Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took my first trip of the year to the Heritage Hills Wetlands yesterday.  The winds were high, the water was choppy and the streets were being cleaned so I could not leave my car parked on the street.  That meant a quick visit. 

The ducks and gulls were on the pond.  The water is very low and there are now islands of mud in the middle.   I guess it provides a safe haven for wildlife but makes for not the prettiest pictures.

I captured this adult male Mallard Duck with it's mate feeding.   I don't know if they have eggs yet.  It has been so cold that I hope not.

I will return when I can spend more that a few minutes.

I finished Memories and Stories by Aaron A. Lehman this week.  I chose the book because it had an Alberta connection.  This fellow was a teacher in our province for many year.

He came to teach in one of our communities way up north.  The accommodations were not the best but he and his wife made the best of it.  She was pregnant with their first child and it was his first year of teaching.  Being a new Dad, setting class lessons and being in a remote communities were all growth edges for this couple.

They made it through.   It is interesting to read about coming into Edmonton which is the big city.  Travelling on the train from the United States, then by bus north and being hosted by kind strangers.

His wife was a nurse so there was no lack of work for her.  They raised their family, stayed connected with their US relatives and contributed to the young people of our province.  

I'm glad I read it.

To get the machine back into it's desk I needed to take the spider plant off of it.  I wanted to hang it back up on the hookr but needed a prettier hanger than a pink shoelace to keep it in place.

I had limited resources at my disposal so I checked my yarn box and found some yellow that would match the pot.  Great!  Very skinny so I braided 2 strands together then tied on end to the spout and the other to the handle.  Added a metal ring at the center to keep the two lengths going down. 

Yes, that will work nicely.  I added a few knots to shorten it a bit 

The plant is very happy in the north window and now I can put the sewing machine back in the desk.

The sewing machine went in for servicing a couple of weeks ago and it was ready to pick up on Thursday.  A general servicing was all it needed to get the decorative stitches to work again and the pick up of the bobbin thread. I brought it home and let it sit till the weekend.  I set it up on Sunday with a project already in the planning stages.

I spend some time in the living room working on design and when I returned to the machine it was whirring, smelling and very hot.  I unplugged everything and let things cool down.  I have no idea what's up.  I was so looking forward to sewing.  It is back in the shop waiting for a diagnosis.  They assured me they would not make me wait the standard 2-3 week serving time.  We shall see.  If I have to start looking for another I will be really bummed.

I typically don't pay hard earned cash for pens.  I get free ones where ever.  I picked them up at the ReUse Center.   But I was getting really tired of trying pens in the holder and they no longer making marks.  I went through the holder and chucked all the one which no longer worked.

I took at trip to the office supply store and actually bought some pens.  I prefer blue ink to black.  I like to have a red one when I want to highlight changes or check off done items on the to do list.  The green one was a bonus.

These then to blob ink at the very beginning so they need to be brushed on scrap paper before I start writing on the good paper.  It is what it is.  

I'm glad to be able to write as soon as I pick up a pen rather than to find it does not have ink it or it has dried out.  Yes, I did check that item on my list with the red pen.

Just finished this book - Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber this morning.

Four women at different stages of life and in various circumstances meet at the writing workshop.  They decide to continue meeting after the classes end.  They meet at a cafe Thursday mornings at 8am.  

They bring their hopes, trials and challenges and find support, comfort and reassurance that things will be all right amongst this group of friends. 

Made me miss my Welcome to my Kitchen friends more than ever. 

My niece was here last week to visit and see Mom before her treatment.   She brought a small DVD player so that has allowed me to get back to aerobics.  With some help from my other niece I got the TV set up to access the internet.  I have been watching a bit of new shows.   The green USB stick holds music so that I can play music on the TV and no longer need a stereo to play my CDs.  It turns out the DVD player will play my music CDs.  Great@

I am sharing with Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #334. 

Exchange Cards - April

We are starting a new session of card exchange.  I've decided to get my cards ready ahead of time so I will not disappoint folks when I am busy moving.

I had these silver chrome metal earrings in my stash so I off the hanger and mounted them with brads.

