 she was discharged to go home from one of her hospital stays.  She was extremely happy because she wanted to spend Christmas in her own home. Of course anyone can understand that. But it wasn't meant to be. Within just a  few short days she returned to the hospital and has been there ever since.

Skies above Utali College, Nairobi, Kenya, January 18, 2018.

  Now comes what I feel is a very miraculous aspect to this story.

These Kenyan skies give a feeling of peace. Taken January 18, 2018.

I  had gone to sleep rather late on Christmas Eve and was awakened at approximately 5:50 Christmas morning. In Kenya the time would have been approximately 4:50 p.m. Christmas Day.  I awoke with a song playing through my head (Song: This is Just What Heaven Means to Me).  I felt led to pray for Miss Sally.  I knew from previous experience that this meant that Sally was struggling with life and likely on her way home to Heaven.  Yet I had been roused from sleep and felt the need to pray for Sally so I did. Shortly after prayer I went back to sleep. 

Another Nairobi sky, January 18, 2018.

Later that same day, I chatted with my Kenyan friend and asked some questions. Through the process I learned that Sally almost went home to be with her maker at precisely the same time I had been roused to pray for her.  But she rallied and ultimately lived through the day and was at that moment stablilized

I was very grateful. Grateful to hear Miss Sally was still amongst the living and grateful that I did pray for her too

I remember saying to my friend that I was glad that the family did not have to lose their loved one on Christmas Day. If that had happened they would always remember Christmas Day as the day that they lost their mother or grandmother.  I also said at the time that we do not know how long Miss Sally would live and remain on earth but we knew that God had answered prayer and he would determine how many days she would have left.

Since that time Miss Sally has had a few medical ups and downs. We thought she might be discharged at one point but later she lost strength and was ultimately sent to another city, as if often the case in Kenya, for MRI and other tests. They found that she has a very low red blood cell count and have been administering appropriate treatments.  But they also think there might be some kind of a spinal issue.  The doctors are thinking Sally may be released if her blood pressure stabilizes but she will need to return frequently as an outpatient for check up and  treatment.

We continue to pray for her and she seems to be improving daily.

I conclude this story by stating how strong Miss Sally's faith has been throughout this time. On the days when she has been able to talk and is aware of everything, she prays for the needs of others, sings songs of praise and encourages her family members to walk uprightly and in a Christian manner.  Her approach to life and her approach to dealing with these difficult days has been very inspiring. In fact, her ability to bounce back has been very surprising too to everyone, including the doctors.

I do not know how many days Miss Sally will be given but I thank God that I have been able to help her and that her faith has remained strong throughout.  It is very inspiring to walk with Sally through these latter days of her life

Now since it is Skywatch Friday I want to leave you with some a few more sky photos from Vancouver, British Columbia where I live.

This is the sky on Thursday afternoon So dark and foreboding.

If I look further up, I see there actually is some blue sky above.

I was lucky enough to capture a seagull in flight.

It has been raining heavily on and off over the last few days but the temperatures are about 5 degrees warmer than the usual temperatures at this time. That's what I learned on the late night weather report recently.  Thank you for dropping by. I do appreciate each and every one of you who visit and leave a comment.

Joining  in with

Skywatch Friday 

Friday Foto Friends

and

Saturday's Critters.

Update: Friday January 19/17 - I've received word that Sally is to be discharged this weekend. The hospital is waiting for medications sent from Nairobi. The medications are expensive.  I am helping with the full hospital bill and required medications but I need help for future medication needs. If there is anyone that feels led to help Sally into the future please do get in touch with me.
Otherwise, I understand.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

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.