Sylvia' Simple Shots

One of my sister's cooked turkey for supper and I was invited to join in. 

I brought buns from COBS which was a hit. 

I had the company of my sister, brother and a couple of cousins. We caught up on news and talked about our lives and current projects.

The weather was good and the roads excellent.  I came early in the afternoon so I could head home after supper.

It was dark but that was okay.

The next day holiday Monday - Family the snow came down and the wind blew!

The snow was drifted right up the the patio door.

And the temperatures were nearing -20C.

It snowed again all day Tuesday which meant I cancelled my trip into the city to visit the bank.

The snow banks from December had disappeared and now have reappeared.

While the snow fell, I started reading the trilogy of the Fionavar Tapestry.  I read it 30 years ago and enjoying it again.

The map in the book is quite small so I searched the web for a better one.

I found this one which is great.  

I like to find myself on the map as I read the book. What is far north?  How close is the Summer Tree to the the castle?

I can refer to it regularly as the chapters move along.

I have been eating my Chia Seed Bites with Krema yogurt.

I bought the yogurt for Christmas and it was sitting in the fridge unopened.

It needs to be eaten right away so why not!

It is delicious.

It's been cold all week!

I tend to hibernate when it's this cold.

No walking outside, not much sunshine.

It is really the end of Feb so spring is coming.

We spring forward to Daylight Saving Time in a couple of weeks. March 8th

I had an appointment for blood work this week.

I had a call from my Dr. the next day.  A phone appointment has been booked for the news.

My cholesterol was elevated last year and I expect the that it will be again. What does one do?

Wait and see.

Getting the drill out and using it is getting easier.  My Dad's cordless - Thanks.

I have a power bar in the bedroom which powers the clock and the sparkly light and timer.

I am not sure how this did not become obvious till this week but I am still processing the move.

The bar had holes for it to be mounted to a wall. So I found 2 drywall screws, the drill and a screw driver and in 10 minutes job DONE!

I now have an extra outlet behind the wooden shelving unit I can use for something else.

I enjoyed turkey left overs this week as well.

My sister sent take away containers of turkey, gravy, rice stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad home with all of us.

It was delicious the second time as well.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I had planned to attend a local church service on Christmas Eve but it had snowed enough and it was cold so I decided to stay home.  I then headed to the internet to find a Christmas Eve service I could enjoy.

Conception Bay Newfoundland had a great service.  Enjoyed it immensely.  So grateful to the technology available these days.

The Huron Carol sung by Tom Jackson is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

With my plans changing for Christmas Day because my family was sick and turkey dinner was delayed I spent Christmas Day differently than usual.  That was okay with me. A chill day - yes - it was chilly -23C and snow fell.

A pristine layer of snow covered the green space beyond the patio.

The sun shone which was much appreciated.

So far, it has been a gloomy winter and I look forward to more sunny days.  Gloomy drags me down.

I had the last of this beautiful tea that my aunt gave me this summer.

Just look at that color.  Lavender Chamomile.

A chocolate bran muffin.

Turkey is planned for supper.

I worked on Mom's candelabra this week.  I want to convert to LED lights.

I did manage to get some LED bulbs at Rona but they are clear and not yellow.

I did color one yellow with Alcohol Inks by Ranger.

The bulbs are not quite the same shape so they need a bit of trimming.  

Maybe I should hold out for yellow LED which are the same shape. I expect it will happen.

I saved a piece of turkey from my sister's house so I thawed that.  

I bought brussel sprouts and microwaved them some and finished them in the cast iron fry pan.

Veggies and rice were added to the plate.  

Of course, high bush cranberry sauce (pembina) from my sister was the icing on the plate.  

I did make some gravy from my left over Better than Bouillion from house warming soup.

It was delicious.

I made Raspberry Bavarian that Mom always made for dessert.

Served with a white chocolate cookie.

A bit of dark chocolate and a warm large cup of tea finished it off.

The Skystone by Jack Whyte was the book I read this week.

It is set in 367 - 448 AD in the province the Romans called Britain.  The central figures are Roman soldiers Caius Britannicus and Publius Varrus. The Saxons (Germanic people from northern Europe) invade Britian and breach Hadrian's Wall and chaos ensues.

The story is told as a remembrance of Publius when he is very old. 

