Paint Party Friday - Fruitillarias

It's time for Paint Party Friday! Please stop by the other participants, it's fun!

Today, I did an acrylic painting, it's an ACEO. I saw this photo in the newspaper of a bunch of fruitillarias. They are spring bulbs, but now is the perfect time for planting them.  I enjoyed painting with acrylics, if you make a mistake, you just paint over it. Of course, there's a lot more to learn. I didn't even have a pencil sketch like I normally do.

Quinoa Recipe

I located a box of Quinoa at the grocery store:

Then I found a great recipe to try it out with.  It's called 'Hearty Quinoa and Bean Soup' from Chatelaine. I forgot to get spinach for the recipe, so here is what mine looked like:

It was absolutely delicious, and I can't wait to try quinoa in another way.  Don't forget to wash it first, before using it as it says on the box.  I didn't remember, but everything turned out ok.

The Visit and Molasses Cookies

L paid us a visit from university this past weekend.  It was lovely to see her, except she came home with a virus.  We ended up taking her to the doctor where she got some antibiotics for a throat infection.  I'm glad she was able to rest at home.  Now M and I have colds and sore throats!

I made her a batch of The Southern Lady's molasses cookies to take back to school.  They were a bit hit with her friends!

And finally, make sure you're not eating when you see this 37 second video:
Beetle (Epomis circumscriptus) attacking and preying upon toad (Bufo viridis). You might be surprised at the result!

Creative Tuesdays - Morning

Welcome to Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesdays!

This week's theme is 'Morning' so I thought of a 'Rooster at Sunrise'. Did you ever notice the colours of  a real rooster's feathers don't typically seem to match or co-ordinate?  Maybe it's just me.  Although I've seen some beautiful Rooster art.

Please stop by the other participants and feel free to join in too!

Amen

Got this joke from a friend:

A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa .

'The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it.

Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?'



After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, 'Wedding Cake?'?

Sunday Sketches - Moon Rise

Welcome to Sophia's Sunday Sketches!

I'm calling this little ACEO Moon Rise.  Hope you like it!  I actually used acrylic

white paint on the shrub. The rest of the sketch is watercolour crayons.

Please stop by and see what everyone else did for this lovely co-op.

Sweet Saturdays - Weeds or Wildflowers?

It's time for Diana's Sweet Saturdays!  Please stop by the other participants, or better still, join us!

I snapped these pretty wildflowers on the last day of summer. As I got up close I realized I pull some of these out of my lawn every year. It doesn't seem right.  Might I add that it was the most perfect gorgeous day!

Paint Party Friday - Autumn

It's time for Paint Party Friday!

I've done an Autumn leaf on the pavement inspired by a photo I took recently.

Please stop by the other participants and have some fun with us today!

Circle the Cat game

Try this one, it's entertaining!

A new recipe and an interesting article

Recently I was at a friend's house for dinner.  She made a  Spanish Slaw recipe similar to this one and  I really enjoyed it.  Apparently it is always popular when she makes it for friends.  She actually just buys the packages of pre-shredded cabbage instead of shredding it herself.

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon diced pimientos
• 1 teaspoon grated onion
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine cabbage and green pepper. In a jar with tight-fitting lid, combine remaining ingredients; shake well. Pour over cabbage mixture just before serving; toss to coat. Serve with a slotted spoon.

I found this news article interesting:

Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
- in summary,  it seems scientists have been trying to decode this enzyme for a decade and the gamers were able to do it in 3 weeks.  People have the spatial reasoning skills that computers lack.  Games bring the strengths of humans and computers together.  This new partnership could lead to new medical advances.

How to Read a QR Code

I recently wrote a post about QR codes. They are in magazines, store flyers and in a lot of news articles lately. From what I read, they originated in Japan and are popular in Europe. They are now popping up all over North America and it was bothering me that I didn't know how to read them.

I found this information on Search Engine Land:

'QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.'

So my big accomplishment this past weekend was to download my first app and read a QR code. They actually gave instructions on how to do this in our local paper:

1. From your smartphone browser application, visit any of the following websites
Bakodo -    http://bako.do
Scanlife -   http://www.scanlife.com
I-nigma -    http://www.i-nigma.com

2. When detecting your smartphone model, your mobile device will ask permission to download the reader application.  Press accept, download and install.

3. You are now ready to read QR codes from your mobile device.

The Scanlife reader worked fine for me on my Blackberry. It put the app in my download folder. So I just go there if I want to  access Scanlife to read a QR code.


Hope you'll find this information useful!

