Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a walk over the new Tawatina LRT Bridge on the weekend.  It has been open to foot traffic for a while but the train is not up and running for passenger traffic yet.  Testing is still taking place.

It is a beautiful bridge and I will take a ride across it on the train when the time is right.

The bridge is wide and leaves lots of room for quite a few folks.  Of course, I was there with the birds in the morning so it was delightful to have it mostly to myself.

The Muttart Conservatory is the stop on the south side of the river and the walk across brings one to Louise McKinney Riverfront Park in the downtown area.  For those downtown that want a quick trip to the Muttart it is perfect!

I walked the grounds of the Muttart Conservatory as it was before the pyramids opened at 10:00 am.

I found Maratagon Lilies which are also at the St. Albert Botanic Park.  

This one is named Fairy Morning which features yellow and peach colors.  There were several varieties in the flower bed.

I'm not sure when I will going inside the pyramids as there not much room to social distance.  I anticipate another wave of COVID 19 in the fall so I continue to wear my mask and social distance with strangers.

The LRT construction has had a big impact on the grounds so there are less flowers than before.

I added some pieces to my white dinnerware by Myott (1952) with some Snowhite Regency by Johnson Brothers.  These pieces came from my sister who received the donated card making supplies earlier this year. These had been in storage for quite a few years.  I believe these pieces are from the 1960's.  I was able to add 4 dinner plates, 4 cups and saucers, 6 dessert plates, and 2 oval serving pieces.  Super happy!

I finished this Nicholas Sparks - See Me books this week.

The main character is Colin Hancock who is making a real effort to change his ways.  He had psychological help from a therapist in coping mechanisms to keep him out of the trouble he has had in the past. Training his body, running to wear off energy, keeping his anger under control, no drinking of alcohol and practicing his listening skills are all working pretty well.  He meets Maria Sanchez on the beach.  As always with Nicholas it is a quick romance to spending days and night together.

Maria is moving up the career ladder as a lawyer. This current job comes with some relationship challenges with one of the bosses. He approaches her during a out of town conference and suggests a way for her to make partner.  She turns him down then struggles to keep out of his way.

It begins to be clear someone is stalking her and sending her gifts and threatening her - but who?  Is the boss, is it someone from one of her previous cases?   Of course, Colin now in love is having a hard time controlling his emotions and his behaviors.   I found the intensity of the story quite challenging, Colin is out of control a couple of times which did not sit well with me.  I did not really relate to this story very much.

I am really enjoying my small watercolors cards for Christmas and other occasions.

I have tubes of water color which have not seen the light of day for years.  These were acquired at sales and generally at price discounts.  My sister and I have done large sheet backgrounds in the past. 

I decided to pull these out and use them but I needed a way to make them available.  I did a search and there were several ideas for travel watercolor palettes.  I headed over the Delta Art and purchased empty half pans at over $1 each.

I placed them in this cough drop tin and filled them with blobs of color from the tubes I had. I was able to have several versions of the 3 primary colors - blue, red and yellow.  I will be able to mix many color from these.

It does not give me much mixing space but I can use a white dinner plate for that purpose.

I have written down the colors on the left and I did paint a sample of each color in the photo above. I think I have 2 reds which are very similar. 

I painted 2 small landscapes just to give the colors a go. I will make cards with them later.

I did come across a way cheaper option for this project which I will share the link here.  She uses a dollar store eye shadow box which I thought was genius.

Still scoping out salt free snacks.  I found a large 630gm bags of these a Sobey's store on my trip south a few weeks ago.  

Have yet to check them out here in the city but it is on the ToDo List

It is hard to find healthy options at a good price and easily available because that is not what most people want.   I will keep at it.

Hosting Family and Friends

With my place in order I have hosted 5 sets of folks in the last week.   The table was set with the red tablecloth, a white linen square on the diagonal and plaid Christmas place mats. White plates and large mugs was the order of the day.  Large white porcelain tea pot.

My friend to celebrate her birthday on December 13th with our favorite - pecan crusted cheesecake. My niece on Dec 16 where we had steak, baked potatoes and coleslaw and we had a great visit.
My sister and brother in law on Tuesday where we had a great lunch of chicken, rice, brocolli and a pineapple squares for dessert. Lots of tea. 
Another friend came on Thursday for morning tea to celebrate her birthday with Earl Grey Decaf and sweets.
Tonight my neighbor came and we munched on cheese, veggies and a few sweets with Jasmine Green Tea.

This Christmas season is more about people and less about stuff.

Kitchen Reno - Reveal

I have been working on an update to my kitchen since I purchased these 2 cabinets in April 2017.  I love IKEA and these are IVAR cabinets.  This was a challenge and provided many learning curves.

There have been several challenges:

• I added IKEA EKET under frame which includes a frame and legs in clear lacquered birch.
• The freezer needs space above for ventilation so I have decided not to install a counter.  The cabinets also have tops so it is not necessary.
• Since the cabinets are not standard kitchen cabinets I needed a spacer behind to bring them forward to the edge of the wall on the right.  Two by fours with brackets then topped with pretty knotty pine boards did the trick. I had to cut some of the 2x4 with a hand saw but I did my carpenter Dad proud.  Thank goodness for an electric drill he gave me years ago. 
• I added identical wooden shelves on either side for open shelving for dishes.  
• I installed the large metal sunflower my niece gave me for Christmas as the art in the center above the freezer.  I love it!
• Finding trays for the inside to store what used to be in there led to a journey with several options.  

New appliances rose to the top of the priority list when I was headed to Mom and Dad`s in August when I discovered that a bracket that supported the bottom of the freezer was broken.  I supported the base as best I could had headed out.  When I returned I headed out shopping for new ones.  A refrigerator, a dishwasher, a stove and a microwave were on the list.  The ones I was replacing were over 30 years old.  This is the first time I bought kitchen appliances in my life. I did my research and visited a couple of showrooms.
The new appliances were delivered September 11th. This photo shows the new appliances. I bought very basic appliances in white as the kitchen is not a place where I spend a lot of time.  The next day the dishwasher was hooked up. I have not had a working dishwasher for about 5 years so it is taking a bit to get used to how I do things. The counters are staying tidy. It took till September 28th to get all the issues addressed but I finally have the fridge door opening the right way, the fridge is no longer freezer my food and the damage on the front door repaired.

The photo above also shows the painting of the cupboards. I posted in summer that I had put paper in the centers of the doors to see how much of an effect it would make to the room.  It was dramatic and brighten up the room a lot considering there is no windows.  I lived with paper until this week.  I will post later the process.  I am very happy with the change.

I bought a new rug at the sink in white and navy.  I don`t think it is the final solution but it will do for now.  Easily washed and good colors.

The tea cupboard is still in it`s place.  I moved the pot holders to the range hood since that is where I need them.  Navy sunflowers are there pattern.  One of the reasons I bought these appliances because of the handles. I like to hang towels on the stove and fridge.

I found a small glass lemon to compliment the other two in my blue cut glass bowl.  A day with my aunts on Tuesday found us visiting a high end second hand store.  I have been looking for a while. There it was and the price was great.

The bowl lives on top of the microwave sitting on a yellow crocheted doily.  I added a microwave splatter cover.  The microwave has a rotating glass plate.  The old one did not which tells you how old it was.  It has been sent to the eco station.

Super happy with this presentation. 

I recently found a silver tin which is exactly the same as the blue ones I have been using in the tea cupboard.  The price was $2 so it came home with me.  I have been looking for 2 years for a matching tin.

I printed some labels for each of them. Earl Grey, Herbal, Chamomile and Green tea.

I recently found a blue spray bottle for the mixture water and bleach that I use all the time in the kitchen.  Works great on stained teapots and tea cups.

I have chosen to store my dishes on wooden open shelves.

On the right, I have my yellow and true blue set of dishes. A few white plates are also on this side.  The yellow and the stainless steel teapots live on the top shelf.  I have managed to find a sugar and creamer and a covered condiment dish to match my stainless steel teapot.

On the left, I store my blue nd white dishes. The Blue Nordic dishware received a boost the other day.  I now have four White Regency teacups and saucers and 6 Blue Nordic.  I have the clear glass plates, red plates, and the Cobalt blue glass plates.  The top shelf holds the IKEA Cobalt Blue teapot and the Blue Nordic coffee set as well as the large white porcelain teapot.

You will see that sunflowers are the flower of choice in my kitchen.  On the left is a painting from Italy, a very large metal sunflower art in the center, on the right a framed tile from Mexico, and a watercolor print.

I love the plate stand, another recent purchase, as it will hold any of my plates which allows me to customize it to the dishware I am using on my table. My brother in law is working on supports for a black wire rack which will hold my plates vertically instead of horizontally on shelves. 

Further updates:
The original plan was to place some open shelving higher up on the wall.  After some discussion with a friend I am holding off for a while.  I have stored my Tupperware elsewhere for now.

The wood shelves, the spacer boards need to be oiled but I will wait till the plate rack is ready and do it all at once. 

