Middle of February and We Got Our First Snow

On Sunday Valentine's Day we had snow fall. It snowed a few times more during the week but it didn't last more than one night before it all melted, at least where I live. 

Sky

 

As the week progressed we also got more colour in the sky and it was so lovely to see the sunshine and the beautiful blue sky and fluffy clouds.

I made time to go for coffee. I just stopped off at McDonald's as it was close to where I needed to run some other errands. Besides I like their coffee since it is always hot and fresh. 

Reading

Going for solo coffee is when I love to bring a good book to read. I read these two different books on two different occasions. The first book is written by a fashion psychologist and talks about the science of fashion. It also gives you some tips on creating a minimalist wardrobe. I found it a very satisfying read and would like it for my  personal library but right now I'm still in downsizing mode so I'll hold off on that. I am not into working on my wardrobe right now but in future I will have to make time to go through all my closets and drawers and get rid of things once again. I've been on a long and slow process of weight loss and so I have to get rid of things I'd like to keep but  no longer fit well.

 I am also getting into the book below about French women and how they survived in Nazi occupied Paris.

I bought this beautiful magazine as a nice easy to read treat. I love decorating magazines but don't buy too many because once they are read you need to store them. I used to buy a lot of magazines and so now it is a real treat since I only buy one or two every few years.

I've just order this book, Woman in the Wilderness from the library and it's ready for pick up. I saw this woman and her husband interviewed on a You Tube video. They both live in the wilderness of New Zealand and the woman is 30 years younger than her husband. They don't even live in a house except when Miriam's husband Peter got sick and they live primarily off the land. Miriam is a beautiful, healthy looking creature who kills the animals they eat. Before she lived on the land she was a vegetarian.  Now that they live in the wilderness they need the protein that comes from the animals in order to survive.

Meals

Here is a sample of meals I've prepared this week.

First up is raviolini stuffed with butternut squash served with a cheese sauce, baked chicken and simple salad.

On another day I made hamburger and macaroni soup in a tomato broth.

Next up is a batch of roasted beets,carrots and nugget potatoes.

The roasted vegetables accompanied roasted brisket which I marinated overnight before cooking.

Another day I made roasted pork chops and onions and sliced roasted potatoes flavoured with onion soup mix. I read about using the onion soup mix but if you suffer from swelling then I would advise against using this and to add fresh herbs and spices instead.

Kenya

In my last post I mentioned that Pastor Jonah had to return to Kericho Town to assist with showing the land to local leadership and court and land officials. The expectation is to also provide tea or lunch. Apparently the meeting went well but it was raining so heavily and cars had to be hired to transport people. They didn't linger for a long meeting due to inclement weather but they were provided tea. The officials in attendance seemed satisfied that everything is in order concerning the land grant application but I am not sure how long it will take before a court hearing is scheduled to learn the outcome of the land grant petition.

Next week it will be time to send funds to various people in need. Please keep the needs in prayer if you pray.

Thank you.

 

Linking this week to Skywatch Friday.

 

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