Sylvia's Simple Shots

It's cold and windy.  The wind blew overnight and created a few winter landscapes aka snow banks.

We are at -27C feels like -36C wit the windchill. 

I confess, I took this photo from inside.

I did go out last week to mail stuff that needed to be postmarked in 2021.  I had 2 pairs of fleece sweat pants; a long sleeved shirt, my blue fleece jacket and my winter jacket; a tuque and my parka hood; 2 pair of gloves, and my winter boots.  I had 5 blocks to walk to the post office, I stood in line for a few minutes then 5 blocks back.

On the weekend it warmed up to -12C so I did my big grocery shopping and put the gas in the vehicle.  On Sunday I had a visit with my aunt as we were headed back in the deep freeze.  It was nice to have a couple of hours with my humans.

While visiting my aunt she mentioned that she was liquidating some of her ornaments as she has downsized to a 4 foot tree from a 7 footer. 

I was allowed to choose a few.  These are the ones I chose because of course I have a much smaller tree myself these days.  They are all glass and old. The pink round one is 2 inches in diameter and the bells are a bit smaller.  The bells actually have clangers and tinkles when rung.  I think these would be classed as Shiny Brights which were ornaments imported from Germany in the early 30's.  The left one is not silvered on the inside which I understand from my research was discontinued during WWII which sometimes helps to determine the age of an ornament.  You can check out more information on Shiny Brights on Wikipedia.

I finished this book last night.  A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber.   A story of a road trip with Bethanne, Annie her daugther and Ruth her ex-mother in law.  They travel from Seattle to Florida for Ruth's 50th Class reunion.  Bethanne has been divorced for 6 years when her husband walked out on her and their 2 kids.  She had to reinvent herself after being his partner in life and his biggest supporter in his realty business.  Having hosted many events in support of his business she turns to setting up a Parties business and has done very well.  She has several stores which she runs with the help of her daughter and a business manager.

On the trip the itinerary changes as each woman puts in her dibs for where to stop along the way.  Ruth wants to stop and look up a woman who was a neighbour and friend when she was first married. The girls pitch in at the restaurant during their visit.  The next stop is to visit a beautiful lake which some customers had mentioned at the restaurant.  The rental car breaks down and help arrives on motorcycles - the bikers from the restaurant. Bethanne takes a ride back to town with Max on his bike to get help.  He had caught her eye the day before when she was waiting tables. All three women have their love stories develop.   Ruth was meeting an old flame from high school at the reunion.  Bethanne's ex-husband now divorced again makes a play to reunite and Annie meets several young men along the trip.  

I found the struggle between these three women to get along as they wrestled with their own insecurities about life and men challenging.  I guess that is what it's like.   It was just okay for me.

I decided to purchase some essential oils sometime in December.  They were a bit pricey. My favorite essential oil bottle was getting low and I was not going to the biggest craft sale to purchase more.  My wax melts as well were needing refreshing and I was not going out into a crowd to find a Scentsy rep. 

I found a health food store with the scents I wanted.  Pine Needle for the Christmas Tree and Grapefruit and Bergamot to replace my near empty bottle.  I use it on my doll diffuser mentioned here.  I put a drop on each morning as I do my exercise.

I thought I would just use beeswax to make wax melts.  I melted some and added my grapefruit and bergamot oils and let it solidify.  

When I researched a bit more I discovered that I need to add coconut oil so it will melt in the warmer.   So I will have to wait till it warms up next week and purchase some.

This one will have to be remelted and adjusted.

I used a silicone mold to form it and it should be the right size to fill my warmer's bowl.

This project is on hold for the time being.  I did have some Scentsy pieces left so I still have time to make this project work.

I received this felt tree oil diffuser from my sister for Christmas.

It will get the pine needle scent next year.   I think I had a bit of a reaction to it this year so I will leave that for the time being.

Love the light color and stitching on this cutie.

It will go into the box with the decorations and come out next year.  Maybe next December the world will have righted itself.

The theme for Flickr Macro Mondays this week was "cotton".   Mom and Dad are now settled in their new residences. Mom at the lodge and Dad at ExtendiCare. Fortunately, only across the parking lot from each other.  During the sorting out of this from Mom & Dad's move I brought home an apron my Mom embroidered about 60 years ago.

It features these beautiful cabbage roses, so I used that for my image on Macro Mondays.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream at SMDPics. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday # 162 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #319. 

Have a great week.  It good to be back. 

Christmas 2018

This is the only nativity on display at my house this year. 

Craft sales and other projects took up much of my time and the results it was coming down to Dec 23 to decorate.



Then the battery in my car died on Sunday night and I had to get some help to diagnose the problem. Thanks to my brother-in-law who came when I called; my sister who drove me home at midnight, and my brother with the knowledge to determine the problem.

I borrowed this book from the lounge in the apartment building at Mom & Dad's.  I had read the Lilac Bus but the Firefly Summer and the Silver Wedding were new to me.

The Firefly Summer was long in places.  It covers the re-building of a mansion which burned down in the early 1900s.  It is in a small Irish town and the consequences of coming to town bringing American tourists is a concern.  The pub nearby will likely lose it's business, the project manager is happy to have a big project during the construction phase, the local kids used to play in the ruins and now that has changed.

There are a couple of tragedies which take place.  Again, changes are taking place with sadness and adjustment needed.

It has a great ending.




We had a wonderful Christmas lunch with around 40 in attendance.  We had a children's gift exchange and an adult exchange.  This is the wonderful food provided in our potluck. 

Mom & Dad enjoyed have their extended family to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

We had great weather for all of us who traveled several hours to get there. 

Boxing Day was a wonderful day.   The sky was blue, the sun was highlighting the hoar frost on the trees.

The snow machines were started and those who wanted a ride got a ride across the yard and fields.

I am getting ready for New Year's Eve.

Enjoy!

Share Your Cup - This Week

I received this Scentsy Silent Night wax warmer for Christmas.  It features the nativity, the wise men and the shepherds.  A light bulb provides the heat to melt the wax.   It`s navy and white which totally fits into my colors.

Several years ago I changed from candles to wax for adding scent to my place.  Safer and I can set a timer for only a certain amount of time so I don`t forget to turn it off.

I placed my favorite scent -Scentsy Cinnamon Vanilla into it and enjoyed it all day!!  It added great atmosphere to my place.



I`ve decided to add some meditative coloring to my life in the new year.  I`m starting out with a small coloring book and my pencil crayons.  I loved, loved coloring when I was a kid and look forward to applying some creative juices to these pages.  I will post my efforts as time goes by.



I made some of these Thread Catcher Bags as Christmas gifts this season.  Several of the ladies in my family sew and quilt.  My Mom has sewn most of her life.  I had to sort out a pattern for these and you can find instructions on this post.

I made these soft fleece pot protectors for my sister.  These are designed to be placed between fry pans when you stack them so they don`t get scratched being moved around.  I chose the deep charcoal color based on the colors in her kitchen.
This is a very simple design based on a circle measured with a dinner plate.  It is 2 layers thick and I sewed the seams with zigzag around the edge then trimmed any leftovers off.  I ran 3 seams across the center and you can see I did not get perfectly in the center but the frypans will not notice.   This is very washable which is important for anything in the kitchen.


I am enjoying the decorations on the trees in the homes I visit over the holidays.  My sister`s tree on Christmas day was spectacular.  Done in clear lights, mostly clear, white and silver ornaments with a few red ones.  It rotated all day but I`m not sure how that was accomplished.  This is a silver snowflake that was on her tree.


Sharing with Share Your Cup #229 hosted by Jann at Daily with Mrs. Olson.