Sylvia's Simple Shots

I made an overlay cloth for my navy tablecloth.  

The fabric is 100% cotton and was not quite square.  

I squared it up to 23 inches finished size.  I hemmed it with a fancy stitch and white thread.

I finished this book - Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  It is set in Paris, France during in July 1942 and Second World War is coming closer. When the knock came to the door Sarah locked her small brother in their safe cupboard and promised the come back for him later. Sarah and her family were part of the great round up at Velodrome d'Hiver, where 13,152 Jews were arrested. Jewish families were locked up there for days, in appalling conditions. Then sent to Auschwitz. Then gassed. 

Julia Jaramond in New York is a reporter assigned the 60th anniversary of the great roundup. The round up was performed by French policemen and not the Nazi soldiers.

This was an excellent read and hard to put down. The turns that take place to connect these two women are amazing. A story of love, hate, sadness, doing the right thing and being true to one's self. 

I bought myself a thermometer to test meat when cooking.

I started physio this week for my sore knee. 

I suffered a subluxation of the knee cap which hurt like crazy!! With elevation and icing the pain got better.  The knee cap (patella) returned to it's place but the muscles in the thigh need to be strengthened to keep that little thing where it is supposed to be.

I do my exercises every day and things are getting better.

Another great book - Mercy House by Alena Dillon.  This is set in Brooklyn New York where a renegade Sister Evelyn and her fellow nuns preside over a safe haven for abused and abandoned women. 

The nuns no longer need to where habits so they blend into society more easily which helps in their work. The word spreads that safety can be found at the door with the angel door knocker.  The nuns are street smart and deal with women who have lived a hard life. 

When Evelyn finds out that the house will be investigated by Bishop Hawkins which she has known early in her novitiate life she is determined not to have her life's work terminated.

Steps are taken to bring the house closer to the Catholic standards of the 1960's. The women's stories are touching, the love the nuns pour into their hearts to allow the girls to believe in themselves again, retrain, get work and move back into society is wonderful.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Second Sunday of Advent. 

The second candle is the Candle of Love.

God is LOVE!

The year has not turned out the way I planned.  I am grateful that getting together this year is safer.  

I look forward to seeing my friends which I have only been in touch with by phone, text and email.

Again, reading from the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.

I will bless you. Abram leaves and takes his family to Canaan.  

You will be experienced as a blessing to the extent you have first experienced yourself as blessed. God is good and says I will bless you. Slow down, breathe, be to see the good.

Christmas decorating has commenced.  I am grateful that the box of Christmas decorations was not packed in the spring with the anticipation of moving.

I found the star wreath I put together last year.  I had hoped to change the decoration at the top but alas it will not happen this year.

This wreath hangs on the outside door where my neighbors can enjoy it.  We have quite a few in the building with Christmas decorations out.

The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice was finished this week.

A mystery story with parallels happening in the lives of the characters.

John O'Rourke lost his wife and now is juggling the care of his 2 children - eleven year old Maggie and fourteen year old Teddy. As a lawyer he is representing a man who is accused of killing several women in the area. The general consensus is that he his guilty and John catches grief, harassment, and threats because he is defending this man.

Kate Harris is dealing with the loss of her younger sister Willa, who just disappeared 6 months ago.  A recently found postcard has brought her to this small town from Washington DC. Her sister mailed the card from the inn on the edge of the ocean here. 

It was a good book with a twist at the end which brought the story full circle.

This is one of my favorite casserole dishes.  I received the dish for Christmas from my neice and it's just right size.

This recipe is Herb-baked Fish and Rice.

It is a quick supper when I am busy with crafts and don't want to spend a lot of time on cooking.

I just use whatever veggies I have on hand.  In this case it was cherry tomatoes and broccoli.  I add some lemon vinaigrette on the fish and coat with Parmesan cheese. Always brown rice.  Delicious.

My lastest version of a essential oil diffuser.  This one hangs on the rear view mirror of the car, on the Christmas Tree, or anywhere you want a bit of scent.

I am sure glad I bought these felt balls at my local craft store in October.  I went recently to see if I could purchase another and this Christmas the decor is pom pom garlands.  

I expect the trend will be something new next season so I just let go the idea of repeating this years concept and look forward to new things in the new year.

With my Sunrise Stained Glass Window packed away I decided to hang this bright snowman in the window instead.

He was with the Christmas box.  The sun was shining bright the day I took this photo and his nose glowed bright.

It is hanging in the dining room window where the east sun comes up so late at this time of year.

I am grateful that I can enjoy it for a little while in the mornings.

The gold geometric wreath has moved from the living room to the bedroom door to make room of the Wall Christmas Tree.

I just love this wreath so it hangs on the wall all year long.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The weather did warm up somewhat and I took a walk in the river valley.  It was afternoon during the golden hour which is about 3:00 pm these days. 

The sun was setting and putting it's warm glow on all things.  Here, I captured dried grasses which will stay all winter against the snow drifts in the river valley.

I dropped books off at the small free library in the park to keep the clutter down to the minimum.  It is a lesson well learned and it is becoming easier just to let the books go and keep the stories.

Vegetable Frittata is a new dish for me.  My sister has made them for sure. 

Sauteed veggies - onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, and mushrooms in a cast iron frypan. Love that dish. I have placed a silicone wrapper on the handle so I was not sure I could put that in the oven so I transfered to this stoneware baking dish.

Cover that with a good strong cheddar cheese.

Then a mixture of eggs and cream with herbs.

Into the oven for about 10-20 minutes until the eggs are done.  A few minutes under the broiler to brown the top.

It is yummy and I have made it again this week.

I always enjoy a visit with Kinsey Millhone. D is for DeadBeat by Sue Grafton.  These are early in the alphabet series so her landlord Henry Pitts does not feature much in this novel. He does in later books.

The job was easy - find the fifteen year old kid and deliver a $25,000 cheque,  John Daggett is trying to make amends for some of his past misdeeds.  He drinks too much and it has not served him well.

He is now a dead body and a few people are not sad to hear the news.

Some folks think they are entitled to some of that big cheque and create turbulence in Kinsey's search for the boy.

Having a dead client puts a few wrinkles in the investigation and when the retainer cheque is no good that is a big disappointment.

Kinsey manages to sort it all out.  Another great book.

I saw this Snowshoe Hare on my walk in the river valley.  I think this my first time seeing one.  I am used to the larger white-tailed jackrabbit hare which has yellow eyes but still very big back feet.

It has changed color and with it's shorter ears and dark eyes I knew it was different.  An internet search solved the mystery.

Again, that golden hour sun was shining but the hare would not accommodate my desire to have it be in the warm glow.

It scampered off after I got a few shots of it.

Glad to see it!

I bought these Bailey's crystal mugs when I was shopping for One of a Kind Essential Oil Diffuser containers a while back.  They turned out to be much too big to fill so I decided to use them for hot chocolate.

They are wonderfully heavy and feel really great in the hand. 

I do like a bit of chocolate and having hot chocolate is less calories than a piece of chocolate bar and one is enough.

I make it very milky. 

The mug is about the 8 oz so not overly large for a bit of a treat.

I am always up for a Christmas story any time of the year. Christmas Homecoming is a collection of 3 stories.  A Place to Call Home by Diane Noble, The Heart of a Stranger by Pamela Griffin and Christmas Legacy by Kathleen Fuller.

I love Irish stories and this one is set in late 1800s when Rory O'Kelly finds himself headed to America. Olivia Endicott-Jones is doing charity work in Massachusetts taking care of orphans some of which are of Irish immigrants.  They meet when Rory is tasked with stealing the Irish children so they can be raised in the right culture.

Susannah Pruitt and Justin Rossiter meet again many years after they had spent time together as children. He comes to her rescue and she recognizes him but he not her.  Can she get past the idea that he may have killed her father?  What is the truth?

Josephine Patterson rides into town to hear the reading of her grandmother's will.  She expects to inherit it all which will go a long way to helping her pay off debts incurred when she was married to her now dead husband. There is a wrinkle because grandmother has left one half to Josephine and the other half to a man unknown to Josephine. She needs to get along with this fellow just long enough to get his half.  Not that simple.  It works out in the end.