These men had served the Roman Empire in Africa in early 360s.  Now they are together again fighting the enemy.  After the injuries both men go their own ways - Plubius to the house he inherited from his grandfather who died while he was in Africa. Caius to his Colony - a fortified compound in western Britain where a new society is growing.

When things get bad, Plubius abandons his home and heads to the compound and is warmly welcomed. He meets Caius's sister Luceiia who he eventually marries. 

Plubius' father had found a stone that fell from the sky and learned to melt it and forged a sword where the metal was mixed with iron and a dagger made from the Skystone metal.  It was silver, beautiful and very hard.  Plubius is on the hunt for more Skystones to make some magnificent weapons.  In the hills near the Colony he does find the stones and works to dig them from the ground. 

In my opinion, the name of the book is not indicative of the story told. The skystones do not feature prominently in the story.  

The story of these two men is fabulous.

On the right, I have included a very interesting map of the world in this time. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It has been another busy week with travel and health appts and the storms and cold.

This is a bit of snow taken from inside through the window in the lobby.

Christmas cards have been arriving in the mail.

A bit of an icy trip into the city on Sunday to visit my old church. 

During the brunch afterwards I was able to see many of my friends and say hi!

There was sweets on for eats so I did bring home  a couple of Nanaimo bars.

I had a visit with my sister and brother and delivered caramel popcorn while I was in town.

With the weather improving on Monday I headed out to see my sister and brother in law.

They prepared Turkey Dinner for me and I brought stuff to make Raspberry Bavarian that Mom used to make. Used tapioca instead of gelatin so it was ready for supper.

A few more shots from my sister's place. She has a lot of the ornaments we have created for our family Christmas celebrations.  The angel is one I did one year.

Beautiful nativity from Germany.

A couple of Scrabble games after supper.

Turkey noodles for lunch the next day.

Driving home in the sunshine was a blessing.

In the middle of a snow storm I headed out to get vaccine shots.  I had to wait 3 weeks for the appt so I was not rescheduling.  Flu in the left and COVID in the right.  

I took Advil for 2 days for the soreness then I was good to go.

Great to have access to these.

My sister sent turkey leftovers which provided me a couple of meals.  There was one serving of turkey noodles for Tuesday night.  I have frozen one piece of turkey for later.

Thanks sis!

Spoiled is what I am.  High bush cranberry sauce that my sister gave me in the fall.  We normally pick this together but it did not happen this year.

Yummy!

A Log Cabin Christmas Collection by Wanda E. Brunstetter was light reading.

Nine love romance stories set in the pioneer west of the USA in 1800s.  Deep cold winters, warm fires, log cabins, and men and women getting together in several surprising situations.

Faith was a consistent theme through all the stories.

Short enough the read before falling asleep.

Several days of very cold days and the snow on Wednesday ensured a Christmasy feeling.

I am so glad to have seen family earlier.  Now, if I have to hunker down inside because of the cold weather it is all okay.

I decided to get the art shelf up in the front hall. 

This building seems to challenge me with electrical wires in many of the places I want to put a screw.

I did have to alter my plan some what and I had pencil marks all over the wall. I aligned the right hand edge of the shelf with the same edge on the mirror.

I hope to have a plant trail down from the shelf down to the mirror eventually.

I moved all the furniture out which gave me the chance to wash the lace cover while I worked.

The art shelf will allow me to change the art as I want with out having holes in the walls.

Unpacking paintings, photos, frames, and more which I brought home a while ago from my aunts.

I now have Mom and Dad sitting on a book shelf with the fairy light a created in their remembrance after Mom passed away in 2023.

The colors are green for Dad and blue for Mom.

Starting to feel like home.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Activity picked up a lot once I tested negative for COVID.  I confirmed my plans to host my siblings at my house on Saturday, Oct 18th.

I treated myself to a Turkey Sandwich at Tim's for Thanksgiving. I skipped the dressing on my sandwich. Picked it up in the afternoon and heated it up for supper.

It was expensive but really good.

The Canada Geese descended onto the pond this week which meant the Egret for itself another place to be.

All I see are bird butts in the air and feeding is going great guns.

With the windows open, I can hear them honking. They seem to head out towards evening.  Probably moving to harvested fields to eat some more.

I did not have enough cloth placemats for hosting my family so I decided to buy vinyl table cloth material from JYSK and cut it up to make placemats.

I had made my choice from looking on line but when I got there it was too yellow so I browsed and finally chose ALMBORG. It is embossed clear vinyl material which measures 54 inches wide and you can buy it by the meter. It has a geometric pattern.

