Sylvia's Simple Shots

It rained over night so all was wet and dewy this morning on my walk.  I headed to the park and community garden.

I found wet chrysanthemums in this gorgeous shade of purple.

I needed a jacket this morning which I have not worn since May.  The times they are a changing.

I found ducks on the pond at the park.  Mostly Mallards but there was this one that was different.

It is a Greater Scaup female.   I did not see the flashier male version this morning.

A large duck comparable in size to the Mallard.

The smooth head is a characteristic that identifies this one as a Greater than a Lesser Scaup.

Nice find this morning.

The leaves are turning color! This is a Virginia Creeper vine on one of the apartment building on my walk.

It is a perennial vine that stages stunning fall color. Blue fruit adorns the vine in fall.

Some leaves have not decided to change yet so it was nice to see both colors in this vine.

Come Thirsty by Max Lucado.  

Physical thirst is familiar to all of us.  A tall glass of water works wonders to help with the need.

Spiritual thirst is also a life threatening condition. It comes with a quick temper, worry, guilt and fear, hopelessness, resentment, loneliness, insecurity and isolation.

God provides refreshment for dehydrated hearts. Come to the WELL and take a deep drink.

Our spiritual lives need tending just as our physical bodies.  We need to spend time being quiet, hearing the small voice, processing our days, reflecting on our experiences and doing self awareness work.

Great book!

I have been truly blessed this summer and fall to be gifted good food.

This is apples I received from my aunt who picked them at her grandson's acreage.

Beautiful red apples with a red tinged flesh on the inside.  

Here, my snack is a wedge of Brie cheese with a beautiful red apple.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.