Sylvia's Simple Shots

I did manage to pick a few handfuls of raspberries this week.  There are several bushes in the neighbourhood which are on my morning walk route.

I sure miss picking raspberries in Mom's garden. 

The Big Dreams Beach Hotel by Michelle Gorman writing as Lilly Bartlett.This was a nice light read.  

Rosie fled New York City after a failed relationship and the resulting loss of her job in the hospitality industry. Betrayed and devastated she headed back to her seaside home town in England.  

She now manages a quaint Victorian hotel owned by the Colonel where there are several permanent senior residents, a eccentric chef and a dog named Barry and just enough rentals to keep it afloat. 

Next, the Colonel has sold the hotel to a couple of brothers from America and a young man named Rory arrives as the transition manager. The changes are significant, renovations to the building, new decor, new menu for chef to learn, and the end to tenant contracts for some of the residents.  Where will they go?

It  has been scorching hot again this week.  

I had to place a sheet over the curtains in the dining room to keep the heat of the morning sun.  It is not cooling down overnight so it's been about 82F to 89F in the place. Soaking my head and shirt to keep cool.

These pine crates elevate my TV so I can place the DVD player and the stereo below it on the console table.

They are rough pine and are not finished.

I decided to give them a good sanding then a couple of coats of Tung Oil since they are not being used right now with everything in the living room packed.

I just did the outside since the inside will not be visible.  They are very rough and an electric sander would have been helpful but I go with what I have.

They do look better so I am happy.  It will be at least another couple of weeks before I can start putting the house back together.

It has been a full 2 weeks of waiting, emailing, researching, emailing some more to get approval to move forward with the installation of the flooring.

There's a trip to Calgary this week I hope to pick up the underlay.

On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah was a book I recently finished.  This is my second or third book by this author.

Annie Colwater lives in California with her lawyer husband and daughter.  She has been a housewife for 20 years and a mother for 17.  She is a great manager of the house and her husband depends on her to make him look good.  

He wants a divorce.  What is she to do? Her daughter is off to London before college and her husband has moved out of their house.

She heads north to the small town where she grew up and spends some time with her Dad, Hank. She meets several people she went to school with and one in particular Nick Delacroix is in need of support.  His wife has died and their 6 year old daughter has been expelled from school. She is not handling the death of her mother well.  Annie offers to babysit the girl while Nick is at work.

A love story develops and she finds her purpose. 

I won these picnic place mats at the reunion raffle last weekend.

Great way to not lose your cutlery and have a clean place to eat when you are using public picnic facilities.

Great for the RV or trailer.  Washable, reusable and a great addition to any camping trip.

My sister made these and they will be added to my camping gear.