Sunday Sketches - Orange Sunrise

Wow, it's the end of May.

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches! I did an orange sunrise in watercolour pencil and crayon on good quality blue cardstock (6" x 6"). Creative Tuesdays is having an 'orange' theme currently and that is why I am thinking 'orange'.  I created another orange piece to show on Tuesday.

Neighbourhood Peony

The weather has been wonderful, I have been going on a lot of walks and admiring the neighbourhood flowers.

I just read this book called 'Where There's an Inheritance', stories from inside the world of two wills lawyers.  I borrowed it from the library and wondered why it was in the Adult Humour section.  It does have some funny stories along with some serious ones.  A funny one was when this 75 year old man married a beautiful 31 year old.  His friends asked him how he got the beautiful young woman to marry him.  He said he lied about his age.  When questioned further as to whether he might have said he was 65 instead of 75, he admitted that he told her he was 95.

This book makes me realize that possessions should not be put ahead of health and family relations.  We cannot take material goods with us.  These lawyers Barry Fish and Les Kotzer have written 4 books based on their actual experiences/cases.  At first I thought I would read all 4, but now I think I need to take a break.  Some of the cases are hard to stomach, with tough life lessons.  The book ends with this quote from an unknown source "After all, life is really simple; we ourselves create the circumstances that complicate it".

Paint Party Friday - Cute Socks

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! One of my sisters broke her ankle badly on New Year's Day and is now recovering nicely. She visited from Florida recently and showed me the neat scar remaining from her surgery. I loved her cute toe socks too!  She is also wearing a zensah ankle sleeve (rolled back), depicted in orange.  It is a compressor support she wears to bring the swelling down over time.

I am using orange in preparation for the current Creative Tuesdays 'orange' theme.

Here is the complete sketch in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour pencil and crayon:

Mosquito Repellant

A girlfriend told me about this all natural mosquito repellant called Mozi-Q that is a homeopathic remedy. Daughter L goes up north a lot where there are lots of mosquitoes in the summer. She uses too much OFF repellant and we thought she could try this. Except she found this article saying it doesn't work. I got it at nutrition house along with some points cards that we can use there for future purposes. I also got her some citronella oil. They said you can add a few drops to a spray bottle of water and use to deter mosquitoes. Well, L will try them all but she has a feeling that OFF is the only thing that really works.

How do you avoid mosquito bites?

Sourwood Maybe

The Leaf

A Sprig

The Bark

I have been meaning to use this free Leafsnap app that identifies trees (in North America?) by taking a photo of the leaf on a white background. Here's my leaf.  The closest I can come at this point is that it might be a sourwood tree. The bark sure looks like it. This tree started growing at the side of the house some years ago and I have always wondered what it might be. At any rate it is a fun app, I might try it some more over the summer on different trees!  Once you snap the photo it displays a list of possible trees in order, with your photo at the top of the list and the list with leaf samples next to each item.

Coconut Quick Bread

I was browsing through my tumblr feed and happened upon this Food52 Coconut quickbread recipe. I decided to try it with wonderful results! Maybe you will like it too. It does call for lemon zest. Apparently there are at least 3 ways to zest a lemon or lime. I just used a vegetable peeler but daughter L informed me that I can also use a grate, the preferred method when baking. In any case we all loved it.

Do you still use recipe books? I have a lot of them, but lately it seems easier to find recipes online.

Roasted Garlic Mushrooms with Breading

I came across this recipe , I think it was Pinterest.  I simplified it as follows and it turned out to be quick, easy and delicious.  It would be great with steaks on the barbecue.  It is new for me to add  breadcrumbs to my roasted vegetables, I think I will try it with other vegetables for a change.  Maybe I will use panko breadcrumbs next time for a more gourmet touch! 


Ingredients

•  2 x 227g packs of whole white mushrooms
• 3 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped 
• a sprig of thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs
• juice of half a lemon
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 pre heat oven 350F
arrange mushrooms on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper
mix in all other ingredients
bake 15 mins

Sunday Sketches - Mourning Dove

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! This one looks like a Christmas card, I know...maybe it will be, so I am early this year! It's a greeting card in acrylic on silver paper.  It's called 'Mourning Dove'.

Peeling a Mango and Get to Know Me

Daughter L found this neat way to peel a mango, I thought I would share it as it really works!

Here's an interesting tidbit that IKEA is to promote its beds in London by serving breakfast in them.

In breaking news, Lissa has featured me in her new 'get to know your fellow blogger' series, please go take a look here.

Paint Party Friday - Out and About

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is entitled 'Out and About', done in my art journal (8 1/2" h x 11" w) in watercolour pencil and crayon.

A Fine Meal

This past weekend, husband M and I dined at this Portuguese inspired restaurant called Fishbone Bistro with some good friends. The food was extremely delicious, especially the appetizers we shared. And I am guilty of slurping down my Pom Martini too quickly. The service was not slow but for some reason we spent 3 1/2 - 4 comfortable hours there.   Here are some photos I wanted to share with you:

Caesar Salad

Warmed Olives, Beet Salad

Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts

Flaming Portuguese Sausage

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Bream Fish

An Inspiration to Us All

In a moving story recently, 'Star reporter Barbara Turnbull overcame debilitating injury to carve out a superlative career'.  On May 10 she died at 50 due to complications from pneumonia.  Barbara was shot in 1983 in a robbery at the convenience store where she worked.  She was only 18 at the time, it made her a quadriplegic.  She went on to graduate university as a journalist and was a regular contributor to the Toronto Star.  She is an inspiration to us all.  In her words “It is possible to build a life that is satisfying and has happy moments, despite what comes at you. The majority of us who face adversity — not just paralysis — discover this.”

Creative Tuesdays - Fairy Tale Tree

In breaking news, son K found a suitable field placement days before his course deadline (whew!)  So it looks like he is on track for completing his diploma and graduating from his college in the fall.

And now, welcome to Creative Tuesdays! Michael's current theme is 'Fairy Tale Tree'. My interpretation is done in my (8 1/2" x 11") sketchbook in watercolor crayon, watercolour pencil and acrylic.  It's inspired by a movie I saw recently with my daughter which we both LOVED.  Any guesses, lol.  I was also inspired by a banyan tree, thinking that it has that 'fairy tale' look.  And nothing could be more magical than a glass slipper and a flowing princess gown!  I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else did.

At the Hairdresser

At my hairdresser last week, I met a very interesting older lady who was also having her hair done.  I was talking to the hairdresser about this couple who delivered their baby in an airplane on the way to Japan from Canada.  To make it even more interesting, the woman had no idea she was pregnant!

Anyway, this older lady started telling us snippets from her life.  It seems her sister decided to have a baby at 42 using artificial insemination.  The sister is very educated and career-minded and was never able to find the perfect partner.  However she badly wanted a child of her own and explored all her options including adoption.  She had 3 failed artifical insemination attempts which resulted in miscarriage.  Then the doctor died of an aneurysm.  She found another doctor.  The nurse there told her she had a choice of 2 sperm donors.  One of them was a short man with curly hair, married with his own children.  He had very fertile sperm and had artificially inseminated many women.  The other sperm donor was a tall,blonde,young,handsome Scandinavian studying for his Phd.  She chose the Scandinavian because she didn't want her unborn child having so many unknown cousins in the world.  The sister successfully gave birth by Cesarian section to a baby girl.  She was so overjoyed at the miracle that she actually became religious.

I found this lady so interesting to talk to.  She went on to say that she met and married her husband in 10 days much to her parents' distress.  However the marriage lasted until her husband passed way 5 years ago.  She has 2 sons and 2 grandsons who are a part of her life.  I realized she must be lonely, she had so much to say.   After her husband died she did a lot of exotic travelling as he never wanted to do that.  She went to Varanasi, India with a girlfriend.  I asked her if she got sick, and yes she did, from some chicken she ate in a fabulous palace they visited.  Her girlfriend ate the vegetarian meal.  Regardless, she had a wonderful time.  She has even visited China where she didn't get sick, remarking that she ate only vegetables there.

At any rate, it was time for me to go and I bid her goodbye as we exchanged first names.  I thought she should honestly write a memoir.

Sunday Sketches - Spider Orchid

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! This is a spider orchid, have you ever seen one? It's done on a
 (3" x 3") post-it note in watercolour pencil.

Geese

It is the Victoria Day long weekend here, considered the start of the summer season.  The garden stores will be very busy as it is time to get the planting done.

Have you seen the new Supergirl trailer?  I'd like to see this movie (or new TV series rather)! Although a cousin reminded me the 80s Supergirl movie starring Helen Slater did not do well.

The Canada geese are so plentiful around here at this time of year. Here is one I saw in the grocery store parking lot. There is talk of culling the population but it is not an easy problem to solve.

And finally let me say, I am not a David Beckham fan, but I thought this one was hilarious:

Paint Party Friday - Magnolia Buds

I thought all the artists might like this one:

It's time for Paint Party Friday! I painted some magnolia buds for you today in watercolour pencil. It's done on a (3" x 3") pink post-it note inspired by a walk through the neighbourhood. I added what should be a pinky/salmon sunset in the background for extra interest.

My Good Deed

Here's a fun, short video for you to watch today!  It concerns 'advice from dad'.

This past Mother's Day I was at the mall with son K, he needed a haircut and we had a few shopping errands to complete.  I was at the top of a crowded escalator when this mom in front of me went down it  leaving a daughter of about 7 years old behind, urging her to step on the moving stairs and follow.  She had an older daughter of about 9 years old descending with her.  They had gone halfway down when I decided the little one in front of me needed help.  So I took her arm and helped her to step on the moving stairs with me as I supported her.  She really wasn't ready to do this on her own yet.  As we got close to the bottom, I told her to take a big step off and she did so happily as I let go of her arm.  Her mom and sister were waiting gratefully at the bottom.  In fact the older sister looked at me as if I was a savior, with a joyous expression, if I try to describe it.  So that was my (very) good deed for the day!

At the driver licence office

Husband M and I went to the driver licence office to renew our plates recently.  I noticed this young lady in line with a huge baby bump, I couldn't help thinking she must be almost due! I was tempted to ask her due date, but decided to discretely snap this quick photo to show you. Maternity fashion has changed over the years. I remember these huge billowy fashions but now the pregnancy is proudly displayed. When I was pregnant 23 years ago, I remember an older man remarking on my brightly coloured,if billowy dress. He was thinking the maternity fashions had become now more cheerful!

Fleeting Beauty

I took this photo not too long ago and the magnolia buds on the neighbourhood trees have since flowered and the blossoms have already started falling on the ground.  It is a fleeting beauty.

Emissions Test Not!

I thought our car needed an emissions test as it's almost time for the licence plate renewal.  It turns out I was mistaken because when we took it in the service man said we were ok, we didn't need one.  I must have misread the renewal form.  There is such a thing as being too efficient!  Anyway, we were in the area on a gorgeous sunny day last week so husband M and I stopped in at this Italian bakery.  I had a small latte topped with whipped cream and cocoa along with a brownie. M chose to have the cannoli pastry with coffee. It was all good! An older couple, seniors, sat nearby having what looked like a delicious shepherd's pie and bowls of soup.  The lady used a walker.

Sunday Sketches - Last of Winter

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!  I gave my mom a photo album with family photos of the extended family that I had collected over the year.  Her memory is getting progressively worse and she was very interested in looking through all the photos.  I had some photos of her with her 2 sisters who live in Florida.  She strangely recognized one of their husbands, remarking that he hadn't changed over the years.  She didn't recognize people who I thought she would have known.  The hardest was to remember the grandkids who live abroad, but that is understandable, everyone grows up so fast.  I decided to write names beside all the people in the album for future reference.

It's time for Sunday Sketches, this one is called 'The Last of Winter', done on a (3" x 3") post-it note in a combination of watercolour crayon, watercolour pencil and some acrylic paint.  That is supposed to be water from a river or lake in the background.

On Mother's Day Weekend

Have a wonderful Saturday, it is a busy weekend with Mother's Day being such a big occasion here!  Daughter L took me to see the Cinderella movie earlier this week and we both LOVED it.  It was beautiful and magical.  So that was our perfect Mother's Day celebration.  I had been wanting to see that movie for awhile and it more than lived up to our expectations.  A beautiful princess, a handsome prince complete with a happy ending, what more could we want, lol.  It also emphasized 'courage and kindness', with great acting and the costumes were lovely.  The mean stepsisters were so funny.  Cate Blanchett was excellent as the wicked stepmother.  L and I even had tears in our eyes at certain sad and happy moments!

Paint Party Friday - The Rose

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is called 'The Rose'.  It's a greeting card in watercolour pencil and crayon with an acrylic white background.  The story behind this is that I made some mistakes (errors with the rose, the shadows, even the background) so it became an acrylic white background after all the corrections!  I think it works now.

Ice Cream

I got daughter L an ice cream maker for her recent birthday. She loved it and set about making ice cream immediately, it was delicous with a soft serve ice cream texture:

Entrepreneurs

I thought this was a good one:

I am really annoyed with blogger, I used to get all my blog comments emailed to me, and now I noticed there are quite a few that just appear in my comments with no other indication. So Michael, Alexandra, Adam, Kathy, Lux and so on...I catch most of them eventually.

Did you hear that Sheryl Sandberg's husband Michael Goldberg passed away suddenly at age 47? Apparently he fell off a treadmill in a Mexico hotel gym and suffered a fatal head injury. Sandberg is the 45 year old COO of Facebook. Goldberg was a Survey Monkey executive.

Husband M and I went to the library the other night to attend this entrepreneur talk that was being hosted. We are not entrepreneurs but 4 of them spoke on their lives and their accomplishments. My plan was to take son K to learn something but he ended up having to be at his part time job that night. Entrepreneurs are a special type of person. Many start from childhood with newspaper routes, lemonade stands, and end up recruiting other kids to do the actual work while they collect most of the profits. They tend to 'connect the dots', or network to find people who can help them get the job done. I am always amazed at their boundless energy, ability to multi-task, and they seem to forget to eat, not having enough hours in the day to accomplish all they have planned.  It must be exhausting just knowing someone like that, although there is much to be admired about them.

A Long Walk

I thought this was cute:

The weather's been so nice, I went on a 4 hour walk with my friend S on the weekend.  A walk like that makes me very tired!  We poked around at a garage sale, fortunately bought nothing.  Then we arrived at a shopping mall where S bought a lovely leather T-shirt on sale.  A lady in the store was trying on a beautiful salmon red jacket that she was intent on purchasing.  I had been sitting/resting on a bench nearby her and remarked on the lovely colour and how it suited her.  She told me she had a 17 year old daughter with anxiety issues.  So she took her to a lot of private skating lessons because she thought it helped her deal with her problem.  I sympathized with her on dealing with a 17 year old to begin with, that is a tough age.

Monday

Maybe you feel like this at the start of the week!

I am very pleased to announce that son K passed all of his courses this past semester and just has to find and complete a field placement/internship for his last course credit towards a college diploma! It is a big accomplishment for him as he has a non-verbal type of learning disability that affects his English and Math processing.  Fingers crossed that he can find a suitable placement and quickly.  We've been more focussed on him passing everything than in finding a placement.

Sunday Sketches - Bird at Sunrise

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! This 'Bird at Sunrise' piece is done on a (3" x 3") post-it note in watercolour pencil. I have lots of art paper, it's just that I always have post-it notes handy and it's the easiest thing to grab a hold of when I feel inspired.

Funny

Do you ever feel like this sometimes?

We have been having sunny, wonderful weather.  It encourages everyone to be out and about.  Son K cleaned the wheels of the car with armour oil, he wanted them nice and shiny.  He has never done that before, maybe turning 20 has this effect on young men?  Then he went off to his part time job.  I invited a middle-aged cousin over for an afternoon walk.  She is depressed at what seems to be the end of a long-term relationship.  I hope she can feel better sooner rather than later.

Have a read through this article from Home Digest magazine.  It's called 'one damn thing after another (ODTAA)', I loved it. It says life is a series of problems to be dealt with and resolved. We should just accept that fact and at the end of it all we come out changed, compassionate, energized.  The Canadian Author Jim Campbell is described as a Northern Andy Rooney.  I decided  to buy his most recent book 'Glimpses Through the Mirror: The Collected Pen Point Columns'.

Paint Party Friday - Clematis

It's time for Paint Party Friday! This is clematis on a (3" x 3") post-it note in watercolour pencil. Welcome to the weekend and the month of May!