Sylvia's Simple Shots

The front door decor received an update from last year.  

I wrapped green garland around the metal star shape and secured it at the top.

I added a green ribbon to the hanger because it was too narrow to fit on my wreath hanger.

I added some red and green Christmas ornaments secured to the hanger. I see that the extra bit makes it almost too low for the peep hole.  It will do!  Maybe a shorter hanger for next year.

I added a metallic red ribbon bow above the ornaments.

Really liking it.

I really enjoyed this book - Dear John by Nicholas Sparks.  John is the main character who was raised by a single father.  He had his rebellious years then joined the army.  With a bit of maturing he returns to visit his Dad while on leave and meets a girl who is building a house for Habitat for Humanity.  They connect in the week he is there and he is headed back overseas.  Letters and phone calls keep them connected.  He learns a bit more about his father on his second leave and they get to know each better.  When his father passes away he discovers his Dad's legacy.

I loved the story because it's not too sugary sweet. The characters are real and honest.  In the end, doing the right thing wins over what's in it for me.

I would recommend this book and I will search for more of his books.

A lot fewer recipes of Caramel Popcorn have been made this year as our large family Christmas has been cancelled.  I have a few siblings who live close so I will drop off bags with the right social distancing.

I generally make bags to sell which of course did not happen this year.

 

I was lent this book by a friend.  It was a quite read with a lot of wisdom inside and some beautiful art.  Some I recognized and others that I will look up on line.

 

I put up my quick and easy Nativity this year.  It is a large metal nativity which has be powder coated in shiny black.  I have set it on my antique trunk and used my photography backdrop stand to hold the starry fabric behind it. I was hoping the stars would show but I had to get far enough back to see it all.

I placed my LED Noma Heritage Teardrop lights in the front mixed with green garland. Since they are LED I don't have to worry about them getting hot.

 

Recently, I have chosen to watch only positive shows.  To fill my head and heart with good stuff. The news and some of the my regular shows are crime shows so violence, conflict and dissension were the order of the day. These are the ones I watch every week day.  I just love the Baking Shows. 

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday this week was high key.  I thought it would be easy but it was not.  I learned a lot but took a lot of rejected shots.  You can check my Flickr Photostream SMDPics to see the image I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #109 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #270. Keep safe and well!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was out to a new to me wetland area this week.  There are several water ponds and some walk ways over the water which is frozen these days.

Ice had been cleared for a hockey rink and a skating oval.  With the pandemic raging here the locals have found a way to social distance and still get their exercise and fresh air.

I will certainly be checking this area in the spring when the water is back.  Looking forward to it.

This is a seed pod of an unknown species of plant.  There a hint of snow on it.  I have not been so aware of how seeds get spread in the fall for growing in the spring.

I delivered 13 quilts to my charity contact this week.

These are some of mine as well as some of my sister's.

The box meant to store them was over flowing and I am grateful that they will be distributed to people in need.

The bag was dropped off on her door step at a designated time to ensure no contact.

I did not finish this book which was recently on my night stand. 

The novel is a story about a real life Erwin Schrodinger - was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian-Irish physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theory: the Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time.

This book was about his personal life - his marriage, his mistress and their child, his other infidelities and how he interacted with his colleagues.  A lot about how he was feeling and the internal dialogue going on in his head.

It takes place in Austria and Ireland during the Second World War.  It was quite depressing and I don't need that right now so I quit half way through.

 

The dryer vent has been reconnected!  We had the dryer vents cleaned a while back and the service person was not able to get around this elbow with his vacuum.

They cut a hole in the drywall, taped the joint on the bottom of the elbow back together, checked the bottom connection, and fixed the hole in the wall. 

I had to dismantle some of the shelving in the laundry area to provide him the access he needed.  I was finally able to get everything back in the space.   That was a week of no laundry but I had planned ahead so it was no problem. Great to get another thing off the todo list.

I was able to get outside and so a bit of photography as well.  The sun if having a hard time showing up these days still.  On Sunday it was predicted so I kept an eye out and when it appeared at 10:00 am I headed out with the camera.

The top leaf was with good sun and you can see the shadow and the sparkling snow.

The wild grass at the wetlands against a late afternoon sun with interesting clouds in the sky.

The bottom one is a very frost encrusted leaf in the snow.

Flicker Macro Monday challenge this week is "Bathroom".  Here's one of the shots I took.  You can check out my photostream SMDPics to see the photo I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #107 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #268.

Have a great and safe week.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My aunt and I went on a last photo trip to the Lois Hole Provincial Park before the snow came.  We started at the Riel Recreation area and walked over.  I had hope the sun would come out but nay it did not. It was hard to get highlights on the eyes.

