Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a walk over the new Tawatina LRT Bridge on the weekend.  It has been open to foot traffic for a while but the train is not up and running for passenger traffic yet.  Testing is still taking place.

It is a beautiful bridge and I will take a ride across it on the train when the time is right.

The bridge is wide and leaves lots of room for quite a few folks.  Of course, I was there with the birds in the morning so it was delightful to have it mostly to myself.

The Muttart Conservatory is the stop on the south side of the river and the walk across brings one to Louise McKinney Riverfront Park in the downtown area.  For those downtown that want a quick trip to the Muttart it is perfect!

I walked the grounds of the Muttart Conservatory as it was before the pyramids opened at 10:00 am.

I found Maratagon Lilies which are also at the St. Albert Botanic Park.  

This one is named Fairy Morning which features yellow and peach colors.  There were several varieties in the flower bed.

I'm not sure when I will going inside the pyramids as there not much room to social distance.  I anticipate another wave of COVID 19 in the fall so I continue to wear my mask and social distance with strangers.

The LRT construction has had a big impact on the grounds so there are less flowers than before.

I added some pieces to my white dinnerware by Myott (1952) with some Snowhite Regency by Johnson Brothers.  These pieces came from my sister who received the donated card making supplies earlier this year. These had been in storage for quite a few years.  I believe these pieces are from the 1960's.  I was able to add 4 dinner plates, 4 cups and saucers, 6 dessert plates, and 2 oval serving pieces.  Super happy!

I finished this Nicholas Sparks - See Me books this week.

The main character is Colin Hancock who is making a real effort to change his ways.  He had psychological help from a therapist in coping mechanisms to keep him out of the trouble he has had in the past. Training his body, running to wear off energy, keeping his anger under control, no drinking of alcohol and practicing his listening skills are all working pretty well.  He meets Maria Sanchez on the beach.  As always with Nicholas it is a quick romance to spending days and night together.

Maria is moving up the career ladder as a lawyer. This current job comes with some relationship challenges with one of the bosses. He approaches her during a out of town conference and suggests a way for her to make partner.  She turns him down then struggles to keep out of his way.

It begins to be clear someone is stalking her and sending her gifts and threatening her - but who?  Is the boss, is it someone from one of her previous cases?   Of course, Colin now in love is having a hard time controlling his emotions and his behaviors.   I found the intensity of the story quite challenging, Colin is out of control a couple of times which did not sit well with me.  I did not really relate to this story very much.

I am really enjoying my small watercolors cards for Christmas and other occasions.

I have tubes of water color which have not seen the light of day for years.  These were acquired at sales and generally at price discounts.  My sister and I have done large sheet backgrounds in the past. 

I decided to pull these out and use them but I needed a way to make them available.  I did a search and there were several ideas for travel watercolor palettes.  I headed over the Delta Art and purchased empty half pans at over $1 each.

I placed them in this cough drop tin and filled them with blobs of color from the tubes I had. I was able to have several versions of the 3 primary colors - blue, red and yellow.  I will be able to mix many color from these.

It does not give me much mixing space but I can use a white dinner plate for that purpose.

I have written down the colors on the left and I did paint a sample of each color in the photo above. I think I have 2 reds which are very similar. 

I painted 2 small landscapes just to give the colors a go. I will make cards with them later.

I did come across a way cheaper option for this project which I will share the link here.  She uses a dollar store eye shadow box which I thought was genius.

Still scoping out salt free snacks.  I found a large 630gm bags of these a Sobey's store on my trip south a few weeks ago.  

Have yet to check them out here in the city but it is on the ToDo List

It is hard to find healthy options at a good price and easily available because that is not what most people want.   I will keep at it.

Birthday Gift - Blue and white dinnerware

 My niece and god-daughter is celebrating a birthday and I will be able to see this year!

There is a large box of wonderful stuff ready for her.  

She already knows what is inside so it's okay that it has been identified.

She has just moved into a new house and is working on getting the kids back to school and unpacking and setting up the house.  

