Sylvia's Simple Shots

Captured a Northern Flicker poking in the ground for worms in the park as evidenced by the dirt on his bill.  They are mostly ground feeders so that is where I have found them in the past.

I was visiting my sister and her husband for a fish fry on Friday for supper.  A tradition for all the Fridays in Lent.  It was delicious as always.

We headed to a local shop which sells ice cream and we in luck to have Maple Walnut flavor.  Hers and my favorite.  We ate them in the car so it would not result in a mess before we got home.

I was in Camrose for a funeral.  

With about 45 minutes on my hands and not being able to find the thrift store I headed to the Candler Gallery.

Found some wonderful art.  I recognized at least one artist who had art on display.  One of my aunt has had art in the gallery in the past which was why I knew where it was.

There was some nice pottery as well.

There is a gift shop in the front of the main level along with an art supply store.

Nice to enjoy a few minutes before meeting my sister and husband for lunch at A&W then headed to the funeral of my cousin's father.

While having a conversation with the gallery owner she let me know about the paints they carry which are made in Canada.  With the tariff situation good to know there is a Canadian option.

Tri-Art produces watercolor, acrylic and oil paint and is located in Kingston, Ontario.

I only picked up the watercolor brochure as that is what I would purchase.

The gallery ships Canada wide but a trip would be a nice break.

My good leather purse has a worn strap and the holding loop let go in the last couple days.  I don't have time to fix it right now so I packed it but I needed a replacement.

I found this bag at Goodwill for just over $10.  Inside is a tag that asks you to register your bag and it will be returned to you from anywhere in the world.

I was thinking this must be worth something if it has that kind of policy. There is a store in WEM which would explain it being here. 

I expect it is very good quality so I gave it a good wash in and out.  It is a bit floppy so I will have to do something to give it a bit of structure.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss is a book I finished recently.

A small book written by the same author as books I have recently read which I borrowed from my brother in law.

This is the story of Auri who leaves deep below the University.  A young lady that chooses to live a solitary life with animals rather than people.

She explores the vast spaces below ground and has named them all and has created paths and ways to travel from each. 

Some spaces house her special things, one is where she sleeps and all are very interesting. 

Very interesting character.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

More wonderful time spend at Heritage Hills Wetlands this week.  There were many Common Terns this year which was great to see.  The Mourning Cloak butterfly was my first capture of this year.  The Ruddy Duck was showing off his blue bill as usual.  They are very photogenic.

I had to replace the flush lever and toilet handle this week.  I thought no big deal, checked out supplies on line and headed to Canadian Tire. 

When I got it home I could not install this for the life of me.  I called my brother in law and he suggested maybe I had stripped the plastic threads.  

When it was not on the toilet I was eventually able to get the nut on the handle so what was the problem?  The situation was that when I transferred the lever to the toilet the arm was turned around and my mind had not made that adjustment.  Once I figured it out it went on as easily as it should have and in 10 minutes I could flush the toilet with the lever again.

I spent a couple of days with my sister and brother in law.  I was treated again to a hot dog supper on the open fire for my birthday.  They taste so good.  I normally have ice cream cake but the price is just getting out of hand so I bought Hagen Daas ice cream bars instead.  Very yummy and much more in my budget.

My sister and I attended the Rhubarb Tea fundraiser on Saturday.  This was a belated celebration for our birthday.

There was a bake sale, a merchandise sale and the tea.  I selected this burnt orange tea cup and we had rhubarb crisp rather than pie.

It was a very successful event.

This was a Reader's Digest book that sat on my bookshelf. Short stories which was just what I needed.

Lake News by Barbard Delinsky - Lily Blakes heads for Lake Henry in New Hampshire where she grew up after some trouble in the city. She meets a journalist which helps her tells her side of the story.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks - very interesting.  It was a lovely love story with a sad end. 

Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - Nora Kelly gets a letter written by her late father sixteen years ago.  Very thrilling story.

The Devil's Teardrop - Jeffery Deaver - This story was very engaging as police try to find this killer before he strikes again.  Very intriguing plot!

Small Gifts - Oil Diffusers - One of a Kind - Set 2

I have started another set of bespoke oil diffusers.

Ice Cream Cone - This is a ceramic Easy Tiger Matte Ceramic Ice Cream Cone mini planter.

I paired it with a warm and fuzzy yarn in peaches, creams and aqua color.  I created one ball for the ice cream you can see then a small one to anchor this one in the cone.  I stitched them together.

I used a silicone bead with a piece of yarn which I wired to keep it up in position as an accent on top of the cone. The tones all work together in this piece of art.

The oil can be dropped on the cherry on top or the ice cream.  

The ceramic cone will contain the oil. 

Red & White Bouquet - A clear glass bud vase holds a red and white bouquet of pom pom flowers.

I have used another wooden spiral to hide the wire armature of the bouquet.

The bouquet is weighed with a wood bead on the inside of the spiral.

The red pom pom flowers can be used to hold the essential oil with little concern of discoloration.

Again, the glass vase will protect your surface from any drops of oil.  

Just 2-5 drops of oil will be enough to give you scent for 20 minutes to 40 minutes.

Key to my Heart - A crystal glass candy dish holds a set of 3 felt hearts.  This were hand cut to match the shape of the glass dish.

I chose red, pink and white in graduated sizes. I added a small gold tone metal key held in place with 3 tiny stitches of cotton thread.

The stitches also hold the 3 felt hearts together.  A Zot on the glass holds the hearts in the proper place in the dish.

The oil should likely be applied to the red heart to avoid any discoloration to the white heart.

Again, the glass dish keeps your surface free from damage from any oil drops.

Sunflower - A handmade felt sunflower in a clear shallow glass vase.  If I had to guess it's original purpose may have been has a terrarium.

Well, it still holds a flower but now it has bright colors of orange, golden yellow and sunshine yellow with a brown center.

I made the flower following this tutorial. Check out the following link for the details. DIY Felt Flowers - No Sew Fabric Flower Tutorial   It fits in the vase perfectly.  

The dark center will be ideal for the drops of essential oil as discoloration will not show.

Glass will protect your surface from stay oil drops.  Love it!

A Glass of Sherry - I wanted this small vintage glass to look like it was filled with sherry.

I chose a loose burgundy yarn with a hint of gold among the threads to fill the bowl of the glass.   I wrapped it around a felt wool ball to give me a stable core and for it to assemble easier.

I chose a gold metal filigree at the top to cap the loosely wound yarn.  I topped it with a glass & gold bead which is held in place with a tiny gold ebead.  It was strung together with gold metallic thread which holds the accent, the loose yarn and the wool ball core as one piece.

Zots hold the nest of yarn to the glass which will protect the surface from oil drops.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It has to mid June because the Alberta Wild Rose is in full bloom.

They are so nice this year.  The perfect combination of sun and rain I guess.

They range from light pink to deep pink like this one!

Insects visit them regularly which will produce rose hip berries in the fall.

They are always in bloom at my birthday and I was able to spend the day with my sister which was wonderful.  My brother-in-law made a fire so I could have fire roasted hot dogs.

Of course, there was ice cream cake, my favorite birthday cake. 

In the Heart of the Garden by Helene Wiggin is a book a finished recently.  It chronicles the life of a garden established in 912AD by Fritha and still cared for by Iris in 1998.  Iris is elderly and she is thinking of moving and leaving her cherished garden.  She walks through it every evening,  touching its special places and plants as she strolls.

Iris Bagshott strolls down the paths of her ancient garden, close to Lichfield in the heart of England, wondering if it is time to sell her house and land for development.

She is unaware that around every corner myriad family secrets from the past unfold.

From a Saxon clearing to a monastery, Tudor dwelling to the present day, this sacred plot has nurtured her ancestors. Generations of Bagshott women have found refuge and solace tending it through years of plague, civil war and beyond.  This is their story

I found the early years of the garden hard, life was hard especially for the women.  I enjoyed the recent history a lot more.

I found some healthy sunflower seeds.  They are very low in sodium which is why I stopped eating the regular ones.  

I find I eat less when I start with them in the shell.

They are available at several stores in my area.

They make them in a variety of flavors but the original plain ones are fine with me.

I have found this a nice healthy snack.

I took this photo this morning on my walk.  

The piece of grass had collected fuzz and it looked cool.  I forgot my hat so seeing the screen was hard.  

I'm glad the shot worked out.

Look at that beautiful Alberta blue sky.

We just had a big rain shower as I am writing this on the longest day of the year but this morning was wonderful.

A good variety of grass in this shot.

The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs.  Another strong female character in the character of Grace Bennett. A naval officer's wife with regular moves, 3 children, putting supporting her husband ahead of her dreams of a business and a place to call her own where she make plans knowing she will be there for years not just 1-3.

Wives of naval officers posted to an aircraft carrier are granted power of attorney so they can handle every situation while their husbands are gone for 6-12 months at a time.  Grace buys the house of her dreams, moves her family and sets up her relocation business which she developed on her many moves over the last 20 years.

With several secrets coming out of the woodwork and a sudden crisis which is a wife's nightmare the family needs to communicate, come to terms with the crisis, listen to each other, and love  most of all.

All things come down to family comes first.

I washed the afghan from my bed recently, which was really needed.

For now, it lives on the couch instead of the bed so the bedroom has a cohesive looks of blues and greys.

It was a gorgeous day so instead of putting in the dryer I just hung it on the balcony rail for several hours.

It was dry and smells wonderful.

I'm not sure what the neighbors thought but I think it was worth doing.

I have been enjoying this old series which I found on the Roku Channel.

Based in a fictional county in England, the seasoned detective and the rookie investigate murders in the area.

British TV is so much less sensational than American TV.  I don't believe I have seen them draw a gun or shoot any one.  Lots of talking and listening.  Questions and more questions to get to the bottom of the situation.

There are 11 seasons so I likely will not get through all the shows before it is replaced by something else.

Loving it for now!

Saskatoons

I picked 2 ice cream pails of saskatoon berries today.  

Between my sister and I we picked 6 pails some of which are for Mom and another sister.

It rained over night so the bushes were wet but overall it was very good picking.

We visited a new place this year which has acres of bushes!  They opened on Monday and we picked on Wednesday but it was easy to pick around the unripe ones.  This gave me 4 plastic bags in the freezer.   

We visited the ice cream place nearby after we had cleaned our berries and has supper.  It was great dessert and they had Maple Walnut hard ice cream.  The best.

This was one of the first times where we got a little closer to NORMAL.  We are all vaccinated so we were careful but it was very good.

There was a couple of good storms - one was just wind and bluster but the second one was pea sized hail.  My car was protected in the garage.  

Thanks so much!  I  also got 4 freezer bags of BC Blueberries.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

There was roasted hot dogs which I requested on a social distance outside visit to my sister's place.  The hot dogs were great! Thanks so much.

I don't have a place for a fire outside so I can't make them at my place.

Ice cream cake is always in order that this time of year!  There were leftovers that I brought home and having one serving per day!

I got a sunburn during my outside visit.  Then Sunday I got bitten alive by mosquitoes on my long walk at the wetlands.  My ears, face, neck and hands were exposed so they got the worse of it.

The skeeters must know that as a photographer I am going to hold my hands still and not wave them around so they took advantage.

I have to say I have sore parts and large welts so my day has been uncomfortable.







Up at 5:00 am and at the Lois Hole Provincial Park before 6:00 am I did see several new birds for me.

The Common Yellow Throat Warbler which sang beautifully then the Sora Rail just walking on the reeds in the water.  It moved very fast though!  Many Cedar Waxwings making some noise.  It was wonderful.

I had a really hard time with Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week - Unusual Pattern.  To me that suggested not a regular or common pattern.  What could that be?  I had glass tiles where it distorted the designer behind so I tried quite a few scrapbook papers. This one has music paper behind but I did not find the X showed up much.

This was a colorful tile behind a textured glass cutting board.  I was getting closer! Check out my SMDPics photo stream to see the shot I submitted.



I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #85 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #245