Category: Travel & Lifestyle & DIY tips

Once there was a Maasai warrior called ‘Morana’ and a Swahili chef called ‘Mswaha’.  These two had never met but they had one thing in common.  They were both articulate at what they did.  Morana was the best warrior in the region and he had even won accolades from great leaders.  Similarly, Mswaha was the best chef and was especially good at making the Swahili beverage called ‘kahawa tungu’ and he also won accolades from great leaders as the best chef.

One day, while travelling to the city of Nairobi, they literaly ‘bumped’ into each other’s shoulder and were both not amused.  Morana told Mswaha “how dare you bump into ‘the great Morana’?  I challenge you to a fight tomorrow.” Mswaha, not wanting to look weak agreed half heartedly.

In the evening, Mswaha discussed with his wife what had happened and his wife reminded him of the many accolades he won after performing his ‘kahawa tungu’ making skills confidently.  The same way he could face Morana.  The next day when Mswaha met Morana, Mswaha looked very confident and afraid of him.  Since Morana did not know his background, he decided to call off the fight fearing that nobody has ever defeated him and he did not want to risk being defeated.

This story teaches us to face the world with confidence no matter what situation we face in this life.  The following are travel tips when going to a new destination which you do not know about:-

• Read travel reviews on the destinations from the website.
• Get second opinion from family and friends because they might refer you to someone who has been to that destination.
• Take the necessary precaution.  Carry essential items and leave your itinerary with your significant other.
• Get a good travel consultant to assist you prepare for the trip.
• Be confident and optimistic knowing the purpose of your travel so that you ensure that when you get back you will have achieved your goals for that travel.

I converted my jeans trousers into shorts and a mini-bag to make it more versatile.

There you have converted a trouser into shorts and a mini bag in 12 steps!

Extract from Pats Cinnamon Recipes and Remedies – Available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pats+cinnamon+recipes+and+remedies&ref=nb_sb_noss

Ingredients

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

2 pieces ground cereals

1 cup milk

8 slices bread

Method

1. Slice bread into half

2. Add milk to the eggs and stir

3. Add sugar to the mixture

4. Add cinnamon to the mixture

5. Stir the mixture

6. Apply the mixture to the sliced bread

7. Sprinkle the ground cereals on top of the bread mixture

8. Prepare for baking in a baking tray

9. Bake at 150 degrees centigrade for 15 minutes

*Serve warm

Hiking is an outdoor activity that may involve long walks.  It is a low impact work out for recreation. I personally have gone hiking in places like the Longonot, The Hells Gate and Ngong Hills in Kenya. The following are travel tips for hiking:-

• Like any other outdoor activity, check the weather and book a date that the activity can be doable.
• When packing for a hike, carry the necessary items for the trip. These include a map, water, snacks, first aid supplies, flash light, extra clothing, the right shoes and socks.
• Start with shorter distance then once you get used to it you can cover longer distance.
• Travel as light as you can to avoid straining your back while hiking.
• Familiarize with the trail where you are going to hike to avoid getting lost.
• The best hikes are done in a group so if possible travel in a group for safety and to give each other morale to finish the hike as planned.
• Avoid detours and leave your itinerary with your loved one back home so that incase of any emergencies you can easily be traced.

Stay safe and enjoy the hiking journey!

The story of Sola’s Sound is a Pats Oases re-make of a classic folk tale about how to handle situations in life.

Sola was a big, strong lion who lived in the Savannah Grasslands in an area called River Sand. Together with his two friends, Kibo the hippo and Faro the rhino they enjoyed the cool waters of River Sand. However their peace was disturbed by Dilo the crocodile who used to terrorize the animals that went to drink water at the River Sand. The other animals referred to Sola as their leader and expected him to stop Dilo from terrorizing the animals. When Sola tried to tell him to stop, Dilo ignored him and continued with his vice.

One day, Faro came up with an idea of taking Sola to a cave and asked him to shout out loud, “I am Sola the Leader, who are you?” Sola heard an echo repeating those words and the more he asked the more the words were repeated and the louder this voice became. Sola realized that he had a big strong intimidating voice that even scared away the birds that were nearby. With this discovery, he went to the River Sand and commanded Dilo to leave the river. When Dilo heard the big strong voice, he got scared and left the pool. Since then the other animals were able to enjoy the cool waters of the River Sand.

The lesson I learnt from this folk tale is to maximize all that God has given you. If you have been given a good, strong voice, use it well to speak up in public. Be brave. Gather courage and confidence to be a leader in the position you are currently in and you will keep moving forward.

Eco-Travel Tips

• Carry your own water bottle while travelling. You will save money when you re-fill it during your trip.

