Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Cormorants at Beaumaris Lake.

There were a lot of young this year who were annoying each other. They were practicing flying, swimming a lot, and trying to land in the trees successfully.

They have a favorite set of trees so it is easy to find the adults supervising.

Love their plumage, green eyes and long yellow beak.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.  This was a great story to read.

Natalie Harper finds herself in a tragic situation and goes to San Francisco to her grandfather run his book shop.  The place needs work and she wants to sell the store to ensure her grandfather gets the help he needs for daily living.  Unfortunately, he owns the property outright and refuses to sell.

Natalie engages a handy man Peach Gallagher known in the area for his excellent work.  Little by little the maintenance is done to keep the store open.

Peach has a young daughter, Dorothy, who loves to visit the store.  She and Natalie hit it off.  The love of books is shared and words gets back to Dad about her visits to the store.

Things go from there but the grandfather maintained there was treasure in very old books somewhere on the property.   Through the work done surprises are uncovering.  Very good book.

Finding something interesting and worth watching on TV during the summer can be challenging.

I have been researching what was available on Roku and I found this series.  I believe there was 3 years worth of shows.

It is a British reality show where folks across the UK share their garden (yard) sheds. There are categories and the public has selected the finalists in each.  The show follows celebrities as they visit the sheds.

At the end of each show, the winner of a category is selected by the public.  At the end of the series the creator of the show and the celebrities select the overall winner of the Shed of the Year. 

I invited my aunt and her husband to visit the Edmonton Valley Zoo with me.

It was very hot and we met at 1:00 pm which was toasty.

It was a good walk and we sat down at the cafe at the end and enjoyed a bit of a drink and treat.

Many of the animals were hiding due to the hot sun so that limited the photo ops.

The new merry go round was closed so too bad for us. I have to say I was disappointed with my visit.

The northern Alberta wildfire evacuees were given free access while they enjoyed Edmonton's hospitality.  That was very nice of the city to give them a nice distraction from their difficult circumstances.

Card - Thank You

I am so grateful for the physiotherapy I received at the beginning of this year.  

It's been six months since I was released by my physiotherapist. I decided to drop off a thank you card to express in my gratitude in being able to climb stairs, be pain free, and in general enjoying walking and movement again.

It does mean 30 minutes of ongoing therapy at home but I know all my routine and it is keeping  my mobile.

Thank you!

The card base is Stampin Up Lost Lagoon in the A2 size.  I cut a piece of watercolor saran paper I made years ago.  I cut it to leave a nice border all the way around. I wrapped a length of SU Pool Party tiny rick rack around the front of the landscape oriented card.  I cut the word from heavy white card stock. It was adhered with Bling Zots. A few of those also keep the knot in place and the rick rack straight on the inside. 

Take Out / Take Away Bag

In my city, the Single-use Item Reduction bylaw came into effect on July 1, 2023. That means when I order take out food at a restaurant - some single use items would only be provided when requested and some would be offered at a cost. Plastic bags for take out were banned and paper bags would come at a cost of $.15.  I am okay with that but I still need a bag to bring my food home in so that it does not end up spilling in my car.

I set out to make such a bag.  I generally would need a small bag when I hit Tim Horton's or Wendy's but I got Vietnamese food the other day and that container was much larger.  I determined that I needed a bag around 9 inches square, the sides not too high and a way to close that would keep the food inside. Would be nice if it folded flat when I stored it in my car.

Here's is the result.

The floral fabric is a couple of strips of heavy cotton fabric I found for free at the ReUse Center last week.  The weight was a good start to having a sturdy bag. The strips were only 8 inches wide so I had to piece the bottom and I made it double layer so the inside would be nice with no seams showing.

I cut 2  pieces of 9.5 inch wide and 8 inches tall. Then I cut 2 strips of 9.5 inch wide and 2 inches tall to supplement the other pieces to end up a bottom that was 9" square finished.

I sewed the narrow strips to the large pieces on the 9.5 inch side.  I then ironed them and top stitched the seam.

Once both were done and put right sides together and sewed all the way around leaving a space to turn it right side out. Then I ironed that flat.  

The side piece was cut 8" tall and 38 inches long. Once layer was floral and the back was teal microfiber fabric which will be on the inside. Stitch all the way around and turned it right side out.

