Sylvia's Simple Shots

I caught this sunrise shot on Saturday.  It was the first time in a long time that I was up at 7:00 am and on the road for photography instead of being there for my Mom.

I did not make it to the lake before the sun was where I wanted so I just stopped along the way and took a few shots.

It was too bad I got the power lines but it could not be helped.

Grateful to have captured it in all it's wonder.  It was gorgeous.

I watched a bit of the ceremony and remembrance of this fabulous lady on TV yesterday.

I will assume that she was happy doing what she did as she lived to 96. 

She was a rock, steady and sure, and beloved by her subjects.

She will be greatly missed.

I finished this book this week.  The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck.  I always love a New York story.

Five strangers are brought together by invitation to a small library.  Jett the professor, Lexa the executive assistant, Ed the eldest at 85 trying to write a love story, Chuck the Uber driver and Dad of twins, and Coral the leader of a cosmetics company.

All of these people may look like they have it all but friendship is missing in their lives.

I love how they decide to put food into the equation even before they are sure they will continue this Monday meeting. Food is such a unifying thing.  Disarming and communal.

When they meet together they can perspectives that each one could not see on their own.  Each brings expertise and ideas which the others need.

I loved the book.

My favorite kettle is kaput! The first sign was the enamel chipping by the handle which started this summer. Then this week I found the whistle blown apart and broken.  Well that wont' do.  I used the kettle every day.

 It was the perfect kettle.  The color was exactly the right shade of yellow for my yellow and blue kitchen. I bought it with my first pay cheque when I started a new job in 2004. It was the right size and filled my yellow tea pot just right. I can't complain as it served me well for 18 years! 

Of course as trends dictate yellow kettles are not the rage these days. 

Now retired, the funds are not as plentiful as when I had a job.  As it happens, I had spied a kettle on Friday which was nice but the urgent need had not appeared yet.

On Saturday, when the whistle was broken I went back to the thrift shop with hopes that the black one was still there.

Understand black is not my first choice but when I researched this Paderno whistle kettle it sells for $100. They wanted less than $20. It was grubby but was in near pristine condition and likely has seen very little use.

I brought it home gave it a very good scrubbing inside and out, rinsed the inside with vinegar to get it back to shiny!

It is larger than the yellow one so needs to be placed on the front burner and cannot be filled so full. It pours beautifully and the whistle stays on the kettle which is a good thing.

I should not be acquiring things while my pretty stuff packed but I could not resist these 3 stainless steel bird place card holders.  They are very heavy were a good price at the thrift store on Friday.  

Their beaks have a slit which holds the card standing as shown in this picture.  I did find them on line and they are not very valuable new.

They will come in handy I am sure for Macro Monday photography for sure.

Speaking of Flickr Macro Mondays the theme this week was Sharp. The definition that the object can pierce or cut something. 

Here is a shot of a large safety pin.  I tried several creative shots but was not able to get the point and the head in the same shot cohesively.

You can check out my Flickr photo stream (SMDPics) for the shot I did submit.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #190 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #355

Have a great week.

Sylvia`s Simple Shots

The weather man, the calendar and the leaves outside say that fall is here.

I went for a walk with my aunt yesterday and captured the colors.  Here we mostly have yellow leaves with very few red ones.

The temperature was in around 20C so that is summer temperatures so a vest and long sleeved shirt was enough for the afternoon walk.

Of course, it is cooler in the mornings now and I am choosing to walk later in the day most days.

Someone pointed out on Instagram (@smdpics100) that there are no bugs so that is a bonus.

I took a trip to the country last week which included a scouting trip for craft supplies (more about that later) and to visit family.

I came home with a bag of frozen raspberries which were quite unthawed when I arrived home.

I had planned a recipe of Raspberry Bavarian so early this week I made it up.  I like this dessert with chocolate wafers.

Last Christmas, in the height of pandemic I was not going out to buy them so I found a Chocolate Wafers recipe on line.  This way I can also control the sugar in the recipe.

Yummy!

It's time to do the running shoe shuffle.

The runners I have been wearing outside for the last couple of years have to go.

That means my indoor exercise runners will be demoted to outside runner duty.