I chose Striped designer paper by SU in Rose Red and cut it to about 4x3 inches. I adhered it to a piece of sold Rose Red card stock measuring 4.75 x 3.5 inches. I placed pink and silver brads into the holes in the larger flowers in the metal accent.  

I strung a piece of silver cord through one of the flowers and wrapped around this layer and knotted it on the right. This layer was then adhered to the front of a Pretty in Pink card with 3D foam tape.  I added the round greeting in the bottom right hand side again with 3D foam tape.

On this card it the same layout with different colors.  The card base is Chocolate Chip.  The designer paper seems to have pink and brown lines so I chose those colors for the brads in the metal accent.

I cut the designer paper larger this time to 4.00 x 5.5 inches.  Attached the silver cord in the same way.

The greeting is punched with the Modern Label Punch in color printed in Chocolate Chip with an offset of solid card stock same as the card base. It was adhered with 3D foam tape.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

After three days of ridiculous and constant wind we got a skiff of snow over night.  Others in the province did quite a bit of the white stuff.

The temperature this morning was -11C which is very cold for this time of year so the snow could have been much worse. 

Despite that, the hares are getting brown so we will get through this.  I was very glad to see this big guy in the back yard this morning.

I finished this book - The Waymaker by Ann Voskamp this week.  I believe I have read all her books and I own quite a few.

This is her latest released recently.

The lesson in the book is that we must maintain our connection to God - Jesus as He is the Waymaker.  He knows what we need and he knows what is next for us.

I bought the book because I am having to practice patience for the time being.  I keep the house tidy at all times and await calls for viewings with the hope of the right offer.

Mom & Dad have both experienced health crisis and that requires trust that the best for them will come to pass.  

As a planner, living with uncertainty is very difficult but I guess that is the lesson to relax and trust that was is right will come.

I replaced my TV recently.  I have had the old one for nearly 10 years I think and I bought it second hand.

It was not working well for quite a while and I thought it was just the antenna but it was the TV.

There was a sale in March offering a generous discount so I just made the decision to move forward. 

I love that I can put my music on a USB stick and play it in the living room - just like that.

I have not been able to connect it to WIFI yet so I will need help with that.

The DVD player is packed so that will have wait as well.  Very happy so far!

The challenge on Flickr Macro Mondays this week was - Bulb.  The electric kind not the garden kind.

This is one of the shots I took for the challenge.   You can check out my Photostream (SMDPics) to see the image I submitted.   There was a good variety of images to see.

I bought myself a new Basil plant last week as well as the other I purchased last April was getting gangling and not very pretty.   I am very happy to say that I now have 5 plants growing in my place.  My windows face east and north.  I have given up on African Violets for now.

The Aspargus fern I bought last year is doing well.

The Dracena I got from aunt fall of 2020 continues to grow.

The Greek Oregano that my sister gave me is a bit stretched out but I take leaves it about once a week to keep it in check.

The spider plant my niece gave me last year has been moved to the north window and is making babies for the second time which I take it is quite happy there.

The Devil's Ivy has been moved further from the east window not sure how happy it is.  Just for a little while longer, I say.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #173 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #332. 

Have a great week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Cool Water by Dianne Warren.   Another Saskatchewan story.

Juliet, Saskatchewan, is a blink-of-an-eye kind of town -- the welcome sign announces a population of 1,011 people -- and it''s easy to imagine that nothing happens on its hot and dusty streets. Situated on the edge of the Little Snake sand hills, Juliet and its inhabitants are caught in limbo between a century -- old promise of prosperity and whatever lies ahead.

But the heart of the town beats in the rich and overlapping stories of its people: 

the foundling who now owns the farm his adoptive family left him; 

the pregnant teenager and her mother, planning a fairytale wedding; 

a shy couple, well beyond middle age, struggling with the recognition of their feelings for one another; 

a camel named Antoinette; 

and the ubiquitous wind and sand that forever shift the landscape. Their stories bring the prairie desert and the town of Juliet to vivid and enduring life.

It was a different kind of book and a nice change of pace.

The sun is shining this morning and the place is bright and wonderful feeling.

I am learning a new way of living where everything has a home and it is returned there at the end of the day.  That I have only enough stuff for the space I have so that this practice can continue.

Big projects are on hold.

