Thursday, August 8, 2019

Skies Over Vancouver, Skies Over You




Hello friends,

It's hard to believe but the summer here is almost over.

I captured these beauties in the early morning hours of Monday, August 5, 2019. 

Taken at night at the community garden plots on August 8, 2019.

Just a brief note about the Kenyan missions.  Ernest, the young man who was run over in Kenya (see side bar photos) is recovering well at home. He is escorted to the hospital each week for a check up to make sure everything is going well. The metal contraption (its name escapes me) has been removed. He now wears a cast and gets around with crutches and a wheelchair.

Ernest is discharged from hospital.

Here he is a few weeks later after the medical device was removed from his leg.
Thank you so much to the two friends who helped with his hospital bill.


Night descends quickly but still lots of people sitting in the park.

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In sadder news, my friend Eunice has been in hospital for going on 6 months in a city called Nakuru, Kenya.  This city is about 3 hours away from her home and she is at this hospital because she requires more more specialized care.  But she really hasn't been doing well for most of the 6 months.  The family has been told to remove her from hospital due to significant unpaid bill but before she can be transported she needs to get a bit stronger.  The bill must be paid before they will allow her to be moved  (a catch 22 situation).
The family is hoping to move her back to her home town and is trying to arrange hospice care there.
Hospice care will take more funds but if she has to be hospitalized in the public hospital much of the cost should be covered by health insurance. We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out because very little is ever straight forward in Kenya.
Kindly keep this need and this family in prayer.
I believe in answers to prayer.


 
 
It's a miracle to know the same sky that covers me here at home covers the people where you are and moreover covers the people in Kenya. Such an awesome thought.

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Joining in with 
Skywatch Friday this week. 
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.



Thursday, August 1, 2019

A Productive July Ends

It's been a busy week so far. Nothing terribly exciting happening but all is satisfying.

First up I delivered half of my personal library to a local care home. The recreational advisor saw my advertisement on the local Freecycle and said he would take all the books. So that was a God send since most takers just want a fictional book or two. A great many of the books I donated history books and reference books of all kinds (cooking, gardening, travel, self help and health books, how to books and cookbooks and a great many other topics).  The recreational person I dealt with told me they will sell books to benefit the seniors in their care. I do hope that they will have good success with the sales.



Reading continues with a few good books in my pile each week. My recent reads were The Paris Seamstress, Rebel Queen and The Next Person You Meet in Heaven.  They were all good books and I've listed them in the order of enjoyment in case you are interested.  Right now I'm reading a few books on fashion: Gok Wan's Work Your Wardrobe  and The Way She Wears It  by Dallas Shaw.  I'm relearning a lot of what I once knew and it is good to have a refresher.  Most of my newer reads are borrowed from the library so that I'm not spending the money and adding to my clutter at home.




One of my errands on Monday was to go the beautiful Granville Island. This is a very popular spot with tourists and locals alike but I wasn't there to stroll around and enjoy. I stopped at a store called Ten Thousand Villages to pick up a parcel of small items I ordered on line and asked to be delivered to the store front. It saved about $ 10.00 Canadian on shipping charges which is a lot considering the parcel was very small. If I had heavier things or larger things on order, then paying the shipping charges would be a good idea.  In fact, in my previous order with this company I had the parcel shipped to my local post office.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the products I've purchased from this place so far. I also like that the products are purchased from various countries abroad at fair trade prices. If you'd like to check it out please do because you would be benefiting artisans from developing nations.   If you want to check out the store, please check here.

Some of you might wonder why I am buying things when I am doing major decluttering.  One reason is I like to shop for gift ideas for Christmas and birthdays throughout the year.  This helps spread the cost over many months.

The other reason is that though I have too much stuff, one area where I am lacking is accessories, especially necklaces and earrings which help to stretch one's wardrobe into numerous outfits.

I keep an eye out for things I can purchase at a good price and that will coordinate with my wardrobe, current and planned.  Since I've already donated many clothing items  I will need to supplement my wardrobe in future.  But I don't need anything for awhile and can make do with what I have.  I also have plans to sew some things with the fabric I purchased in Kenya earlier in the year.  I will buy some coordinating fabric here in town to try and extend my wardrobe options that way too. So I can hold off buying new clothing until I know for sure what I really need.  

Last time I wrote about my knees I mentioned that I need to get updated x-rays.  I finally made it early in the week for the x-rays on both knees.  I expect soon to be referred to the center that educates arthritis patients to better manage their symptoms and assess them as to whether they need surgery.

Other than that I've been busy with the usual household things and a bit of shopping for a new wall clock,  yarn and food for the house.

While relaxing in the evening I'm knitting dishcloths for Christmas gifts. It's really the main that I knit and I have built up a little stash.  I enjoy knitting these simple cloths and it helps me feel like I'm doing something constructive while I relax.

I went to the community garden and snipped off some beautiful sunflowers to place at home. I noticed there were some ants in them so I had to get those out before I brought the flowers indoors.

I also snipped some salad greens and brought home. I made a simple green salad tonight with hamburgers on buns for dinner.


The container garden is holding up well. The rest of the garden doesn't look so great and I'm not really sure why. Probably a combination of over watering at times and under watering at other times.

Right now though there are workers out there and so they don't take care how they throw things around. After their work of power washing and painting walls is done I think my garden will be largely finished for this summer. If I have time I may plant some thing from seed just to see if it comes up and blossoms before we get too far into Fall weather.



Geraniums are a favourite in my garden.




I'll continue being busy at home for a few weeks with plans to see a movie or two with a friend and visit with an out of town friend who should be arriving soon.  My house guests won't start arriving until the end the month. Until then I have a lot to keep me busy. That's my update for now. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves wherever you are in the world.



Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

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