Sylvia' Simple Shots

I visited the new show in the feature pyramid at the Muttart Conservatory - Orchids through Time.

A misty humid atmosphere to ensure the health of the beautiful orchids in the show.

Orchids come in many colors and shapes. 

The pond was looking really good with the mist covering the surface and water droplets being generated.

The Koi fish were very happy in their pond.

The central flower is Common Spiderwort which was in one of other pyramids.

Things were quiet, peaceful, and very enjoyable.

Another World War II novel - Beneath a Starless Sky by Tessa Harris.

Lilli Sternberg is involved with the local theatre in Munich in 1930.  She is a dancer which makes her very happy.  She meets a young man Captain Marco Zeiller who admires her and she develops feeling for him also. 

As the years approach the start of the war slowly Jewish citizens are feeling the pressure.  Their rights are slow taken away.  Lilli flees Germany to America when the opportunity presents itself.

Her family is determined to hold their ground in their homeland. Her attempts fail to have her family go to Switzerland.  She flees Germany again and is able to connect with Marco at the last minute and they head to America.

The story has a wonderful ending where father and daughter meet.

One sister was visiting another this week to pick low bush cranberries. 

On their way through I connected with them for a Wendy's lunch.

My farmer sister had sent a box of goodies.

These beautiful sunflowers were in the box.  Three wonderful flowers that I immediately added to the vase which still held flowers from my other sister's garden.

I have been blessed by the generosity of those who have gardens and flower beds.

The box also held fresh picked corn, purple and white potatoes, carrots and cucumbers.

There is nothing like garden produce.

I ate the cucumbers first as they will not last as long as the other stuff.

The corn was enjoyed with butter.

I have sliced the potatoes with my guillotine slicer, microwaved them for a bit then finalized the cooking in the cast iron fry pan with onions and mushrooms.

Garden fresh carrots are best eaten raw.

It's been a quiet and somewhat solitary summer due to several situations beyond my control.

I have enjoyed my sewing machine and worked on several projects.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Black Capped Chickadees were having breakfast the other morning in the small sunflowers at the park. These small sunflower seed heads are the perfect size of Chickadees.

I bet they would like to squirrel away supplies for the winter when they are so plentiful.

The squirrel tried to get to the sunflower seeds but the stalks were not strong enough to hold him up.

 

This book is the one I finished this week.   It features many lost classics as recommended by authors who share their stories about the book that got away, lost, or otherwise has not seen a lot of reads.

It's Concord Grape time!  I look forward to these showing up in the grocery stores.  It is something I usually share with my sister.  Not sure it will happen this year.  I think we had them as kids because if the price was good Mom would buy some.  

I decided to make small cloths to disinfect my camera everyday when I return from my morning walk.

The risk is small because no one touches my camera but I may touch a rail or something else that could be contaminated.

I thought Rubbing alcohol would be the most effective cleaner but it can be a bit hard on the rubber parts of the camera.   The easiest is simple soap and water on a cloth.  

I bought a microfiber cloth which I sewed the edges and cut into 16 four inch cloths.  These will be used once and then laundered just like my masks and gloves.

Bleach solution is effective as well and will likely be used for door knobs, etc.  I had been using cleaning wipes but they are not all made the same.  They need alcohol or bleach to be effective for the corona virus.  I have yet to find a bottle to store the cleaner as you need a soft plastic bottle.  I have not had any success storing bleach solution in a spray bottle cause it just corrodes the metal parts in the spray mechanism.

I made a trade with my aunt this week.  She asked did I want a denim cushion cover?  I initially said no but reconsidered.

Of course, it needed to have sunflowers.  She has an embroidery machine which does creates these beautiful designs.  The original design has quite a bit of brown but I ask that she replace it would green.

It fit the cushion on the sofa perfectly because I had measured ahead of time.

I gave a about an inch of solid card stock. She did not want brights so I gave her jeweled tones, neutrals, and a few metallic.

So happy to have some of the card stock walk away.

I created a mosaic featuring Alium seed pods with a Scarlet Flax in the center.  The third one is the seed pod of the Chinese Globe Flower. I photographed them last year but I did not have any idea what the flower was.  I paid attention this year to see what the bloom looked like!  Last year I thought it was a Hellebore.  But now that I know what it is it is still not possible to find a photo on line of the flower's seed pod.

The Flicker Macro Monday challenge this week is the Dutch Tilt but in macro form.  This is a technique where you tilt the camera to create tension when viewing  the photo because we like this to stay on the horizontal. You can check out my Flicker Photostream (smpics) to see what I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #97 and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #258.

Welcome to my Kitchen - February

We had a great morning with ladies from the Welcome to my Kitchen fellowship group.  It's been a while because we did not meet in December and January was cancelled due to very cold temperatures.

