Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

Thanks to my sister who has a bird feeder outside her living room window I got the woodpecker and the chickadee.  The house finch was found on my walk outside in the river valley.  

I am so happy to be walking outside again.  The legs are strong and spring is here.

I finished this book a early this week - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce.  It is a companion and followup to her other book. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  Queenie is in a hospice facing the end of her life on earth and Harold's letters and postcards start arriving.  Once the cat is out of the bag, everyone in the building is taking an interest.

She has support from her fellow residents and the staff also take in interest.

It's been 3 years since I read the Harold book so some of the details are a little fuzzy.  Would have been nice to have it to refer to but these days I read books and pass them onto the little library.  I don't hold onto them anymore.  It's okay.

Would recommend both of these books.  The author has a few more so I will keep an eye out for those.

The sutures from my tooth extraction came out on Thursday! I was so happy.  They were very loose and long and sometimes I felt I was going to swallow them.

With turkey on the menu for Easter it was a true blessing to eat normal.

The wound has healed wonderfully.

I am back to taking the stairs.  I started taking the elevator during the pandemic so I would not have to touch handrails. 

The stairs at my sisters' houses, the stairs here at home, the stairs in the river valley are all giving me the workout I need to key my legs and knees in good shape.

Wonderful feeling

Sophie's World by Joosten Gaarder was originally written in Norwegian and then translated to English.

I should have paid more attention to the tag line - A novel about the history of philosophy.  I would have been better prepared to read about ancient history.  It was very interesting.

I did not read all of this book.  When I got more than halfway and the philosophy continued I just went to the last 2 chapters and read those.

Sophie and Hilde are in different realms and share the same birth date. They try to figure out who is the other.  Teachers come along to help with the understanding of the philosophies and the history.

A different kind of book but very informative about ways of looking at things, religion in our world, art, and much more.

We celebrated Easter with as many of us that could attend.  My sister hosted.  It was the first celebration without Mom or Dad in attendance. We all brought sometime to share with the others.

We went through Mom's stuff which was all brought to my sister's place when Mom passed in January. There was clothes, jewelery, CDs and DVD's, and a bit more.

We each took what we wanted, then some was donated to second hand stores, some was garbaged, and some will be passed down to the grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We had to go through ALL the pockets.  We found little pouches of money, combs, and her name and address on little pieces of paper.

It brings closure. The funeral and interment was discussed 

Have a great week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I don't do much with Halloween.  

I found this pumpkin when I was out of town to see Mom.

I have added the greeting.

I hope that you had a good day if you celebrate this day.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.  This is a time travel story by this Canadian author.

In present day, Eva returns to her childhood summer place in England following the death of her dear sister Katrina.  There, she is invited to stay with her childhood friends the Halletts at Trelowarth House. Susan and Mark are siblings the Claire is the stepmom. 

Trelowarth House is known for its roses.  They provide rose stock to many gardeners across the world.  

In the past, Eva returns to Trelowarth House who is inhabited by 3 men in the eighteenth century. Daniel Butler, his brother Jack and Fergal O'Cleary a friend.  The cove below the house features strongly in the past as the brothers run a ship name the Sally which transports goods of dubious ownership.

Eva puts Katrina's ashes to rest and decides to stay the summer with the Halletts and does promotional work for the tea house Susan is wanting to open. Research into those who lived here before becomes relevant as Eva spends time with these characters. 

There are several love stories in the present and the past.  I really enjoyed how the stories were entwined and the end of the story was very fitting.  Enjoyed it a lot.

I attended an art show on Friday afternoon when I hoped the number of people attending would not be too high.  

There were many artists represented, with a variety of mediums and skills levels.  I was surprised by the volume of pieces in the show.

I did not take a photo but there was a geode which looked so real I did not even question it.  Later, upon discussion with my sister, the color was gold which likely was not realistic, the size was 24-30 inches tall which if it was real would have weighed many pounds, and a real geode would not be in an art show. Later, I found out it was made of styrofoam but it was beautifully done.  Captured my imagination completely.

While I was downtown I decided I may as well take a walk along the river since it was such a beautiful day.

I walked up to the Children's Bridge and this is the view looking back from where I had come.

