Sylvia's Simple Shots

The weather is warm and the magpies have been hanging around in the back alley.

I just love how the sun is highlighting the beautiful colors in their feathers.

Just enjoying the sun!

The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson was the book I finished this week.

Set in Cornwall, England and a WWII story comes to life.  Rebecca's mother has passed and as she cleans her flat she finds a letter. 

Olivia is her mother's elderly cousin who needs help to save her beloved home. As Olivia sits in hospital Rebecca starts to clean and unearths secrets.

There is tunnel in the basement which leads to the sea. Could it be that "goods" have been secreted in the basement?  In recent times there is an illegal cigarette operation. 

A historic corpse is found in the tunnel. Who is it?  When did he die?  Why did he die? How was the gate used during the war?  

Wonderful story and real page turner

The kitchen plumbing stacks were steamed this week.

The process is required to prevent sink back ups due to a build up of gunk in the drains.

It is frightening to see black water backing up in your sink and you wonder will it overflow and cause a mess and possible damage.

After the renovation I have just gone through I can tell you that was not in the least appealing.

It means having to be home and having a contractor in your kitchen for several hours.

A sparrow at Telford Lake. They were many and flitting around as they do.  They were singing and chatting among themselves.

I was checking out a condo building in the area for orientation and location.  It is so difficult sometimes to determine these things from a few photos on a MLS listing.

The magpies were enjoying the pool of water which accumulated at the corner of the loading dock.

After a long winter, it time for a bit of cleaning. They were dipping, swooning, and shaking off the drops and doing it again and again.

The sun was warm and it was lovely to watch them frolic for about 20 minutes.