I want to make fabric runners to be placed under the shelves on both sides. 

Sharing with
Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson Share Your Cup #267
Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday 55
Mersad who hosts Through my Lens 114

Tea and Breakfast

I made a pot of Masala Chai tea this morning with my breakfast.

It was brewed in my white porcelain 6 cup tea pot.  I tried some tea sacks which I received when I won a blog give away by Margie and Tea in the Valley in early part of the year.  The sacks have a flap that sits between the pot and the lid and holds 3 teaspoons of loose tea with plenty of room for expansion.  They make clean up a breeze. 

I drink my Masala Chai with a bit of honey and cream.  I used my Johnson Brothers Regency White set.  I just love that scallop fluted texture on the saucers and plates.

I picked a few lovely bachelor buttons from a friend`s flower bed.   They were placed in a small short glass vase filled with glass beads at the bottom. The vase is sitting on a Battenburg Lace doily on my pine table.  I know I was reading on a blog earlier how nice it is to have fresh flowers on the table. I agree but I need help as I don`t grow them myself. 

I was looking for a dessert bowl so I did not have to use soup bowls from my dishes set. I have the little yellow square ones but nothing more neutral in color.

I bought these small bowls clear glass bowls to ensure a smaller portion.  I placed about 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt in the bottom of the dish topped with a small banana and fresh raspberries.  I am enjoying these raspberries picked from a friend`s patch.

Here`s the whole picture.

I used a round aqua place mat.

The vase of fresh flowers on the left.  Teapot placed at the top of the setting placed on a larger Batternburg Lace doily.

I bought the small cream pitcher the other which works better when it`s only me for breakfast.

I added a Chocolate Bran Muffin to the fresh fruit.

The tomato plants on the balcony continue to grow and have quite a few flowers but no fruit yet. 

Sharing with

Bernideens Tea Time

Search for a Pink Tea Cup

This is a long post with a lot of pink. Proceed if you are intrigued I promise it has a happy ending.
Here we go!

I was gifted this pink tea pot by my aunt in July 2016 who had been given it by a relative years before from a vintage shop.
It is vintage, the maker is Sadler, it is a lamp shape pink teapot with pink roses & periwinkle Forget-Me-Nots with gold trim and my research suggested it is 75 years old.  I did include it in my 2017 Tea Time Calendar with a Regency White tea cup and saucer by Johnson Brothers.
The quest was on to find a tea cup that matched the teapot well.  Based on my internet research Sadler did not make tea cups so how to find a match on this pattern?

The cup should at least have pink roses blue flowers and gold trim I thought to myself.

I thought the teapot was a warm pink until I bought this tea cup and discovered it was not really warm at all as this set has a warm white base.

This set has ROSE BOUQUET 22 KT gold border MADE IN ENGLAND F on the bottom. I have not identified a maker.  I have no sense of age on this one.

Having decided a white or pink background would be better I continued my search.

This tea cup & saucer set had white and gold so it was getting closer to what I needed but no roses or pink or blue.

This is a bone china golden wedding anniversary set by Sutherland HM made in England.   I expect that this one is more recent in age.

It was not as good as it could be so I kept my out at thrift shops in hopes of find a better one. I started carrying a photo of the tea pot in hopes of being able to better match it.

This one had a white background, pink roses and gold trim but no blue so we are getting closer.

This one is bone china by Ridgway Potteries made in England. It has Royal Vale and pattern "N" 8138 on the bottom.  I found one reference that suggested a date in the mid 1960s.

This one would work but I kept my eyes peeled.  Most everyone I speak to regularly knows I'm looking for a cup to match this teapot.  There are many eyes at work.

My aunt gave me this one for Christmas this year and I was thrilled.  It has a pink background that matches well with the teapot, gold trim, pink roses and this wonderful scallop edge but still still no blue flowers.

It is marked Queen Anne Bone China England.  The 'Queen Anne' trade name introduced around 1950 was used until the closure of the Edensor Works in 1966. 

Then this one arrived!  Pink background, pink roses, gold trim and blue bachelor buttons.

This one is marked Bone China Colcough F 4 Made in England.  The mark is reasonably rare but the one place was still researching the mark.  Really no idea how old it is but it's a match which is what counts.

Here's the teapot and tea cup and saucer together.  I think it's a great match and it will make it into my 2018 Tea Time Calendar which I will start shooting soon.

Thanks for reading my long post.  It has a happy ending.  Check out my blog give away on my feature post. 

