THE ANTS ON PARADE

A fun display at the California State Fair.

A FAIR SKY

I was fascinated by the puffy clouds in the brilliant blue sky.
This was taken at the California State Fair.
As always enlarging the picture will show you more detail.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

ABC WEDNESDAY LETTER " F "

Wandering around the quaint town of Newcastle, California I came upon this perfect photo opportunity.
I thought this was my " F " word for ABC Wednesday. The window is fragmented and fractured and full of dust.
I thought it was kind of funny the way the tea cup had been placed fairly close to the fractured glass.
To see what others have posted for the letter " F " just go to Mrs. Nesbitts link on my sidebar.
Thanks friends for looking.
Don't forget to enlarge this one to see the detail fully.

TAYLOR CREEK SUMMER

Just a pretty summertime shot of Taylor Creek which flows into Lake Tahoe.
Just taking a break from my Kenya pictures. I still have a few more to share.
Enlarging the shot will show more detail.

KENYA SUNRISE

Sunrise on the Masai Mara.
The silence was almost deffening and the miles and miles of "nothing" were breathtaking.
As always, enlarging the picture will give you more detail.
Have a great weekend everybody.

ABC WEDNESDAY LETTER " E "

ABC Wednesday is here and the letter is " E ". " E " stands for Ears.
The traditional older men of the Maasai culture enlarge their earlobes.



Here you can see that Soloman has earlobes that are quite enlarged.
Pastor Paul has much smaller holes and stretching of his lobes.
Enlarging these pictures will show the ears more clearly.



We often saw men looping the excess skin over the top of the ear, but Solomon always wore his this way.
Please check out Mrs. Nesbitts link on my sidebar to see what others have posted for the letter " E ".

KENYA MEMORIES

Just a few more faces and memories of our time in Namuncha, Kenya.



Solomon and his wife Veronica at the entrance to the community center.



Children always mugging for the camera



Maasai woman and myself sifting sand for the cement mixture we used on the walls of the community center.
As with all my pictures, enlarging them will give you more interesting detail.

PRECIOUS FACES OF KENYA

I loved how the tiny babies were always peeking out from their Mothers backpacks. Some babies were frightened by our white skin.



I was constantly swishing the flies away from these sweet faces. Their Mothers didn't seem to be bothered by them.



Most pictures of kids had thumbs up signs in them. The little guy on the left wasn't sure how to get his thumb up.



This is Mary. She had learned fairly good English in school and we could converse a little bit. When I was standing next to her she sighed and reached up to run her fingers through my hair. Mary shrugged as if to say, I just can't help it. Your hair is such a different texture than mine. She fluffed it and patted it, then said it was nice and giggled. This was a very special moment for me. It was one of trust and friendship across cultural boundries.
As always enlarging each picture will show the details more clearly.

ABC WEDNESDAY LETTER " D "

Today is ABC Wednesday and the letter is D. " D " is for Dust. The Rift Valley of Kenya is so dusty due to the drought. No matter where we went we were eating dust. This picture was taken from our van as we went down into the Valley.
Enlarging each picture will give you more detail.



The area called Namuncha, Kenya has miles of red Dirt and is Dappled with volcanic rocks.


Because of the dust and dirt, many of the children get extremely disheveled and dirty. A bath from a small basin in the morning just doesn't last all day. I think Moms fight a loosing battle every day with their kids and their clothes.



Dinner is prepared over the open fire. Here Eunice fries chapatti. This was like a tortilla and had a wonderful flavor. She fixed them for our dinner almost every night. I would love to have some right now. Very yummy.
To see what others have posted for the letter D, go to Mrs. Nesbitts link on my sidebar.

OUR KENYA WORK PROJECT

This is the inside of the community center that we were to help mud and finish the walls. The elders of the community were so happy to finally have the finances to purchase supplies and work that they all wanted a hand in the project. Both men in traditional dress and those that wear their polyester suits pitched in and worked hard on their building.



Outside of the cinder block community center.



I love this picture of one of our team in western dress alongside a beautiful Maasai woman in her everyday traditional finery.


Traditionally dressd Maasai women watching their center finally being worked on.
Enlarge each picture to see the detail.
Thanks for being patient for my posts. I believe the jet lag is over and I am finally getting back into a routine. Thirty hours of air time and layovers took its toll.

LIVING IN THE BUSH

We pitched our tents in an acacia thorn bush enclosure the Maasai people had prepared for us. This was to keep curious kids,goats and the hyeneas out. We were between Pastor Simons and Mama Joyces' mud and dung homes. The home pictured is where we ate dinner every night.

Their dinner time is about 9pm and consisted of rice, potatoes and cabbage. Once in a while we had some fresh peas thrown in.





Playing catch and frisbee with the children from the area.


Hubby having a conversation with one of the kids. As you can see, there isn't much wood to construct their homes.


A wild game of frisbee. Note the Maasai men in the far left of picture in their traditional dress.
It was after 5pm when these pictures were taken so I'm afraid they are a bit dark.
Enlarging each pix will show everything more clearly.

CHILDREN OF KENYA

Beautiful Maasai children wanting their picture taken. Little Jacleen, on the right, was a favorite of mine. She just couldn't get enough of our love and attention.
Don't forget to enlarge the picture.
It will take me a few days to post more pictures. Jet lag and catching up on laundry, bills etc. has taken its toll.

ABC WEDNESDAY LETTER " C "

Hi everyone. I'm back from a Kenya trip full of memories. Today is ABC Wednesday and the letter is " C ".
" C " is for the Maasai Children at the Compassion International project in Kimera, Kenya.
We were very fortunate to visit this site which has been in existance for only one year.
One Year ago the Maasai and the Kickuyu tribes were in a violent war with many families killed and their homes ravaged.
Through Compassion International sponsorship many displaced families have been fed and the children given a chance to go to school again. One of the most exciting things has been the two warring tribes now peacefully attending this school together.
These beautiful Maasai girls sang and danced for us. Caring teachers and volunteer social workers are going into the homes of sponsored children and helping to relieve some desparate situations. Most of the homes have single mothers trying to make ends meet in a heavily decimated area caused by drought, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and war. It was heart-wrenching visiting some of the homes with the social workers. The extreme poverty is hard to fathom. The school and its feeding program brings brings hope to a seemingly hopeless situation.
Please enlarge the picture to see the beautiful traditional dress and the precious faces of each child.