National Hot Tea Month - 2022

January is National Hot Tea Month.

I enjoy hot tea every day.  This morning it was Earl Grey Decaf with a bit of honey.   

It was part of my breakfast in front of the dining room window so I can see outside while I eat.  It's the back alley so it's not great but better than the side of another building.  Maybe the view will change this year.

I served it in my Steeped Tea large clear glass tea cup.  I love big mugs/cups.

I hope you are enjoying a cup of your favorite tea.

Breakfast was three gluten free pancakes made with 1 to 1 flour and some wheat bran for fiber.

Topped with home made chokecherry syrup which I made this summer.  A bit of cream to make it delicious.

Tea served in my golden yellow tea pot sitting on the sunflower hot spot my niece made for me a few years ago.

I had one with maple syrup as well. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was up early after the rain the day before and captured these bright chrysanthemums.  I loved the beautiful rain drops on these yellow petals.

They are bunched together in a pot and I managed to find a good angle on this particular one.

Chrysanthemums are wonderful fall flowers.

We really needed the two days of rain and the roads had puddles.

I found robins having fun splish and splashing in the puddles.

McSweeney's began in 1998 as a literary journal, edited by Dave Eggers, that published only works rejected from other magazines. But after the first issue, the journal began to publish pieces written with McSweeney's in mind. Soon after, McSweeney's attracted works from some of the finest writers in the country, including David Foster Wallace, Ann Cummins, William T. Vollmann, and many new talents.

Today, McSweeney's has grown to be one of the country's best and largest-circulation literary journals. The journal is committed to finding new voices, publishing work of gifted but underappreciated writers, and pushing the literary form forward at all times.

McSweeney's publishes on a roughly quarterly schedule, and each issue is markedly different from its predecessors in terms of design and editorial focus.

Issue 15 is also known as the "Icelandic Issue." Printed in Iceland, half of the stories are written by actual Icelandic writers.

I found many of the stories out there.  Love the book art.

I placed in second place in the photography category in the Allied Arts Council Open Art Competition. Check on line shows here.

This shot was taken for the Flickr Weekly Theme Challenge of "centered".

I stacked my vintage White Regency by Myott Meakin dinnerware.  They were placed on a black granite 12x12 inch tile and lit from directly above.

I had to take the shot from direct above as well so placing my tripod and camera was challenging.

I just love the swirls in these plates, saucers and tea cup.

Very happy with this shot and the win.

Today, was the last day of advanced polls. I took advantage of the advanced polls and got my walk in at the same time in the middle of the afternoon.

There was hand sanitizer, plexiglass barriers between me and the check in persons, and there was no one in line.  It took about 3 minutes.  Love it!

It's good to live in a democratic country where I can exercise my right to vote for the leaders of our country.

I found this fox tail on my early morning walk this week.  

I love how the seed head is highlighted against the out of focus background.

The sun was offering wonderful light for this great shot.

This was my nieces birthday cake made by my sister. 

She had a jelly roll cake with oat flour which makes it gluten free.  

The frosting was spectacular.  It is a whipped cream cheese and cream icing topped with coconut.

It draped so beautifully over the layered cake.  The jelly roll layers had vanilla pudding between the layers.  

It is a very versatile dessert because the flavor between the layers could be fruit, chocolate, jam, or jelly.   The coconut could be sprinkles, silver balls, or chocolate curls. 

I made gluten free pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning.  First, Evans cherries, second fresh peaches and the last good old Canadian Maple Syrup.

They were yummy!

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was "smell".  Food, perfume, and nature provide so many options for this challenge.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) for the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #147

and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #304

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park this week yielded more flower photos than I anticipated.

Here, I have captured one of the several colors of Pasque Flowers - Prairie Crocus blooming in the gardens.

They come in blues, purples, red, and white.  

Beautiful flowers!

During a trip to the country this week I also found a Greek Basil plant.  I have tried growing a plant since early March with no success.  I hope to be able to keep this one alive and harvest its leaves for cooking. It smells so good. I have it under my grow light for 8 hours a day.

My sister had an extra Greek Oregano plant so I asked for one of those. 

I have started using this gluten free flour for my pancakes, sauces, and other miscellaneous uses. 

After a much needed grocery shopping trip I made myself a trio of pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Served with a variety toppings with cream. 

Fruit syrup, fresh fruit and yummy chocolate hazelnut spread.

 

I use a book to keep organized and on track for my days out of the house.  I have been doing that for years.  I have always had coiled books which forces me into a chronological order.  I saw this small binder at the dollar store and decided to give it a try. 

 

 

 

 With 5 dividers I can organize the information. The pink for the trip checklist, the green for shopping list, the purple for the address I use often but don't know by heart.  That leaves a couple tabs for expansion as needed.

There is a space to store my store coupons, take out coupons and whatever else bits of paper I need.

It has a slot in the front for a business card.  I have a hole punch th right size to punch my own sheets once I have used the ones that came with it.

The elastic keeps everything well contained within the covers.

A convenient place for a pen.

It lives in this bag I made a while back.  Feel good about this project.

Look at the cutie I found recently.  This is a bunny which comes from some domestic rabbits that were released from their hutches years ago.

We have hares in our province but not wild rabbits. You can tell it is a rabbit by the dark eye, the shorter ears and smaller size.

Very cute.  I will visit regularly to track the progress of the family as the young ones grow up.

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday this week is Buttons.  There is potential for a variety of  buttons from the sewing kind to the ones on electronic or mechanical devices.  This shot is the snap fastener on my rain jacket.  You can check out my Flickr Photo Stream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted this week. 

I am joining the Mosaic Monday #132 hosted my Angie and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #290.   Have a great week!

Friday's Hunt 1.20

I took these shots for the challenge of Friday's Hunt.

The prompts are:
Starts with T
Favorite
Evening

This is a plate of Three potato pancakes for lunch.  I added a dab of sour cream on each pancake topped with a bit of cilantro.  A side of kimchi for a bit of great flavor.

My favorite is a blue iris blooming in one of the flower beds on my walk this morning.  Love the yellow in the centre and the fuzzy on the petal on the right.

The lamp post outside whose lights are on once the sun has set.   I guess there is a trio of lights in this photo as well.

Submitting to Friday's Hunt 1.20 hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.