A Frigid Day

It's been a very busy and a very frigid week. It didn't start out so cold but as the days went by it got gradually colder and it isn't done yet.  You can perhaps see the chill in the sky.

Sky

 

It was rush hour as I headed out to the library. 

Books

After I picked up the new books I head straight to McD's for a hot coffee and began to read the new memoir written by the country singer, Sara Evans. I'm enjoying it so far and the other books look really good as well. At least I have my reading material for the weekend.

 Snow

It snowed twice this week. Once on Monday and once on Tuesday but the snow didn't stick around. It is supposed to snow again on several days before the weekend is over. I found it very cold here and apparently the city smashed a 100 year record for cold weather in the last day or so. However the temperatures are nothing like it is in most of the rest of the province and in other parts of Canada and probably the USA too.

Meals

Saturday night I made some boiled bratwurst and had potato salad with it. Sunday night was the NFL Superbowl. We had BBQ ribs and chicken wings. I didn't have anything else. I don't actually watch the football game I just listen to the half time show and I was pleased and proud of Canadian, The Weeknd (not a spelling error) and his show. It's been reported that he spent $7M of his own money in addition to the production funds provided by Pepsi company,  to create a fabulous show. I don't know if that is true or a rumour but I thought the show was very, very creative. Did any of you see it, and if yes, what did you think of it.

Monday night we had fried fillet of sole with lemon pepper, buttery corn niblets and steamed rice.

Tuesday night I made roasted pork belly, stir fried kale and crispy tofu and steamed rice once again. It is only the second time I've made pork belly and it is quite delicious. I bought a fairly large chunk of it and have cut and packaged enough for another two meals in future.

On Wednesday night I made a tossed salad with a variety of greens, grape tomatoes cut in half and red onions. The dressing was made of grapeseed oil, mustard, honey and freshly squeezed orange juice.  We had steamed BBQ salmon and steamed rice.  Sorry my photo of the salmon shows a partially eaten dinner. I had forgotten to take a photo before I started eating.

I think it must be some kind of record for me to make steamed rice so often in one week.

Friday's dinner is going to be beef brisket with a homemade brisket rub, nugget potatoes and salad. I might actually make fried rice instead of, or in addition to, the nugget potatoes since I want to use up the leftover rice. Whatever is not eaten will be good for leftover lunch.

Here are some photos I took when I went brisket shopping. I didn't actually know I was going to buy brisket but always keep my eyes open for a sale on it. It has become very expensive over the years.

These ones were far too big and close to $100 Canadian.

I bought one of the smaller ones on the left.

Kenyan Missions

Pastor Jonah has had a busy week too and was unexpectedly called to a village where he is helping a widow with land issues in a situation where her husband died intestate. The matter is proceeding through court to get legal land grant and I understand that land and court officials and the area chiefs (local traditional leadership) want to make a site visit to assure themselves that everything is above board. Once this is done I don't think it will take too long to get a court hearing to hear the final verdict. I'm not sure how much longer after that it will take for all the grantees to obtain land titles in their own names as the widow/executrix is subdividing the land amongst the rightful beneficiaries. Then she can breathe easier knowing that she has a place to live until the end of her days.  It has taken long to get this far and also been costly. Kindly keep this matter in your prayers.

The usual helps have been given out to 5 people for medicine, medical care and food as well as some funds for medical insurance cover.

 

 I was planning to go to the lab for blood work on Friday but was thinking of  waiting until Monday due to the cold weather we're having. Now I see that it's Family Day, a statutory holiday on Monday so I either have to go on Friday after all, or wait until Tuesday.

Take care everyone and keep warm.

 Linking up with Skywatch Friday

 

I am Happy the Sun Came Out

Dear friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you enjoy the sky photos today. I was very happy to see the sun and the break in the gray skies. I can feel Spring in the air.

Sky

The early blooming pansies are surviving.

Reading and Projects

I continue to be busy with the personal family digital project. This weekend I will fine tune it and put the final touches on the first phase of it. I will be happy when it is completely done and I estimate completion by the end of February.

I haven't had much time or mental energy for reading while working on the project which also requires a lot of mental energy.  Sadly I have decided to discontinue reading The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a classic novel on which the movie, Sir Lawrence of Arabia is based. Truthfully I find it a big bore.  I've plodded through 150 pages and it's taken me at least 10 tries to get that far. I can't remember much of anything I've read so it will go back to the library in a few days.  I hope I don't offend anyone who read it and enjoyed it.  Maybe I will try reading it again one day because i think it's important to try and read the classics but for now I'm aborting my efforts. I did very much enjoy The Book of Lost Names however. This is the 4th book I've read by the same author. I do enjoy her stories. Click on the book titled where I've linked to Amazon for more information. I have a new book to pick up at the library sometime soon.
 

I spent a bit of time knitting a few new dishcloths. I'm not very good at it as my tension is uneven but I find it relaxing when I cannot read.