We had 14 ladies attend, a new hostess, wonderful food, great catching up time and prayer time.

We had praise reports and many in need of support and prayer.

Devotions reminded us that God is Always with Us.  He does not forsake us.

Our hostess makes the best tea biscuits!

Tea with a Friend - Yellow and Blue

I had tea with another friend today.  It's been a couple of months since we talked.  We had a lovely visit and caught up on our lives.

I set the table with the navy tablecloth topped with the white lace one.  I chose my sunshine yellow Libbey Tableware plates.  These were one of the first plates I bought just because I loved them. 
I chose some simple clear glass water glasses and 365+ Cobalt Blue porcelain mugs. 

I coordinated the place settings with the matching 365+ Cobalt Blue teapot by IKEA. 

We had Bengal Spice by Celestial Seasonings which is quickly becoming a favorite for non caffeinated tea. 

I added my vase of sunflowers to the table in hopes of cheering up the space a little despite the snow outside. 

The glass fruit as still working for me so this dish may last a while.

We had apple crisp for a snack.

I am sharing with the following:

Ruth at Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 

Share Your Cup #194

I found this Buddha Board at the thrift store and for a few bucks I brought it home.  I have admired them many times in stores but the price was too high to bring one home.
The Buddha Board concept is to paint something on the board with water and the brush. As the water dries it slowly disappears.  It's a Zen type practice to live in the moment. 

The photo on the right are Ibis metal structures in a front yard on my walk this week. 




Here's a door knob again on one of my walks this week.  A great blue door with plate behind the knob with an Asian feel.











This hare was sunning it's self next to a cement wall near a construction site, hence the bright blue fencing in the photo.  He did not move so I was able to get a great shot of him eyeing me closely.

The berry bushes are in bloom.  I'm not sure what type of bush this is but the flowers were many and wonderful to see.  There seems to be an Asian theme going on there.

This is fabric I bought at the Fabric Frenzy recently which will become a navy table cloth with a sunflower table runner.  I'll put pictures up of the finished project in a future post.

The sale was organized by local grandmothers to support grandmothers in Africa.  You can read more about their mission here.

Sharing at Art and Sand hosted by Carol.

Macro - Sunflower

I took more photos at the Community Garden today.  Things are winding down, vegetables are ready to be picked, pumpkins were orange, peppers were red and leaves and stocks whithered.
Sunflowers are my favorites and there were several.

Submitting to the following sites:
Macro Monday 2 
I Heart Macro

Watercolor Images

I made these cards for my card exchange group.

I started with Adorn It - Art Play Paintables - Be Awesome by Lindsay Ostrom.  This is sold in a 12x12 page with 12 images. These are images printed on watercolor paper and ready to be painted. I used a water brush and pan watercolor to add some color to these images.  I chose to leave the girls face white because I thought I would screw up a flesh color. Sunflower are my favorites. Once painted I let them dry then pressed them flat.  I chose a blue card for the first one to match with the bee wings and trails.  I added a layer of vellum to the card front then I added the green polka dot designer paper.  I mounted the watercolor piece with 3D foam tape.  On the right card I omitted the vellum and cut the designer paper into a strip and triangles and adhered them as shown.  The watercolor piece is mounted with 3D foam tape.

Card - Sunflowers are Yellow Flowers

The home page challenge on CST is yellow flowers.  Sunflowers are my favorite and I have not used this die in a long time.

I cut the Sunflower die by Spellbinder twice, once in gold yellow and another in a deeper yellow.  I found some navy blue gingham checkered designer paper which worked.  I matched the color of the card to one of the sunflowers.  I added a piece of yellow grosgrain ribbon across the designer paper below the flower. Taped it to the back then adhered it to the card front.  I added 3 small navy buttons held in place with Zots.  Punched a navy Stampin Up Scallop Circle then added a navy blue printed 1.25" circle greeting in the centre. 

Mosaic Monday - Sunflowers

I'm hoping these sunny flowers will inspire the weather to get warmer. We had a really nice day on Saturday and I spent it with my sisters and niece. It was a very good day.

Sunflowers are my favorite flower so I always have a good number of shots.  I love the variety of colors which come with these flowers. Yellow to deep oranges can be found. Bees love them as I see 2 of my shots include them gathering nectar.


I'm submitting this to Mosaic Monday at Lavendar Cottage hosted by Judith.

June Photo a Day Challenge - Week 4

Here's another week's worth of pictures for Kati's June Photo a Day Challenge. We could post every day or once a week.

Day 22 - Green

I thought I would put a twist to my green photo and chose a golf green.  I was not sure if I could close enough with out getting beaned in the head with a ball but I just had to try.  It worked and there was no one around.

