Baby Shower and toilet replacement

 Daughter L's baby shower in early March was a wonderful party.  There were games, raffle prizes, she had a cereal bar, a bagel bar.  We got fresh sandwiches from a local supermarket.  Daughter L baked all the desserts (cookies, brownies, the cake pictured above) for 85 people.  It was wonderful to get together with family and friends to celebrate the occasion.  (Yes, my daughter likes to do things in a big way).

And here we are at the end of March!  

For the records, a plumber is planned to come over this morning to replace a 16 year old toilet in our main bathroom.  The reason I know the toilet is 16 years old is that I searched this blog and found a reference to it.  Does your blog come in handy that way? 

Sunday Smiles

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

In sad news my husband's well respected brother-in-law passed away peacefully March 27th, he had Alzheimer's. He was 80 years old.  

Shoe Cleaning

 My sister and her husband were travelling in Hanoi, Vietnam.  She shared this photo of getting their shoes cleaned for .85c Canadian per pair.  It took him an hour to do 4 pairs and he wanted to give them back their change but they insisted he keep it.  I found it poignant but it is an honest living.

Friday Art - Gentoo Penguins

 Welcome to Friday Art!  These are Gentoo Penguins who showed up on my laptop screensaver (ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Cards and Japanese sweet potato

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's 'Cards' theme! Here is my ACEO (2 12/" x 3 1/2").

For the Dinner Date, I made Japanese purple sweet potatoes.  They are low glycemic and delicious.  Wash them, dry them, wrap each one in foil tightly.  Bake 350F 60 minutes.

Wednesday Memes

 

Free Sample

 I redeemed a coupon for a free Fuze tea sample the other day.  I was worth $4.95 according to the coupon.  I had to tap 'redeem' on my email and the cashier scanned the coupon in from my phone.  This one was somewhat different, it told me not to press 'redeem' until in store.

It is very good we love it.

Sunrise over Angkor Wat

 One of my sisters is travelling in Asia and sent this photo of sunrise over Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia.  It is extremely hot at this time of year 38C (100F).  It is a UNESCO world heritage site, a Hindu-Buddhist temple.

Sunday Smiles - Before Electricity

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.
 

Fried field cockroaches

fried field cockroaches

 One of my sisters visited Siem Reap, Cambodia recently.  I thanked her for letting me travel vicariously through her and her husband.  It is a 22 hour flight after all.

The photo shows fried cockroaches from the field as opposed to the ones in the houses.  It is from the insect market in Siem Reap.  You remove the head and legs and eat the body.  At the insect market you can also get spiders, tarantulas, crickets and so on. My sister said a kid asked her if she wanted to hold a live tarantula but she declined.

Friday Art - Clydesdale

 Welcome to Friday Art.  I did a Clydesdale horse portrait for you today, an  ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Microphone and Bean Soup

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's Microphone theme.  Here is my microphone ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

 For the Dinner Date, I made a three bean soup which I have made before.

 

Wednesday Memes

 

Outdoor urinals

 One of my sisters is travelling in Asia and sent this photo of outdoor urinals at a gas station in Cambodia. There are private toilets for men and women of course.  There is no toilet paper, just a bidet sprayer.  She took her own toilet paper for the trip.

St. Patrick's Day 2025

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Smiles - Spider Plant

 Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

Inspiration for Saturday

 Sharing some inspiration for you today!

Happy PI Day! and Friday Art

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  This is a cashew plant with the kidney shaped cashews hanging off it.  I thought they looked like faces.  It is  an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - Surfing and copycat Garlic Sauce

 Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date's Surfing theme.  This is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

  

For the Dinner Date I am sharing this copycat recipe for Papa John's garlic sauce.  (I had run out of Papa John's garlic sauce as we hadn't ordered their pizza in awhile.) I added paprika and Italian seasoning to the mix.

4 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

In a small saucepan melt the butter and mix in the rest of the ingredients

I used it to bake potato wedges 400F 30 mins.  It is so good, I plan to use it on sweet potatoes next!

Wednesday Memes

It is March Break here this week for the kids.

 

Flattering Outfit

I was watching the recent SAG awards and noticed this British actress Jessica Gunning going up for her award.  I couldn't help but notice how perfectly flattering her dress was on her oversized figure.  Here is a video of it.  I don't really know of her.

 

Some Inspiration

 I am sharing this inspiration from Einstein with you today.  Something to think about..

If you have been following my amaryllis bloom, this is a photo of the 2nd bud on the plant that bloomed right after the blooms on the first bud faded.

Here is an older photo of the plant with that 2nd bloom hanging off to the left side.  At that point I wondered if it would bloom.

Sunday Smiles - Thai Sunset (Koh Samui)

 For Sunday Smiles, I did a Thai Sunset inspired by a photo taken by one of my sisters as she was cruising by Koh Samui Thailand).  This ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in done in acrylic and watercolour pencil.

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles.

The baby safety class

 Daughter L asked us to sign up for a few free online baby care classes from The Baby Academy.  We attended our first one on baby safety this past Feb 22nd.  It was informative and I learned something as a grandparent.

Here are my notes, although they do email their slides.

Dangers to be aware of: watch out for falls, no hands in holes, burns, poisons, dog bites, choking, drowning.

Consider baby's eye view, crawl around to see their view.  Tie up blind cords, remove caps from door stoppers, put away batteries, medicines, get rid of dust balls, poisonous plants, check for loose parts on teddy bears

Keep toilet seat covers down

Any object that fits through a toilet roll is a choker (toilet roll test)

Bags are a suffocation risk

Never leave baby unattended in bath, drain water after

Consider a baby play drawer cupboard in kitchen

High fever temp 37.6 C

No tylenol under 3 months old

Get a digital thermometer (take temperature in armpit)

If baby rubs ears, could be ear infection

Avoid teething necklaces

No drinking water till after 1 year old

Ways to sooth baby...rub the top of his head, consider lighting, music

Administer meds upright

No aspirin under 18 yrs

Look for heat rashes, diaper rashes, chicken pox

Use sunscreen that says it is ok for babies

Meningitis is a high risk fro 0-3 months

Friday Art - Deer in Winter

 Welcome to Friday Art! This is my 'Deer in Winter' ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Peripheral Vision and Sandwich Trays

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! The theme is 'Peripheral Vision'. Here is my ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in acrylic and watercolour pencil.

 

 For the Dinner Date, I am showing some sandwich trays we ordered last month to test out for daughter L's upcoming baby shower.  They are from a local grocery store and the sandwiches were very fresh and delicious.  That is a mustard dip in the photo directly above that I neglected to uncover.

Wednesday Memes