AAADD -- We May Have This

This is a funny email I received:
 

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.... .PLEASE READ!
Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better,even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the waste basket under the table,
And notice that the basket is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
On the table and take out the rubbish first.

But then I think,
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the rubbish anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
And see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push the Coke aside
So that I don't accidentally knock it over..

The Coke is getting warm ,
And I decide to put it in the fridge to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and
Discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
But first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
Remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn't washed
The bills aren't paid
There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
The flowers don't have enough water,
There is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all darn day,
And I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, AND I'll try to get some help for it,
But first I'll check my e-mail..

Sunday Sketches - Beach ACEO

Welcome to Sophia's Sunday Sketches!

I'm doing a Beach scene that I saw in the newspaper.  It's trading card sized.

Please stop by the other talented participants.

A first sign

Welcome to Diana's Sweet Saturdays!  Be sure to drop by the other participants or better still,
join us!

I was walking this week and spotted a first sign of fall on the pavement beneath me, simply beautiful don't you think?

Paint Party Friday - Gros Morne ACEO

Welcome to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday!

I saw a photo advertised in the newspaper and it caught my attention:

This is Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador.  It is a glacier-carved fjord 2000 feet deep, which started to form about 485 million years ago. I don't think I'd be standing anywhere near the edge like that!

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today!

Follow-up

I had my follow-up appointment for my recent hysterectomy yesterday.  The doctor says everything is  fine and I can now lift weights and go back to the gym.  Of course take things gradually, but I have no restrictions really.  Yay!

Have you heard of lemon cucumbers?   There was an article on them in the newspaper recently.
I found this photo on google by aerogardenseeds.com.  Apparently they taste just like cucumbers, maybe a little sweeter.

Pretty

I was out walking last week and took this photo, I thought the plant looked so pretty spilling over the fence.  It was a warm, sunny day at the end of the summer.

Yesterday was a busy day. After dropping K off at school, I went to Walmart to get a can of maple syrup and some Cadbury chocolates as a gift for a colleague of M's who is in town for a few days from the U.S. They have all the Halloween candy out already. I needed some other things and couldn't help thinking that Walmart seems to sell everything. K asked me to find some silver jewellery cleaner, and I did! Of course they had 3 varieties of maple syrup for me to choose from. Then I needed a new bottle of soy sauce and they had that too. I even found some low sodium canned salmon that I thought would be good for my mom (and me come to think of it).

Then I took my mom for her checkup at the heart doctor. It went well and her next checkup will be in 6 months if all continues to go well. She is living with congestive heart failure but at the moment you wouldn't know anything was wrong with her. Heart failure's like that.  Oh, I met this other lady in the doctor's office who was dutifully pushing her father's wheelchair around.  It turns out he's 91.  She told me at this age, you have to be careful with offering  too much help because it's important for them to retain a sense of independence and dignity.  I'll have to remember that.  She let him get up slowly on his own and walk the few steps into the electrocardiogram room.

At any rate, it was a good day.

Creative Tuesdays - Kitchen

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays - Kitchen. I actually own this reproduction antique washstand but not the pitcher and basin. Hope you like this kitchen vignette I came up with!

Please be sure to visit the other talented participants!

Cute

I received this in an email the other day and thought it was cute:

Yesterday, I met with some friends visiting from abroad. We had a lovely lunch, exchanged gifts, took photos and enjoyed chatting with each other. It felt like Christmas or a birthday and we all loved our gifts, which none of us were really expecting.

 Did you notice the full moon last night?

Sunday Sketches - Potted Orchid ACEO

Welcome to Sunday Sketches!

Do you remember what you were doing on 911?  I remember it being a sunny morning, I had just dropped the kids off to school and was driving to a new dance class.  Then I heard the confused announcement on the radio.  It sounded like a small plane had crashed into tower.  Then more news came, and it sounded a lot worse.  When I got to the class, I remember thinking 'how will they rescue the people?  Could they land helicoptors on top?'  Well, we know the end of this tragic, awful story.
It's a sombre day today.

As for my Sunday Sketch, the  beautiful potted orchids I have at home inspired this work.  I selected a few of the flowers to draw and made up my own imaginary potted arrangement.  The dark coloured pot is meant to contrast against the white background.  I left the background white because I think it suits the arrangement.  Thanks for stopping by.
Please visit the other participants to see what they did today!

Unicycle Juggler

I went for a walk with my friend S on Labour Day earlier this week and there was a juggler on a unicycle on Main Street entertaining the crowd.

Paint Party Friday - Orchid ACEO

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I've done an Orchid ACEO for you today.  This beautiful orchid plant that I have at home inspired me to draw a cross section of its flowers.