Day 23 - Pair

I found this pair of chairs at the Ellis Bird Farm on the weekend. They were located at the Wetland Center on the farm and the white and navy blue were perfect for the water focus of this area. They matched the trim on the building perfectly. Looks inviting!

Day 24 - Hot

This is a cup of hot tea!  I chose a different angle for this shot. I shot it from the absolute top which shows the doily encircling the cup. I'm happy with it.  

Day 25 - Cold

This is a cold lemonade drink we had at lunch today at the downtown square.  I love the idea of putting an actual lemon in the glass. It was full of ice cubes which put condensation on the outside of the glass. 

Day 26 - Thermometer

I chose an outdoor thermometer with a digital display.  It was a really nice day with a bit of a wind to cool me off a bit. The display rotates with the time so I had to wait for the temperature and ends up with several shots to get it right.

Day 27 - Fruit

I chose rhubarb as the fruit.  My sister gave me some on the weekend and I'm chopping it up and cooking it up to eat with yogurt.

Day 28 - Yellow

You will know that yellow is one of my favorite colors from my earlier post.  It has to be a golden warm yellow not the clear green kind.  My favorite flowers are sunflowers which are yellow.  I placed them in a nice yellow vase. I glad the shot work out so well.

Card Club - October - Sunflower

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers and with these colors was a good choice for a fall card.  Yes, it's still fall as no snow is currently on the ground.  I cut the sunflower in 2 colors of yellow scrapbook paper with the SB Sunflower die.  I selected a piece of DP for the background.  I punched a SU scallop circle in dark brown and added a color printed greeting in the centre. The scallop is adhered with 3D foam tape.  I added a apricot colored twill tape ribbon below the flower around the DP background.  I made these kits with 2 different DP backgrounds and adjusted the colors of the ribbon and card accordingly.  

Card - CST Challenge #16 - Summer Inspired

Sunflowers are my favorite and a great summer flower. I started with a photo of a sunflower I took at Muttart Conservatory on Friday. I printed it and cut it out with my Nestabilities circles, then cut a yellow circle a bit larger and then a corresponding circle scallop in brown. I placed this central element on a ginger colored card. I found some fiber in my bucket which matched. I have notched both sides of the card edges to accommodate the chunky fiber tied around the front of the card. I add a sentiment stamped on a SU word window punchie in Chocolate Chip ink. Held in place with a bit of adhesive and a tiny copper brad. I added the copper butterfly cut with my Spellbinder die. I added a bit of dark brown to the body. Rubbed my ink pad along the edges of the card.

Card - Embossed Sunflowers

I love sunflowers which would explain why I had 2 of the same card in my bucket of cards I've received over the years.

I was inspired by a card I received in my exchange group. Here's the card Therese sent. I decided to use my Cuttlebug Oval frame embossing folder. I cut my recycled commercial card to just smaller than the card front. Placed it in the embossing folder and as the folder is translucent you can see where the main image will fall and adjust accordingly. Ran the sandwich through the Big Kick. While the card is still on the embossing folder use sand paper to rub the high parts removing the color leaving the white card color. Then, I found a complimentary card in a blue green color. I added a yellow gross grain ribbon across then glued it to the card. I added a Spellbinder embossed butterfly and a muted orange color. I added a head and body with a black marker.

This is a great technique. Check out your stack of embossing folders and received cards you are willing to part with and have a try at this! Works great.

Card - Sunflower

I love sunflowers! I chose a royal blue card. I created the flower with Spellbinder's thin dies. I cut 2 yellow flowers, one dark brown center and one leaf. I chalked the petals and the leaf. I layered the 2 yellow petals over one another offsetting them to create a full flower. The center gets cut out on the yellow so I had to put it back in and tape the petal layers together. I selected a Cuttlebug large dot embossing folder for the white background and used it on the center as well. I mounted the brown center with a 3D Zot which gives a bit of dimension. The flower is a great size for this A2 card.

I'm going to try doing it in red to see if it will pass for a poinsettia. Keep an eye out it!

Scrapbooking Retreat - Sunflowers

I attended a Scrapbooking Retreat this past weekend. There were 2 dozen of us, some who were just starting, some who were scrap-booking digitally on their laptops and the rest of us trying to crank out a good number of pages. 26 hours of time! I managed 16 pages with a bit of journalling to do when I got home. I was very happy with that. This is the first retreat I paid to attend. The food was good and we just went home to catch a few ZZs. The make & takes included full two pages spreads and some elements. We each received a bag of goodies as well. This is one of the pages I completed. I did not complete all the pages I had prepared so I'm ahead for the next time.