Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a walk over the new Tawatina LRT Bridge on the weekend.  It has been open to foot traffic for a while but the train is not up and running for passenger traffic yet.  Testing is still taking place.

It is a beautiful bridge and I will take a ride across it on the train when the time is right.

The bridge is wide and leaves lots of room for quite a few folks.  Of course, I was there with the birds in the morning so it was delightful to have it mostly to myself.

The Muttart Conservatory is the stop on the south side of the river and the walk across brings one to Louise McKinney Riverfront Park in the downtown area.  For those downtown that want a quick trip to the Muttart it is perfect!

I walked the grounds of the Muttart Conservatory as it was before the pyramids opened at 10:00 am.

I found Maratagon Lilies which are also at the St. Albert Botanic Park.  

This one is named Fairy Morning which features yellow and peach colors.  There were several varieties in the flower bed.

I'm not sure when I will going inside the pyramids as there not much room to social distance.  I anticipate another wave of COVID 19 in the fall so I continue to wear my mask and social distance with strangers.

The LRT construction has had a big impact on the grounds so there are less flowers than before.

I added some pieces to my white dinnerware by Myott (1952) with some Snowhite Regency by Johnson Brothers.  These pieces came from my sister who received the donated card making supplies earlier this year. These had been in storage for quite a few years.  I believe these pieces are from the 1960's.  I was able to add 4 dinner plates, 4 cups and saucers, 6 dessert plates, and 2 oval serving pieces.  Super happy!

I finished this Nicholas Sparks - See Me books this week.

The main character is Colin Hancock who is making a real effort to change his ways.  He had psychological help from a therapist in coping mechanisms to keep him out of the trouble he has had in the past. Training his body, running to wear off energy, keeping his anger under control, no drinking of alcohol and practicing his listening skills are all working pretty well.  He meets Maria Sanchez on the beach.  As always with Nicholas it is a quick romance to spending days and night together.

Maria is moving up the career ladder as a lawyer. This current job comes with some relationship challenges with one of the bosses. He approaches her during a out of town conference and suggests a way for her to make partner.  She turns him down then struggles to keep out of his way.

It begins to be clear someone is stalking her and sending her gifts and threatening her - but who?  Is the boss, is it someone from one of her previous cases?   Of course, Colin now in love is having a hard time controlling his emotions and his behaviors.   I found the intensity of the story quite challenging, Colin is out of control a couple of times which did not sit well with me.  I did not really relate to this story very much.

I am really enjoying my small watercolors cards for Christmas and other occasions.

I have tubes of water color which have not seen the light of day for years.  These were acquired at sales and generally at price discounts.  My sister and I have done large sheet backgrounds in the past. 

I decided to pull these out and use them but I needed a way to make them available.  I did a search and there were several ideas for travel watercolor palettes.  I headed over the Delta Art and purchased empty half pans at over $1 each.

I placed them in this cough drop tin and filled them with blobs of color from the tubes I had. I was able to have several versions of the 3 primary colors - blue, red and yellow.  I will be able to mix many color from these.

It does not give me much mixing space but I can use a white dinner plate for that purpose.

I have written down the colors on the left and I did paint a sample of each color in the photo above. I think I have 2 reds which are very similar. 

I painted 2 small landscapes just to give the colors a go. I will make cards with them later.

I did come across a way cheaper option for this project which I will share the link here.  She uses a dollar store eye shadow box which I thought was genius.

Still scoping out salt free snacks.  I found a large 630gm bags of these a Sobey's store on my trip south a few weeks ago.  

Have yet to check them out here in the city but it is on the ToDo List

It is hard to find healthy options at a good price and easily available because that is not what most people want.   I will keep at it.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It has to mid June because the Alberta Wild Rose is in full bloom.

They are so nice this year.  The perfect combination of sun and rain I guess.

They range from light pink to deep pink like this one!

Insects visit them regularly which will produce rose hip berries in the fall.

They are always in bloom at my birthday and I was able to spend the day with my sister which was wonderful.  My brother-in-law made a fire so I could have fire roasted hot dogs.

Of course, there was ice cream cake, my favorite birthday cake. 