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did this week.

A new restaurant

This past weekend, we decided to try an Ethiopian restaurant with some friends. It was an interesting experience and I took some photos to show you. The lighting was subdued, so the photos are a bit dark, sorry.

They have a sponge-like sourdough flatbread called injera. We asked for forks, but it's normal to break of bits of the flatbread and use these bits to sop up the various stews and sauces.

At the end of the meal we wanted to try the Ethiopian coffee as we had heard their coffee is very good. I would compare it to a muddy Turkish coffee. It's served without milk and you can ask for sugar. They served the coffee in a type of ceremony where roasted coffee beans were passed around each table so we could appreciate the fresh aroma. Then small cups were brought out with burning incense as pictured below. The funny thing is we thought the incense was rock sugar and put some in our coffee. We even tasted it and realized it wasn't sweet. Then the girl told us it was incense and brought us some sugar. We had a good laugh about this experience.
We ate well, although I would have to admit it wasn't my favourite food. However, it was an interesting experience. One of our friends seemed to be really enjoying his food and ate his whole injera. He also loved the coffee.


This is a meat and vegetable combination platter. There is a tossed salad in the middle, surrounded by beets, lentil, peas, collard greens, beef, chicken, lamb, cabbage. The lentils and chicken were very spicy.





This is a chicken dish




This is a vegetarian platter containing peas, beets, collard greens, cabbage and spicy lentils. The tossed salad had hot jalapenos.




This is injera, a spongelike sourdough flatbread





Coffee is served in small cups with burning incense as part of the coffee ceremony




Incense

I have been given

I have been given the letter F
Something I like: Free
Something I dislike: Flu
Something I need: Fun
Somewhere I've been: France
If you like this I will visit your blog and give you a letter!

When Insults Had Class

These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words: A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress." "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

·

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow

·

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

·

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

·

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

·

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends...” - Oscar Wilde

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"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

·

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

·

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

·

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

·

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

·

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

·

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

·

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

·

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

·

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

·

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

·

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

·

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

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"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

·

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

A new appreciation of life

It's a long weekend (Labour Day) in Canada.

L is all settled in for the new school year at university and glad to be back with her friends, living as young adults I suppose. We'll go back to using Google video or Facetime or Skype to communicate. I remember being very sad last year. It's different this year, I think we know what to expect. Now that she is residing off campus, I'm a bit more concerned about safety, but hopefully everything will be okay.

K goes back to school in a couple of days, back to the grind. His new binder's all packed.

M had a health scare last week but had normal results on the retest. Things like this give us a new appreciation of life.

Have you switched to the new blogger interface yet?  It's as simple as just clicking on it, at the top of the design bar.  If you don't like it, you just click the same button to switch back.   Icy BC gave me the heads up on this. At first glance, I like it, but like anything new, it takes some getting used to.

Sunday Sketches - Tortoise

Welcome to Sophia's Sunday Sketches!

I was inspired by LadyCat's visit to the zoo. She had a photo of the cutest Galapagos Tortoise and I decided to sketch one today.

Please stop by the other participants to see their Sunday Sketches.

Sweet Saturdays - Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies

Today for Sweet Saturdays I'm featuring zucchini oatmeal cookies. I have a couple of them with my morning coffee and that takes care of breakfast! They do have a muffin kind of taste.

I got this recipe from The Southern Lady, something a bit different, I thought.




And have you heard about the new Standing Desks? I thought it was a wild idea until I heard they are already in use in some schools in California and in some of their offices. They are totally optional for now. In the schools, they are good for some kids who just need to move for awhile. In the offices it may be just better if you have a back problem.

Paint Party Friday - Lightning Storm

Welcome to September and Paint Party Friday!

A week ago we had a scary thunderstorm that lasted 4 hours. The skies were very dramatic that night and inspired my ACEO (Artist Trading Card) today. I'm calling it 'Lightning Storm'. I used my usual watercolour pencils.


It's my first time using this archival quality paper (2.5 by 3.5 inches). It's 240 lb watercolour paper, printed with an acrylic primer. It's suitable for oils, acrylics, watercolour, gouache, pastel, pencil,charcoal, etc. I really noticed the quality compared to the 90 lb watercolour paper I usually use. For one thing, this paper doesn't curl if you wet it too much.


Please stop by the other participants to see what they did this week.

City Architecture

I took this photo of a section of the Royal Bank Plaza in downtown Toronto. K and I were struck by the beautiful architecture as we passed by. The building is about 30 years old and still looks state-of-the art and amazing. Its two towers (not really shown here) are covered in gold leaf.