Blog Break

Here are some cool maple leaf shots I took while walking one morning in early summer.

I'll be taking a blog break for at least a couple of weeks as I'm having an elective hysterectomy due to a large fibroid I've had for years. It's major surgery, but very common with about a 6 week recovery period. It's a bit scary, but I haven't been thinking about it much, well, until the past few days as it looms closer.

I decided to go ahead with the procedure sooner rather than later, while I'm in good health. I also have a good rapport with this gynecologist and feel confident she'll do a good job.

It's a busy weekend ahead. We're spending a day at a friend's cottage then I have to prepare to spend 2 or 3 days in hospital next week.

Creative Tuesdays-Summer Break 2

I took this photo on a clear summer day. I was admiring the clouds against the blue sky.

Mr. Toast had to postpone Creative Tuesdays - Summer Break until today due to work commitments. So today's the day to link up our Summer Break entries for his big collage. Here's mine.

I was also the lucky winner of his last giveaway. You can see what I won in my July 14th post.

Please stop by and see what everyone else has done.

Donny and Marie, Gift Certificate

I just pointed my camera up into the sky the other day, the sun coming through the clouds was too bright to look at directly. Then I wondered if this would damage the lens of the camera, but it seems to be ok! I'm happy with the results. From what I can google, point and shoot cameras should be ok but I think I'll avoid doing this as a habit.

Julie Prichard had a giveaway on a lovely post about 'style' and I was the lucky winner of a Dick Blick gift certificate! It was a lovely surprise, my thanks to Julie.

I went to the Donny and Marie show on the weekend with some friends and enjoyed it very much. It was very nostalgic. Unfortunately Marie had lost her voice, but did make an appearance. Donny is such a role model. A lady sitting near us said she actually converted to the Mormon faith, being inspired by the Osmond family. That was a little over the top, but she seemed pretty normal, and a big fan although she said she wasn't a groupie. Oh, Donny and Marie came through the audience and we even got a 'high five' from Donny!

Before the show, the 4 of us went to an Italian restaurant near to the theatre and participated in their Summerlicious fixed price menu special. I was happy with my choices of mussels, cannelloni, and a refreshing sorbet for dessert. The tuna pasta dish looked good too. They seemed to have a lot of vegetarian choices on the menu, a healthy trend, perhaps.

K started his formal driving lessons, the instructor is having an easy time because he's pretty much driving already. He'll just have to go through the finer points. He has already had his in-class sessions.

Sunday Sketches - The Wave

Welcome to Sophia's Sunday Sketches. This one's called 'The Wave'. It's done with my usual watercolour pencils.

Please be sure to stop by and see what the other talented participants did today.

Sweet Saturdays - Wildflower Pathway

For Sweet Saturdays, I'd like to show you this pretty wildflower pathway. Our town is moving towards natural landscaping as opposed to the use of pesticides and manicured lawns. It's good for the environment.



Please be sure to visit the other participants!

Paint Party Friday - Orchids and Roses

I bought some orchids and roses at the grocery store and put them together in an arrangement as pictured below. I was pleased with the result and decided to draw them for Paint Party Friday.

Be sure to visit the other talented participants.

Gifts from Mr. Toast

I was the lucky Creative Tuesdays winner of the last draw and was most pleased to receive a package in the mail from Mr. Toast! It was a delight unwrapping each thoughtful little gift and I have to give Mmm a BIG thank you. I think Christmas does come more than once a year!

First, there was the monogrammed card with a nice note enclosed. Then came the personalized peppermints, a box of soothing Yorkshire teabags, a demitasse spoon, a lovely journal, a bath ball, a cute little ceramic bird and magnet. My favorites were the mini sticky notes with the Van Gogh Almond Blossom design and the amber satsuma tealight, it smells sooo good. I also loved that smooth, creamy Yorkie chocolate bar (that definitely IS for girls too!)

Thanks again Mmm, you made my day!

Summer Pathway

I was walking through this pretty summer pathway and thought it was worthy of a photo! I've likely taken a photo here before but every year, it seems a bit different.

I'm having some major surgery done in a few weeks (hysterectomy). It's elective, but better done sooner rather than later as I've had a large fibroid for years. It will require 2 or 3 days in hospital. Yesterday I had to do some pre-admission bloodwork at the lab. It was busy, but they processed at least 30 of us in about an hour.

Then I picked up some new mouthguards at the dentist in the same building. I have a grinding problem at night.

I'll take a blogging break starting the middle of next week I think, to get ready for the surgery. The weekends are also getting busy.

Old Friends

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday, L went out of town overnight to attend her friend's birthday party. K had a tennis tournament, then a friend of his came over to spend the night. They attended the local ribfest with M, me and some friends of ours. The ribs were excellent with beans, roasted corn, fries, onion rings. Then we went to Main Street for ice cream. I think that was 10K of walking and everyone was pooped that evening.




The next day we had a dinner party with some old friends, 2 couples we've known for about 30 years. We barbecued steak and I baked some trout. I decided to cut some lavender from the garden and put them in a few vases (as pictured). It added the perfect touch to the occasion and they smelled so nice. It's fun to get together with old friends and reminisce.

Clematis in Bloom and a Joke

I noticed this beautiful clematis in bloom and took a photo of it for you.