They worked well I have 12 of them.  I cut them on my quilting mat with a quilting ruler and an Exacto knife.

I bought the MÅLERÅS picture ledge from IKEA. It is bamboo (a renewable resource).

Here I am vetting whether the color will work in the livingroom/dining room.


They will be set up aligned with the top of the bookcase in the livingroom and will go right across that wall to the far side of the dining room.


I consulted with the DIYers in the family and I will purchase metal anchors to install them. It is the wall between units so who knows where the studs are.

I used the leftover vinyl material from the placements to add privacy to my craft room. I generally leave the curtains closed since there have been times when people have walked by the window. It is at the back of the building I did not expect to have folks back here but it happens.


The vinyl is on the moving window and taped to the bottom 2/3rds so that sunshiine can get in but people cannot see in.


Really happy with this solution. The plants get some real sunshine as well.

I brought the craft table into the living room and left a walking aisle between the 2 tables. It did seperate the conversation corners but I was happy to have enough room. I am set up here for 8 but we ended up with 10 people for lunch.


I made home made chicken noodle soup. My sister brought homemade whole wheat buns, and I bought date squares and Nanaimo bars for dessert. Another sister brought Chocolate Zuchinni cake so there was plenty. There was just enough soup. I borrowed a dutch oven from my aunt since mine is still packed. Great time!

Journey of the Heart by Diann Mills was the book I finished this week. True love crosses cultural barriers in these two old west romances.


When her father dies, Katie Colter is forced to leave her home amoung the Comanches and return to live in the fort with her aunt and uncle. Her family is very kind, patient, and loving to her and she adapts to her people's ways. Long dresses, church on Sunday, bible study, military men in the community and less nature.


Lone Eagle still thinks Katie as his wife and eventually comes to get her. She goes with him to save the fort being burned to the ground. After a time, she is released after finding out interesting things about her past.

Turkey Dinner

I got my one Turkey Dinner for Christmas.

This is our seniors group at church, who served a wonderful turkey dinner.

It was wonderful to visit with friends and enjoy a great meal.

I skipped the concert afterwards because of having to walk at night.

 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

This Christmas featured 2 big events in one day.  First in the morning was the 4 Sunday of Advent.  We light the LOVE candle.  

We are so loved by God that He sent His Son for each one of us.

May we truly take that in.

I spent most of the afternoon and evening on Christmas Eve with my sister, her husband and my brother.

It was a casual affair where we browsed food - shrimp, ribs, and pyrohy like Mom used to make them.

We caught up on our lives with all the good and bad and it was lovely.

We had blueberries, honey and cream for dessert.  

I headed home about 9pm with  my heart full.

Late on Christmas Eve we lit the Christ Candle which is the middle one.

I just love the sparkle that crackle glass brings.  

Unfortunately, one of the inserts is broken and so I plan on replacing this Advent Wreath next year.

I will keep my eyes out.

I spent Christmas Day at home.

I purchased sourdough cinnamon buns from Freesons for breakfast. They were delicious.  They came highly recommended and did not disappoint.  

Turkey with all the trimmings was on the menu for supper. 

This was the first Christmas without either Mom & Dad.  I missed them a lot.

I headed to my sister's and brother-in-law's on December 28th to have turkey with them.

It was a good drive with good temps, little traffic and a pleasure.

I decided that I would stop and visit a thrift store to get soup bowls to match my white dishes but they were closed till Jan 2nd.

This is how much snow was on the ground for Christmas this year.  Not a lot at all.

The deer came to visit in their neighborhood and I got a decent shot.

They always have a natural tree.  It is covered with personal ornaments each with it's special memory.  I don't think there was a commercial bauble of any type.

The Nativity under the tree with a stable of olive wood made in Germany and the Avon white pieces of the holy family and the additional members of that night.

I did not remember that we have the same Avon white set.  Mine has few pieces.

The birthday party was great.  

This is one of the gifts received.  A vintage Fisher Price tool bench with all the accessories.

A bench press, a drill, a hammer, wood that cuts on the table saw.

All in working order after 20 years in service.

It will be enjoyed for a few more years.

I rode with my sister and brother in law which was appreciated.

It's great to have like minded family that value something vintage and would prefer those to consuming something new and not as well made.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a walk around the lake with my sister before lunch.  This is a female Bufflehead. It is a duck.

It was a beautiful day.

I had started out early in the morning so I had skipped my morning exercises so it was good to have a bit of blood flowing before sitting for another couple of hours.

I travelled south with my sister and brother-in-law to spend Thanksgiving day with my nephew and his family. This is their first Canadian Thanksgiving as they have been living in China for the last few years.

The buns on this plate were made by my nephew and I have to say that when we walked in and smelled bread I was so reminded of walking into my Mom's house.  He had inherited her way with bread.  It is just delicious.

This is Turkey Dinner my sister prepared for me as a take home meal when we got back from down south.

It was nice to have a meal ready after all the driving.  I was lucky that my brother in law did half of it.

We did have a short visit with my niece/goddaugther. She was swamped on the weekend so she did not join us on Monday for turkey dinner.

Where the Wind Blows - Caroline Fyffe was a nice light read.  After a weekend of travelling it was nice to just dive into a good book for a while.  I just read it almost in about 3 sessions.  A good cup of tea or 2 or three. 

Set in Wyoming in the horse and buggy days.  Chase Logan has come to deliver news to Jessie Strong that her husband is dead.  Jessie has been living at the homestead alone for months as her husband was working further west.  Jessie was raised in an orphanage where she met a tiny little girl named Sarah.  She has arranged to adopt Sarah who arrives 1 day after Chase brought the tragic news. She knew they would not allow her to adopt if she was not married.  She asks Chase to pretend to be her husband to allow the adoption.  As it is they have brought along a 13 year old boy, Gabe,  they would like for her to take on as well.

Things go from pretending to maybe there is something between them, to a neighbor finding out that Chase has been living at the homestead and insists that a wedding take place. 

Chase decides to take his "family" back to his property in Logan Meadows. He has wired his friend to make the shack ready for when they will arrive. Then there is a 2 week journey in late fall with snow on the ground. Chase, Jessie, little Sarah, Gabe and his friend Jake who was looking for an adventure.  They arrive to find a pleasant surprise and land and accommodations.  Great book!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

Thanks to my sister who has a bird feeder outside her living room window I got the woodpecker and the chickadee.  The house finch was found on my walk outside in the river valley.  

I am so happy to be walking outside again.  The legs are strong and spring is here.

I finished this book a early this week - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce.  It is a companion and followup to her other book. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  Queenie is in a hospice facing the end of her life on earth and Harold's letters and postcards start arriving.  Once the cat is out of the bag, everyone in the building is taking an interest.

She has support from her fellow residents and the staff also take in interest.

It's been 3 years since I read the Harold book so some of the details are a little fuzzy.  Would have been nice to have it to refer to but these days I read books and pass them onto the little library.  I don't hold onto them anymore.  It's okay.

Would recommend both of these books.  The author has a few more so I will keep an eye out for those.

The sutures from my tooth extraction came out on Thursday! I was so happy.  They were very loose and long and sometimes I felt I was going to swallow them.

With turkey on the menu for Easter it was a true blessing to eat normal.

The wound has healed wonderfully.

I am back to taking the stairs.  I started taking the elevator during the pandemic so I would not have to touch handrails. 

The stairs at my sisters' houses, the stairs here at home, the stairs in the river valley are all giving me the workout I need to key my legs and knees in good shape.

Wonderful feeling

Sophie's World by Joosten Gaarder was originally written in Norwegian and then translated to English.

I should have paid more attention to the tag line - A novel about the history of philosophy.  I would have been better prepared to read about ancient history.  It was very interesting.

I did not read all of this book.  When I got more than halfway and the philosophy continued I just went to the last 2 chapters and read those.

Sophie and Hilde are in different realms and share the same birth date. They try to figure out who is the other.  Teachers come along to help with the understanding of the philosophies and the history.

A different kind of book but very informative about ways of looking at things, religion in our world, art, and much more.

We celebrated Easter with as many of us that could attend.  My sister hosted.  It was the first celebration without Mom or Dad in attendance. We all brought sometime to share with the others.

We went through Mom's stuff which was all brought to my sister's place when Mom passed in January. There was clothes, jewelery, CDs and DVD's, and a bit more.

We each took what we wanted, then some was donated to second hand stores, some was garbaged, and some will be passed down to the grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We had to go through ALL the pockets.  We found little pouches of money, combs, and her name and address on little pieces of paper.

It brings closure. The funeral and interment was discussed 

Have a great week!