Sylvia's Simple Shots

One of my aunts celebrated a birthday so a few of us got together for Chinese food which was delicious.  Then she invited us over to her house for blueberry cheesecake. 

It was a raffle prize at reunion and she froze it till her birthday. My sister had made it in a dish which went along with a casserole carrier.

It was delicious.

I started the week early in the morning by meeting road blocks in just about every way to get out of my neighborhood.   People were frustrated and going the wrong way down one ways. I managed to get myself out of the grid lock and headed into the river valley.  I missed the signage warning about the marathon route.

I am so glad I can start having folks over again, now that the floor project is done.

I prepared a bit of a snack for my visit with a friend of mine on Monday.

A few veggies and dip and some ginger cookies

Of course, some Chamomile tea and great conversation.

At one point I thought maybe she should head out before rush hour traffic but it was already an hour later than that.

I guess were having a good time.

N is for Noose by Sue Graton.  I finished this book in the last couple of days.

Another great time spent with Kinsey Millhone as she dug down to investigate the final couple months of a fellow's life.  His wife was concerned about his troubles and hired Kinsey to investigate.

It's early spring and the weather is not the best but she heads north to meet with Selma Newquist whose husband passed away a couple of months ago.  

She started asking questions about Tom and his life and the locals in Nota Lake were having none of it because he was a good guy.  Well there may be other reasons.

There was a big reveal in the last chapter as to who killed those 2 guys.

It's Concord Grape time!  

We always had these as a treat when we were kids. I buy a basket of them every year.

My sister and brother-in-law dropped by on Tuesday to see the place put back together, pick up a couple things headed to their house then we went for supper at the Bul-go-gi House a Korean restaurant which as been in business since 1973.

It was delicious as always and good company.

Headed to the St. Albert Botanic Park to photograph the dahlias.  It is that time of year again where the bed of these flowers are in full bloom.

I did walk the whole garden but here are 4 of the great dahlias in their full glory.

I found out on Sunday that there would be no BC peaches this year as there was a killing frost when the flowers in bloom.

I guess that means Ontario peaches if we can get any.

I stopped at Superstore and they had cases of 25 lbs for $35.00 which is $1.50 a pound. Yes, please.

I took one home.  They are pretty much ready to eat and process so that will be on the agenda right away.

I will share with family, friends and neighbors.

I had a neighbour over for a visit and a tour of the new floor and laundry closet.

We had a great catch up.

My sister dropped by Saturday afternoon for tea and a visit.

It's been a while since she's been here so it was nice to host for a change.  She has been generous with her invites.

I sent her home with several peaches.

It's been a busy week.  It was so nice to have people over.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I made my last visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park before the hard frost comes and does away with the blooms.  The dahlias were still pretty and in good form for the most part.

This is Blushing Princess Alyssum which is covered with heavy dew.  My runners were soaking wet by the time I had spent over an hour in the park.

It was a brisk morning so an extra layer was needed for the morning.  I added a vest and headed out.  It was very nice time with very few people around.

Not to much to see at the river this time.  A few ducks were fattening up for the long trip south which no doubt will start soon.

Mister Teacher by Jack Sheffield was a light read.  I would another book by this author.

A warm-hearted, nostalgic and funny continuation of the story begun in the popular Teacher, Teacher! With a wonderful gallery of characters in this North Yorkshire village, author and real-life headmaster, Jack Sheffield, chronicles another riotous year in the life of Ragley-in-the Forest village school.

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield is beginning his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk – one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life for ever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. So begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural center of the community. Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher and whose greatest ambition is to become President of the Women's Institute; Ruby, the twenty-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman; all these , and many more colourful characters, accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma.

It's September and that is Concord Grape season in my part of the world. 

We must have had these as a kid but I don't remember for sure.  They are expensive but I treat myself to a carton every year.

The beautiful velvety blue skins with the bright green insides and they taste great.

My sister usually share in this tradition so I brought her a cluster when I saw her this week on her way to help Mom with a big medical eye  appointment.

Speaking of seasons the Canada Geese are starting to gather.  I did not find any in the waters of the Lois Hole Centennial Park but they were heard several times way over head.

I managed to capture this shot as they passed close enough over head to actually see them.

They move pretty fast when on a mission to find enough food to get ready for their trip south.

No doubt they are connected with like minded souls for the long trip as well.

I love their call at this time of year.  They make themselves known and spreading the word about what time it is.

I was able to find this book at the thrift store the other day. An Irish Country Love Story by Patrick Taylor.

It was so good to reacquaint myself with these great characters. Fingal O'Reilly the senior doctor in this medical practice in Ballybucklebo in County Down, Ireland. Kitty is now his wife.  Barry Laverty is coming along as the next senior doctor at Number One Main Street and he is engaged to Sue Nolan a teacher.

These farm folk love their dogs and when Jasper goes missing there is a massive search.  