The river was moving quite fast, the breeze was touching the water surface, and the water is quite low.  

The fall colors are dropping from the trees and the leaves are mostly on the ground.

I had a wonderful walk in nature and it restored my soul some.

These days are numbered and we have been blessed with an extended fall and it Halloween was a great day with out the need for snow jackets under or over costumes for the little ones.

I did go to the Lois Hole Provincial Park after my visit down town.  

Someone before me had put seeds out several places along the walk so the birds were in numbers feeding. This gave me a wonderful opportunity for photos. Thanks!

I captured Black-capped Chickadees and Chipping Sparrows. It was a good afternoon.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Christmas Chickadees

 

Here are my cards for the February Christmas Card Challenge.  I chose to make Christmas Chickadees.  Using the bird line drawing I have used a few times, I changed it up a bit and added a evergreen bough instead.  I studied the coloring of these birds then started.  I laid the outline of the bird onto the 140lb cold press watercolor paper which measures 3.5 inches by 4.5 inches.  I applied clear water around the outline and dropped blue at the top and green on the bottom for a light background.  I let this dry completely.  I painted the black head, throat and beak of the bird leaving a bit of white in the eye and let dry.  Next, I applied a puddle of clear water on the breast area and dropped a bit of yellow into it and let it dry. I added the brown branch and the green foliage next.  I then added a bit of light grey to the wing and tail.  Once dry, I traced the outline with a black permanent marker.  Love these!

I steamed them and pressed them between books to flatten them.  I chose a warm green card base, added an aqua grosgrain ribbon with the join under the accent.  The chickadee watercolor is mounted with 3D foam tape.  I printed some greeting with the Teeny Tiny Wishes digital stamp set by Stampin Up. I punched them out with the Small Oval punch.  I lightly brushed a blue wash over the black letters. These where mounted with slightly thicker tape to have it higher than the chickadee layer.  Super happy with these cards. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The weather has been so good!  My aunt and I took a long walk in the white spruce forest on Saturday.

In the center of woods people have set up bird feeders so when we could not yet see the clearing the chickadees and nuthatches were welcoming us.  Unfortunately, we did not have food with us but I did have a chickadee sit on my hand for few seconds. Amazing.  I have seen many pictures but had not experienced it.

Woodpeckers were around as well.

When we walked the river trail we found Canada Geese on Big Lake.  There was very little open water on the lake and the river was frozen but they had found the bit.  I really don't know why they are hanging in here.

It's been a couple of weeks since I dropped 13 quilts off for charity.  

These quilts are headed to fire departments and ambulances where victims of emergency situations are given a quilt to keep them warm and to provide comfort.  They get to keep the quilts.

They were all made by my sister as I have not sewn a quilts since I got since last fall.   I am glad to have passed those anniversary with no further issues and improvement in several areas of my health.  God is good.

I am so grateful for those who distribute these to organizations who made a difference every day as first responders.

We are decorating cotton bags as a fundraiser for the gallery.  I think it is a fabulous idea.

I picked mine up the other day and gave some thought how I might decorate it.

I decided to add 3 stripes of fabric wrapped around the top edge of the bag.  I chose 3 different colors of green fabric.  The strips were cut to about 35 inches long by 2.5 inches wide.  I sewed and turned it inside out.  Then I started on the left hand side and ran it across the front, then across the back then back to the front again.  I left a tab on the front which was not sewn down.  I sewed an orange button on the end of the tab to hold it down and add an accent.  As you can see in the first photo I staggered the ends so the buttons where offset.

Despite not blogging I have continued to read.  

I finished this book a while ago. Between You and Me by Susan Wiggs.  It takes place in an Amish community.  I found it interesting to learn more about the life style and beliefs.

Caught between two worlds, Caleb Stoltz is bound by a deathbed promise to raise his orphaned niece and nephew in Middle Grove, where life revolves around family, farm, faith—and long-held suspicions about outsiders. When disaster strikes, Caleb is thrust into an urban environment of high-tech medicine and the relentless rush of modern life.

Dr. Reese Powell is poised to join the medical dynasty of her wealthy, successful parents. Bold, assertive, and quick-thinking, she lives for the addictive rush of saving lives. When a shocking accident brings...   I really enjoyed this book.  I look forward to another book by this author I picked up the other day.

