Sylvia"s Simple Shot

We have so few red leaf trees in our province.

This one was at a small park near my sisters house.  I was on a walk in the morning before heading to the ReUse Center. The sun was highlighting the red beautifully.

I was blessed to have supper with the same sister later in the day after she had been to see her husband in hospital and I did some errands.

I headed to West Edmonton Mall Monday morning to have a visit with one of my sister's who had just returned from PEI the night before.  

We ate at the food court where each of us could have our choice.  I had Vietnamese noodle bowl. Delicious.

She had the grandsons while their Mom and Dad were at an appointment near by.

I took advantage of being at WEM to visit the David's Tea store - only one in Edmonton.

I had some great ginger tea at my aunts earlier this year so I selected a ginger tea.  

It gives me a non caffeinated option which I can chose to drink more often.

I decided to visit the Old Strathcona Antique Mall and called a friend who generally meets me there. She was free!  

I have not seen her physically for about 2 years so it was nice to chat and we headed to Swiss Chalet for supper after traipsing through the antiques.

There is so much wonderful items there.

Check out the frilly lampshade on a Fenton glass base from I think the 1940s.

Amber handle on a mirrored tray.

Always a good time.

I put together a set of cards for her since she is a card giver.  

I have been supporting my friend who do give cards with some from my stash.

It is a win - win.  Cards leave my house and they get free cards which helps all the way around.

An Irish Country Practice - Patrick Taylor is a book I finished this week.  

There are new faces at the practice Not only has O’Reilly taken a new trainee under his wing, Doctor Connor Nelson, he’s also added a spirited Labrador puppy to his ever-expanding household at Number One Main Street. 

Meanwhile, his trusted partner, young Doctor Barry Laverty, finds himself wondering if he’s truly ready to settle down and start a family with his lovely fiancée, Sue.

This was a very deja vu read. Many things sound familiar but I have no record of reading it before.

Always, a joy to spend time with the doctors at Number One Main Street in Ballybucklebo.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Canada Geese are gathering in large numbers.  It is the time of year.  We have been experiencing wonderful weather for October.

The geese were communicating, honking and flying over head.  I expect they are in fields feeding on harvest leftovers and I was grateful to see so many on Saturday morning.

This is the largest pond at the Heritage Hills Wetlands.  I did a large walk because I walked along all 3 ponds that morning.

The weather was perfect and I had such a good time.  The sun rose of course as I was out there and it affected my photos.

Sunrise and sunset are getting closer together.

I finished this book earlier this week.  The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards was an interesting read.

There are two story lines for a set of twins - Paul stayed with his parents David and Norah.  David a doctor gave away his daughter because she had Down Syndrome.  This decision made this couple absolutely crazy.  I just quit reading that story line about half way through the book.

Phoebe was given to the David's nurse, Caroline to be delivered to an institution for disabled persons.  In the 1960s this was common.  She could not leave the baby girl in this very sad and desperate institution. The night the baby born Caroline meets her future husband and makes a move to ensure that Phoebe survives and thrives.  This story line was so much more positive and uplifting.

When I quit the first story line and when to the last chapter and read back a few chapters to get the end of the story.  Saved the book for me.

I received a bowl full of beautiful cherry tomatoes from my aunt.  I am so grateful to have these delicious fruit to eat for the next few days.  I have a bunch more green ones which will ripen over the next couple weeks.

I roasted some the other day that were the last of the ones I had bought from the grocery store.  They burst and were delicious.  I ate them with the pizza that was in the oven at the same time.

Harvest is such an amazing thing.

I finally got one of these vintage pencil sharpeners.  We had one of these when I was at home and going to school.  With 8 kids in school you can bet it got a lot of use.  It was rescued when Mom and Dad left the house in 2015. 

I found this one at the thrift store the other day and check out the price of $2.  Once it got a real good cleaning I discovered that the suction cup on the bottom still works as designed.

I tested it out before I took it home and it will be appreciated for the next long while.  I use colored pencils mostly because I use mechanical pencils for writing.

Very grateful that it showed up after looking for about 4 years.

Every Step she Takes - K. L. Armstrong was the book I finished in the last couple of days.

I did finish this one but it was another story which was pretty crazy.  The murder mystery was interesting and compelling.

It was not for me but I am sure it works for others out there.

A beautiful fall shot of the yellow leaves in this season of autumn.

The challenge for Flickr's Macro Mondays is "Open". This was a great challenge and allowed a wide variety of subjects.  The shot on the right is an open container of leads for mechanical pencils.  You can see my submission on my Photostream (SMDPics).

Have a great week!

Four Season Art Show - My Submissions

The theme for our end of the year member show this year is "Four Seasons".

I chose to do a smaller version of the large sunrise I painted for the stained glass piece. You can check out the Sunrise Stained Glass project. 

Title: Summer Sunrise

Size: 14 x 14 inches

Watercolor

Mats: White Double Archival

Frame: Black Wood medium profile

Print: 8x8 inches

I used my Loew&Cornell watercolor palette to paint this piece.  The black lines are done with a Micron Archival marker. 

Back to my regular art of photography.  This was taken a couple of years ago.  Love the crystal looking frost on this pine branch.

Title: Winter Frost

Size: 16 x 12 inches

Signed Photography Print

Mats: White Single Archival

Frame: Black Wood medium profile

Print: 8x10 inches

I chose to do a mixed media piece as well.

Title: Four Seasons

Size: 13 x 11 inches

Mixed Media

Mats: Wood

Frame: Black Wood medium profile

Print: 5 (4x6) openings

This is a wooden frame with 5 openings for 4x6 photos.  I chose the first pussy willows for spring, bees buzzing for summer, a beautiful orange horse chestnut leaf for fall, and a small evergreen tree in a snow covered landscape for winter.

I watercolored a background onto which I printed words I created which describe the transition from winter to fall. 

Photo Blogging Challenge - Nature

Nature is the challenge for September at the Photo Blogging Challenge.

I chose 5 photos taken in recent days.  This rose was found on a bush which must be one of the final ones as we move into autumn.

It is a bright spot in the park as nature turns to more quiet colors.


Love the bright deep pink color of the layered blossom.  A domestic variety planted planted in a park.









Of course, another fall activity in nature is the gathering of the birds who are preparing for their migratory journeys.

This pond in the park had many Canada Geese as they rally to migrate south.

They are eating and gaining energy for the long flight to winter grounds in California and Northern Mexico.

There were a few ducks but mostly geese in this pond.

This was taken on one of the last days that we have seen wonderful sunlight late in the day. 

The leaves turn color as nature adjusts to the less light and cooler temperatures.   The color was there all along and as chlorophyll disappears the color is revealed.

Most leaves here in the west turn yellow with not much red or orange. 

I believe this is "River Birch" tree leaves.

The leaf was backlit by the late afternoon sun.

As the growing season runs down the plants are making seeds to ensure their continued propagation  next year.

This is a Canada Thistle seed head ready to release thousands of seeds in hopes of making more plants in the spring. 

It is considered a weed in our area.

As fall returns the sun sets earlier each week. 

I caught this grass seed head against the setting sun.   I am amazed at how fast to comes.

Sharing with P.J. at A Lil Hoo Haa who hosts the Photo Blogging Challenge.