It means having to discern my very top priorities and concentrating on those.  

I have learned that in the past I have not cleared the stuff from one past time before moving onto another so stuff accumulated and sat around taking up precious space.

This place has space to breathe, relax and live a quieter life.   Is that what I want?

I did manage a few photo challenges this week.  Macro Mondays was Reflections so these were a couple of the shots I took.

This is a very old book which has fallen apart and I kept some of the pages to print cool stuff on them.  It's been sitting for about 6 years - am I really going to print on them?  And if I do what will I do with them?  I am no longer going to craft markets so supplies destined for those projects have to go. 

I love the depth of field I acheived in this shot.  The texture of the old book signatures are wonderful.

To me books are precious and should not be thrown away.  The ReUse center is now open so that is likely where it will go to be found by a teacher, student or other creative person.

This Y is for Yesterday book is the last of the Alphabet Series of books by Sue Grafton because she died before she wrote the Z book. 

This starts with high school antics which turn bad and I was not sure I was going to finish it.

It was better once we were with Kinsey Milhone the detective in the present.   

Crimes are committed by teenagers, some are held accountable, others are not.   Once prison sentences are done and the dues to society have been paid, one should be able to move on but those who have not paid drag those have paid down with them again.

Kinsey of course is in the middle trying to figure out the players, who did what and why things don't add up.

I did finish the book and it was okay. 

Books Books Books

 I have been reading a lot.  With as much packing as can be done for now and having to keep all the surfaces clean and tidy reading works well for this waiting season.

I think this is my second Kinsey Millhone Mystery in the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton.  She has written 26 books starting with A and ending with Z.  

"G" Is for Gumshoe is the seventh novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. In "G" Is for Gumshoe, Kinsey Millhone meets fellow investigator Robert Dietz when someone hires a hit man to kill her.

Good and bad things seem to be coming in threes for Kinsey Millhone: on her thirty-third birthday she moves back into her renovated apartment, gets hired to find an elderly lady supposedly living in the Mojave Desert by herself, and makes the top of ex-con Tyrone Patty's hit list. It's the last that convinces Kinsey even she can't handle whoever's been hired to whack her, and she gets herself a bodyguard: Robert Dietz, a Porsche-driving P.I. who takes guarding Kinsey's body very seriously. With Dietz watching her for the merest sign of her usual recklessness, Kinsey plunges into her case. And before it's over, she'll unearth the gruesome truth about a long-buried betrayal and, in the process, come fact-to-face with her own mortality. . . .

At the break of dawn, Caroline Shelby rolls into Oysterville, Washington, a tiny hamlet at the edge of the raging Pacific.

She’s come home.

Home to a place she thought she’d left forever, home of her heart and memories, but not her future. Ten years ago, Caroline launched a career in the glamorous fashion world of Manhattan. But her success in New York imploded on a wave of scandal and tragedy, forcing her to flee to the only safe place she knows.

And in the backseat of Caroline’s car are two children who were orphaned in a single chilling moment—five-year-old Addie and six-year-old Flick. She’s now their legal guardian—a role she’s not sure she’s ready for.

But the Oysterville she left behind has changed.  

Caroline returns to her favorite place: the sewing shop owned by Mrs. Lindy Bloom, the woman who inspired her and taught her to sew. There she discovers that even in an idyllic beach town, there are women living with the deepest of secrets. Thus begins the Oysterville Sewing Circle—where women can join forces to support each other through the troubles they keep hidden.

Yet just as Caroline regains her creativity and fighting spirit, and the children begin to heal from their loss, an unexpected challenge tests her courage and her heart. This time, though, Caroline is not going to run away. She’s going to stand and fight for everything—and everyone—she loves.

Zorro by Isabel Allende is the 4th of her novels I have read.

The cast of characters includes everyone you’d expect in a swashbuckler, from gypsies, pirates, and swooning maidens to the token villain. The women in this novel, as in all of Allende’s work, are exceptionally well drawn. The men are also vivid, from the traumatized, silent Bernardo to the honorable, justice-driven Zorro. The Fox Allende has created is slightly conceited, while at the same time chivalrous, entertaining, and likable. The characters are familiar rather than stereotypical, and Allende wisely avoids falling into the cliché trap, primarily through the tongue-in-cheek narration. Set in the chaos of Napoleonic Spain and the Alta California of the hidalgos, the backdrop adds depth and drive to the story with its social mores and shifting political tides. Allende has crafted a swashbuckling tale, with just a hint of the magical realism that will be familiar to readers of her other works. I really enjoyed this book. 

