Sylvia's Simple Shots

We had regimental funerals for 2 police officers killed in the line of duty recently.  It was held at the arena where thousands of officers attended from all over North America.

One was going to be a Dad this summer and both were married.  A very sad day for our city.

The young man who killed them also shot his mother and killed himself so a tragedy all the way around.

Mental health is so important and it's hard to measure when one has slipped over the edge.  Help is sometimes hard to access on an emergency basis and comes too late for some.

It is important to take care of ourselves everyday.

With my sewing machine in a desk I take cutting work to quilting on the Mondays that we get together.

It's a great time to connect with like minded souls and see the projects are working on.  I had a good visit with a former work colleague who is looking forward to more time to sew later this year as retirement becomes a reality.

I cut about 20 unPaperTowels which remain unserged as I write this.  It will happen in due course.

This green polka dot flannel is gorgeous feeling.

The left overs will go to the make up remover pad project.

This is reflected sunshine that I see from my chair just about supper time these days.

It reflects off the windows of the huge apartment building which was put up a few blocks away in the last couple of years.  Construction did not slow down during the pandemic here.

I loved how it created stars through the trees.

Warmed my heart since it still cold outside with snow on the ground.

Everyone is asking when will spring arrive. I have say I am envious as I watch a couple of my regular Youtubers planting veggies and flowers.

Last week when I visited my sister she helped with the Reusable Make Up Remover Pad project by cutting circles for the ties on the laundry bags.

I can now go ahead and make the bags and get a step closer to the end.

I should test the bags out to see how permeable they are in the washing process before I get carried away.

I will work on that next week.

We cut the circles with the Sizzix red original 4 circle die.  The second smallest make the circles about 1.5 inches in diameter then I used a circle punch for the smaller holes for the thinner cord and the larger punch on the Crop-a-Dile for the larger cord.  Love the color.

These are a couple of books that I started in the last couple of weeks but just did not finish.  I debated whether to document them but it is good know that I touched these books and made an effort to read them.

This one was great!  The Aphothecary's Garden by Jeanette Lynes presents the life of  Lavendar Fitch who lives in Belleville Ontario in Victorian times.  She lives in her childhood home with a young man which she considers as a brother as he was brought into the home when he was a baby. Her mother and father have both passed away.  Her mother was a harpist and supported her husband in his Apothecary business. 

Lavendar loves her garden which she inherited from her mother.  She learned many things about herbs and remedies at her mother's knee.  She earns a bit of living by selling her wares at the train station - the garden flowers in the summer and evergreen wreaths harvested from the woods nearby at Christmas.  

A famous medium Allegra Trout comes to Belleville accompanied by Robert Trout who is quite disfigured. She conducts tea leaf readings,  tarot card readings all the while preparing for the major event of a Mystical Extravaganza to be held all hallow's eve - October 31st.

The town is a buzz. She influences the dress of the day when the ladies want the type of dress she wears, the shoes and hats she wears.

Robert buys all of Lavendar's flowers the day they arrive at the train station. Lavendar is grateful and is intrigued by this mysterious man. 

The story has some interesting developments and has a wonderful ending.  I really enjoyed this book. 

I have not looked up the streets mentioned the book but having spent some time in Belleville I am tempted.

This is a small piece of a wool painting I saw a the Art Gallery of Albert which I visited with aunt on Friday.  The gift shop had some pieces for sale but I am not sure they were by the same artist.

We went to see the Canadian Art collected by the Sobey family.  Many old pieces in the traditional styles. 

Three of the galleries were under installation so the amount of art was limited.  

We had lunch at a restaurant nearby L'Espresso Organic Cafe - soup and panni was very good.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My aunt and I took a walk along the river with our cameras recently.

It was very nice temperature wise and the sun was shining.  A great time.

As you can see, though the river is frozen but we still have no snow.

Love the fall grasses in the foreground with the reflection of the sun on the river.

Gorgeous blue skies which are typical for Alberta.