That meant I needed a new pair of inside exercise shoes.

I am happy with these Nikes.

I will soon start up doing my exercises inside again as the weather becomes cold and then snowy later on.

I picked up this book at the large garage sale I attended with my sister and niece a few weeks ago.

I did not realize that it was part of a series but "The Waterfire Saga" was a clue if I had paid attention.  At least it is the first book.

It is a fantasy type story which takes place with mermaids under the sea.  

They have all the same trials with family, politics, love and friendships as we do.

The main character is Serafina of the princess of the Mediterranean Sea.  She has a dream that is foreboding of an evil possibly being released on the globe to reek havoc.

When the palace is attacked and she escaped with her cousin they are launched into a pilgrimage to prevent the release of this evil.

During my visit to the country I was on the search for small branches to create my new Christmas Tree.

You can check out this January post when I came up with the concept.

I have purchased faceted beads, borrowed some nylon cording which will form part of the project.  I have the hooks already.

It involves a drill to put holes in the ends and I have to come up with a plan for the star at the top and the trunk at the bottom.

I also have to find a hook which will extend from the wall a bit to allow space for some of my dimensional ornaments to hang.

I'm not sure how long it will take for me to complete it but I will post my results when it is ready to hang.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays today is "Knots".   To the left are a three of the shots I took for the challenge.  

You can check my Photostream (smdpics) to see the one I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #149  and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens # 306. 

Have a great week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I saw Crocuses on my walk this morning.  Nature is saying it is spring time.  I am so glad we did not get the snow that some of the province got yesterday.

I finished this book on Sunday.

A book filled with mysteries years old.

Based in London in 1970's it features a new crime solving unit (Peculiar Crimes Unit) who use non traditional methods to solve crimes.  Detectives John May and Arthur Bryant in third book pursue a murderer with no very little hard evidence to go by.  People are dying every day, its Christmas time and the clues seem to lead in a very unusual conclusion.  

Eventually the method in the madness is revealed and the murders are solved but a family has lost quite a few members.   I enjoyed the book! 

Since the renovations in 2019 I have been on the search for new shades for the lights in the front hall.  Of course, the pandemic has curtailed to a large degree my discretionary shopping.  When my sister called to say could we have a visit outside and they were headed to ReStore I said sure! 

I found shades for the front hall for a very small sum!  The store was not busy and social distancing was maintained.

 

I found ceramic tiles for the base of my photo studio as well. I bought two 12x24 tiles with some texture and a matte finish.  Because of the pattern and the square edges when put together you cannot see the join of the tiles!

The color is neutral and the pattern subtle enough to provide a seamless surface for my photography. The size is manageable weight wise.  I had looked at 24x24 tiles earlier this year but moving one very large tile was not a good idea.

Again, the price was very good!

This my second go round trying to get a basil plant growing.  The other just died.

I see that I have second leaves on this one despite the fact that it has a very short stock. 

I am paying attention to water more this time.  The grow bulb is on very day for 8 hours.

I am hopeful that there may be basil in my cooking this summer.

 

A spring mosaic featuring icy puddles in the morning, my first American Robin of the year and some crocus blooms.

 

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was Circles.  This shot on the right is a few small clear plastic containers backlit with purple and pink gels on my lights.  You can check my photo stream (SMDPics)  to see the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #127 and
Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #285

Have a great week!

Recent Photos

This is my entry into Macro Monday Challenge "Hole(s) on Flickr this week.  Very good response to this one.

This is 16mm film which I picked up at the ReUse Center.  I chose a length of the film which did not contain any recognizable images.

I had picked up the rolls of film thinking I would put them onto cards but that did not happen. 

The letters on the film are super tiny and I managed to get them in focus next to the hole I was aiming for.

I made a bag for my walks this summer.  This is aimed to carry what I may need in an emergency. 

I was using this project to try out the method of putting a zipper into a bag.  After digging into my box of zippers I chose this light blue one. 