IKEA Hobo Stove project

I am planning a bit of camping soon and last year I did not get around purchasing to a stove for cooking.

I was not comfortable storing propane or butane in my car where I was sleeping. So, I decided to do some research.  

I discovered several you tube videos documenting the making of an IKEA Hobo Stove using an Ordning Utensil holder.  It is made of stainless steel and very available at thrift stores.  It serves as the fire box for the stove.  I think overall the supplies for the stove ran about $10.  Mark Young in Nova Scotia has several good videos.

I needed a base which raised the hot box to allow air to flow from the bottom and prevent coals and ashes which may fall through to the ground.  

This is an IKEA Ordning food warmer which is designed to work with tealights. It raises the fire box about 1.5 inches and provides protection from falling coals and ashes.

With holes in both pieces I just needed to connect both pieces.

I used a short bolt and nut with washers on both sides. I small washer on the inside the fire box and a metal plate on the bottom in the ventilation space of the warmer.

Now I needed  away to elevate my cooking vessels above the top of the fire box which provide ventilation at the top and a way to add wood to the fire box.

One of the videos by Charles documented the process of a triangular support for his veggie steamer stove.  After trying several options which did not turn out I decided to give this a try.  

I had bought 2 stainless steel drinking straws so I combined those with lengths of wire hangers cut with my home pliers and a little persistence.  

I straightened the wire then put it in the straw and made the first bend.  I made the triangle about 6 inches on each side then put the other end in the next steel straw and cut the end of wire to the bottom of the straw.  

Repeated this 2 more times but I need another straw.  I was lucky to find an aluminum tube yesterday that will do the job.

It supports my cast iron fry pan, my stainless steel water kettle and my camping pots. 

It is great because it folds down flat and is easy to store. 

You can see the 2 pieces in the image above.

I needed a bag to store the stove and chose a black bag because the stove will get dirty with soot in the process of making the fire. 

It holds the stove, the tongs, the cooking triangular support folded, the pellet holder and maybe even the saw.  I used a couple of the leftovers from the wire hangers to make skewers which will allow a support for alcohol fuel as well.  I saw several fondue burners at the second hand store the other day which would likely work well.  More immediate than wood.

This stove can burn wood pellets as well.  I bought a stainless steel sieve with a handle which fit perfectly in the fire box. The handle prevents the pellets sitting on the sieve from dropping down too far in the firebox and makes removal easy.  Pellets can be purchased at several stores.

The triangular cooking vessel support works well with this option too.

Now I need a bit of wood and fire starter.

On my regular walks in the river valley I collected small pieces of dead fall wood. They have been sitting on the balcony to dry out and letting any bugs around time to leave.  The firebox is 7 inches tall so today I just broke the pieces that length.  I found a plastic bucket which will store pieces that tall.  

I bought a small saw in case I need to trim longer pieces into shorter lengths.  Of the wood I collected I was able to break most of them with my hands.  There were 2 that needed the saw.

I have no idea how many fires this much wood will make.  In campgrounds I will likely be able to gather more wood if I need it.

I gathered a few supplies to make fire starters.

Dryer lint, shredded paper, toilet paper roll strips, and some wax.

I stuffed the rings of toilet paper roll with paper and lint.  Dripped melted wax on top of the stuff all contained within the small roll.  I hope they work well.  There were several recipes recommended.  I will keep you posted about how it goes!

Recent Photos

On my walk to the other morning, I heard the bird before I found it high in a still bare tree.  Good thing it has a bit of red on it.  The morning sun was wonderful and it was singing grateful I am sure to be warmed a bit.

This is an adult male House Finch. 

The song is beautiful and attracting.  I have seen a few of these in my walks over the years.

Really glad to see this one recently.








Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
I loved this book about a baby girl born in India.  The first daughter disappeared upon birth.  Sad practice but boys help with the farm work.  The mother Kavita stood up for the second daughter and brought her at 2 days old to an orphanage in Mumbai. She is given a name - Usha. Then, a long journey from the country side to the big city for a mother who had just given birth.  The sacrifice had to be made.