There is an incident that puts Number One Main Street at risk.  This building has been home to the medical clinic for last 50 years, to the doctors and is where Kinky Auchinleck used to live before she married Archie. She still comes to work every day as the housekeeper and all around manager for the practice. 

The regular set of seasonal ailments are par for the course for these doctors who still make house calls. 

I will be on the look out for more of this series. 

A Lesser Yellow Leg bird at the Lois Hole Provincial Park on Sunday.   The water is so low that it must be a challenge for birds to find water and food.  Especially now that they are fattening up for the trip south.

I have to say having mucky mud as a background in my photos does not make me overly happy either but there it is!

Love the bit of blue water and the reflection of its feathers in the water.

I was very happy to see a bird other than female mallard ducks.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was zigzag.  This subject matter has a lot of options - muffin liners, alligator clips, saw edges, patterns on paper and plastic and tons more. The picture on the right is a Tupperware Charcuterie tool.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics)  to see my submission for this week. 

Have a good week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Black Capped Chickadees were having breakfast the other morning in the small sunflowers at the park. These small sunflower seed heads are the perfect size of Chickadees.

I bet they would like to squirrel away supplies for the winter when they are so plentiful.

The squirrel tried to get to the sunflower seeds but the stalks were not strong enough to hold him up.

 

This book is the one I finished this week.   It features many lost classics as recommended by authors who share their stories about the book that got away, lost, or otherwise has not seen a lot of reads.

It's Concord Grape time!  I look forward to these showing up in the grocery stores.  It is something I usually share with my sister.  Not sure it will happen this year.  I think we had them as kids because if the price was good Mom would buy some.  

I decided to make small cloths to disinfect my camera everyday when I return from my morning walk.

The risk is small because no one touches my camera but I may touch a rail or something else that could be contaminated.

I thought Rubbing alcohol would be the most effective cleaner but it can be a bit hard on the rubber parts of the camera.   The easiest is simple soap and water on a cloth.  

I bought a microfiber cloth which I sewed the edges and cut into 16 four inch cloths.  These will be used once and then laundered just like my masks and gloves.

Bleach solution is effective as well and will likely be used for door knobs, etc.  I had been using cleaning wipes but they are not all made the same.  They need alcohol or bleach to be effective for the corona virus.  I have yet to find a bottle to store the cleaner as you need a soft plastic bottle.  I have not had any success storing bleach solution in a spray bottle cause it just corrodes the metal parts in the spray mechanism.

I made a trade with my aunt this week.  She asked did I want a denim cushion cover?  I initially said no but reconsidered.

Of course, it needed to have sunflowers.  She has an embroidery machine which does creates these beautiful designs.  The original design has quite a bit of brown but I ask that she replace it would green.

It fit the cushion on the sofa perfectly because I had measured ahead of time.

I gave a about an inch of solid card stock. She did not want brights so I gave her jeweled tones, neutrals, and a few metallic.

So happy to have some of the card stock walk away.

I created a mosaic featuring Alium seed pods with a Scarlet Flax in the center.  The third one is the seed pod of the Chinese Globe Flower. I photographed them last year but I did not have any idea what the flower was.  I paid attention this year to see what the bloom looked like!  Last year I thought it was a Hellebore.  But now that I know what it is it is still not possible to find a photo on line of the flower's seed pod.

The Flicker Macro Monday challenge this week is the Dutch Tilt but in macro form.  This is a technique where you tilt the camera to create tension when viewing  the photo because we like this to stay on the horizontal. You can check out my Flicker Photostream (smpics) to see what I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #97 and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #258.

Share Your Cup #213

I purchased 2 white porcelain mugs to make a total of 4.  I'm finding that I don't often make a pot of tea when company comes over.  They chose their favorite from my selection and we each make our own mug of tea.  I have 2 white ones I purchased from Winners several years ago.  Yesterday two of these mugs were available for $1 each.  Done.  They came home with me so I can offer a larger or smaller mug to my company.

I picked chokecherries this week.  The temperatures have not been cold enough to freeze over night which makes these sweeter but I did not take the chance of not getting any for the freezer.  I will pick more once it's a bit colder if some one has not gotten to them before me.  In the city most people don't understand about picking wild berries.

I have considered clips for hanging my calendars.  Bull clips are not pretty so I was hoping for a pretty option.  I found these wire clips at a large arts and crafts store this week.  I have been thinking of providing a pretty clip to allow the hanging of my photo calendars.  I know that the desk frame can be a problem for some people so this would provide an alternative.   Being that they are metal I can adjust their color with alcohol inks to be more in tune with the colors in my calendars.

You can check the calendars here.

It's time for Concord Grapes.  Yeah!!! These are the yummiest.  I look forward to them every fall  late summer.  I picked some up the other day and have enjoyed them a lot.

I have been looking for a bottle brush for a while that did not cost and arm and a leg.  This one I found at the thrift store the other for $1. It's a Pampered Chef product so it is good quality.  It will be great to clean small vases and or bottles.


Sharing with Carol at Art & Sand for Share Your Cup #213.