This is left over fabric from a shirt apron.  The method is putting the zipper in between pieces of fabric.  I cut 2 pieces of fabric and sewed one on each of the tabs of zipper then top stitched the fabric down very close to the edge.   I wanted tabs to allow me to easily open the zipper so I took some grosgrain ribbon from the shirt and placed 2 tabs in the side seams next to the zipper.  Once the side seams were done I turned the bag inside out.  I placed a top stitch seam all the way around the edge. 

With not enough fabric from the shirt to make a strap I dug through my stash of grosgrain ribbon and chose a deep purple one.  I cut a length and knotted it on each side.
 

The main character of this book is Katie Byrne a young girl of seventeen that suffers tragedy in a small town in Connecticut which stunts her acting ambitions in New York.

Years later, living in London England surrounded by several strong women mentors she faces the tragedy and things turn around for her.  

I loved the parts of the story set in England.  Her relationship with her family were very heart warming.





















I worked on a couple more frame bags to protect my framed photographs during transport.  It ensures no dings to frames, no scratches and protects the glass when they are placed facing to the fleece divider.

I needed larger bags with my recent purchase of 15.25 inch frames.

The use of fleece as the divider in center worked really well. 

The fabric is cotton polyester so it will wear well for a long time. Super happy with these.  These are the ones I made last year.

2018 Open Photography Competition & Show

Here are the photos I submitted to the 2018 Open Photography Competition of the Allied Arts Council hung at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery.

Spring on Rose Glow
17x17 inch frame
12x12 inch Color photo

This was taken in spring as the beautiful burgundy leaves were emerging from this very grey wooden branch.  The bush is the a variety of the Japanese Barberry called Rose Glow. 

The feedback I received on this photo was

• nice use of depth of field
• great composition - use of rule of thirds
• the highlight on the leaf to the right of the center of the flower is a bit distracting

This was a composition and photo I had taken for Macro Mondays.  I just created a pleasing composition with the shapes of the objects. I had no idea how these chess pieces relate on the game board.  My grand nephew educated me a bit last summer.  The short one in the front is the Pawn, the next one is the Knight and the tallest is the Queen. It would have helped to have them sitting on chess board.  I know better now.

Small to Tall
14x14 in frame
8x8 inch B&W photo

The original was shot in color as the pieces are beautiful maple hard wood pieces.

I converted it to black and white for this show.

This is a Rose taken at the Muttart Conservatory for another Macro Monday challenge.

It was just so well lit when I shot this flower. 

Sunlight on Rose
14x14 inch frame
8x8 inch Color photo

I loved how the dark mats and the dark background in the photo really work to make the rose the centre of attention and focus.

This photo has been gifted to the Compassion House for an auction.  I thought the pink rose for cancer fundraising quite appropriate.

Mosaic Monday - This Week

I received this wonderful fused glass tea bag catcher from my sister who attended a youth event this summer and needed a couple of emergency contacts.  I served as number 2.

Does she know me well?  Glass, yellow and tea related.  Does not get better than that.  These were being sold at the event and was produced by Mad About Glass.  I love it!!

Thanks so much.


This photo was one of the several I took for the challenge on Flickr this week which was In The Mirror.  We needed to take a macro close up shot of an object.  It would be best if we did not see the edges of the mirror.  I took a shot of a dried rose in a small crystal vase.  I placed a few glass marbles in the vase to hide the stem.  I love how it turned out.
You can see my shots by following this link. SMDPics

A visit to my aunt's house on Saturday showed this type of industriousness going on.  Dill pickles and peaches were on the agenda for preserves that day.  Her daughter and husband were up and the kitchen was a hopping place.

My kitchen saw some activity as well Friday night when I cored and quarters the rest of the apples from my Mom's.  The flies were starting to flit about and it as time the apples were processed.  I managed 4 containers of apple sauce for chocolate bran muffins which get made at my house every week.  So I use about 50 containers of apple sauce a year and at this time of year apples are being offered for free by several folks with trees.

I found this set of dinnerware at the thrift store last week for $3.  I could not leave it there.
It is Country Side by Wedgewood in blue.  The tea cup saucer is missing so I have substituted another for this photo.  I'm sure with a bit of attention on-line I may be able to acquire a replacement.


Submitting to Mosaic Monday #5 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.