• Just in case the region you are visiting may not have a good recycling program, unpack your travel items from their plastic or cardboard containers. You can also pack any plastics you used up in your bag to recycle and dispose them when you return home.

• Be Confident with your own plans.
• Speak like you have already achieved your dreams.
• The moment you speak positive about yourself, God works your words into action.
• Never open your mouth to speak a negative word.  Let it remain as a thought.
• Words are like eggs cause words once spoken and eggs once broken are beyond repair.
• Be careful with what you see, read or hear.  Filter before they sink into your system.
• Avoid horror or explicit action movies with vulgar language. Garbage in, garbage out.
• Instead read inspirational books immediately you wake up in the morning and in the evening before your sleep.
• Don’t allow anyone to call you names. Walk away from negative words which can ruin your ego.
• Dress well and speak positive about yourself always.

Tips on how to make your dream travel destination come true

• Identify your destination.
• Research if the location is viable to tour and check reviews.
• Book early and save for the trip.
• Budget according to destination and activities planned.
• Plan an itinerary with activities for each day.
• Have a plan B incase you cannot afford, opt for the next best destination.

There are many reasons to celebrate milestones for family and friends. These milestones include birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and graduations among other special occasions. The following are some travel tips for attending to special occasions:-

• Most invitation cards have RSVP. Respond to the invitation in good time whether or not you will be able to attend considering the distance.  If traveling abroad, consider how long it will take to get the visa to know if you will make it on time.
• When given an invitation card, research on the venue so that you do not get lost on the big day.
• Inquire if you are allowed to bring a guest (plus one).
• Research on the tourism sites and activities available at the venue of the special occasion so that you make the most of your visit.
• If budget allows, try making an itinerary which will allow you to tour other places after the event.
• Make room for unplanned cost e.g. if there is a delay or the function is extended you might require to be at the venue for an extra day.
• Find out the best accommodation available in order to budget accordingly.
• Pack smart, selecting outfits for the special occasion and for the other activities that follow.
• Choose a light and portable gift and if possible avoid fragile gifts when travelling long distances to avoid breakage.
• Take as many photos as possible to remember the special occasion since some occasions only happen once in a lifetime.

 BUTTERFLY BEAUTY

When I was younger I used to like butterflies and dislike caterpillars. Little did I know that caterpillars transform into butterflies! Now as an adult I appreciate every stage a butterfly goes through before the transformation – egg, larvae, pupa, adult. I’ve learnt that just like in ‘butterfly life’ each stage in our life is important and even through the difficult stages in life e.g. job loss, pandemic, death, divorce, illness or exam failure we can still make something beautiful out of challenging situations. In Kenya, there are beautiful butterfly gardens in Nairobi Arboretum and in Arabuko Sokoke in Watamu, Kilifi county.

Benefits of butterfly gardens

The larvae caterpillar feeds on plants but with minimal damage, since when the larvae transforms into a butterfly, they fly from one flower to another, pollinate the plants, resulting in further development of plant species. The adult butterfly and larvae provide food for wildlife e.g. lizards and birds.

Travel Tips

• Take precaution if you have health issues and are usually uncomfortable with hot environment, consider keeping your visit short because butterfly houses are usually in humid environment, to mimic the butterflies’ native tropical habitat.

• Be careful when walking in the foot paths since butterflies sometimes rest on the ground, including on the pathways where you will be walking, to avoid stepping on them. 

• When visiting a butterfly site, don’t pick flowers or handle the butterflies, unless a staff member at the site invites you to do so. Photograph butterflies from the front to capture a better view.

• Plan your visit to the butterfly tourism site early in the day when the butterflies are most active. On one hand you will observe older butterflies that look tattered, with missing or torn wings. On the other hand you will observe newly emerged butterflies with bright, bold colours. The emerging area is where you can watch new butterflies and moths break out of their pupal cases. It takes time so one may have to wait for a while to see one emerge, but it is well worth it.

• Take lots of pictures and you may also consider bringing a pair of binoculars for a better view of butterflies from different angles. Look for butterflies on feeding stations or flowers, where you might be able to get a good view of the feeding and you can witness pollination taking place.

“Today, wherever the road takes you, open your eyes. Instead of hurrying past what you’ve already seen, look again. Take time to appreciate the detail God has woven into nature” – Adage

🌲Trees …
☘️provide food and shelter
☘️clean the air we breathe
☘️ support wildlife
☘️decrease air pollution
☘️ buffer noise pollution
☘️ conserve rainwater
☘️reduce soil erosion
☘️ mitigate climate change

As the saying goes, “we get what we give”. When we plant trees we get food and shelter and so much more.