I pinned it to the bottom with lining on top of the bottom.  Once I identified the corners every 9 inches and sewed a seam from top to bottom of the eight inch length on all four corners. This will help stiffen the sides.  Then I went ahead and sewed the sides to the bottom matching the corner seams with the corners on the bottom piece.  The ends were overlapped on the front of the bag, again to help stiffen the front of the bag. 

The inside of the bag is floral on the bottom and teal on the sides.  The take out container fits perfectly on the bottom of the bag.

The handles are asymmetrical in the front loop is short and the bag loop is long.  They are made of teal microfiber.  The strip was 6 inches tall and about 38 inches long.  I folded the strip in half and iron it flat.  I then opened it and iron each half to the center.  I top stitched along both the open side and the folded side which helps to provide some stiffness to the handles.

To close the bag the long back loop is pulled through the short front loop and the bag is closed.  The join is above the center of the bag so it stays level.

I had to make it pretty as well.  I cut a large scallop circle from the floral fabric and sewed it over the ends of the front handles with a zigzag stitch

I hand sewed a teal button in the center of the flower for a final touch.

I am very happy at how this bag turned out.  

• It is large enough to handle any take out order I will make, 
• It will hold the contents securely inside the bag, and
• I have a loop handle to carry it along with anything else that is in my hands
• It folds flat and I can tuck it into a pocket in the car so it will always ready at hand when I need it.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Wildlife in the river valley has been scarce this year.  I don't know if the wildfires north would affect the number of animals here.

There have been fewer sighting of chipmunks and song birds.  It's is possible that my going out later than I usually do has affected what I see.

It's been a tough summer and I have to admit getting up bright and perky before 7 am has not happened much this year.

It's been more like 9am which means the animals have just moved on with their day and are no longer where I expected them.

We had some heavy rain this week.

This is the lamp post in the back alley and you can see the rain dripping off the fixture and driving sideways.

A set of house shoes which I hope will keep my feet warm and not create too much static.

I bought these back in April when the weather was cooler.  I have not worn them much as the temperatures warmed outside.  I expect as the temps are cooler I will be inclined to wear them.

I managed to remove the few splatters of white paint.  The price was great!

I found this small teapot at the thrift store this week.

It is 3 inches tall and a bit wider than that.  It is made by Fitz and Floyd.

Fitz and Floyd Special Teas Collection Mini Deck of Cards Spade TeaPot.

I love teapots of all sorts and I really like this one. The price was under $5 and it has no chips or cracks.

I will add it to my displays shelf.

L is for Lawless by Sue Graton.  It is always a pleasure to reacquaint myself with Kinsey Millhone.

She decides to do her landlord Henry Pitts a favor.  Johnny Lee who lives in the garage apartment next to white stucco house with very tall grass in the front yard. His grandson Bucky and his wife Babe live in the house.  Johnny has passed away and Bucky would like to give his grandfather the military funeral he is entitled to but there seems to be a problem with Veteran Affairs records. Could Kinsey make a few inquiries.

Things are not as they seem, there is a break in at Johnny's apartment.  Chester, Johnny's son has a conspiracy theory. Who know?

Meantime, William who is Henry's brother is set to marry Rosie who runs the local bar and eatery where they often hang out. 

Kinsey's involvement takes her on a wild trip, encountering a very dangerous character.  Does she make it back for the wedding.  Another great story!

This is art by a tradesman.  I found these markings on a cement wall at a parkade in the area.  I will presume that he/she was cleaning off their brush after applying tar on the surface of the structure.  I thought the shapes were very intriguing.  I have converted my shots to black and white and added a bit of contrast but they are pretty cool!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I made a visit to the Lois Hole Provincial Park this week.  The waterfowl was quite absent. For most, the babies are grown and the adults have moved on. 

The Cedar Waxwing was a nice one.  The Barn Swallows were flitting around as usual and there were quite a few.

Still some blackbirds also making their iconic calls. A very peaceful day.

 A Garden to Keepp by Jamie Langston Turner was a good read. 

Elizabeth Landis has recently moved and is finding herself at loose ends. Her son has gone to college and she misses him terribly. Her marriage is on the rocks as she forges new relationships. Her husband leaves the house and is carrying on an affair with someone from the college where is works in the music department.

The book was quite slow at the beginning and I did consider just giving up on it but that is hard for me to do. The poetry references were pretty much lost on me so I just moved on.

Grace, forgiveness, mercy, patience, and Christian values are sprinkled throughout.