 Kenya

I'm thinking about my friends in Kenya this week and reminiscing about the many travels and projects I've worked on with various friends. In the first photo there is my friend Jo from South Africa. This photo is taken in Nakuru, Kenya when she and I met there in 2011 while she was living and working with her late husband Grant in the Kerio Valley. Jo has her own blog. In case you haven't read it yet it's called Memorable Meanders and there she writes about her various homes in Africa and her daily life with her many pets.

On that day in Nakuru I was meeting with the boys in the photo, feeding them and encouraging them in life as they were basically street boys and trying to live a clean life with many daily challenges. On this day we were all happy but at the end I cried as I did not know when I would be able to return to Kenya and see them again. I knew they would have many hardships after my leaving and I was not in a financial position to set them up in a better situation since the work I do is all funded from my own resources as a retired person. We prayed and encouraged them, bought some warm coats and a solar lamp and food stuffs and then we had to depart. To this day I have not seen them again and I pray that God would look after them. They will be young men now.

If you are wanting to help the poverty stricken and the very destitute and you want to know your money is truly getting to those that are in great need due to hunger and lack of finances, please feel free to contact me (kerichojoy[at]gmail]dot.com). I have been helping those at the grassroots level for going on 17 15 years (sorry incorrect math).  There are so many needs that every month I must pick and choose who I can help. I work through local leaders in the villages and communities and when I travel to Kenya I meet as many of the beneficiaries as I am able.

Take care everyone and have a blessed and safe weekend. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday.

Summarizing Current Life Happenings

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

 

I hope all of you are doing well. I've been seeing that many countries have experienced huge snowfalls over the past week. Where I live we were also expecting snow but it never arrived in my neighbourhood.

Sky this Week

The sky this week has been heavy with rain.  I was actually hoping for some snow for a change of pace but it looks like rain in the forecast for the next few days at least.

The sky on Tuesday, January 25, 2021

 

I got this little surprise on Monday, January 18, 2021. These pansy blooms popped up in a long neglected pot.

The sky on Monday, January 24, 2021

 Cooking

Cooking is a daily need for most of us. Here are a few of the things that have been on the menu this past week.

 

Cabbage and navy bean soup in tomato broth

Shrimp and vegetable stir fry over steamed rice

Spaghettini and Parmesan cheese with Kielbasa sausage and vegetables

Ham and pea soup with freshly baked bread rolls

I baked some bread and gave a loaf to my nephew.

Christmas Wrap Up

 

Mail has been slower than usual over the Christmas rush due to Covid protocols. But all mail did eventually arrive.

The winter Pea Coat I bought for my nephew arrived and he came to try it on. Thankfully it fit him perfectly and he liked it very much so I won't be needing to return it.

 

Two lovely little books arrived from my online friend in Folkestone, England. I enjoyed reading The Little Book of Mindfulness and the gratitude journal will be very useful. I'll start using it when I can get through my major project and a few other things so I can be more mindful when writing in it.This time of year is always super busy with the Annual General Meeting of the Strata (key things being annual budgets and inevitable strata fee increases), city property assessments, property taxes, property vacancy declarations and filing of federal and provincial taxes.

 

 Gifts from a friend, Joy in 

Nottingham, England

She always sends wonderful packages of interesting things.

 Reading

I haven't really gotten into reading yet. But these books are currently in my 'to read' pile.

Slowly making my way through this book.

I borrowed, The New Bohemians Handbook thinking I would get to see a lot of lovely decorating photos. I was disappointed that the photos are so small.

This is a newly borrowed book by Kristin Harmel. I read two of her books just before Christmas and enjoyed them so much so I'm looking forward to this one.
 

Home Improvements

Before Christmas I mentioned that I will be making a few home improvements mainly to help things function better for daily living and to assess what might be needed or detracted from my home as I continue with the decluttering.  Some of it is minor maintenance.  

The first improvement was painting one wall in the entry way and moving a small Asian chest/armoire from the living room to the freshly painted wall.  I also touched up the door to my bedroom and master bathroom (more to come in those areas later). The second improvement was to install a new range hood. I've gone without one for so long and I could not keep up to the accumulating grime on various surfaces. I was very happy when my brother bought me a new range hood and installed it for me as my Christmas gift. Before he did that I cleaned behind the kitchen stove and painted.  I laughed when I saw the upside down bow he placed on the range hood after installation. He wanted to make sure it looked like a Christmas present, lol.

 

The third item was to order some shelving for the kitchen to address the lack of a pantry. I have been wanting to order one of these shelving units for the longest time and have been checking them out both on line and in the retail outlets. I wanted a particular specs and I finally found one on Amazon which I ordered and received just after Christmas. I tried once shortly thereafter to set it up and it fell apart. I never tried again until last night and I'm pleased it went much more smoothly and seems sturdy.  I am very pleased with it and think I should have got one a lot sooner.

This is a work in progress. I am still rearranging and deciding what goes on these shelves.

But so far I'm loving it! It's a huge improvement ton having food on the floor and a small cart where everything was forever overflowing (as in the below photo).

 

Kenyan Missions

Over the past week we managed to get a new smart phone for Pastor Jonah. It will soon be time to send monthly medical, food, nutrition support and seeds and fertilizer to a few families. If you can help at all, please send your  donation via Pay Pal to kerichojoy[at]gmail]com (taking out square brackets). Otherwise we would appreciate if you could continue praying for the needs of the villagers. Thanks so much! 

