Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Canada Geese are back.  

I found this couple at the 127 Street pond.  There is still ice but at least some open water.

The sun was shining and I walked the whole track around the pond this time.

May as well get my steps in while out with my camera.

Still at the pond I found this creature sitting on a branch in the water.

I could not see the tail but I think this is a muskrat rather than a beaver.  Not sure.

Love the gold color on its fur in the later afternoon sun.

I had a visit with my aunt this afternoon.

Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen. 

The life in the very rural areas of England are challenging at best to downright dangerous at worse.

Amanda shows deep commitment to her family and her animals in the book.  One needs to be a problem solver and adaptive in this kind of environment.

Some of the situations stressed me out and I was not living them out.

A family of 9 children provides a rich life with the interactions between parents and kids.  The children are learning, becoming adults and finding their strengths in this family.  

Interesting book.

The bugs are back.

I captured this flying insect while trying to capture the pussy willows at the Heritage Hills Wetlands in Sherwood Park.

I'm not sure what it is, and of course I only found out it was there when I got home and downloaded the pics.

A dreamy shot of the pussy willow without bugs in the way.

I have been working hard to have the place ready for listing.

It has been a lot of work to move things back into their place from being stored in the living room and dining room during  the renovations.

It was suggested that I make the room look bigger and I moved the table to under the window and now I can dance in the space.

I can see the TV from this room and so sometimes I do my exercise videos here so I am not in full view to the parking lot.

Lately there have been a lot of vehicles back there.

Share Your Cup #240 - This Week

Veggie Salad

It's been a while since I have been making salad primarily with veggies instead of lettuce.  The ingredients are shredded cabbage done on the mandolin and grated carrots.  I love that I have this red Tupperware bowl so I no longer have to be concerned about the carrots staining the bowl.
With the main ingredients in place I add whatever other fresh veggies I have.  I have included at various times: red and/or yellow peppers, celery, red onion, and cucumber.
Other options would be small broccoli florets, bean sprouts, and nuts.

I enjoy this substantial salad.

Furniture Repairs

These chairs are from my original solid pine INGO dining set from IKEA over 20 years ago.  They had been set aside because they had become wobbly and needed gluing.  I had bought the glue but never worked out what needed to be done. 

My sister came to spend a couple of days with me which made me very happy. While she was here she decided we would look over the problem and solved it if we could.  Yes, the original front skirt had been glued and had become unglued.  With a stop at a hardware store to buy wood glue, check to see what I had from straps, we tackled the project We applied the wood glue in the right place, wiped off the excess when we strapped it tight and let it sit for 24 hours.  A solid chair to go with the more recent solid pine table.













The glider chair I bought a year ago at the thrift store developed a problem last summer. It was tilting forward and was no longer comfortable to sit in.

Once turned over we discovered that mortise and tenon joint in the base had become unglued.  We applied glue to the tenon and set it back into the mortise.  Upon further checking, we discovered an earlier repair had been made with screws to stabilize the top tenon.  So we decided to add screws to the bottom tenon which we had just glued for insurance that it would not come apart again.  With a small drill bit she made pilot holes then she put in the .75 inch screws.  I expect to be gliding on this chair into my old age.  Thank you sister T.

I had recently purchased this maple foot stool for use with the glider chair.  I brought it out, cleaned it up, and set it in it's place at the foot of the chair. I was concerned it would be too tall but it works well for me.
It has storage space in the top which will come in handy!

Welcome to my Kitchen

We had a great fellowship time this morning with the ladies who attend Welcome to my Kitchen.  We take turns hosting, providing snacks and doing devotions.

Our hostess this morning had a lovely table set with blue and white dishes, muffins, St. Patricks' day cupcakes, yogurt, cheese and fresh fruit.  It was all very yummy!

We were able to retire to the living room following our snack and spend another hours in fellowship, sharing, praying and in general have a great time.

We had 13 ladies in attendance with a tiny little girl in training.  This is the most we had so far but there was room for everyone.

Thanks Barb!!




I took this DVD from the library last week and sat down and watched it this week.  It is a story about a woman in the USA who swaps houses with a woman in Ireland.  They are both experiencing own life changing events and a summer in a different house and community helps to put perspective on their situation.  I need to read the book now because some of the events near the end of the movie need some clarification in my mind and I am sure the book will provide all the details.  Most will know that Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors.

Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #240 linky party every week.

My New/Old Craft Space

I'm finally back in my dining room - craft space.  I had move all the stuff in the place around last August to have renovations done so it's been a year that I have been crafting on the dining table instead of my craft table.
I've been working very steady on this project for at least 2 weeks but it feels like much longer.  I want to be able to get things back to their home quicker so they will since things are handier.  I have my paper cutter on a wood stand which holds my card stock scraps in white magazine holders. Next to that is my card stock storage in a Ikea shelving unit.  Above that is a leaning tower of pizza boxes.  The Cricut in in the far corner on another wood shelving with drawers for storage below.  I'm very happy with the new blinds I bought last year.  The table is my original chrome set I bought years ago.  I have added Ikea storage boxes on the right of the table.  No sure this will stay this way. They hold my regular supplies like tape runner, DS tape, 3D tape, tools like the Cropadile, etc.  Blue garbage bin on the bottom right hand.  The lamp has a natural light compact bulb which is a great addition.

Here's a picture of the shelf that I placed my new drawers onto that I blogged a while ago. I've had the 12x12 storage drawers for designer paper for a long time.  The small drawer unit holds my regular tools, markers, pens & pencils, and pencil crayons.  The blue bins hold hot glue supplies, punches, and less often used tools.  The new drawers hold envelopes, buttons and beads, silk flowers, Christmas card supplies, All Occasion card supplies, punches, and stamps.  There's just enough room above the drawers for the thin stuff like paper cutters, boxes of little stuff, and small ink pads.