Sylvia's Simple Shots

I found American Coot babies at the Heritage Hills Wetlands yesterday!  They are so hilarious!

They have huge colors in red and yellow.  Then that fuzzy hairdo just makes me smile!   I thought I had missed the babies but like most things this year a little late.

The mother was collecting vegetation from below the water and feeding them one at a time.  There were 3 little babies!

There were a couple of White Pelicans too!  They were eating - dip their beaks in and swallow. Up and down which made getting good photos tough.  These look a little scruffy.

Yes, Mama by Helen Forrester was a good book.  The story of Alicia Woodman, a blonde blue eyed little girl growing up in a house with dark haired parents.  Put into the care of a nanny, Polly Ford who has lost a husband and a baby, to ensure she does not incur the wrath of her father or see the indifference of her mother.  It was a win for the nanny as now she had a room, food, clean clothes, and a bit of a wage.  The child was loved and cared for.  There is quite a bit of insanity before it concludes with a wonderful end.

I am diving head first into this DIY hair cutting trend due to COVID 19.  I have cut it once but it was a desperate big trim basically.

I decided that I needed some proper tools to do the job well going forward.  I have someone I know that gets hers cut with a No.1 comb on a hair trimmer.  I was not quite ready for that but it looked really good on her.

I was late to the game so I had to wait a while for the trimmers to be in stock again at my local drug store.

I needed a hair cutting cape.  I started with a dollar store tablecloth.  I sewed it to a piece of deep yellow fabric with navy seam binding.  I did the full outside edge. Then I cut the key hole in the back and added the seam binding around that creating the ties at the same time.  I made the front longer so I can tack it to the metal sink with magnets to catch the hair which will help with clean up.

Now I needed a mirror behind me to help me see what I was doing.

I had a full length mirror that I could hang on the bathroom door.  I used some copper wire and ran it through the holes in the top corners.  I made curly cues on the front.

I adjusted the length of the wire by twisting to shorten until it was at a good height.  It needed to be at an angle so I put a roll of TP behind to create the angle I needed.  Perfect.  The photo you see is the long hair version from a few days ago.

I did watch several YouTube videos before I took the plunge this morning.  I am pretty happy with the final results.

The Flickr Macro Monday Challenge for this week is "Label".  You can check my Flickr Photostream - SMDPics for the one I submitted.

Of course, there is a plethora of labels in our lives.  Some are stuck on, some are tied on, and some part of the object they label.

This is the metal label on my stainless steel turquoise necklace and chain.  If you look close you can see it engraved on the lobster claw clasp as well.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #84 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #244.

Recent Photos

I have been enjoying the out of doors from my balcony window mostly.  Last week we had several days where the sun was just pouring in.  With a cup of tea, my toes on the sill I just sat there and soaked in the sun.  It was marvelous.  This week we have snow and cloud.

I went for groceries last Thursday at 7:30 am so I could get in during seniors hours.  I found this tea which is much better than my previous store brand.  One tea bag does a pot of tea.  It is strong and delicious.  Really loving it and of course it is decaffeinated which a must.

I finished this book this week.  I try to include self help books every once in a while between the historical fiction stories that I like. 

God is a relationship person so it was good to be reminded even if I am distanced from my humans He is still close.

Connie says that God will provide a dream and the steps to get there.  Now not always will the whole plan be revealed at once but more likely one step at a time. Take it one simple, immediate, possible yes at a time.  He does provide proofs (chocolates, peace, power, provision and presence) along the way.  Chocolates are tangible evidence that you are on the right path.

The barriers:
Fear - The minute you change "what if" to "what now" you are in a position  to hear from God. Human fear builds walls godly fear builds roads.
Pride - Let it go and let God
Guilt - Remorse brings me to God - Guilt separates us
Shame - is a dark dungeon place and transparency is the key to letting light into that dark place
Comparison - Show up, do your best, judge your progress on your own performance not on others
Doubt - We do faith - it is not a noun but a verb

These pillows were given to me by a friend.  She said they are the perfect color for me and she is right.  Love the golden yellow butterflies. 

They now live on the couch but give me the extra height on my chair when I am sewing. 







It was time for a trim but with businesses closed it was up to me to do it.  I put a cloth in the bathroom sink, dug out the scissors, had to scrounge for a comb and cut 1/2 inch off my hair closest to my forehead.  I cannot stand it hanging on my forehead.  Feels better.