Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was up early after the rain the day before and captured these bright chrysanthemums.  I loved the beautiful rain drops on these yellow petals.

They are bunched together in a pot and I managed to find a good angle on this particular one.

Chrysanthemums are wonderful fall flowers.

We really needed the two days of rain and the roads had puddles.

I found robins having fun splish and splashing in the puddles.

McSweeney's began in 1998 as a literary journal, edited by Dave Eggers, that published only works rejected from other magazines. But after the first issue, the journal began to publish pieces written with McSweeney's in mind. Soon after, McSweeney's attracted works from some of the finest writers in the country, including David Foster Wallace, Ann Cummins, William T. Vollmann, and many new talents.

Today, McSweeney's has grown to be one of the country's best and largest-circulation literary journals. The journal is committed to finding new voices, publishing work of gifted but underappreciated writers, and pushing the literary form forward at all times.

McSweeney's publishes on a roughly quarterly schedule, and each issue is markedly different from its predecessors in terms of design and editorial focus.

Issue 15 is also known as the "Icelandic Issue." Printed in Iceland, half of the stories are written by actual Icelandic writers.

I found many of the stories out there.  Love the book art.

I placed in second place in the photography category in the Allied Arts Council Open Art Competition. Check on line shows here.

This shot was taken for the Flickr Weekly Theme Challenge of "centered".

I stacked my vintage White Regency by Myott Meakin dinnerware.  They were placed on a black granite 12x12 inch tile and lit from directly above.

I had to take the shot from direct above as well so placing my tripod and camera was challenging.

I just love the swirls in these plates, saucers and tea cup.

Very happy with this shot and the win.

Today, was the last day of advanced polls. I took advantage of the advanced polls and got my walk in at the same time in the middle of the afternoon.

There was hand sanitizer, plexiglass barriers between me and the check in persons, and there was no one in line.  It took about 3 minutes.  Love it!

It's good to live in a democratic country where I can exercise my right to vote for the leaders of our country.

I found this fox tail on my early morning walk this week.  

I love how the seed head is highlighted against the out of focus background.

The sun was offering wonderful light for this great shot.

This was my nieces birthday cake made by my sister. 

She had a jelly roll cake with oat flour which makes it gluten free.  

The frosting was spectacular.  It is a whipped cream cheese and cream icing topped with coconut.

It draped so beautifully over the layered cake.  The jelly roll layers had vanilla pudding between the layers.  

It is a very versatile dessert because the flavor between the layers could be fruit, chocolate, jam, or jelly.   The coconut could be sprinkles, silver balls, or chocolate curls. 

I made gluten free pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning.  First, Evans cherries, second fresh peaches and the last good old Canadian Maple Syrup.

They were yummy!

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was "smell".  Food, perfume, and nature provide so many options for this challenge.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) for the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #147

and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #304