Made My Day

A friend came by with these beautiful flowers recently, made my day! There was an event at her office and the arrangements were being thrown out after, great saves!

Several days later the hydrangeas and some of the roses started to wilt, so I cut back and re-worked the remaining flowers to create this new arrangement!  Carnations always last the longest.

Creative Tuesdays - Plum

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays! Michael's current theme is 'plum', it has been extended till September 6th, I hope you can join us. I did my eggplant piece on textured beige cardstock (6" x 6") in acrylic. The plum colour made me think of these vegetables.

Wooffles and Cream

A new kind of ice cream store opened in the city recently. It's called Wooffles and Cream as pictured.  It is very popular and we were able to stop by to try it a few weeks ago. Of course, it is really delicious. They make up these fresh waffles, then wrap them around soft serve ice cream.  Basically, you break a piece of waffle off and eat it with a spoon of ice cream!  I loved it, in fact it made my day!

The stall is in an Asian mall and was inspired by a dessert from Hong Kong.  I have yet to try the salt and pepper waffle, but this red bean flavoured one was fine.  Pictured below is a matcha (green tea) flaoured ice cream.

Sunday Sketches - Sailboats at Sunrise

Welcome to Sunday Sketches from England! This piece was done in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour crayon and pencil. It's called 'Sailboats at Sunrise'.

My cell phone appeared to die on me yesterday morning, it felt like a major crisis. Luckily my husband was able to figure out that I had forgotten how to do a reset after a power off. On the iphone, you have to press 2 buttons for a few seconds to reset until you see the apple logo. Whew!

Beer Glasses

We got these beer glasses as a gift recently. They come with beer openers on the bottom, kind of neat don't you think?

Paint Party Friday - Peeking Through

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I've done a piece in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour crayon and pencil. It's called 'Peeking Through' inspired by a photo I took in my backyard.

Quick and Healthy Meal

My friend S told me about this quick and healthy meal. It is a can of low fat mushroom soup with a package of medium firm tofu cut into small pieces. It is delicious if you like tofu.  You can cut the tofu into smaller cubes for a less rustic look.

And wow, I received a spam comment yesterday on one of my posts in arabic!

Harbinger of Fall

They have started selling chrysanthemum pots in the stores now, a harbinger of fall:

Here's another harbinger, these neighbourhood plants are called 'sedum autumn joy' and start to turn colour around this time:

Magnolia Rebloom

The magnolia trees seem to be having a 2nd bloom, I've never noticed that before. Can you see the new buds?

Summer Slipping Away

Summer's slipping away, sigh. Here are some photos I took for you.

Sunday Sketches - Baby Booties

Welcome to Sunday Sketches from England! This is a greeting card on textured yellow cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in acrylic. These are baby booties.

Fruit Fly Killer Potion

We were having a problem in the kitchen with fruit flies hovering around the bananas. Daughter L did some research and decided to try these 2 potions to kill the flies. The orange one actually worked! It was apple cider vinegar and some pieces of fruit warmed up in the microwave. But actually we now just store half eaten bananas in a sealed ziplock bag and the problem disappeared.

Paint Party Friday - Robins

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This is a greeting card on textured pink cardstock in acrylic (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").  These 2 robins are having a chat.

Blueberry Almond Cake

Daughter L made this blueberry almond cake for us last week.  Denise from 'An English Girl Rambles' shared a recipe for raspberry almond cake. We turned it into blueberry almond cake as we prefer blueberries.  L used a bit less sugar in the recipe.  It was so delicious (I didn't say calorie free), this recipe is a keeper.

Thistle

Thistle

I had a hard time last week locating almond paste for a cake recipe I wanted daughter L to try for me. Thanks Denise, from 'An English Girl Rambles', for sharing it.  I was finally able to find it.

This is a heartwarming story I read in the newspaper the other day. A lonely elderly couple were soothed by police in a show of humanity. They cooked them plates of pasta.

Creative Tuesdays - Journey

Michael's Creative Tuesdays theme is 'Journey'. My piece is done on a textured blue greeting card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in acrylic. I started thinking of things that symbolize travel: air balloons, luggage, airplanes.  My mind wandered to my bucket list of places I'd like to visit, a seemingly endless list, but life gets in the way.

I settled on using a sailboat to symbolize my journey theme.  I love drawing sailboats and here you have it!

Winner

Nas from Romance Reader featured Romance author Karin Baine on her blog recently. Karin had a giveaway to one of the commenters and I won this lovely book from her! Thanks Karin!

We were watching a lot of the Rio Olympics last night, really exciting track and field.  Congrats to Usain Bolt winning gold in the 100m final.

Sunday Sketches from England - Cold Frothy Beer

Welcome to Sunday Sketches from England! I did a 'cold frothy beer' card for you today on textured cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in acrylic. Have a wonderful Sunday!  I don't actually drink beer, but I know the good ones have lots of froth on top!

Summer Visitors

A good friend was in town on a summer visit to family and friends. We met up for dinner with her and her now adult children. She brought me a small, thoughtful gift and I loved the gift bag too, isn't it nice?

Paint Party Friday - View from the cave

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is done in my art journal (8 1.2" x 11") in watercolour pencil and crayon. I scanned it several weeks ago and almost forgot to post it! It's called 'View from the cave'.

Overheard

Wildflower

Husband M and I were out on the weekend and just getting out of our car when we heard this man shouting out to a friend on the street 'Eric Snyder died of a heart attack 2 days ago in the nightclub'. The other man expressed his shock and they were on their way.
Poor Eric Snyder was all we could think.

Coffee Stop

This past weekend husband M and I stopped by this European bakery for a coffee stop. I had a latte topped with cocoa, it looks like one of Valerie's cappucinos! The corn muffin was delicious, as was the croissant. Husband M loves corn muffins, but they are so bad for his diabetes.

Overhearing

mushrooms

Son K and I were at Ikea last week, during a tremendous heat wave, in the lineup for ice cream cones. There is always a long line, but it moves quite fast. I couldn't help but overhear the ladies in conversation right in front of me. The older lady was saying she got liver cancer and they operated and removed 5 tumours. Then they told her she would have to get a liver transplant. She was able to get one from her sister and seemed to be recovering. (You can have live donors?  It must be so) Her greatest wish had been to see her grandbaby born and indeed the child was waiting with its mother not too far away. I was going to title my post 'eavesdropping' but it was more a case of overhearing I think.

At Their Peak

These pretty wildflowers are at their peak in the neighbourhood!

Have you been watching the Rio Summer Olympics?  We thought the opening ceremonies went off very well.

Sunday Sketches - Frog in Pond

Alexandra is currently hosting Sunday Sketches in England! My piece today is done on a textured greeting card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in acrylic, and it's called 'Frog in Pond'.

Are they real

I noticed these sunflowers for sale at Walmart recently. I had to touch them to see whether they were real, they were!

Paint Party Friday - Birthday Card

For Paint Party Friday, I did a birthday card on textured beige cardstock in acrylic (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").  Thanks to Kristin and Eva for always hosting us!

Bus Bicycle Rack

If you look closely you might notice this bus has a bicycle rack attached to its front for the convenience of its riders. I thought it was pretty neat.  Apparently this is not a new feature, I just never noticed.

Sympathy Flowers

A friend notified me that her mom had passed away suddenly last week of a heart attack. We sent her the flowers pictured above. The flower shop kindly emailed me the photo and assured me that they had been delivered. I think it's beautiful.

At the Hairdresser

Deer family in cottage country

I went to the hairdresser last week, we were going to a special wedding a few days after that, and I wanted to get my hair cut and coloured to ensure I could look my best!  It is a calm and quiet place and I like to chat with everyone.  It was a hot day.

Mind you, this time a lady came in with her newborn baby in a stroller and with her little girl in tow.  I do remember those days.  The hairdresser told her it was not a good idea to bring the baby too close due to all the chemicals.  The lady said she had no other choice but to bring the kids with her.  It didn't take long before the baby started wailing at the top of its lungs.  Yes, I do remember those days.

The esthetician told me her husband had one of his legs amputated below the knee due to diabetes complications when he was 50 years old.  That was 21years ago, and she has been looking after him since then.  It means she has been tied down as a caregiver for a long time.  He is able to go to the washroom on his own and is not totally helpless compared to her friend's situation.  That friend rents a machine from the hospital for $130/month that will lift her husband in and out of bed as he is bedridden.  He has no control of his bowel movements and does not want to go to a long term care home.  He is a wealthy man and the family respects his wishes.  Some people seem to have to carry more burdens than others in this life, I thought.

There is a dollar store in the plaza and I am happy to report I bought my 2017 daily agenda!  It used to be a deal to get it there but the price keeps increasing.  And yes, it's a paper book, nothing online for me as yet.

Nobake Mango Cheesecake

My cousin dropped by with this nobake mango cheesecake she had baked for us. It was very kind of her and who doesn't love any kind of cheesecake?

It's a long (civic) holiday weekend here, the next long weekend will mark the end of summer, sigh. The back to school gear has already come out in the stores.  And welcome to August!