I have had this Blue Nordic by Johnson Brothers dinnerware for several years but was not using it to it's full potential.  I want to downsize and when I found out she would love it, it was an easy choice.

I'm not sure she has the piece of furniture in the dining room yet. These good dishes will likely be in their place for Christmas dinner.

I am sure she will enjoy it!

The set includes enough of the pieces for 6 place settings.  The pieces are dinner plates, salad/dessert plates, cereal bowls, soup bowls, and teacup and saucer. They are a family of four so there is enough for one set of grandparents.

The extra pieces include the teapot, cream and sugar and a large serving platter.

I am super happy to have this set going to a good home.

I bought most of it at a thrift store.  I collected tea cups and saucers along the way.  I found the platter at a second hand store. 

I wanted her to have a surprise as well so I made her a linen tea towel and a pale green linen fabric.

My sister and I had a conversation about using linen for bath towels the other day and I managed to find her some linen/cotton fabric she will be trying out. I do have a couple linen tea towels.

This is a perfect color for my niece.  I had a piece just the right size.  Finished size 18 x 27 inches.  I added a hanging loop in one corner and made mitered corners.  On hindsight, maybe the loop should have gone in the middle.

During my visit this summer, she expressed wanting a special silver spoon for a lovely container.

She had a small spoon from Air Canada in the other dish and wanted another.  (Remember when airlines actually used real cultery with their in flight meals?) How things have changed but I digress.

I'm not sure what the chances are of finding another Air Canada spoon but this one is quite similar and can work as a stand in until the better one shows up.

Tied it onto the tea towel with the same twill tape.

Mosaic Monday - Blue & White Dinnerware

This is the pattern "The Hunter" that got me started on blue and white dinnerware. I love the color and the scallop pattern in the dish itself.  I have 2 dessert plates but have yet to find any other pieces at prices I am willing to pay.

Myott Staffordshire - The Hunter Blue (No Trim)- 2 dessert plates.

A bit of history:
1898 - Myott, Son & Co. Ltd., an earthenware producing factory operated originally from the Alexander Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in the North of England. It was run by two brothers, Ashley and Sydney Myott.
1949 - A fire took place and the company relocated to the larger Crane Street Pottery in Hanley
1969 - They were taken over by an American corporation Interpace.
1976 saw the company merge with Alfred Meakin Limited to form Myott-Meakin Ltd.
1989 the name Myott-Meakin (Staffordshire) Ltd. was adopted as a result of an acquisition by Melton Modes.
1991 - The name was then lost after the company was taken over by the Churchill Group.
Based on the above I will venture to say that my plates date to the mid 1960s or so.

Johnson Brothers - Blue Willow - 2 dessert plates.

This is not my favorite design because it does not have the nice fluted edges of the Myott pieces.  I find the edges thicker and so much to my liking.

The oriental design also is not that appealing to me either.  I bought these early in my collecting. 

I find the blue on these to have purple hue rather than the warm hue on the Myott pieces.


Myott Staffordshire - Chelsea Garden - missing the dinner plate. 

This pattern was made especially made for Bloomingdales.
around the 1970's - 1980's

These have the fluted edges but not as refined as the earlier pieces.  Again the hue leans to the purples rather than the warmer tones.



Staffordshire  - Liberty Blue  - 1 dinner plate

This piece is very similar to the Chelsea Garden set in color, weight and feel.  I likely could use it to complete the set above. Both were made for the American market.
Liberty Blue dinnerware began as a regional promotion by the Benjamin Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association, a Pacific Northwest financial institution, which was founded in 1925. The company's home office was in Portland, Oregon.
Enoch Wedgwood, in England's historic Staffordshire district, was contracted to create a pattern of blue and white dinnerware featuring historical scenes from American Colonial history. Each form had a different scene. A border featuring a mixture of wildflowers helped unify the set.The association launched the promotion in 1975.
When a subscriber made a new deposit of $50, he received a free four-piece place setting. Additional settings could be purchased.Additional pieces were available for purchase. If a customer deposited $1,000, he could buy a 45-piece set for $45.In October 1976, the association announced it was discontinuing the promotion at the end of the year. After that time, customers could order pieces from the Sigma Marketing Co. of Garden City, N.J.Liberty Blue dinnerware was also offered to grocery stores nationwide for promotional use.The dinnerware disappeared from the scene by the mid-1980s.