This is my first of Sue Grafton's books featuring Kinsey Millhone the detective.  W is for Wasted.  Not sure I get the title.

Private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds shocking connections between two seemingly unrelated deaths in this #1 New York Times bestselling mystery in the Alphabet series.

This was okay.  The detective seems to have a moral compass and leans toward doing the right thing.  Love life is a bit come and go.

The twist was very good.

I have another novel in this series.  I will decide if another story with Kinsey will add her to my reading list.

Another card for my Dad who is still in hospital   We were all called down on Sunday October 31 thinking he would not survive the next few days.

There were many of us seeing Dad, feeding him his meals, spending the night with him in hospital, helping Mom with anything she needed.  He pulled through the crisis but has a long ways to go.

A move for each of them is in their future so the cleaning process has started.  We went through that when they moved from the house to the apartment and now downsizing needs to happen again.

I was there for 3 days and spent most of my time with Mom.  She is doing well despite the circumstances.  She sees Dad every day for lunch.

We shall see what the future holds. He will celebrate his 92 birthday in early December, God willing.

Cards - 4x4 set 2 - Thanks

A few more 4x4 photograph cards.  More photos from my calendars.

Great Black Capped Chickadee on a purple card base.

I have added a Modern Label punchie greetings adhered with 3D foam tape.

 

 

A Yellow Warbler on a textured yellow card base. I added a circle greeting which I mounted under the 4x4 photograph.

 

 A Koy Fish in the pond at the Japanese Gardens.  

I selected a terra cotta card base.

I added a Word Window greeting mounted onto a Modern Label punchie.

These will be donated to Compassion House.

Cards - 4x4 Photos - Thanks

A few more thank you cards.

This Don Juan Cricut "thanks" die cut is perfect for my 4x4 inch photo cards made with recycling my calendar images.

A wonderful Black Capped Chickadee perched on a branch on navy card stock.  The greeting was cut from white pearl card stock and adhered with double sided tape.

A rain soaked pink rose at the park for this card on a magenta card base.  The greeting is diecut with the Cricut in white pearl card stock.

 

 

 

This owl is one of my paper piecing creations.  I designed 12 owls for my calendar in 2016. 

I mounted it to a navy card base. 

A Don Juan Cricut die cut as the greeting.  Adhered with Quick Dry adhesive.

Really like these.

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.

Recent Photos

I snapped this terrific shot of a Black Capped Chickadee on my walk this week.

The river valley trail was pretty busy with people getting out of their homes because it was so nice. The stairs were tricky to navigate and still maintain social distancing.

I hope that the message is getting out that everyone should stay home unless absolutely necessary.

I have been very careful when going out to protect my hands with gloves then washing the gloves and the hands  when I get home.

I am making sure my home is a safe place to be.

I am quilting again so the slow cooker comes out so I can concentrate on that and not food prep.

I have 1.5 quart slow cooker which filled to the top makes me 4 meals.
I freeze some for another day.

I found the Cauliflower Curry when searching for slow cooker recipes.  It is an adapted recipe.

The Curried Root Veggies is a recipe I created with my experience with the cauliflower.

The recipes all have coconut milk, curry, ginger, garlic and chickpeas.

The Silver Roadster has been on a journey and has returned safe and sound.

This photo won 3rd prize at the Juried Members Show last year.

Then, I donated it for a silent auction prize for which I was expecting a charitable receipt. I have been chasing that for nearly a year and it did not arrive.

It was placed in the auction, received bids but the person never picked it up.

My last email garnered the offer to have the photo back which I happily accepted as I was assured no receipt will be issued.

I have not had this problem before when donating my art to charities.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #72 and Through My Lens #233 hosted by Mersad.

Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week is "Natural Shell" - acceptable photos would be nut shells, egg shells, sea shells, seed pods.

You can check out my photo stream and the Macro Monday submissions.

With the world situation we have a great number of submissions this week.

Recent Photos

The summer continues to be wet and each morning this is what the grass looks like. 

I love the way this image looks with the few in focus with the far and close ones out of focus.

The water drops create wonderful bokeh in the front.

I had to get down low so my knees got wet but it was worth it.





This is what the vase of yellow flowers looks like now.  When they withered I removed the water and let them dry naturally.

I took this photo in my living room as the sun started appearing through the window.  Of course, it is later in the morning than it used to be as we spin on our axis.

I love how the sun caught the bloom on the left!

The sun highlighted the wonderful art glass vase as well.  Made by artist Robert Held.












I caught this Black Capped Chickadee with very warm light one morning recently.

They are pretty skittish so I have had a hard time getting their photos this summer.

I try to have fermented food regularly in my diet.

I have been eating KimChi for years.  First discovered it at a Korean Restaurant in town.  It was the first spicy food I did not mind eating.

When I think of KimChi and I am reminded of a MASH episode. In the episode, Frank sees the locals were burying something in the field outside the fence.  Of course, he thinks it is a bomb and panics.  Upon the destruction of the underground device it was found to be a KimChi pot.

My sister has been making it for me for a few years.  She has a friend who grew the spicy peppers required to make it.  She started it when I has there and I brought the jar home to babysit until it was ready to put in the fridge.

The nappa cabbage, daikon radish, and green onion has to stay under the liquid at all times.  Everything in the preparation needs to be glass. I was lucky enough to have this glass lid which worked very well.  The liquid will bubble over the rim of the jar so there needs to be bowl under jar to gather that.  It sits on the counter for a few days and it bubbled faster as my house is warmer than my sisters.  Then it is stored in a plastic jar in the fridge. 

I have started working on some still life for greeting cards.  This was a dried bouquet I put together a couple weeks ago.  I had tied it with lace which I thought would work but it did not. I needed something warmer in color.  Raffia would be great. 

I have been cleaning up and getting rid of stuff that I don't use any more.  Mostly card making supplies.  The raffia went a couple weeks ago so No Raffia!   I did not stop to think of the other uses for it.  I came across that same thought with 12x12 scrapbook paper that I may use for photography backgrounds.  I am more aware and will vet the 12x12 paper headed out of the house  more carefully.  Card making supplies are seriously being culled.

I have taken props to the retaining wall of the walking path in the river valley a couple of times to have these wonderful old beams in the background.

They are fabulous but hauling props a several blocks without smashing and breaking them along the way has been the challenge.  For this shot,  I was depending on finding natural elements on my walk and it was not the best. 

I love the feel of the wood.  So, I will continue to work on the process to achieve the results I want.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #41 hosted by Angie at Letting Go the Bay Leaf and Mersad at Through My Lens #204.

Recent Photos

 I finally got some good photos of the chickadees at the bird feeder. I took LOTS of photos and ended up with a few good ones.

                 I am not looking at you!                                                   Hello!
                 I'm busy eating.                                                                I am outa here!

The water is running and the sun is shining and it feels so good!

Spring arrived all of a sudden here last week.  I have been able to get out with the camera 3 times this past week.

The pussy willows agree that spring is here and let's get on with it!

I wholeheartedly agree.

The sunsets have been great.

I captured the con trail of a plane headed up as the sun set.

Last night there was cloud cover which hid the sun early.

I finished this book this week.  I can take Christmas all year round - books, stories, cards bring it on!

A large tree chosen for Rockafeller Square is 50 years old and has been lovingly tended all these years. It is stolen the night before it is to be felled. Why? Who? When? All the press is here and no tree. 

This mystery is because it has something hidden away in its branches which has been there for a long time as well.  The item is worth a long of money and the one who secreted it there years ago comes back to claim his prize.  What he doesn't know it that this tree grows from the top so he could have just climbed it like he did when he hid the flask.  No need to steal the tree.

In the end the tree does make it to New York all lit up for the world to see.

The Nuthatch bird was eating from the suet feeder totally hanging upside down.
The Woodpecker was being very cagey and only peeking around the corner to check if I was still there.

I will get a better photo another day.




Check out my Macro Monday photo - Volume Dial on my stereo

Sharing with
Mosaic Monday #19 hosted by Angie at Letting go the Bay Leaf.

Thru Your Lens #183 hosted by Mersad

Whims & Fancies