We found still a lot of birds - Canada Geese, Gulls, Tundra Swans, Coots, and ducks. There was other wildlife as well thinking the same I expect.  I was surprised the birds were still here.

Here is a munching muskrat.  There were many of them sitting on bits of ice that have started to form on the smaller ponds.  I love the water drops on his fir!

No beavers today though they are around.

This is the only sighting of the Wilsons Snipe this year. It's been a few years since my first shot of this bird.

It was feeding along the edge of the river so the angle of the shot was not ideal.  

I have not been doing a lot of take out food. I guess tired on my own cooking also. I was having a hankering for War Wonton soup from my local restaurant.  I was lucky that despite not having ordered ahead I did not meet anyone in the tiny lobby as I waited for my order to be prepared.  It was super delicious as always.

This is what breakfast looks like these days.

I decided to reduce the amount of dairy products I consume.  I had yogurt which has been replaced with peanut butter to get the protein I needed.

I am still having cream in my tea.

Almond milk or coconut milk are the alternatives I have been using for quite a few years.  Love the cashew milk as well.

We had our first big snowfall on the weekend and I see that the magpie that has started visiting was here this morning.

 

Recently, my aunt shared with me a webinar by photographer Harold Davis - Bottle Light.

I thought it was so cool!  

My first attempt did not so well but this morning with the biggest light available - the sun I managed some shots I was happy with.

I will prepare a blog post with more information in the next little while

I have direct sun for about an hour in the morning if it is shining at all. 

This book - The Lace Makers of Glenmarra by Heather Barbieri is a great book.

A book about women - mothers, daughters, best friends, sisters, and strangers who come from away and enter our lives and their relationships.

There is heart break, good times, teaching, learning, new ideas, and taking risks to improve life.

It is set in wonderful Ireland and the main character is Kate Robinson from Seattle who is taking a trip she planned with her Mom but things changed and she is doing it alone.

There are men too - some hardworking, some abusive, some lazy and taking advantage, some with very rigid opinions and a father who spoke up when it mattered.

I would recommend this book!

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #104  and 

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #265.

 The challenge for the Flickr Macro Monday this week is Puzzle. You see a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle here.

Check out my Flickr Photostream (smdpics) for the image I submitted.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I captured the seed pods of the Field Pennycress last week on one of my walks.

I love how the sun backlit the pods and the seeds are so visible.

We still have nice weather and super temperatures so walking is still good.

Several days have been very overcast so not so great for photography.

This is the second book I have read by Patrick Taylor. This one set is later than the first one I read but this is book one in the series.

The practice has been purchased by Dr. Fingal O'Reilly the intern that came to work with the original doctor.  Now, a new intern named Dr. Barry Laverty comes to practice medicine in Ballybucklebo.  Mrs. Kinky Kincaid continues to be the one to keep the doctors fed and generally the house organized.

The young doctors starts to learn the human side of practicing medicine.  How who the patient is dictates to some degree what medicine is needed. Dr O'Reilly has some very creative approaches and Dr. Laverty brings some new medicine to the practice.   Great book and high recommend it.  

What a wonderful book - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  

A man who recently retired gets a letter from an old friend which prompts a walk across England.  He believes as long as he walks she will live. His adventures, lessons learned, and troubles are included in this story.  

There are a few surprises along the way.  I loved reading about well know English locations as he passed through. 

I would highly recommend this book.

I have decided to add a savory snack to my list of regulars.

After considering hulled sunflower seeds which would disappear too quickly I revisited sunflower seeds in the shell.  These will not disappear so quickly as I have to work to get the goodies inside.

I have been hoping to buy a large bag but was only able to 210 g / 7oz bags so far.  I manage to keep to my 1/3c serving at a time which takes about 20 minutes to eat.  Then I am satisfied and move on to whatever else I am supposed to do.

Loving it!

Leaves from my walk recently.  I put the Swiss Chard one in there for the fun of it.  

Amazing how things continue to grow.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #103 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #264.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A red barn on my road trip to the country a couple weeks ago. 

It was before the snow came.

I loved the red and green colors - dare I say the Christmas colors.

We have had snow and last night it rained and now it's all gone again.  I guess it will not be white for Halloween at the end of the week.

 

It was very interesting to read another of Amy's books.  This one takes place in China in the early 1900's.   Violet is the main character who is growing up in a courtesan house owned and managed by her mother Lulu who is an American.  They are living in Shanghai in the International Settlement under China's last imperial dynasty.  They see the collapse and how that affects businesses and trade.  They see the consequences of the 1918 Influenza epidemic.  It was eerie to be reading about that one during this one.

This is a story of strong relationships between female characters.  Violet suffers a long heartbreak, tragedy, betrayal in her young life. But with faithful friends she makes it through.

I really enjoyed the book.

Another set of skeins of yarn for my afghan.  

Beautiful blue color from my sister. 

Will have to work on finding an actual pattern for a classic granny square. 

I have owned this set of hooks since my early twenties.  Nice to some things last a long time. 

This is the crane that is used to build a new high rise close to my place.  I could not see it this summer because of the leaves but now I can see it pretty well.

I manage to get it sparkling in the sun through the trees one morning. 

Construction has not really slowed down here during the epidemic.  Glad to see some people kept their jobs. 

I will have to take a walk and check out how tall the structure is becoming.

The Flickr Macro Monday Challenge this week was "One Color".  You can check my Photostream (SMDPics) to see my submission.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have been laid low with health issues and finally this week my energy is back.

I have gotten very few shots of Blue Jays but last week I got this one.

I was so excited.  He had been foraging on the ground which helped me spot him.  I did get a few shots on the ground but would prefer a tree shot.  

He then accommodated me and sat there for a very short while before he flew off into the wild blue yonder.

I finished this book during my low energy phase.  It is a memoir so a true story.  A woman of the world but struggles with mental health.  When she decides to settle down and have kids she suffers a miscarriage first then has a baby but by then the partner is gone!

She builds a group of people to be her "family".  Her mom and brother are involved but there is the nanny Tita which I believe saved her life.  She became an employee, a partner, and a friend during the critical first 3 years of her baby's life.  There were several others who came in and out of her life at critical points.  She had the capacity to embrace these folks which is wonderful.

Great story of adapting, going with the flow, discernment, hurt, process emotions and just moving forward when you are lost.

This is an afghan I crocheted in the 1970s.  Can you tell?  The oranges, the browns were primary colors in that period. 

Interesting how being sick makes some things clearer.  I have decided that I would like a more "me" afghan for my bed so I put the call out of free yarn when I researched the price of new.

My aunt dug through her stash and donated some.  My Mom called the other day and said she had some I could have.   I have no idea how much I need so I will have adjust along the way.

This is the stash I was given with no orange or brown visible.  

I have to dig through my box of patterns to see if I can find the original "granny square" pattern and the size of hook I used.

I have decided to assemble the squares with navy which Mom has donated.

Great watching TV project for the winter.

This book I gave up on about half way through.  Having sex is what everyone here is doing and that is mostly what the author was focusing on.

Not my idea of a great book.

I am back to getting outside for photos.  This is a pond on my road trip this week. Decided to head to the country rather that compete with people at popular destinations.  We still have Canada Geese here as the weather overall has been great. No frost or s**w yet. I love the reflections of the old sticks of wood in the water.  A goose feather where they had been bedding down.

The challenge at Flicker Macro Monday is Translucent.  Here, I have shot a glass star behind a textured glass tile.  I love how just the wire which is closest to the tile is in focus and the rest is not.  You can check out Photostream SMDPics to see the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #100 and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #261

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.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The robins were holding convention the other morning.  Talking, singing, eating chokecherries and just fussing with each other. 

Migration may have been the subject of discussion.  Whose going? When are we leaving?  Who is leading the crowd?  

This one was singing as the sun came up.  I remember their song from when I was a kid.  This is the first song bird that I recognized it by it's tune.

 

 

 

 

 I finished "The Holding" by Merilyn Simonds this week.  Another historical fiction based on holdings in Northern Ontario Canada.  The first was in late 1880s is Margaret with her 3 brothers. Then it is Alyson in the 1990's on the same property.  I love books about independent women.  The garden is what connects them over the long time period.  Loved it.  Finished it by reading for about 4 hours. My body was not happy to be still that long but I could not put it down.

I have whittled down my collect of blue glass and blue and white pottery.  The shelf was so full that getting anything off of it was risked breakage. 

I have decided that I don't need that much blue glass!  

The shelf is looking better and everything has been washed and I can reach the pieces with out danger.

Maybe the pandemic provides clarity!

I love that the frost has not arrived yet and there a beautiful flowers still to photograph.

This is a Double Click Cosmos which very full instead of a single layer of petals.  

This is from the mixed collection and is a beautiful pink.

I think frost will be in order for this week.

I chose several leaves for my mosaic this week. 

Can't say I am fussy about seeing yellow leaves and fall coming.  Not looking forward to being isolated and no outdoor visits.  And this too will pass. 

The challenge for Flicker Macro Monday this week is "pouch" and we had to put something inside it.  Of course, a tea pouch with a tea bag is an easy one.   You can check out my Photo Stream (SMDPics) to see what I submitted for the challenge. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #96 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #257.

I am working on a quilt this weekend.