Over the next while I'm continuing to work on my digital project. I don't expect to be back to regular blogging until it's finished but I pop in to read blogs here and there. I hope all of you continue to stay as safe as you can while we all await vaccinations. I don't expect to get mine until at least the middle of summer, possibly a bit later depending on how the roll out of vaccinations goes and whether our country gets the vaccinations that have been ordered for us.

Take care.

Note: I had trouble uploading tonight and the fonts kept going awry. I tried to fix it.

A Quick Stop

Hello everyone, Happy Friday and happy weekend to all of you. 

 

I know the daily news is dreary and sometimes frightening, for many of us right now.  But here's to hoping that you will find something to make you smile or give you joy this weekend.

 

Where I live we've been deluged with rain and also a couple days of extremely windy weather.  I heard the meteorologist say the wind was moving southeast after it left us.

 

I was glad to see the backside of both the rain and the wind even if was only for today.

When you get the days like today you forget all about the rainy days.

 

I've been wanting to capture some waterfront scenes for all of you for quite some time. 

I'm glad I was finally able to do it.

These scenes were taken from a place called Ferguson Point in Stanley Park. Anyone who has been to the Teahouse Restaurant across the street will know how to find the point.  This is the first time I've stopped at the point and I'm glad I did even though my visit was brief.

There were a lot of people out walking and cycling.  When we get so few days of sunshine over the winter months everyone makes good use of them. I do hope they are all taking precautions as well. Recent reports from our head doctor are showing a trend downwards in our province.  But the outbreaks are now happening in places that were largely unaffected by Covid in 2020. 

I continue to take care and have only been out twice in 2021;  once for groceries and once to the post office. I will make another post office run very soon to deal with purchase returns, and possibly make a stop at the pharmacy. Those will be my only outings in January.

It will likely be mid-summer up to late autumn before I am in line for a covid vaccination so I continue to be as careful as I can be.  I am more concerned for my loved ones who live up country because the numbers are growing so big in the areas where they live. I will try not to fret too much and deal with my concerns through prayer.  That's the best any of us can do.

 

As you can see by the photos, the sky was very clear today.

I saw some wispy, low lying clouds as I took the photo looking toward the building in West Vancouver.
 

Since I last wrote in this space, I've been super busy working on a personal project which is very labour intensive and approximately 2/3 to 3/4 complete.  By the first or second week of February it will be completely done.  Once it's done I will rest briefly before buckling down and getting rid of old papers and more digital files.  I cannot get rid of excess files first out of fear I might inadvertently get rid of papers or digital files that I need for the project..

I haven't been as up to date with all the household routines during this period. It's mainly the dishes that I never quite seem caught up to doing. I was trying to get all the dishes done by hand and sinks washed and dried by the end of the day but it doesn't work if I have too many other things to work on and want them done quickly. I do continue to try my hand at new dishes or old dishes with a twist.  I didn't take photos of all the dinners but here are a few.

First up is a sausage and chickpea in stewed tomatoes over steamed rice. It was very good and I will make it again. I made the chickpeas in my instant pot (pressure cooker) which I cooked for 12 minutes. That way they would be able to cook for awhile in the stew mixture without breaking apart from overcooking.

Chickpeas and sausage over steamed rice.

The next dish is an Italian New Year's dish made of lentils and pasta. I think the Italians use smaller, round pasta but I could only find rigatoni at my local grocery.

Last but  not least, is a dish of creamy chicken breast, seasoned roasted red potatoes and finely sliced sauteed kale with onions and garlic. It was my first time making the chicken with the sauce and it was quite good.

 

I haven't done a lot of reading but I did read this fascinating historical book on the life of Father Yungbluth (Youngblood), Oblate Missionary to the First Nations and Metis people of the Peace River District (PRD). The PRD is located in the northern part of two provinces, British Columbia and Alberta. I knew this father when I was younger or at least I met him at various funerals he officiated.  He was already old at that time so I'm glad someone has set his story down for posterity. He was really a colourful character.

Kenyan Missions Update

In Kenyan missions, please pray for Pastor Jonah who was robbed as he alighted a bus Friday night (Kenyan time) after having travelled from the countryside.  He had gone to attend court to aid a widow who is seeking a court sanctioned land grant.  Many times villagers die intestate (without a will) and the land succession issues never get properly dealt with. It can create a lot of problems.  

In this case, the widow's husband died without land title but I understand her husband didn't have recognized title either as it rested with his late father.  The process is not yet finished but in about one month we hope it will all be successfully completed. We have been hiring legal help here and there and paying all the court filing fees because the woman is destitute.  In the meantime, we also now need to buy a new phone for Jonah so he can continue to communicate and make financial transactions (This is how most Kenya villagers now do it.  Most foreigners have a difficult time grasping this because they wonder how a villager can afford a smart phone. They pretty much need one because it is a lifeline to doing so many things, especially when you don't live close to a bank or a hospital).

 As always we welcome your participation in these undertakings if you are led.

Keep well and enjoy your weekend.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday