Sylvia's Simple Shots

My first trip to Patricia Lake in the Griesbach neighbourhood.

There were a number of waterfowl about.  The weather was crisp but lovely.

Here is a beautiful Red Wing Blackbird hanging in last years' bulrushes.  I expect the couple is working on nest building and he is being protective.

I took a browse through the St. Albert Painter's Guild's Spring Show.

So many pieces of beautiful art.

A lot of mediums represented.

I met my aunt who had pieces in the show for lunch at the seniors center before our walk through the art.

An Orphan's Wish by Molly Green was the book I finished this week. 

A beautiful wartime story set in England in 1943.  Lana has lost her fiance to the fight with Germany over the seas.  She accepts a temporary position to teach children from the local village as well as the orphanage nearby.

One of the children there is not an orphan but the son of a German operative cooperating with the British forces. Priscilla has lost her parents and is adrift emotionally dealing with her grief.

The German man comes to visit his son and Lana catches his attention.  She is quite aware of him as well but he is the enemy who took her love so she is reticent to get involved.

Wonderful story and great read.

I headed over very early on Monday morning to have my say in this country's election.  The polling station was held in a church and they served goodies on our way out.  That was nice.

With that done, I headed out for my regular walk around the neighbourhood camera in hand.

The car was headed for his test later today.

My first Uber experience since the car had stay overnight.

A friend and I headed out for a supper out.

I have not eaten at this restaurant much but it been twice in a few months.

The food again was delicious and leftovers made another meal.

The car passed his compression test and had its software updated to warn if the engine is showing signs of the breakdown of the sealing rings.

Another ride with Uber to go and pick up the car.

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton completed this week.

Kinsey is hired by a father to is keep an eye out on a felon daughter released from prison.

Bad habits are hard to break and when temptation of thousands of dollars appears Reba could not resist.

Then the owner of the money is motivated to get his money back.  Force is not out of the question and someone loses his life because of his association with Reba.

Another great book.  

I will soon have read all the books in this series.

Slow Stitching - Extra Squares

Another Extra Square for my slow stitching project.

I decided on a landscape composition.  I invisilbe stitched my white layer to my foundation layer.

I added a couple of pieces of blue for the sky with a yellow sun.

Two grey mountains and a green layer of trees.

A deeper blue layer at the bottom of lake and a brown piece for land.

Mostly running stitches on these pieces. A bit of seed stitching. 

I did triangles on the green for trees but it is not very visible.

Inktober 2024 - 04 Lake Doodle

Inktober 2024 Challenge - 04 - Lake Doodle.

With life getting in the way, I chose to do a simpler design today.

I am starting out with a piece of 5x7 Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper.

I chose a lake outline then just doodled around the shape until the outside space was filled in.

I used my new to me Creeks 'n Creeks fountain pen with Parker Quink Blue Black Ink to do all the lines in this piece.

I then filled in the lake with watercolor.  I wanted a bit of texture in the color. I went around the edge with a small brush to add the darker edge.

Slow Stitching - No. 037 - Home - Village

This is week 37 of K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching challenge.  This week was the prompt was HOME.  

I not thrilled about the location I live now - downtown in a large city. I love my apartment.

So, I decided to create my ideal home.  A small village. Starting on the north end there are railroad tracks because I love to hear the train but not too close. On the right is a paddock where horses live.  Next, south of the horses is a field of wheat. Across the road is the start of the row of houses which live along the lake. They have dark roofs. There has to be water so I can photograph birds. 

At the cross roads is a small park with a tree and flowers. East of the park is a bit of woodland. My place faces the park with a fence, flowers, a tree and a vegetable garden behind the building. East of there is a field of sunflowers. That will bring birds and pollinators.  South of my place is my neighbor with a fenced yard with a few fruit trees along the fence. 

To the west across the lane is the commercial district with a church, a library and a grocery store with a gas station. There is a large parking lot. Everything is within walking distance.  My car is parked in front of my house.  Writing about it now I realize that my house would face north west so maybe the house needs to be rotated a bit. We'll see when the plans are drawn up. 

This project was a lot of stitching but I loved creating it.  I used liquid acrylic ink to paint my roofs then stitched around them.  Trees with French Knots, parking lot with grey running stitches,bit of satin stitch for the cars in the parked there, seeds stitches in blue for the lake, green seed stitch for lawn, and on it goes. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a walk around the lake with my sister before lunch.  This is a female Bufflehead. It is a duck.

It was a beautiful day.

I had started out early in the morning so I had skipped my morning exercises so it was good to have a bit of blood flowing before sitting for another couple of hours.

I travelled south with my sister and brother-in-law to spend Thanksgiving day with my nephew and his family. This is their first Canadian Thanksgiving as they have been living in China for the last few years.

The buns on this plate were made by my nephew and I have to say that when we walked in and smelled bread I was so reminded of walking into my Mom's house.  He had inherited her way with bread.  It is just delicious.

This is Turkey Dinner my sister prepared for me as a take home meal when we got back from down south.

It was nice to have a meal ready after all the driving.  I was lucky that my brother in law did half of it.

We did have a short visit with my niece/goddaugther. She was swamped on the weekend so she did not join us on Monday for turkey dinner.

Where the Wind Blows - Caroline Fyffe was a nice light read.  After a weekend of travelling it was nice to just dive into a good book for a while.  I just read it almost in about 3 sessions.  A good cup of tea or 2 or three. 

Set in Wyoming in the horse and buggy days.  Chase Logan has come to deliver news to Jessie Strong that her husband is dead.  Jessie has been living at the homestead alone for months as her husband was working further west.  Jessie was raised in an orphanage where she met a tiny little girl named Sarah.  She has arranged to adopt Sarah who arrives 1 day after Chase brought the tragic news. She knew they would not allow her to adopt if she was not married.  She asks Chase to pretend to be her husband to allow the adoption.  As it is they have brought along a 13 year old boy, Gabe,  they would like for her to take on as well.

Things go from pretending to maybe there is something between them, to a neighbor finding out that Chase has been living at the homestead and insists that a wedding take place. 

Chase decides to take his "family" back to his property in Logan Meadows. He has wired his friend to make the shack ready for when they will arrive. Then there is a 2 week journey in late fall with snow on the ground. Chase, Jessie, little Sarah, Gabe and his friend Jake who was looking for an adventure.  They arrive to find a pleasant surprise and land and accommodations.  Great book!

Share Your Cup - This Week

I had a visit with my sister in the last couple of days.  We planned our annual saskatoon picking to coincide with a paper crafters garage sale being held in a Red Deer.

I certainly do no need anymore paper so I was looking for some tea related tools. 
My niece had send a wish list as well.  We managed a few things on her list.
I brought home a nice balloon die (maker unknown), Stampin Up Stars Framelit dies, a punch to make 2 holes for the center of a button, some sheets of dark green card stock and some free chipboard. All for less than $15.  Excellent.  I have the stamp set which coordinates with the Star dies.

We headed to Gull Lake in hopes of getting some sunset shots.  A storm had passed earlier in the evening and these clouds remained which hid the sunset.  It was very cold and as you can see the water was very choppy. No bird photos either. 

We did stop at the village store and got some great Maple Walnut ice cream cones. Yum!

We had to enjoy them in the car as it was not nice enough to sit outside.






My sister has a wonderful garden so she brings fresh flowers for her vase regularly.  They add lot to a table.  She had calendulas and dahlias in her vase this day.

We had tea from a new to her tea pot.  What a lovely tea pot.  It is stainless steel double walled Dorothee by Bredemeijer which is a manufacturer in the Netherlands.

I can see photographing it presents certain challenges but it is really lovely.  She purchased it a thrift store but upon research on line this is a pricey teapot.

Of course, I had Masala Chai.

We picked saskatoons at the U Pick just north of Blackfalds.  The clusters were all ripe and picking went fairly fast.  We picked 3 ice cream pails in a couple of hours.  Excellent. On the left is a pail of the berries. I freeze them on a flat pan like a cookie sheet or pizza tin so that they don't stick together. They are then placed in a freezer bag, later I can remove just the amount I need.

Sharing with Jann at Daily with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #257.

Recent Snapshots

I was in the country side on the weekend for a family event. 

I decided that I would take advantage of nearby large water - Pigeon Lake to get some sun set photos on the water. 

I love the warm blue colors in this shot. 
This side of the lake is mostly privately owned so just about every property featured docks. 

There is a large museum in the area which features large equipment from the early 1900s.  These are on display on the grounds so I was able to capture a few despite the building being closed.

This packer`s original yellow color scattered between the rusty surface was being highlighted by the low sun.

Several sunset shots taken this weekend. The left and right on Pigeon Lake and the center one is on a large pond along Highway 13.

















The fields are featuring bales and long shadows created by the low sun.

The far field is a very nice green. It no doubt will be harvested later in the  season.

On the right, a pink sky with highlighted bright yellow spots above a yellow canola field. I did not take time earlier in the day to get some bright yellow canola field photos.

Sharing with

Mosaic Monday #49  hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life

Through My Lens hosted by Mersad Donko

Share Your Cup

We celebrated Canada's 150th birthday on the weekend.

I decided to have a red and white breakfast.  I made whole wheat pancakes. I put with high bush cranberry syrup in my red and white bowl.  I had my tea in the matching mug.  Cream for my tea and pancake syrup was served in a glass creamer. I chose a white IKEA plate with a bit of butter on a small china plate.

I did collect some small flags which I placed in a small vase.  I landed a Canada 150 commemorative water bottle.

I was very good and a nice relaxing breakfast.


A visit to the Community Garden gave me a lovely deep pink rose with an ant highlighted on the left.  I love the moody photo of a light pink peony on the right.  They have been so nice this year.