The other half of the story is the mother in the United States who suffers infertility and how she comes to adopt the girl from the orphanage now named Asha. Her husband is a doctor from India so the daughter looks like her dad but not really like her white mother.  This does cause tension in their relationship later as a teenager.

The daughter does not want to be a doctor but a journalist.  During college she is given the opportunity to spend 1 year in Mumbai to do a project on the families living in the slums. She is welcomed by her father's family and she learns about family in a wonderful way.  A grandmother, aunties, cousins, and others welcome her, host her, help her with the language, and guide her as she goes to the slums for interviews.

During this time the marriage of her parents is falling apart and they separate. She meets her husband every week for the weekly call with Asha so she will not find out about the separation.

While in India Asha searches for her birth parents.  She does learn that they are now living in Mumbai.  She does come to appreciate her Indian heritage.  Very good book.

I am cooking so much more than I usually do now that I am staying home all the time.

I did stock up on groceries as the peak is around the corner they say and I expect the restrictions to get even tougher.  I think I can last till mid May without going out for groceries again.

I have to confess that I did buy frozen french fries for a treat sometime in the next few weeks.

This is Curry Veggie Soup made with the left over ingredients from Curry Cauliflower. You can find the recipe in this post.

I took a long walk yesterday morning into the river valley. It was cold when I started out just after sunrise but warmed up nicely. 

By 9:00 am the runners were out in groups no social distancing.  I don't get it!

Love the Walterdale Bridge in our river valley.

I took tons of photos so I created a mosaic of some of the better ones.

I will have to plan on getting home by 9:00 am from my morning walks to avoid the crowds.

The theme for Flickr Macro Monday this week was "Yellow".   We are seeing a lot of dandelions which is understandable.

I did shoot several objects for the challenge.  On the right is a small glass lemon.  It is very beautiful and I love this shot.

You can check my Flickr photo stream SMDPics to see what I submitted.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #76 hosted by Angie.

Through My Lens #237 hosted by Mersad

Color my World hosted by Betty

Recent Photos

I have started using my slow cooker more.  It gives me the freedom to craft or sew uninterrupted by food prep for supper.

This is 1.5 quart size which is perfect for me.  I have made a veggie curry, barley vegetable soup and just root vegetables in broth as a side dish. 

I was at the ReUse Center this week and found this slow cooker recipe book.  It is a great idea to cook once eat twice.  Mostly it proposes cooking the meat the firs time and then making that into another dish the next meal.

I have browsed it and marked several recipes I want to try.  I have added a few ingredients to my grocery list.

Looking forward to enjoying the free time.

I finished this book last week - Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.  It was a different kind of book from what I have read in the last few years. I thought I should check out the Canadian author.

It focuses on a lone character called Snowman, who finds himself in a bleak situation with only creatures called Crakers to keep him company. The reader learns of his past, as a boy called Jimmy, and of genetic experimentation and pharmaceutical engineering that occurred under the purview of Jimmy's peer, Glenn "Crake".

Mankind has been overwhelmed by a plague, Snowman is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved.

I am quite okay with following the author into another world.  I was left with questions so I may have to reread it.  Based on review online the story is deeper than I got the first time.  

I was gifted these small Swarovski Crystal candle holders with blue candles.  Well that works for me in the sense of color and size.

They were sold in the 80s.  The logo is right for the time.  The swan logo has been used since 1989.

They go so well with my Blue Nordic dishes.  Of course the light they reflect is wonderful and brilliant.

I have included several images in this mosaic.

You can check out Flickr Macro Monday whose theme this week is Odd One.  This is one of the compositions I took for the challenge this week.  I really enjoy the challenges on Flickr and participate in this one every week.  The group is well moderated and we have many regular contributors which I look forward to seeing each week.

If you check out my photo stream you can see the one I submitted.

I have decided to do a Blog Give Away so check out the question I am asking.  It will run the full month of February and the winners will be selected on Leap Day - February 29th.

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday #65 hosted by Angie at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf.