Sylvia's Simple Shots

There's more snow this week. 

You can see the bike track in the snow again this week.

It is colder this week as well with temps in the -20C.

Winter has arrived.

That will be good for the coming craft sales because for some folks until it snows they just are not in the Christmas shopping mood.

This was done early in the week and then the weather turned. They steamed the kitchen stack on Monday.  

I had under the kitchen sink clear out in plenty of time. They did have to go and get parts as the PTrap was glued and could not be removed.

As you can see the truck was parked behind the big fence and they were climbing over with ladders.

The hoses came through the patio doors.  

I knew one of the guys that came because the same company did work in the building downtown.

The process went very well. 

DIY project - I took the Dremel and shortened the legs on the plastic shelf under the sink.

It did not fill under the PTrap after it was replaced.

It was about an 1/8 of an inch but it would not clear.  

Good to by handy with a tool.

With the timing I finished a couple of books this week.

The Favored Child by Phillipa Gregory.  It is book 2 in a trilogy and I have not read the first.

A couple of children are being raised together in the Dower House. They are Richard and Julia who are cousins but have lost parents and Julia's mother is raising both children alone.

There a mystical power at play, gender roles that confuse things, deep secrets which will change everything at the end of the story. How things change as children mature. Julie is connected to the land and Richard is not but that makes it difficult to be squire of the Lacey estate. 

Things get ugly and when the secret is revealed the world comes to make more sense.  Big book and a good read.

A Shelter of Hope by Tracie Petersen is the story of Simone Dumas who lives in the Wyoming Territory in 1883.  Her father is heavy handed shall we say and her mother has long been gone. Simone tends house far from town so is mostly alone.

After her father has acted very cruelly, Simone summons the courage to leave with very little.  She finds her way to a place she will not be recognized, changes her name and find employment.

In time the past comes calling.   The police are involved, her true identity revealed, a man steps up to protect her, people die, and her future is in peril.

I always like a strong female main character and Simone lives up to the part.

Great book!

The new computer arrived this week which was custom built as I could not find what I needed on store shelves.

Happy with the speed, the disk space, and the overall performance.

I just love the LED lights on the inside.  That is so cool.

The printer/scanner was set up EPSON 2980 Super Tank.   Windows 11 with its apps has been easier than I thought to use.

I managed to get software in a permanent license.  Wonderful.

It was the reception for the Fire and Ice Show at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery hosted by the Allied Arts Council.

My aunt and I attended the reception for the art show and the opening of the Christmas Store as well.

Check out the beautiful cookies made by Cindy I believe. Almost too pretty to eat. Gorgeous work.

I bought another small wood star from Val E at the Christmas Store.

Wonderful evening.

It's that time of year again.  Time to make Caramel Popcorn for family and friends.  I was up early because my friend was coming for lunch.

I made a lot less this year as it is not our big family get together this year.  I will deliver these as I see family of the next few weeks.

When my friend arrived we headed to Tims and bought lunch and brought it back to my house to eat and have a cup of tea.

It had been months since I saw her and my house was in a more organized state than when she visited in late August.

We decided to head out and hit a craft sale before heading to visit the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and Christmas Store at Heavy Metal Place in Spruce Grove.

After our outing we came back for another cup of tea and she headed out a little later to be home before dark.

My friend and I dropped by this sale in the PERC building in Stony Plain.

There is nothing I need, my Christmas list is very short, so I came to realize that I don't need to attend craft sales.  

I had been feeling like I was missing something special but my circumstances have changed a lot and I only need to attend if there is a reason to.

Interesting how time marches on and I am not the person I was. 

Learned a valuable lesson.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I went looking for pelicans at Beaumaris Lake but found none.

I found other waterfowl.  Here's a Red Necked Grebe with it's mournful call.  There were several pairs on the water. Did not see any nests yet.

The apple trees were all in bloom as well as the cherry trees with their deep pink blossoms.

Great walk around the lake.

American Coots vying for territory.

There was a look of splashing, posturing, and charging going on.

As you can see in this shot the water was being churned and the flapping wings of the retreating male was he headed across the water.

There were several pairs of these waterfowl on the water.

If You Believe by Kristin Hannah.  This is about the 3rd or fourth book I've read from this author.

Mariah Throckmorton lives with her father Rass on a farm with an apple orchard. They grow apples and the harvest is a source of income for them.  Her mother passed away recently and they both miss her terribly.  Rass has posted a help wanted ad at the general store in town.

Mad Dog Stone has been wandering from place to place for many years. He takes odd jobs to earn money for the few necessities.  He answers the ad and appears at the farm.  Mariah runs the house and farm by rigid rules and with Rass getting older sees that hiring Mr. Stone makes sense. 

Mr. Stone and Mariah dance around each other for a while.  Pushing and pulling for who is in control. She should lighten up a bit and he should apply himself a little more. A young boy appears at the farm which Rass employs as his assistant for categorizing and organizing his archaeological finds. 

These three characters become a family under difficult circumstances.

After a lot of negotiations I have finally had my offer accepted for a new place to live in a small town east of the city.

Now the work begins in earnest.   Packing, moving utilities, renovations before moving in, and cleaning this place before I leave.

Working on contractors for painting, flooring and some plumbing to be completed before possession.

A walk to the Community Garden and Paul Kane Park this week.

The lilacs are in bloom and it strikes me as a bit early.

Their scent is lovely.

Pretty flowers.

Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohansesian is a book I finished this week. It is a historical novel. 

It has 2 story lines one in the 1915 and one in 1990's.  The first is set in the Armenian and Turkey war. The peaceful relationship between these 2 countries breaks down and many innocent people are killed and many endure great suffering. This tears lives apart.

In the 1990's Orhan's grandfather, Kemal, dies and leaves the family home to a woman no one knows. She lives in the USA and who is she?  Orhan travels far to find a ninety plus year old lady living in nursing home.  She had been a young Armenian girl during the war. She suffered great losses and Fatma has saved her life. 

The book has some surprises, the truth comes to light and the relationships are not what they seem.  Great read. 

My sister and brother-in-law dropped by for lunch while they were in town visiting my other sister and her husband who has been pretty sick. We always have pick up an drop off items when we connect.  

They picked up Wendy's on their way over. The linens had been sorted through that morning and the tablecloth had been set aside for packing. I sent a red tablecloth to my niece.It may the last time they visit at this place.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I managed to catch the eye of this American Robin up in a tree one morning this week on a walk in the neighbourhood.

Construction on every corner is making getting nature shot a bit difficult as well as driving in this area a zoo.

Photography has been hit and miss among the buying a place activities this week.  I hope those will conclude soon.

I joined 3 of my aunts to attend this art show at Harcourt House this week.

Diana Ohiozebau was born in Leeds, England and raised in Nigeria. Much of her work is on an African fabic called aso-oke. 

It has shine and ravels easily.

There were traditional fabric included in many of the painted pieces.

We headed down the street for Vietnamese food which was delicious and there was enough for supper.

I finished this book on Saturday early morning. I have not been sleeping well.

Project Hail Mary by Any Weir is a fantastic story.  A save the planet Earth scenario arises and Ryland Grace a school teacher is recruited to work on the space project that will send astronauts to Tau Ceti to find a way to reverse the solar dimming on our sun.

Ryland is voluntold he will be on this mission when an accident kills 2 of the astronauts who had been training for this critical mission.  

When he arrives he finds himself alone as the other 2 people on the ship have died during the passage.  He encounters a alien ship on a similar mission as his, so they partner to find the answer.  Since Rocky is a spider type beings many accommodation need to be made. He is a great engineer and can create many wonderful things to enable the success of the mission.  They save Earth and Erid.

A real page turner and it was hard to put it down at times. Recommended by my brother in law.

I attended the Grand Opening of Heavy Metal Place on Saturday.  The new home of the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and Allied Arts Council.

The weather was great as we stood outside then we were let into the wonderful atrium. Very crowded then the Brett Ryan arena was dedicated then we could view the High School show hanging on the walls. Barry was carving in the courtyard. 

It has been a lot of work for the staff and volunteers. I have not been able to participate as I have been busy getting a place to live.

Talented young people using a wide variety of mediums created art for us to enjoy.

Love the paper collage camera.

The celestial piece connected with my recent finishing of the space book that morning.

Watercolor is always my favorite medium with blue and yellow my favorite color combo.

I hope to be able to participate in the Open Arts Competition later this year.

The Wishing Jar by Penelope J. Stokes is a book I finished this week.

The Wishing Jar is a family tradition with a magical legend attached. It has been in the Quinn family for generations. It sits in a place of honor in a cabinet .

Abby is the mother of a teenager Neal Grace who is acting up. Her mother Edith has suffered a stroke and feels she has become a burden to Abby her daughter. 

The Quinn family motto - "Purity of Heart, Faithfulness of Soul".  

The Neal Grace comes to see her grandmother in a new light, Edith finds the strength to move forward and Abby find romance.  Great book

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It's been snowing and this day the snow was gently falling as I walked around my neighbourhood.

I found this crow in a tree just chilling.

I love how I captured the falling snow and it's large beak.  Unfortunately, the eye is not as sharp as I would have liked.

Nice dreamy shot.

These are the improvements I made to my Tumi Bag while I was at my sisters last week.

The bag is quite floppy and needed some structure.

It has enough pockets for the essentials that I carry.  

In my last purse I had a collection of things like my lip balm, my allergy eye drops, cough drops, and other things that just fell to the bottom of the center pocket.

With wanting to add structure to the bag we headed to the dollar store to see what we could find for organizers. We found these pencil cases. We built a case for them from mat board and duck tape. We added jump rings to the top so I can pull the pocket out easily. 

Now the contents are organized and the bag a solid core.

A sister and her husband came to visit this week.  They are the one who helped with carpet removal in the summer.  They wanted to see the new floor and have a visit.  Their kids were coming back from a ski trip.

I served roast chicken from the grocery store, salad, and fruit and muffins for dessert.

It's been great to have company.

I was gifted these beautiful Jianzhan tea tasting cups from China.  My nephew brought them back for me after I admired one he gave his Mom and Dad at Christmas.

Tea is my thing. Blue and yellow are my colors.  I look forward to using them when I settle in my new place as for now they are packed safely in a box for moving.

A watercolor card I made for my nephew and his wife who gave me the beautiful tea cups.

I chose watercolor paper and painted an abstract with bright yellow at the top running into ultramarine blue at the bottom.  

Once dry and pressed flat I trimmed the piece to leave a medium border and adhered it to the front of a SU Brilliant Blue card base.

I stamped the greeting with dark blue ink.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn one of my favorite authors.

Another WWII story about a woman, Mila Pavlichenko, who transforms herself from a bookish Mom of one to a sharp shooter. Based on a true story of a mother who became a soldier, found her place in the world and changed history.

When she reaches her 300th kill she is pulled from the Eastern front and is invited to the United States on a goodwill tour. She is hosted by Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. 

Danger lurks in every corner both on the battlefield and away from the fight. 

Another wonderful book.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Spring is around the corner. 

The pussy willows are out in their white fluffy coats.

The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs is a book I finished this week.

Tess Delaney restores stolen treasures to their owners. Annelise Winther has her mother's necklace returned worth a good sum will help in her old age. 

Dominic Rossi is the messenger who has travelled a ways to tell Tess she is to inherited half an apple orchard.  Her half sister Isabel Johansen owns the other half - a sister she did not know she had.  

Coming to know the family own business and how differently this group sees life, where family comes first and the roots of history run deep.

The end brings a surprise and the connections comes full circle for Tess. 

Another great book!

I had lunch at this great restaurant this week.    The food was good and the conversation and time spent wonderful.

The restaurant was quiet so we had time to sit and visit and not feel like we should move on till we were ready.

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley (Canadian author) was a great read.

Kate Murray is a Canadian journalist in England covering a trial of a serial killer. On a break waiting for a verdict, she sits on a bench near the Old Bailey court house.  She meets a man sitting next to her who says "I have story I could tell you an it has a murder in it as well. An old murder but deserving of justice". Andrew Deacon inquires after her grandmother, leaves her a card then walks away.  Minutes later he is dead, hit by a car.

Kate decides to stay in England after the trial and see if she can unravel the mystery which as presented itself.  After a bit, it seems this is related to her grandmother's mysterious war-time past and she tries to retrace Andrew's footsteps.

It is dangerous and the people involved are hard to find.  Her questions brings attention to issues buried deep and folks are not happy.  

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Visited my aunt for our annual meat pie session.  These are a French Canadian Christmas Tradition called Tourtieres.

Omelette for lunch.

Always a great lunch with non alcoholic wine.

A mixture of beef and pork with spices.

A double recipe of pastry but more work with out her kitchen aid mixer.

We made less this year!

I brought home 3 pies and 3 servings of the filling which I will eat as a meal over the next few months.

I watched this movie while slow stitching this week. A Man Called Otto - Tom Hanks.

We all grieve differently.  We all have lost loved ones, jobs, family, countries so we can relate.

Mr. Otto lives an ordered life and follows the rules.  When a family moves in next door it brings a warmth and caring (the color) he has been missing since his wife died.

He can manage most house challenges and starts to help this family in between trying to figure out how he is going to join his wife.

The pregnant wife is very perceptive and senses something is missing.

Very touching and at times very funny.

Loved it.

My sister passed this book to me. It is a story of teenagers sorting out their place in the world.  Paper Towns by John Green.

When Margo Roth Spiegelman comes to Quentin Jacobsen's window in the middle of the night — dressed like a ninja. She has plotted an ingenious campaign of revenge and he follows her. Margo always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. 

After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

The adventures a long trip, investigating abandoned buildings, and finding the smallest of clues as to where Margo has gone.

It was a good read in the youth reading genre.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My sister and I were treated to lunch by her children along with celebrating Father's day for each of the 3 families.  My sister's birthday treat is sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream and mine was ice cream bars.  I used to get ice cream cake but that is just too much sugar these days.

I prepared lunch for my sister and brother-in-law was they were in town for shopping and helping me get the laundry room ready with a dryer vent connector.

I roasted chicken along with veggie salad and T&T Organic Mixed Thai Rice.

There was fresh strawberries and Greek yogurt for dessert.

Then the work began. The connector was installed and the room was ready to paint.

I was up early and put a coat of primer on the wood around the dryer vent connector.

A couple hours later I painted the second half of the laundry room now that the dryer and wood shelving unit had been removed.

The green tape is to make where the shelving unit ends so that laundry center is placed to ensure that the unit can go back into the closet.

I am grateful that there is still paint from when I bought 2 years ago so that went well.

I did paint the other half while the washer was out of the closet.

While shopping for improvements to the laundry closet I found a pair of black jeans to for a great price.

The picture on the left is the mending I did on the left knee to my regular pair of jeans. With my slow stitch experience I was more comfortable just getting it done.

There have been several repairs to these jeans so it was time for a better pair.

And all this preparation and waiting has finally resulted in the arrival of the new laundry center.  Yeah!

The other set was over 20 years old and it had not been happy about being moved in early May for building leak repair work.

It was moved out on May 6th and was finally returned to the laundry closet on a very temporary basis May 31st.

I am a believer in signs so I heeded the one I got and ordered a replacement.  It was 20 day wait for it to arrive and be delivered.

I spent a lot of time measuring, going to appliance stores, researching details on line. Plugs, drain hoses, drain stacks, and more.  Thank goodness for the amount information available on line these days as there was not a physical example in store for me to see, measure to help in the decision making process.

The laundry closet is back together but that will be a separate post.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park yielded some great shot. The is Jacob's Ladder and it will likely make the calendar at the end of the year.

Gorgeous color and wonderful delicate flower.

There were a few roses open, the peonies were on the verge of opening.

With a few more days of sun the gardens will be looking really good!

Attic Treasures by four authors who have written romances into each story.

This book was 4 short stories about Lydia Dunmore, a grandmother getting ready to sell her large home to move to a seniors residence.

She has invited her 4 granddaughters to visit her attic and pick the one item which was their favorite.

Sheila is looking for her grandmother's doll but it has been sold.  With the help of a local antique store owner she searches for the doll.  

Kimber chooses an old fishing tackle box and through the help of a local fisherman discovers that some of the lures therein are quite valuable.

Lauren cherishes a christening gown her great grandmother wore.  She has chosen career over motherhood.  Her husband buys a farm and they leave the city. She did survive the transition and the gown came in handy.

Jessica takes an antique dress from Grandma's attic. Inside she finds old papers and photographs.  There was an adoption and the identity of her father is in question. Lydia shares what she knows. It is all very mysterious and there's a photojournalist chasing a story. It all turns out well in the end.

There was a large stash of fabric yardage which appeared at one of the thrift stores. 

The price was unbelievable.

Did I need another piece of fabric? No but I could not help myself.  Will I have a chance to sew this summer with the renovations planned.  Unlikely. Still I brought home 5 pieces for less than $10.  Averaging about .75 of a meter. Some less some more.

Beautiful blue purple watercolor, a denim blue vintage geometric, rainbow with gold dots, a yellow blender and a turquoise batik.

Just the right size for a book cover, a placemat, or a wine bag.   We shall see.

I had lunch with a dear friend.  Vietnamese noodle bowl is always delicious and this was no exception.

Meeting at 1:00pm after the lunch time rush we had great conversation and caught up on our lives and what we have been up to.

She is headed on a big vacation.

I was invited to celebrate a birthday this week.

The birthday girl hosted lunch at her house.

It was very delicious and I was able to catch up with extended family.

Dessert was an upside down cake with blueberries with whipped cream on top.  A good cup of tea and good company.  It was a lovely afternoon.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

On my visit to Beaumaris Lake this week,  I found several pairs of Blue Winged Teals.  Maybe they are checking out the lake for nesting places.

These are ducks and the blue patch can only be seen when they open their wings.

I have not seen these at this lake in the past so things are different this year.  Not sure why.  I have not seen pelicans yet but a lot of Canada Geese.

A friend gave me a small art glass vase designed by Robert Held - a Canadian glass maker.

Love the gorgeous purple glass with the iridescent colors along the bottom third of the vase.

I placed some baby's breath in it for now.  Maybe, later in the year I will be able to have live flowers.

It joins my other pieces made by the same maker.

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley which is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Historical fiction set in Paris.  In the modern day, Sara an amateur code breaker has arrived to look at a diary from around 1732.  Sara comes to live with the owner of the book.  Her live-in housekeeper has a young son who seems to have abilities in this area as well. The son's father, Luc lives nearby as his parents are divorced.  Soon, there is an attraction between Sara the loner and Luc the business man.

The dairy was written by Mary Dundas who wrote it in code to be sure the contents could not be discovered by spies.  She is a second generation Jacobite exiled to France. Mary becomes embroiled in a plan to help a mysterious Jacobite man stay out of the grasp of English authorities and the diary tracks her journey over the country, her relationships with her compatriots and her budding romance with the severe MacPherson.

Loved this book!

A friend and I went out for lunch this week. I suggested Vietnamese food and she agreed.  My favorite Vietnames restaurant survived most of the pandemic then closed as other business were opening.  Disappointing.  I had to find another. I had eaten in this restaurant years ago and it was as good as I remember.  

The pelicans were at Heritage Hills Wetlands this week but due to a situation on the trail my attention was diverted for a time.  While lending a helping hand to a senior on the trail time passed so by the time I had a camera in my hand again, they were at the far end of the pond.

I decided it was too hot and I had been out too long in the heat to pursue them any further.  I was told they had been around for a couple weeks already so I will find them again on another day.

It was exciting to see them even at a distance.

A few other things I found at the wetlands.  A Mourning Cloak butterfly, a Ruddy Duck with it's blue bill and of course Poplar Fuzz.

A good week!