In the Heart of the Garden by Helene Wiggin is a book a finished recently.  It chronicles the life of a garden established in 912AD by Fritha and still cared for by Iris in 1998.  Iris is elderly and she is thinking of moving and leaving her cherished garden.  She walks through it every evening,  touching its special places and plants as she strolls.

Iris Bagshott strolls down the paths of her ancient garden, close to Lichfield in the heart of England, wondering if it is time to sell her house and land for development.

She is unaware that around every corner myriad family secrets from the past unfold.

From a Saxon clearing to a monastery, Tudor dwelling to the present day, this sacred plot has nurtured her ancestors. Generations of Bagshott women have found refuge and solace tending it through years of plague, civil war and beyond.  This is their story

I found the early years of the garden hard, life was hard especially for the women.  I enjoyed the recent history a lot more.

I found some healthy sunflower seeds.  They are very low in sodium which is why I stopped eating the regular ones.  

I find I eat less when I start with them in the shell.

They are available at several stores in my area.

They make them in a variety of flavors but the original plain ones are fine with me.

I have found this a nice healthy snack.

I took this photo this morning on my walk.  

The piece of grass had collected fuzz and it looked cool.  I forgot my hat so seeing the screen was hard.  

I'm glad the shot worked out.

Look at that beautiful Alberta blue sky.

We just had a big rain shower as I am writing this on the longest day of the year but this morning was wonderful.

A good variety of grass in this shot.

The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs.  Another strong female character in the character of Grace Bennett. A naval officer's wife with regular moves, 3 children, putting supporting her husband ahead of her dreams of a business and a place to call her own where she make plans knowing she will be there for years not just 1-3.

Wives of naval officers posted to an aircraft carrier are granted power of attorney so they can handle every situation while their husbands are gone for 6-12 months at a time.  Grace buys the house of her dreams, moves her family and sets up her relocation business which she developed on her many moves over the last 20 years.

With several secrets coming out of the woodwork and a sudden crisis which is a wife's nightmare the family needs to communicate, come to terms with the crisis, listen to each other, and love  most of all.

All things come down to family comes first.

I washed the afghan from my bed recently, which was really needed.

For now, it lives on the couch instead of the bed so the bedroom has a cohesive looks of blues and greys.

It was a gorgeous day so instead of putting in the dryer I just hung it on the balcony rail for several hours.

It was dry and smells wonderful.

I'm not sure what the neighbors thought but I think it was worth doing.

I have been enjoying this old series which I found on the Roku Channel.

Based in a fictional county in England, the seasoned detective and the rookie investigate murders in the area.

British TV is so much less sensational than American TV.  I don't believe I have seen them draw a gun or shoot any one.  Lots of talking and listening.  Questions and more questions to get to the bottom of the situation.

There are 11 seasons so I likely will not get through all the shows before it is replaced by something else.

Loving it for now!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I headed out during the golden hour on Christmas Eve.

This is the grounds where our Government House is located.

I loved this face highlighted with the setting sun.

Ksan Totem Pole
Master carver Earl Muldoe with Chester MacLean and Victor Mowat

At the bottom of the pole is the Strong Man, who holds all the world's peoples united on his shoulders.

We are all in this together and things will be OK.

This is the North Saskatchewan River just west of Groat Bridge.

I love the reflection of the trees in the open water of the river.

It's been pretty warm here which explains the water still running in December.

My latest choice in snacks. Salted sunflower seeds in the shell.  A quarter cup takes 1/2 hour to eat and the calories are minimal but I feel I have had a treat.  Win Win.

I have to say that my cooking skills have improved during the COVID isolation.  There is a lot less take out food so I am doing steak, hamburger, chicken, shrimp, and fish.

With being home alone for Christmas I decided I would have turkey.  I baked a large turkey drumstick, put yam and brussel sprouts in the cast iron in the oven, and napa cabbage coleslaw. 

I had a butter tart for dessert which I was gifted. 

It was pretty nice!

My mosaic includes a candle bubble ornament, a red with swirl pattern hanging in a tree outside, and a silver with hexagonal pattern reflecting the colors surrounding it.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Monday was Redux 2020 which means we can choose any of the theme of the year.  I missed 3 challenges this year.  I chose "hook" which is the one I missed when I was not feeling well.  The photo on the right was for "one color".  Check my photostream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #111 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #272

Looking forward to 2021!