Sharing at
 Tuesday Cuppa Tea hosted by Ruth.
Bernideen`s Tea Time  

Evening Tea

It was a cup of decaf Earl Grey as it is evening and caffeine would have me up all night.  I served it in a white and gold gilt bone china tea cup by Sutherland HM.  I added a bit of honey and some milk. I love the scallop texture in this cup and saucer set.


I had a Gala Apple cut into slices, a few pieces of white old cheddar cheese and a couple Peek Freans Cranberry Citrus oat crunch cookies.  I served them a Johnson Brothers Regency White dessert plate.

I chose red green gold plaid place mats on a red table cloth with a herringbone pattern.

I set up a table center piece with a white house background from IKEA. I placed some Christmas red berry foliage, a large pine cone and a mercury glass tree on a Christmas plate on a gold charger plate.


Sharing with Bernideen's Tea link up.

Share Your Cup #219 - This Week

This was breaky before I headed off to teach my Be Present for Christmas class.  The dinnerware is all by Johnson Brothers. The mug - JB Cotswold in brown.  I paired it with a brown fluted plate by JB - Watermill pattern on a JB - Regency White fluted plate. The tea is Jade Citrus Mint which is one of the few teas I can drink with no cream or sugar.  A couple chocolate bran muffins and an apple.

Sunrise this morning filled the sky with pinks, purples and blues.  There is just a hint of what is to come coming over the evergreens.


I found this really nice bottle by Avon at the thrift shop this week.  The scent from the lid leads me to believe it may have been perfume. I have not found the exact bottle in my google search.  I loved the ridges on the body of the jar and the fluted shiny silver lid.  The price was right so it came home with me.

Dill is one of my favorite herbs so when they had some bunches of fresh at the grocery store on my trip last week I brought a couple home.  I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper as they recommend the herb not touch metal.  I turned my oven to the lowest setting and then checked it every 30 minutes.  It took over an hour for each bundle. As you can see, it did not generate much in my dill container.  I`m not sure it was economical to do it, but live and learn.   It may have been better to use the second method which was to place the herb in a brown paper bag with slits to keep the dust off and provide air circulation.  It would likely have taken several weeks to get the same result.



This flower came across my path this week and it really has gorgeous colors.  I may need to use a larger vase for the size of it.  I loved it so I brought it home. 

Sharing with Jan at Daily Cup with Mrs Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #219.

Cuppa Tea Tuesday - Brunch Sandwich

This is the start of brunch this morning.  I set the table with my navy blue table cloth, a white Battenburg place mat, and the large Blue Carnation plate made in Japan.


I made a tomato and cheese open face sandwich on whole wheat toast.  I used fresh garden tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. I topped it with a bit of steak spice, salt and pepper.  It was placed on the salad plate from the Johnson Brothers White Regency which was centered onto the Blue Carnation dinner plate.  The sandwich was terrific.

I made a pot of Masala Chai tea and served it in the Johnson Brothers White Regency teacup and saucer.  I added some honey and cream to make it the way I like it.



The teapot is my Cobalt Blue Ikea 365+. I love this tea pot because it pours well and the lid stays in place.

Here's the full photo.  Brunch was very good.  I repeated the use of the Regency White to tie this tablescape together.

Sharing with Cuppa Tea Tuesday hosted by Ruth at Antiques and Tea Cups.

Share Your Cup - Cobalt Blue

I've been collecting a few pieces of cobalt blue glass ware to put together a table setting.  Here is the clear glass water pitcher with a blue handle paired with medium sized blue glasses.  They are probably juice glasses but they work great for water at the table.









I found a pretty cobalt blue vase with a clear glass fluted foot.  It's a good size proportionally for my table.  I've placed small silk daffodils in it today. 

Today the tea is Masala Chai with honey and cream.  Yum.  It is served in Johnson Brothers Regency White tea cup and saucer.  The teapot is by Stokes.  Can someone help with the type of tablecloth I have?  It is a bit heavy and has this shiny pattern woven into it. It strikes me as 1970s style.  Leave me a comment if you know something about this tablecloth. 

It's still apple & rhubarb crisp season.  The apples came from my Mom's trees and rhubarb from my sister.  The blue glass plates are Avon Royal Sapphire Cobalt Blue made in France layered with a simple white plate with a soft ruffled edge by IKEA - ARV.

I had my Mom over yesterday as she is in the city for treatment for the next few weeks.  We had a good visit and she is doing well but a bit tired.  I hope to have her over once a week.

The flatware has Splendide 18/8 Stainless Steel on the back.  Nice heavy utensils. 

Submitting to Share Your Cup #217
hosted by Carol at Art&Sand.