I am glad I hung it and the book did redeem its self but it was a bit of a slug.

It's that time of year.  The gardens and fruit trees are producing more than some can manage.

My niece gave me some nice green apples from one of the 2 trees in her yard.  My aunt gave me tomatoes and a garden cucumber. Yummy!  Some zuchinni as well.

I appreciate the fresh produce.  

I had grilled cheese and tomatoe sandwiches a couple of times.  There was zuchinni fried in a pan with parmesan cheese.  

The apples will be in a apple rhubarb crisp.

Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah was another book I finished. Another broken marriage story.  Elizabeth and Jackson Shore live in the north west in a small town.  He works the sports beat in a small market and Elizabeth works on the house.

Jackson is always working on getting back to the big time sports job he lost when he fell from grace after his NFL career.  The time comes that the story that will bring him back to the spot light appears and he pursues it at the cost of all else.  

They are moving to the East Coast for this new job that Jackson has been offered.  Once again, Elizabeth packs up the house and the van arrives to take it all away.  She insisted that they not sell the Echo Bay house and just rent it out.  When she is to take the plane for the east she changes her mind and returns to the west. Putting what she wants ahead of what Jackson wants, which has been the past pattern.

There is a decent ending after each learns a few lessons about setting their marriage as a priority.

The dahlias were headed into their peak condition when I visited early this week.

Gorgeous flowers everywhere in these gardens.

I did have my ankles bitten a lot as I had worn capris.

I had a visit with my aunt after my photo trip.  It was good to connect with family.

Card - Watercolor - Barn

I made this card for an aunt who celebrates her birthday in August.

I cut a piece of 90lb watercolor paper to 4.25 x 6.25 inches and taped it to my hard board.

I found a couple of graphics on line with elements I wanted to use. Specifically, the barn and the fence.

I used my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  I started with a light wash of blue in the top third and a light green wash on the bottom.

I drew the composition by hand with a pencil adding the elements from several inspiration images. I had to dry it several times between layers of color. I did use a fine black marker to add some definition to most of the objects.

The card base is A7 (5x7) in Stampin Up Barely Banana which worked well with the colors in the painting. I just adhered the watercolor layer with double sided tape. A white insert was added to the bottom half of the card with a white envelope.

Note to self: Lighten your pencil marks before painting.  The barn is not wide enough. Remember to use your grey marker instead of black. 

Photo Cards

I made another couple of cards from my photos. A lovely Dahlia taken at the Botanic Park.

I cut a piece of Garden Green card stock with the Tim Holtz Brackets border die.  I glued it behind the 4x4 photo and taped it down. 

I added a length of Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon on the join and taped the ends to the back.

I added a silver flower sequin with a white tiny star brad at the point of the green diecut.

This layer was then adhered to the front of the Elegant Eggplant card base. 

I added a quarter sheet white insert on the right han panel. 

A greeting can be added centered just above the sequin.

On this card is the Astrantia Major Alba. 

I used the same border die on a piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock.  Taped it to the back of the photo.

I added a strip of silver glitter card stock over the join.

I added silver flower sequins held in place with white star brads on the 3 bumps in the die cut.

I adhered this layer to the front of a hot pink card base.  Added a quarter sheet insert.

Cards - Exchange

My August exchange cards are ready!

Again, I am using 4x4 inch photos from my 4x6 photo calendars.

I believe this is a strawberry flower with morning dew.  I would have taken it at the Community Garden.

I chose a Handsome Hunter card base.  

I cut a Stampin Up Lattice die in white.  I adhered it behind the flower photo allowing only a portion of it to show on the bottom.  

I added small yellow handmade paper flowers, white flower sequins and black tiny brads on the intersections of the die cut.

I then adhered this layer to the front of the card base, added a quarter sheet insert on the right hand panel and a white envelope.

Excellent.

My next card features a Queen Anne Lace flower which I would have taken in Ontario when visiting my sister.

The colors on this one were warmer so I chose a white card base.

I cut the SU Lattice die from a warm green textured card stock.  I split the diecut in two and placed one half on top and bottom of the photo.  The diecut was taped to the back of the photo then the layer was adhered to the card front.

The photo needed a bit of something so I used my fine black marker and added a dash frame all the way around the photo.

The photo has been trimmed to about 3.5 inches square.

I added a white quarter sheet insert and a white envelope and it is ready!