We heard geese which I was surprised were still here despite the frozen water.  Who knows what they are thinking!

I joined another aunt for a visit to the Art Gallery.  The weather was still nice and I was tasked with driving us downtown and finding parking.  That went well.  It was really weird to be out and about.

First time, I used my vaccination record to visit a non essential place of business in 20 months.

There were 2 exhibitions I was interested which both featured colorful art.  Mostly abstract as well.

The blue and pink piece was about the how color can be dispatched to for social control.  The pink color which is used in institutional settings was studied in 1978 and was found to make inmates violent.  The barn is a piece about our abandoned farm buildings.  Love the abstracts.

Our first snow arrived on Sunday Nov 14th.  

It continued to come down for a few days in varying degrees.

I had to go out on Wednesday and the roads were like slushy soup as they had not been ploughed yet.  Yuck!

I had several places to stop and it was a bit harried but I managed to keep the car and myself intact.

I made roasted vegetables yesterday.  I used the large roaster so I could keep them to one layer.

Yams, red onions, brussel sprouts, rutabaga, turnip, garlic and carrots.  A bit of olive oil and seasonings.

I added fresh oregano in the last bit of its time in the oven.

They were yummy.

That means its time to head for groceries as I am completely out of veggies in the fridge.

An Irish Cottage by Patrick Taylor is the book I finished this week.

Love this author and his stories of a medical practice in rural Ireland in the 1960's.  

In this book the Donnelly's looks their cottage to fire and the community rallies to find the family a temporary place to live.   Then further efforts are made to rebuild the burned out cottage.

The civil unrest with north and south regions plays a part which I don't really understand well.  

Another theme is women's reproductive rights in the 60's where one women is not wanting another child and another woman desperately wants one and is having difficulty conceiving.

The doctors and their house keeper and neighbours provide wonderful stories!

The Perfect Christmas - Debbie Macomber revolves around a young woman who wants to be in a relationship.

She finally decides to hire a matchmaker for $30,000 to find the perfect match for her by Christmas.

The matchmaker gives her several tasks to prepare for her first date with John, her perfect match.  She stands outside a mall ringing bells to raise funds for a charity, dressing up as an elf with Santa at the mall, and prepare Christmas dinner for her neighbors in the apartment building.

Each of these provide opportunities to learn things about herself and ensures visits from the matchmaker to monitor her progress.

In the end, she finds the man of her dreams but it was not exactly as the matchmaker had planned.

It was okay for a light read.

Recent Photos

My aunt and I visited the Art Gallery in August.  She is a painter so The James Morrice exhibit was the original draw.  A Canadian painter who spent a lot of time in France and painted in the early 1900s.

I loved the Hubert Hohn photography exhibit of doors of Edmonton homes taken in 1974.  What a great idea.

Samantha Walrod was in residence creating an eight foot collage.  Using paint, paper and other material.  My aunt especially liked this one with the chance to speak to the artist.

The Li Salay exhibit of Metis Artists was filled with many 3D pieces. I really did not connect with this exhibit.

A friend and I went to see this movie on August 23rd. It was wonderful.

How the animals help Christopher rediscover what is important in life.

We have found a theatre with great seats so we have lots of room which makes the experience very nice.

I made several more jars of Chutney this week.

Apple Plum Ginger

Peach Ginger

I tried carrots with the last of the blue plums with ginger.  We will see if that works or not in while when I open the jars.

 

I planted a row of flowers in a friend`s garden this year.  I wanted a few cut flowers for my table this summer.

I planted late so it took a while to actually get any.  I have picked 2 times.  Here`s one of the best I collected.

I am testing out a new background paper.  I love how I got just a few bokeh spots with this handmade paper sheet.

These yellow flowers are called Calendula. They were quite unspectacular when I picked them.

But a couple of days later they just opened up and looked wonderful.  I love them bright against this dark background.

I love the color of these flowers.  The smaller one is more orange than the large yellow ones.  My mom planted these all the time in her garden.

Sharing with Share Your Cup 305 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.