Here's a good one I got from Valerie at Craft Attack:

A man feared his wife Peg wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he
thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach
her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the problem.
The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could
perform to give the Doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.
Here's what you do,' said the Doctor, 'stand about 40 feet away from
her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears
you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a
response.'
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in
the den. He says to himself, 'I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what
happens.' Then in a normal tone he asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?'
No response.
So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his
wife and repeats, 'Peg, what's for dinner?'
Still no response.
Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his
wife and asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?'
Again he gets no response.
So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. 'Honey,
what's for dinner?' Again there is no response.
So he walks right up behind her. 'Peg, what's for dinner?'


'Frank , for the FIFTH and FINAL time, CHICKEN!'

Sunday Sketches - Jelly Bean Houses

For this week's Sunday Sketches, I'm featuring the 'Jelly Bean' houses of Newfoundland, Canada. I saw a photo in the newspaper, I've never actually been there myself.

Please be sure to visit the other participants!

Sweet Saturdays - Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

It's time for Diana's Sweet Saturdays. I'm featuring this Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
we found at the grocery store. It was fresh baked, sort of like a Chelsea Bun except it had apples in the centre. It was 'oh so good'.

Please join us for Sweet Saturdays.

Paint Party Friday - The Duchess

Prince William and Kate visited Canada this week and on Canada Day, I loved the maple leaf fascinator she wore on her head. It inspired my portrait based on the many photographs of her that were in the newspaper. They are leaving today and it sounds like they had a wonderful time and have promised to be back.

Please be sure to stop by the other Paint Party Friday participants!

Apricots, Crab, Lobster and Civic Duty

I was at the hairdresser the other day and he offered me one of his apricots. It was so delicious I decided to get some more! I usually get peaches. Apricots are a bit smaller in appearance. I remember them being very popular in Europe when I was there several years ago.




My day started off on the right foot yesterday when the receptionist at the gym greeted me: 'I LOVE your top'....well, all I could say was 'Thank You' with a big smile! It was actually a tank top given to me as a birthday present recently.

M has a few days of vacation so we met a friend for what turned out to be a lobster and crab lunch at a Chinese seafood restaurant. The food was delicious and the price was very reasonable. K also came along. We don't often have lobster and crab so I felt as if I was celebrating something. It's never a problem thinking of something to celebrate! In any case, I gave thanks for the delectable meal.

L told me they gave out free apples at her train station, an Ipad promotion.

Another good thing that happened recently was that I complained about a traffic light needing to be fixed. The town immediately opened a work order and the light was fixed within a few days! It had been broken for weeks, maybe a month.

Don't you just love good days? (-:

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I got this recipe from Bahama Dawn, it was her delightful contribution to the most recent Paint Party Friday. The soup is absolutely delicious, I urge you to try it. I didn't puree it at all (except for the cashew cream), being on the lazy side, or should I just say I prefer the rustic look (-:

M and I had gone to the Farmer's Market on Sunday. Thinking about the soup recipe, I got 2 bunches of broccoli which the farmer said had just been freshly picked the day before! How neat was that, so I'm sure that contributed to the taste of the soup.

And here's an interesting video of a butterfly hatching.
Auroran Lauriel featured it in her recent Paint Party Friday posting.

I'm learning so much in blogworld, it has really enriched my life. It's entertainment and education at the touch of a button. How about you?

Creative Tuesdays - Summer Break

Hello and welcome to Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesdays. This week's theme is 'Summer Break'. My sister has this floating chlorine dispenser in her pool and it was my inspiration for this theme. Hope you get a chuckle out of this one.

Let's go see what the other talented artists did today.

Mind Guessing

L and I saw the new Selena Gomez movie Monte Carlo on the weekend and we LOVED it. L was planning to go with a girlfriend but the girl had to cancel at the last minute. Then I read Icy BC's review and decided I'd like to see it, so we went. Katie Cassidy, one of the other stars of the movie turns out to be the daughter of David Cassidy (former 70's teen idol). Leighton Meester of Gossip Girls also did a great job as the other leading actress. According to Cineplex Magazine 'before you write this movie off as chicklet fluff, know this: the director is Thomas Bezucha, who made the sharp romantic comedy 'The Family Stone'. Guess that's another one I should see!

M and K went to see the new Transformers movie which was sold out for the showing they had planned to see. They got in to the next showing which then also sold out.

Look at what's new in the stores, Chocolate Cheerios. K likes them and there are worse cereals out there.



This is a fun game and it really works! Try it:

Mind Guessing

Think of someone who is famous before answering the questions.

Sunday Sketches - Blue Sky

It's time for Sunday Sketches! This week's piece is called 'Blue Sky' and I was inspired by a friend's photograph of her clear blue skies with not a cloud in sight that day.

Let's go see what everyone else did today!

Sweet Saturdays - Healthy Snack

Welcome to Diana's Sweet Saturdays. I have a healthy snack for you today!

Don't forget to visit the other participants and better still, join us!



K did very well on his Math exam so we are free for the summer! It's a good feeling. L has been home for 2 months already. She has to finalize her 2nd year course selection within the next few weeks and it's not something she takes lightly.

M just got back from Milan, Italy where he was on a business trip. He had a great time and in fact they were able to take the train to Florence for a day trip. It was raining the day they left on their trip and M said they had 2 hours of rough turbulence once they got into the air. Even the flight attendants had to stay seated the whole time. But then the rest of the journey was incredibly smooth and they gave out free drinks or something like that.

Paint Party Friday - Summer Cherries

It's Canada Day today, and a public holiday. Prince William and Kate are visiting Canada and generating some excitement! Here's a video of their arrival.

Welcome to Paint Party Friday. This week's sketch is called 'Summer Cherries', it's just a garden scene I thought was pretty.





Here's an inspiring (and art related) story for you:
Drawing to Save a Life

Let's go see what everyone else did this week!