Kiva

Thanks to a gift from my daughter for my birthday I was able to choose another person to help through Kiva.
Here is the person I choose and his story:


"Cesar’s parents are separated. He currently lives with his mother and his younger brother. They do not have any type of support from their father. His mother works in the area of public cleaning in the municipality where she lives. Her salary barely covers the household food expenses. Therefore, Cesar would not be able to go to school without the support of the Kiva lenders.

Cesar would be the first in his family to take higher education courses. Doing so would be a great achievement for him and for his whole family. He wishes to be a great professional and to work in order to be able to help his family. He will be an example for his younger brother, and he will help him to be able to follow his footsteps in the future.

Cesar is grateful to the Kiva lenders for all of the support they provide him with so that he is able to fulfill his dream of going to school and to soon become a successful professional.

He believes that the support that each Kiva lender provides is a great show of generosity and of love for their fellow man. It causes a large, positive ripple effect in the development of those most in need."

Here are some pictures from our delicious lunch at Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant on Memorial Day. If you look at the tea pot you can see Cameron (the photographer), his brother Adrian, and their friend Danley. They spent the weekend at our apartment along with Cameron's parents and of course, my favorite guest, Pearl.

Radical Eats

Cameron and I went to Radical Eats last night. We shared the jalapeno poppers with vegan cream cheese and a yummy dipping sauce. I had the bahn mi tacos with tofu and sprouts and Cameron had the ginormous falafel burger with a kale avocado salad on the side. The weather has been wonderful in Houston so we sat outside on the patio. After our wonderful vegan meal we decided to go to the Chocolate Bar where we shared a slice of FLANtastic Cheesecake with coffee. Of all the restaurants in Houston I have to say Radical Eats is probably my favorite. There are so many vegetarian and vegan options and everything I have ever eaten there is really good. The waitstaff is always very friendly and helpful too. So glad they moved from their old location on Fulton to Montrose.

The Cat & The Ducklings (Animal Odd Couples)

I usually don't post videos but this one is too cute not to share.

Pearl

Pearl's mom took this adorable picture of her. Pearl has become my favorite dog now that I don't have any of my own.

Best Mother's Day Gift

My daughter sent me the most amazing Mother's Day gift, a gift certificate for Kiva, a non profit that lends money to low-income entrepreneurs and students. I choose 4 different people/groups loaning each 25.00
The first was to a person in El Salvador who sells fruits and vegetables. The second was to a group in Ecuador called Los Intocables to help purchase a sewing machine. The third was to Zamiq in Azerbaijan to help with his fruit orchard. The last was to Isabel Jose in Nicaragua to help with his free trade coffee farm. After I did that I felt bad because I had completely ignored Africa so I picked another recipient Anastasia from Kisauni, Kenya who operates a retail shop selling wheat, flour and rice.
I did a blog about Kiva a long time ago and had meant to donate something but I'm not sure if I ever did. Here is a link to their website http://www.kiva.org/

This is a picture of Los Intocables.

Smokey LeGrand

My Dad and I adopted Smokey from the Houston SPCA in 1969. She was his favorite cat and lived a long long life with him after I left home. He loved her so much he had a portrait painted of her. Today would be my Dad's 98th birthday.

PawPaw and Friends

Two more pictures of my Dad with Smokey and Tam in his favorite recliner.

Pearl

I took this picture of Pat's dog Pearl when she was visiting last weekend. I used the camera on my iPad and then applied the noir filter. Pearl is super high energy and reminds me a bit of Ginger when she was young.

A Belated Birthday Celebration

Here are pictures from our wonderful dinner last night at Nidda Thai on Westheimer. I had the Red Curry with Tofu. Cameron had Nidda Veggie (mixed vegetables stir-fried with Thai herb sauce) and we shared the Fresh Rolls with tofu and the Pad Thai. A really yummy meal. We were celebrating Cameron's birthday which was last week.





After dinner we went to The Chocolate Bar on West Alabama.