Nicholas Sparks novels can be counted on to have some interesting characters, good story lines and no bad language and explicit sex scenes.  They are a good read but becoming a bit predictable for me.

Denise Holton has no family, both of her parents have died. She is alone and a single mother of a child with severe learning disabilities by a former one-night stand. She was a school teacher for many years but now she doesn’t teach anymore; she spends all her time trying to teach her son how to speak. She has a part-time job as a waitress and makes just enough money to get by.

Kyle Holton is the 4-year-old son of Denise Holton. Kyle has severe learning disabilities

Brett Cosgrove is Denise’s former one-night stand, leading up to Kyle’s existence. He was engaged at the time and wants nothing to do with Kyle.

Taylor McAden—is a volunteer firefighter for the Edenton Fire Department, owns his own carpenter and contractor job. He was the person who found Denise’s son the night of her car wreck. Taylor has had problems in the past with commitment, but that all will change throughout the book.

Judy McAden is the mother of Taylor McAden; she came to the hospital to spend time with Denise while her son was out looking for Kyle.

Mitch Johnson is Taylor’s best friend and a volunteer firefighter for the Edenton Fire Department also. Mitch and his wife Melissa often provide Taylor with advice about his romantic life. Mitch and Melissa are the closest thing Taylor has to siblings, and Taylor is the godfather of the Johnsons' oldest son.

This was new author for me and I enjoyed this book. Case histories by Kate Atkinson.   I did not realize that these have a TV series produced from the books.

Case Histories (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. 

The plot revolves around three seemingly unconnected family tragedies – the disappearance of a three-year-old girl from a garden; the murder of a husband by his wife with an axe; and the apparently motiveless murder of a solicitor's daughter. 

I seem to be reading more detective type stories recently.  That is completely by coincidence as I am getting my books from small library at the park and it is totally random as to what will be there when I drop by.

It is nice to run across authors I have read before though. 

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Dot Wreath

I chose to use my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons for this month's Christmas Cards as that is the card stock that has not been packed.

I used Arches Watercolor Cold Press Paper.

I started with a light pencil circle mark.  I sprayed my crayons. I mixed Always Artichoke and Garden Green for the green dots, Cherry Cobbler and Real Red for the red ones and Not Quite Navy and Night of Navy for the blue ones.  I applied the dots with the end of a cotton swab which I wet then dabbed into the colors. 

I drew a bow towards the bottom of the wreath with a Micron black permanent marker then filled it in with a bit of the red paint.

The greeting was traced with the black marker using the window as a light box.  I just printed several greetings on a quarter sheet of white paper.

I added a few stars with the black marker to balance out the shape.

The piece was then spattered with colors used in the card front but somewhat diluted.

I chose a Not Quite Navy card base.  I adhered the wreath watercolor to the card with double sided tape, added a quarter sheet insert and pressed them to ensure all the pieces stick together.

I am taking advantage of some down time now to get ahead  with this project so when the move comes I don't have to worry as these will be scheduled to arrive on time.

Card Exchange - Spring Watercolors

I am trying to get caught up on things.  

I decided to make some spring watercolors for my March exchange cards since the spring solstice is on Sunday.   I tried some wreaths yesterday which did not go well so I turned the paper over and tried again.

Some purple and pink blossoms on sprigs of greenery.  I used my Loew Cornell palette for these pretties.

A bit of spattering with the flower color and the leaf color and let it dry.

Fortunately, I still had 8.5 x 11 card stock which was not packed but it was white.  I did not like the idea of white watercolor paper on white card stock so I painted the edges of the card base with black watercolor.  Love the shades in the border when I adhered my watercolors to the card front.  With the photo studio also packed away I had to come up with alternate photo location. 

These are pressing and will be off to my card partners this afternoon.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - NOEL Resist

 
While clearing out card making supplies I found these three small note cards.   You can see how I have used them in a previous post.  With watercolor being my theme this year I decided to give it a go.  I trimmed the note card to make NOEL more of a focus. I like the way the gold foiling works as a resist to the watercolor.  These were the last three so I am just moving on. 

I painted a purple ornament with the O and outlined it in permanent marker.  Not sure my bough works really well.   I added a gold star brad in the center of the ornament after adhering the gold layer.  

The snow and tree scene on the left is not bad.  

I just added a wash of blues on the last one.

Each watercolor was adhered to a layer of gold metallic card stock to repeat the gold in the accent layer.  This layer was then adhered to a coordinating card base.  Three more for the box.  I used about 50 cards this year due to not seeing my church family so who knows what next Christmas is going to look like.

Exchange Cards - February - Watercolor Birds

 

These cards were made back in late January.  You can check the Watercolor Birds post.  This bird really adapted well to different coloring.  I was not sure it would.   

The left one was mounted to Old Olive card base and the right to Lovely Lilac.  They were spattered with brown watercolor by flicking the paint brush.  The ribbon is Soft Suede placed across the card and taped under the focal bird element.

These are off to my exchange partners.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Christmas Chickadees

 

Here are my cards for the February Christmas Card Challenge.  I chose to make Christmas Chickadees.  Using the bird line drawing I have used a few times, I changed it up a bit and added a evergreen bough instead.  I studied the coloring of these birds then started.  I laid the outline of the bird onto the 140lb cold press watercolor paper which measures 3.5 inches by 4.5 inches.  I applied clear water around the outline and dropped blue at the top and green on the bottom for a light background.  I let this dry completely.  I painted the black head, throat and beak of the bird leaving a bit of white in the eye and let dry.  Next, I applied a puddle of clear water on the breast area and dropped a bit of yellow into it and let it dry. I added the brown branch and the green foliage next.  I then added a bit of light grey to the wing and tail.  Once dry, I traced the outline with a black permanent marker.  Love these!

I steamed them and pressed them between books to flatten them.  I chose a warm green card base, added an aqua grosgrain ribbon with the join under the accent.  The chickadee watercolor is mounted with 3D foam tape.  I printed some greeting with the Teeny Tiny Wishes digital stamp set by Stampin Up. I punched them out with the Small Oval punch.  I lightly brushed a blue wash over the black letters. These where mounted with slightly thicker tape to have it higher than the chickadee layer.  Super happy with these cards. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The temperatures have improved a lot.  It means the snow is melting and freezing at night into ice.  

It means the highways improved enough for me to travel to see Mom and Dad since I did not see them for Christmas.

Mom is settling in to her room at the lodge since her move in late December.

Living with a bunch of people takes some adjustment and getting the food she needs requires that she just keep asking.  Talking to the nutritionist last week has helped a lot.

Most residents has something they like hanging on their door at the lodge.  Mom indicated she would like something as well.  She had found a couple of photos she liked but had nothing to support them.

I found a metal plaque with a wire hanging in my stash.   I spray painted it gold because Mom does not like brown which was it's original color. 

I brought some card stock, the paper cutter and some adhesive so we could put something together for her.

She chose this Goldfinch photo which I trimmed to the width of the plaque.  I trimmed the green card stock to be the size of the plaque.  We adhered the picture to the green then pinned that to the plaque so it can easily be changed when she would like something different.  She is happy with her choice.

Dad cannot participate in his pre-fall activities which included making rosaries and doing puzzles.  He right arm is healed but very weak.  They are working with exercises to make that better.

To keep boredom at bay I decided to make him a Picture Book.  Mom suggested nature photos and family pics in a fairly large size.  The family photos I kept the people to about three per photo and got them printed to 8.5 x 11.  Easy to recognize the faces.

I include 14 nature photographs from my collection.  I put the color copies in page protectors in a .5 binder.  This is light enough for him to handle himself and allows any of us to switch up the photos to keep it interesting.

I hope that it motivates him to use him right arm and lets him know he is not forgotten.

Here are photos of a Lesser Yellow Legs water fowl bird and a dragonfly.

I finished this book as week - Rutland Place by Anne Perry.

