Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.

Mosaic Monday - Ellis Bird Farm

I spent the day with my sister for our birthday last week.  We visited the Ellis Bird Farm where we took photos, had lunch, tea and ice cream dessert.  The weather was good with a bit of wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Birds of many species call the farm home.  I took a photo of this American Goldfinch as he was eating at a bird feeder just outside the window where we had lunch.  He was chomping on sunflower seeds.  There were several feeders with a variety of seeds to attract different kinds of birds. 

Bee houses for wild bees were a new addition since my visit a couple years ago. 

About 300 species call Alberta home, and honeybees, which are native to Europe, aren’t one of them. Most of our bees, unlike honey and bumblebees, are solitary. We have leaf-cutting bees which slice circles out of leaves, sweat bees which are drawn to the salt on our brow, and mining bees which burrow into the ground like gophers. Like bumblebees, solitary bees are passive and won’t sting unless their life is threatened. They lay their eggs in holes no wider than a centimeter in diameter. Finding these holes is the tricky part, with the bees looking to rotten logs, cracks in old buildings, or even hollowed out reeds and raspberry canes.  It is very easy to build a bee house to provide shelter for these pollinators which make much of our food possible.

I researched a bit about building bee houses. 

• Plan to place the hotel off the ground and facing east or southeast so it gets the morning sun and shelter from prevailing winds and rain. 
• Don’t locate it next to doorways or along well-traveled paths where you and bees can disturb each other. 
• Tuck them in a spot of the yard where you’ll visit but not where you live outdoors.
  Put it in a spot where you’re not going to move it. Bees navigate by landmarks and moving their hotel can be very confusing for them.
• If you use cardboard tubes for holes, make sure to replace them every spring. If you’re using wood materials, you’ll want to change them out when they fill up with bee leftovers.

We had a great lunch.  We planned for a late lunch which was a good idea because at the lunch hour the Tea House was full with a seniors group who traveled by bus to visit the farm.  The guide was saying that their tour schedule is open for registration in January and in a week all their spots are full. I had butternut squash filled pasta with shrimp which was excellent and my sister had spinach salad with chicken. Ice cream was our choice for dessert but favorite Maple Walnut was not available.  The waitress suggested Algonquin Canoe Ice Cream which had the maple flavor with caramel filled chocolate canoes.  It hit the spot.

Tree Swallows were around in great numbers.  I took this photo of a couple having a squabble on the fence near the pen where the goats were housed.  Sure looks like he had a lot to say.

The farm has many flowers on the property.  I took this photo of a yellow flower with the bee busy pollinating.  There were pansies, roses, iris, and a bunch more I did not identify.

Bird houses are everywhere on the property.  They have been built by local supporters as well as builders from across the world.  Many were occupied so every once in a while a head would pop out.  There were bird house condos as well which had been painted in red and white for Canada's 150th Year Celebration.

It was a great day.  Sharing with Mosaic Monday #45 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Share Your Cup #203

I've come up with a way to remember how many times I've steeped my loose tea.  Most teas you can steep at least 2 times, some more. 
I chose to re-purpose an item already in my house.  I made these glass markers years ago and sold many of them.  They were designed to sit on the stem of a glass and each guest would have their own color. and therefore able to remember which glass was theirs.
These were still in my stash so I decided to add one to the handle of the tea pot each time I made tea.  They are pretty and useful.  Works for me. 

Does anyone else have the problem of remembering the number of time tea leaves have been steeped?  How do you handle it?  Leave me a comment.

This is one of the books I read over the last three weeks.  The ideas are not new but a reminder is always good.  The three principles are:
1. What you resist persists and grows stronger.
2. You can only be exactly as you are in the moment.
3. Anything you allow to be exactly as it is completes itself.
The idea for number 3 is: If you are facing something difficult face it head on and let it be.  It will run it's course and disappear. Many times we avoid, procrastinate, deflect issues based on our fears which just make them last longer.

I celebrated a birthday last week.  You know one of those that end in a zero.  It was a big one.


A good friend took me out for supper, a trip to an antique mall and DQ for dessert on my actual birthday.
I received several phone calls and emails from family.
I was out for steak dinner last night thanks to a good friend.
Another birthday supper is planned with a friend in about 10 days.
I am truly blessed to have such great friends and family.

Of course, I always share my birthday with Father's Day!

I found these Tea Cup Silicone Cupcake baking cups this week.  I love them and they will make a great addition to my tea accessories collection.  I use silicone liners for my muffins all the time. The black ones from Pampered Chef have not discolored probably because of their color.  The ones from Steeped Tea Morning Glory Dessert Cups have discolored so I don't think I will be baking cupcakes in these.  I want to keep them pretty.  I think I will use them for jellied or frozen desserts.  I can see pudding topped with fresh fruit in them.

Here's a wonderful yellow!! casserole dish which I received as a gift recently.  I love it!

I was able to purge a couple of old Pyrex pieces put this one in their place in the cupboard.  One in one out is a good rule to live by.  One in two out is even better.

I'm serving lunch on Friday so I think I will make a rhubarb crisp for dessert. 

Submitting to Share Your Cup #203 hosted by Carol at Art & Sand. 

Share Your Cup #201 - This week

I have been looking for some blue and white patterned plates to coordinate with the rest of my dinner ware collection. They had to be smaller than the luncheon plates but not a saucer.  I found these at the second hand store last week and they are perfect.  The right blue, the right size and the right price.  Unfortunately, there are only 2 so I will keep looking.  They did several patterns in the blue so chances are good I will find something.
They are vintage blue transferware dessert plates made by Myott, England 1940-1950s in the pattern called The Hunter measuring 7 inches in diameter. The ironstone plates have a rural scene with a hunter and his dog coming home.  I love the fluted rim which adds just a bit more to the presentation.

At the same time I found these gorgeous small square yellow bowls.  They are really nice.  Just the right size of a dessert.  I scored 5 of those.  They hold 1/2 cup so they would work well for yogurt and berries, pudding with fruit, hummus with veggies, fruit salad, and a bunch more.

My aunt and I took in the James Taylor concert last night.  Some of the songs were familiar and the crowd was chilled and well behaved. We took the train to the venue and managed to leave just a tad early to beat the rush on the train home.

It was a good experience.

On one of  my walks this week I left a little earlier because I had a full day of things to do.  I was rewarded with seeing a hot air balloon flying over the river valley while the temperature was cool and the winds were calm.

I took a picture of this cobalt blue glass vase on the window sill at my aunt's house. She has a lovely collection of this glass the the light was making it look pretty.


Joining Share Your Cup #201 with Carol at Art & Sand.