J&G Meakin & Johnson Brothers - Blue Nordic - missing 3 saucers to make a 4 place setting.  I have several serving pieces as well.

This is the pattern of which I have the most pieces because my aunt gave me most of them. Blue Nordic.  I have some pieces from each vintage.  I love the scallop edge of this dinnerware.
The coffee pot is very similar but not made in England so is a different vintage.  I have found photos of the coffee pot that matches and of course it has those favorite flutes in the design.

Blue Onion is a fine porcelain tableware pattern for dishware originally manufactured by Meissen porcelain since the 18th century, but copied by other companies since the late 19th century as well. The onion pattern was designed as a white ware decorated with cobalt blue underglaze pattern.
Meakin J and G  Pattern:Blue Nordic  c1960s 1964  Blue and white stylized floral. Classic shape
Blue Nordic by Johnson Brothers was produced from 1979 to 1996.

Countryside by Wedgwood & Co. I have a full place setting.
Each piece has a different scene on it which makes it interesting. 

With a bit of research on the web this pattern dates back to the 1960s as well.
Ebay Factoid: However, there is another company, Enoch Wedgwood of Tunstall.  Their logo often includes a unicorn and regularly pieces are marked as Wedgewood & Co.  This is NOT WEDGWOOD and has little to no value.  Often making standard dinnerware or collectibles for Avon, only buy these pieces if you love them as they have almost no collector value.  I like so I am good.

I`ve given myself an education about blue and white dinnerware and hopefully you will find it helpful as well.

Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday #36.

Share Your Cup - The Bs

These are the blues that came to me this week.

I found another dish that matches my blue dinnerware.  I'm not sure who makes it because there is absolutely no markings on the bottom at all.

I needed a bottle brush for my travel mug and my yellow tea pot so I was on the look out.  I found this one at IKEA the other day and look at the color!!! The price was great as well.

These are the birds I saw this week.  I was working at the dining room table which faces a large window and movement caught my eye. I checked and saw this bird on the tree outside.  It had a red throat/chest so I'm not sure what type it is.  The other was a bird of a different kind.  Again, as the late afternoon sun hit the plane it stood out in the clear blue sky.

During my late afternoon walk I caught the sun on the dome of this government building.  The shine as it hits the edge, the completely still flag, and the trees in the foreground all contribute to a great picture.

That's some of my week.

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

Mosaic Monday - Turquoise & Sunshine Yellow Dishes

I received a box that contained wonderfulness this weekend.  It was wrapped and had a big white and glitter tulle bow.  It was filled with beautiful blue dishes.  They were all carefully wrapped to make sure they arrived safe and sound.  It was a gift from niece for my birthday.  We saw them at a second hand store in early September and I was interested in them but I could not decide on the moment so I left the store without them.  She went back to the store a couple days later and bought them. They are so gorgeous!!!
The photos document the opening of the box as the blue emerges.  I love the dishes.  The lines are smooth, the color is spectacular, and the size is super as the mugs and bowls are generous!  The middle right hand photo is one of the large blue plates on yellow charger plates. The yellow chargers are not quite sunshine yellow but they were $2 each so they came home with me.  The bottom right hand corner photo is pairing sunshine yellow plates I purchased about 2 months ago because they were the right color.  They pair up perfectly.  Check out this post on my blue and yellow tablescape. Thank you to Carol C and Judith for inspiring me to have a beautifully set table.

Does anybody recognize these?  Which company made them and when.  They have no mark and I could find nothing about them on-line.

I am submitting this to
Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.