Sylvia's Simple Shots

An early morning walk around Beaumaris Lake today. There were a few waterfowl about.  No pelicans yet.

Plenty of Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks and this Common Merganser duck with its rust colored head and red bill.

The wind was brisk and I was glad that I worn layers because it was cool and gusty.

My first time this year.

I had my replacement Tupperware order as well as my niece's order delivered by my sister.  We have been working on this for a while.  

Even back to Christmas we were looking for broken pieces so we could get them all into a large order. My niece delivered some a while back as well.

The blue lid was a purchase and it cost dearly as the original lid has been discontinued.  This lid works but is from another bowl. Glad to have it.

My sister and I head out for supper but the restaurant we wanted was closed so we had to find another.

I may have been to the Sicilian Pasta Kitchen once before.

We shared a salad and a pasta dish and it was super delicious.  We ate it all because there was not really enough leftover for take away container.

It was a great idea to share so we got veggies and pasta.

A nice visit on top of the great food.

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak was the book I finished this week.

Autumn Divac has been searching for her husband for 18 months. He disappeared in Europe under some mysterious circumstances. Her teenagers need a break so she heads to the town she grew up in where her Mom and aunt run a bookstore on the beach.  She has great memories of the place.

There is great time for family but teenagers have their own ways so there is making friends and connecting with people their own age. The daughter finds a supportive friend to get her through her crisis and the son finds a man who can provide male role model that he is missing.

The ending was very surprising for all the parties. Autumn and her husband, the old boyfriend, the new teenagers discovered.  Great read.

I headed to the Legislature Grounds for an early morning walk. The first this year.

The morning was cool but less wind that early this week.

The Alberta Legislature grounds feature a Kwakiutl totem pole, carved by artist Oscar Maltipi and donated to the province in 1971. This pole is a visual representation of kinship and family crests, a common practice among Indigenous cultures. It's located near the lawn bowling pitch.

It was donated by British Columbia First Nations to mark the 100th anniversary of that province joining confederation.

Inktober - 20 Sunrise

Inktober 2024 Challenge

20 - Sunrise

I penciled my outline sketch which were just the hills and the sun.  I used my black marker to create the lines in the hills by hand.

I used the watercolor pencil to color the sun yellow and a  store brand to put in the orange. 

I need to get a good set of watercolor pencils.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My morning walks have garnered some good flower photos.

This summer I have been heading out later than usual for walks.  Sleep has been difficult therefore getting up at 7am like I used to has not been happening much.

Again, the neighbours have wonderful front gardens.  The pink geraniums, yellow straw flowers at the park, calendulas in the flower bed at the end of the street.

The purple trumpet flower was a new one for my walk.

I will have plenty of flower photos for my annual photo calendar which I have started working and will be here shortly.

I borrowed this book from my sister.  More than a Wise Woman - Elaine Gugin Maddox.

A book set in Ladyslipper Saskatchewan.  Tessy McGuigan is an Irish lass living her best life in Canada.  She has a large garden and grows ingredients for natural remedies. She freely shares her knowledge, time, and enthusiasm.

Some in the town do not understand her way of life, her way of dressing and her down to earth habits.  She is judged quite harshly by some.

She welcomes her new neighbors - The Tuckers. Jim, Penny with their 2 girls - Sarah and Emma and son Matthew.  Jim has come to take over the drug store in town which is a blessing.  The girls take to Tessy in a heart beat.

Their grandfather Marshall comes to visit from Winnipeg before the kids head back to school.  He is widowed and takes a shine to Tessy.  

A very heart warming story and all the herbal recipes are included in the book.  I will return that one to my sister as requested.

I attended the reception for this artist show - Betty Hirst with 2 of my aunts.  The artist aunt had received information and we followed the instructions to find the gallery.  The gallery has moved to smaller space and have had to change their business model to stay in business.  Parking was a bit challenging but we managed.

It was very nice with several large pieces on display. The artist lives in Calgary and was in attendance.

Given the limited space when others arrived we took our leave.  I had researched several places to have a snack.  I visited the Acquired Taste Tea Company down the block earlier and now we headed to find the coffee place.

The Good Earth Coffeehouse was about a block away so we got a bit of exercise.

The drinks and snacks were delicious but a bit on the pricey side.  I had an Earl Grey Decaf latte with a chocolate twist pastry.  Super good.

We had a good visit with a table to ourselves and with just a few tables inside and another few outside it was a very comfortable atmosphere.

We talked art, crafts, upcoming shows, gardens, taking in harvest of veggies and fruit.

It's that time of year! 

Concorde blue grapes are in the store.  My sister shared some with me when we met recently.

I also then headed out to get a bag for myself.

I remember always getting these as a kid.

Love them.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The critters are starting to stir if they were here all winter.  Others are arriving backs from the southern climes.

The White Squill is a perennial flower that is one of the first spring flowers.

 
Got some news on Sunday that the leader of our quilting group is moving away.  I have volunteered with her on women's ministries for many years. 

They were able to sell their house and will be moving to be near their daughter.

She has liquidated most of her fabric stash.  She brought odds and ends that needed a new home so I was grateful to receive zippers, serger thread, a bit of bias tape and a small box of buttons.

I found the smallest red heart buttons in this box.  They certainly will come in handy for Macro Monday challenges.

Thanks so much for sharing.

We will have lunch with before she goes.

I am so glad to have my tax return done for another year.

Now that I am retired it is so much easier but I seem to forget that and procrastinate.

It took only a few hours and it was done.

I had time to have a walk around Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park with my friend which I had not seen in a couple of months.

The red wing black birds had not returned yet.  I missed their distinctive calls.

The Canada Geese were jockeying for the best nesting places.

The water is very low so I hope all the birds find places to raise their young.

I attended the show where my aunt was displaying here old car watercolors.  They turned out really well. There was over 50 artists on display.

I met my other aunt and her husband at the venue.  We went for a walk along the Sturgeon River while we waited for the reception to start.

I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton is book I finished this week.

It`s always nice to reaquaint myself with Kinsey Malone the private investigator.  She has new work digs and is taking on work on her own.

Lonnie Kingman has hired her to continue work which Morley Shine was doing for him but he died suddenly.  Kinsey thinks it will be just a bit of final work and all the information will be ready for the civil suit.

David Barney was acquitted of the murder of his rich wife - Isabelle.  He is now spending her money - thank you very much.  Finding Morley`s files a but unorganized she needs to retrace some of those steps and redo interviews.

David`s story seems to be corroborated by evidence that he is innocent. 

Gallery Rotation Submission - Delayed

I was wanting a piece in the Gallery Rotation so I check out what I had previously printed.

I had this early morning photo taken near the river with the sunbursting over the horizon putting our Walterdale Bridge and the old Rossdale Water Treatment Plant in silhouette.

Title: Sunburst

Size: 17.25 W x 13.25 T inches

Photo: 8x10 inches