Sorry for the grainy photo but it's a tease to show what the video is about. By the end of the video, my jaw was hanging. I couldn't have imagined this!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Giving the Gifts of Hope and Encouragement
Thru a reorganizing, the child sponsorship group I have been a part of – Kenya’s Kids In Need – is now being managed by its parent group Plant-A-Book (http://sites.google.com/site/plantabook/ ). This is the group thru which I sponsor my teacher in Kenya.
They are now called “Nairobi Kids” (http://www.nairobikids.org/ ) This group is partnered with a school in the Soweto slum of Nairobi, Kenya.
This photo is of the director Fanuel with some of the children.
The children here live in terrible poverty. This is one of the homes near the school.
The partnership has produced amazing successes. A grade level at a time, this high school has been built by the determination of the sponsors of the children and the community. Last year (I think) the first class graduated with very good results.
My children I had been sponsoring had moved out of the area. So I am now sponsoring 3 bright young people in high school.
“Duncan is 13 years old and in Form 1 (a Freshman). His father died and he lives with his unemployed mother. He has two younger brothers. Duncan helps with the cooking at home. His best subjects are chemistry and math, and he wants to be an accountant. He scored very well on the KCPE exam with marks of 358/500. Duncan enjoys playing football.”
Titus is 16 and in form 3 (a Junior). His birthday is July 21. Because of severe hardship, his parents are unable to provide for him and he is now living at Holly House orphanage. Titus is very bright, placing 5th in his class. Titus wrote, “I need more support as my parents financial status is very low and they are not able to cater for my academic needs. My major desire is to excel to university level”. He enjoys football, and his best subjects are Biology and Physics. Someday he would like to be a civil engineer.
Joy is 13 years old and in form 1. Her birthday is November 12. Joy is an orphan, both of her parents died. She did very well on her KCPE (8th grade) exam but the guardian she was staying with could not afford to send her to high school. Through determination and confidence she came to WHS and asked the director to please admit her to the school. Joy enjoys singing, and her best subjects are English and Kiswahili. Her dream is to be an accountant.
I'm looking forward to watching these young people develop! If you would like to give the gift of hope to someone who truly needs a hand-up, consider checking out this group.
Friday, May 13, 2011
A Southern Adventure: Good Eats at the Loveless Cafe
Since all great adventures need to start with a good breakfast, the first order of business with my kidnapping of the husband was to have breakfast at “The Loveless Café” http://www.lovelesscafe.com .
The Loveless Café started in 1951 selling fried chicken and biscuits to travelers going along Hwy 100. And it is for fried chicken and biscuits that people still come today… plus the other delicious Southern foods on their menu. http://www.lovelesscafe.com/supper.html
For years the biscuit maker was “Carol Fay the Biscuit Lady”. So well known were her biscuits that Chef Bobby Flay challenged her to a “throw down”. Sadly Carol Fay died last spring.
We started with the famous biscuits – served with butter and three types of jelly; blackberry, peach and strawberry.
Then we moved on to our breakfast. Himself ordered the “Southern Sampler” with local cured country ham, bacon and sausage and hashbrown casserole.
I had the country fried steak with a side of grits.
It was a big enough breakfast to last us most of the day!
And I ordered some of that famous fried chicken and gizzards for us to picnic with later in the day.
Himself was well pleased at how his kidnapping started out!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Encyclopedia of Moi: H
Hello! Hi! Howdy! Hola! It’s time for the letter H!
H*: Little Bird. My niece. She (and her brother) rock my world. This ‘sugar and spice’ girl keeps me on my toes.
Hummingbird: Tiny dancers with a BIG attitude! That is what makes them so fun to watch. We have several who call The Sticks their home. One of my upcoming projects is to make a large multi-station feeder in the hopes that I if I build it, they will come.
High Pointing: What’s “high pointing”? It is trekking to the highest point in every state and recording your achievement in the log book that is there. I guess you could say I’m a ‘semi-high pointer’ because I have no desire to do the ones that call for actual mountaineering experience… I do the ones that are a nice hike (or less). So far I have been to the high points of Missouri, North Dakota, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa.
Horses: Horses lend us the wings we lack. ~Author Unknown. The first time I rode alone, the ornery little Shetland bolted. My step-grandfather walked as close as he could and gave me instructions on how to control him. Soon enough I rode him back to the barn. I had never had more fun! An incurable case of ‘horse fever’ was caught that day.
Hot Tea: I always start my morning with a ‘cuppa’. Usually Lipton with milk and sugar. Later in the day I enjoy sipping other varieties. My current favorite is an almond flavor I buy in loose form at my favorite tea and coffee shop in Kirkwood, MO (http://www.kitchencopia.com ).
Hunt seat: When I ride, I really enjoy riding hunt seat and taking a few jumps. I took lessons for several years, enough to build some confidence.
History: I love history. History isn’t just about dates. In fact, dates are just ‘place holders’ in the fascinating story of our world. History is about people, events and nature. I was a history major in college and enjoy visiting museums, sites, and displays whenever I can.
Herbs: I use a wide variety of herbs in my cooking. I have both dried that I purchase at several favorite retailers and I also grow some of my favorites. This spring one of my projects it putting in an herb garden near my front door.
Hugh Jackman: You don’t have to know me well to know I like Hugh Jackman. He acts. He sings. He dances. He is a devoted husband and father. And he is really easy on the eyes!
Hobbies: I have many. Photography, travel, rock collecting, beading, journaling, carving, bonsai, painting… to name a few. Each fills a satisfaction within me to create or to discover.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Motherhood - It Looks Good on You
The photo challenge this week over at “I Should Be Folding Laundry” is ‘motherhood’. I immediately thought of Sis and the babies. It’s a joy to watch her.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Southern Adventure: Going a Piece Down the Natchez Trace
Shortly after Himself came home from Alaska I kidnapped him! All he knew was we were going to be gone for 4 days and it was going to be “an experience of Southern history and cuisine”.
And that he needed to pack good walking shoes and one nice outfit.
We got up in the morning and headed south to Nashville where we started our adventure with breakfast at the Loveless Café (more on that later).
Then we hopped on the Natchez Trace parkway for ‘a spell’. The Trace is the historic route from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. It is a national park. Mom and I drove the entire Trace in ’02 and I wanted to share a bit of it with Himself.
Shortly after you get on at Nashville there is this beautiful (and HIGH) double arch bridge at Birdsong Hollow.
Along the route we saw approximately 79 turkeys. The boys were totally focused on each other and showing off their tail feathers. We were able to drive within a stone’s throw of six showoffs.
“The Right Strut”
Another one of our stops was at Jackson Falls.
The large amount of rain we have had made the waters roar.
They were really beautiful. And we had them all to ourselves!
Next stop was the burial site of Meriwether Lewis. He died at an inn at as he came up the Natchez Trace. His death was ruled a suicide… which isn’t accepted by many. One of the reasons… he had multiple gunshot wounds…
For a bit we drove along a section of the “old Trace”. It’s an area where you are actually on the real Trace.
This early highway wasn’t as nice as we have today…
As we entered Alabama, we were sad to see remnants of damage from the terrible storms which had passed thru the South days earlier.
Our night lodging was further south in Corinth, Mississippi. We stayed in a historic B&B called The General’s Quarters Inn http://www.thegeneralsquarters.com
Our room was nice and spacious.
And the cast iron tub was a treat after the long day’s drive!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Color Purple
Shug: "More than anything God love admiration."
Celie: "You saying God is vain?"
Shug: "No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it."
Celie: "You saying He just wanna be loved like it say in the Bible?"
Shug: "Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention... except walk?"
--"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
I noticed…
Outdoors photo challenge
Birds photo challenge
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