The time in which the story takes place is Victorian era in England.  Charlotte Pitt is a bit of a problem solver along with her police officer husband Thomas.  Her mother lives in the housing complex of Rutland Place which holds residences of the well to do.  

Her mother has lost a locket or has she just misplaced it?  Servants are the first to be suspected then eliminated. Neighbors as well have had items go missing.  A mystery for sure so Charlotte is asked to investigate discreetly because calling the police would not look good in the neighbourhood. 

When a friend and neighbor is found dead then the police are officially involved.  Thomas interviews, asks uncomfortable questions, and tracks down leads. Charlotte has her opinions about things as well. 

The ending was not what I was expecting at all but the secrets where unearthed.  It was interesting to read a story from the point of view of the privileged members of society during that time.  I think I prefer to have stories from the downstairs group of people.

I am working on de-cluttering and cleaning areas in my place so everything has a home.

I have a running list of things that I have gone missing - it is a mystery that I can lose track of stuff in such a small place.

I tackled the die cutting area last week because I generally leave scraps and bits sitting on the left hand side of the big shot until it is stacked and I cannot see bottom.  I had "lost" one of  my square thinlits and I am glad to say that it has returned to it's mates in their appropriate package.

This is the cushions on my sofa/couch/chesterfield.  I bought it secondhand from my sister in 2008 I think.  The cushion covers are wearing so I need to do something to extend it's life.

I decided to buy microfiber fabric in a deep dark teal color which works well with the pattern on the couch.  In this picture it is just tucked in but I will be making one large cushion cover with 3 pockets with a fold over closure.

I was very happy to find such a great match to background color of the couch.

I bought myself a new phone system with a built in answering machine to replace the one I bought in 2002 when I got layed off work and would be needing a reliable machine during my job search.

I was glad to find this system includes a cordless unit as well.  It will be helpful when I need to get something while I am on the phone.  I will be able to move around without saying "Please hold on!".

When I decided it turned out it was on sale as well so I was very happy with it.

I recently finished this book - The Map of Salt and Stars
by Zeyn Joukhadar.   I really enjoyed this book and it was really easy to read.

It follows 2 young ladies who lived years apart. Nour lives in New York with her parents and sisters when her father passes away. Her mother, a map maker, decides to move them back to Syria. Things don't go well and they embark on very long journey.

Rawiya 800 years earlier leaves her mother and aims to be apprenticed as a map maker but must disguise herself to get the position. 

Their stories are connected. Nour and her family come to be where Rawiya was living so much earlier.  Amazing to live in a country and area with so much history.   I would highly recommend this book.

The theme for Flickr Macro Mondays was Currency.  This is one of the shots I took for the challenge.   This is a coin from Thailand.  I have no idea when I got it.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to check out the one I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday#165 and Mersad who host Through My Lens # 323

Have a great week!

Card Exchange - January - Watercolor Birds

 

I have been busy so my Card Exchange cards are almost late.  I decided to use the small bird image I used for the thank you project I did in December.  This time I wanted to actually paint the birds.   I prepared my pieces of watercolor paper with different background colors.  The paper is 3.5 inches wide and I just applied a wash down the sheet changing the colors as I went. It was taped down and allowed to dry completely.

I trimmed the pieces of watercolor paper to squares roughly having a different color in each square.  I traced the bird onto the center of the square by placing the line drawing below my watercolor onto my light table. I used a permanent black fine Sharpie marker to trace the image.  I then used the colors I had mixed for the backgrounds to color the bird accordingly.

Then I matched the card base to the bird color.  The one on the left is Close to Cocoa and the right is Bashful Blue.  I added a length of Soft Suede grosgrain ribbon across the card and taped the ends under the focal element.  The birds are attached with 3D foam tape.  I spattered the cards with a bit of brown watercolor.

These are off to my partners.

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. 

Bean Bag Support for Phone

Mom's phone in her room now sits on a different piece of furniture than at the apartment.  It's taller and so she can not see the numbers as well.  If it was tilted up more it would be easier.   I started my research to find what I could make to help.  I was thinking polyfil or rigid Styrofoam but a better idea came to the fore.