I bought a coffee table photo book by a local photographer, Daryl Benson.  It had been advertised and I was intrigued.  It is a wonderful book with photos from across the country.  Really enjoyed looking at and will go back to it for inspiration.

The scrapbook store was promoting 50% sales on quite a few items so I thought it was worth a trip.  I had been making a lot tea related cards for a challenge and had hoped to land a Tim Holtz Tea Time die. No luck and I am really in stash busting mode so no other product came home with me.


 

I spent several hours walking around Beaumaris Lake and captured a lot of wild life.  There was a hare baby, Canada Geese, ducks of all kinds, a Coot, a Ring Billed Gull and Red Wing Black Bird.These photos are Ring Necked Grebe on the left and checkout the little head sticking out on her back.  The little one is hitching a ride. The right has a Double Crested Cormorant and a American White Pelican sitting on a structure in the middle of the lake.  All eyes are on me.

I have been sewing.  We have a family event coming up and there a request for donations of items as a fundraiser to support the rent of a facility.

I made a set of flat ware roll and placement combo which facilitates outdoor eating.  I added a small coordinating napkin which makes it completely zero waste.  Just wash and reuse.

I chose a bright pink and purple floral fabric a coordinating pink solid.
I cut the place mat pieces at 13Tx19.5W one from each fabric.  The pocket was cut at 8Tx19.5 W.  It was hemmed at the top and then sandwiched between the layers and a white ribbon was added on the left hand side. After stitching all the way around and it was turned inside out.  I over stitched all the way around the outside edge.  I then created slots on the right hand side one for each knife, fork and spoon.  A wider one for the napkin.  I had just enough fabric left over to make a small napkin with a floral header.  Place the flatware, the napkin and there is still pocket for anything else you might want to include. Once the complete just fold the top edge down then roll from the right hand side going toward the ribbon ties.  This will ensure your flatware stays in place.  There were some designs which did not have the flap but I thought it was critical.



Sharing with Share Your Cup #255 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.

Digital Cards - Save our Date

I've created some Save our Date cards using some of my art and photos.  Once personalized, they are available as 4x6 photo files and will be delivered in a digital file. They can be shared digitally on social media or sent by email. They can also be printed at your local photo printer.

This first one would be great for a wedding being held at the lake or cottage.  The lake photo has a pine branch coming in from the right hand corner.

This one features a watercolor background with one of  my original evergreen paintings.  It's elements are coordinated with the colors in the background.  This could be used for a summer wedding.

This birch tree card features one of my original watercolor paintings.  The elements are color coordinated with the background.  This would be great for a winter wedding.

You will find these on my Digital Products tab at the top of the blog.

Mosaic Monday - Walk Around the Lake

I took a walk around the lake last week and nature was bursting out of every corner.  Birds of all kinds and flowers were blooming.
The ring billed gull, female mallard duck, blue headed mallard duck. Pink apple blossoms and a well disguised sparrow. I loved this shot of the lake water just fading into white but check out the head of the Canada Goose in the bottom left hand corner. The red necked grebe with a fish in her mouth!!! White apple blossoms.  The sun setting on the mallard duck couple and the red winged black bird playing hard to photograph. 
It was a wonderful couple of hours in nature. Loved it!


Submitting this to Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage hosted by Judith.

Card - HB - On the Lake

This is a birthday card for my b-in-l who is celebrating a milestone birthday this month.
I started with a photo I took a couple years ago at Pine Lake Camp.  I applied some filters to it in PSE and printed it 3x4 inches.  I created a simple black frame and printed it.  I glued the print inside.  I found some old wood board designer paper by My Mind's Eye "Sawyer".  I just love this paper so I saved it for a special card.  I cut to leave just a tiny border on a black card.  I added the greeting with a color printed greeting punched with the Stampin Up Modern Label and then offset a green/grey one behind it.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Cards - Effiel Tower & Lake Scene

I am working with some left overs from card club.  I needed a few cards with no greetings for an order so I changed these supplies to accommodate the need.

I started with a brown card onto which I adhered a Stampin Up! Top Note cut from graphic letter paper in caramel colors. I glued that to the card front.  I found a Eiffel Tower image on-line at Call Me Victorian.  Once printed, I cut it with my smooth oval Spellbinder Nestabilities.  I mounted that onto the next size oval cut in deep red card stock.  I added the grosgrain ribbon to the left top corner before I adhered the mail element with 3D foam tape.

This next card is same card kit in different colors. Here I used lake image from ReUsable Art.  I color printed it and mounted it onto an ivory oval then raised with 3D foam tape.

Photo - Summer Camp

I spent a few days at Summer Camp this week.  I took a few pictures to remind me of how beautiful and restorative time by the lake can be.  The weather was great!  I took the camera out each day.  The chair on the dock, I spent an hour there just enjoying the sounds.  I did capture a dusty spider web, it was nearly a full moon and this is the best one of the bunch but it's not great, lichen on a piece of wood, and finally the mist on the water early in the morning.  It was a great couple of days!