There are many bean bags being made and marketed to support mobile devices.  I was sure I could adjust the idea for what Mom needed.   At the grocery store I bought the cheapest beanish' stuff I could find. A large bag of yellow split peas came home.  I was not sure how much I would need.  The rest will not go to waste - yellow split soup is on the menu for this week.

I used black microfiber cloth which will wear beautifully.  I cut a square about 9.5 inches.  I sewed all the way around leaving a small slit to fill it.  I added box corners to the far end measuring 1.25 inches.  I then slimmed down the sides so it became narrower at the bottom. With doing some testing with the phone at my place I decided that it would work quite well.

I created a paper funnel to get the peas into the bag. I think I used about 2 cups of split peas.  I then stitched up the fill slit with top stitching.  I then added a row of stitching about 2 inches from the bottom to leave room for the bottom of the phone to rest on the surface.

I added some non slip material on the bottom so that the phone will not move when she presses the buttons. 

This is an Ikea product - STOPP which I have used a lot.  Under my rug in the kitchen, under cutting boards, etc.

It was a whirlwind visit so I hope that this tool does the job and makes her life a little easier.  I will check in with next week and see how things are going.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

This is the steam from a heating system rising above a building across the back alley.

Back to very cold days.  We have had warmer temperatures with no sun, rain, freezing rain, and now back to -22C.  This has created crazy driving conditions - school bus cancellations, folks not getting to work, and mostly chaos.  I have been staying home.

I cancelled a visit to a sewing center to test out a walking foot for my vintage Bernina 830 record.  I hope to get there by the end of the week.

I finished this book on the weekend.  The Brushstroke Legacy by Lauraine Snelling is a story of painting which crossed several generations.  The main characters Ragni Clauson is the modern day women working for an advertising agency with the pressures that come with it. Nilda Torkalson lived in the 1900s in the family cabin and she is Ragni's great-grandmother.  

Ragni goes to the family cabin with her 15 year old niece Erika to assess the required repairs and ensure the minimum is done to save the building. They will camp on the property for the first while till the cabin can be camped in. 

The neighbour Paul Heidelborg has been keeping an eye on the place and was the one to advise the cabin needed attention.

The girls get back to nature, clear the tall grass, fix some windows and the roof to ensure it is critter proof, remove the rust from the cast iron stove in the cabin.  During the process both reconnect with painting and discover some rosemaling painted in the cabin by Nilda.  

Rosemaling is of Norwegian origin.  Nilda came to the cabin as a housekeeper and cook for Mr. Joseph Petersen who ran a farm in North Dakota.  She takes her young daughter across the country by train to assume this new employment.  She living in a very rural area and in a rustic cabin which is so different from the grand house in New York which was her previous employ.  Assessing the meagre food stores in the cabin puts her in a state of concern.  Mr. Petersen and his hired hand have been living in the cabin and working the farm - being bachelors doing their own cooking and housecleaning.  Needless to say improvements are necessary.  

Mr Petersen has asked for a supplies list for a trip to town.  She faces her fears and makes a good list for staples, laundry supplies, and pencils and paper.  She will at least be able to drawing until she gets paid and can buy paints. 

Another story with story female characters who grow, find their way and eventually thrive.  Loved the book and would recommend it. 

In order to make my own gluten free baking I followed my sister advise to make my own oat flour.  Take some whole large oats. Place in a blender and chop/grind until it is a fine texture.

We have found this flour can replace wheat flour.  My Mom has been eating gluten free for her cancer and couple of us have adopted it to some degree.  This is also my Mom's vintage blender which still works great. 

I made muffins from Mom's recipe.  They were great.  You can use any gluten free flour - 1 to 1, almond, quinoa, buckwheat or corn.   She eats them with cream cheese so it is a snack she can still have at the lodge as she has a small fridge.  We need to bake them for her.  I will make some more before my next visit.

I have been working on a sewing project.  This is an Art Portofolio Carry Bag for my art work. 

You can check out the details here.

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was to take a shot as close as possible with the camera equipment we had.  The limit is normally 3" but we should get much closer.   There were several tiny objects to use as subject matter.  We needed to include the measuring as well in the photo. You can check out my photostream (SMDPics). 

I am sharing with  Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #321 .