Pretty Summer Flowers

I came across these pretty summer flowers on my walk the other day and thought I would share:

I'm about to receive an email money transfer in the near future, have you ever tried it? It's been around for years, but a friend decided it's the easiest way to re-imburse me for something as opposed to a plain cheque.

Now I'm starting to wish I owned an Ipad. They are starting these exclusive online magazine launches. I subscribe to Loulou magazine, and they are one of the magazines being launched online in this manner.  The first issue will be free to existing subscribers. It seems it will be a lot less expensive to subscribe online or to even purchase an online copy. The Huffington Post is doing something similar, but I don't read them.

Simply Cute

The theme for Creative Tuesdays is 'Simply Cute' which is the title of this piece.  It's a little duckling, isn't he sweet?

 I'm also linking to Paint Party Friday! This piece is done in acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5")

Please visit the other participants in these fun art co-ops!

Some interesting articles

This is a photo of a tree that was split in last week's thunderstorm.  We are having a marvelous summer so far, my son K is officially on summer holidays starting today and has found a job starting on Monday after our  long Canada Day weekend!  How neat is that!  I hope it goes well for him, it will be his first paid job.

I read a couple of interesting articles in the newspaper recently. The news has been so depressing lately, this one story is actually about a recent shooting in the city, but one of the survivors, a 13 year old boy and his family have surprisingly positive things to say about the whole incident. Have a read here and see if you agree with me that it's a wonderful story.

The other story is about Mabel's Labels at Walmart Canada. These mompreneurs have a successful product through a lot of hard work. It's a textbook marketing strategy.

Social media is taking over

M and I saw 'Snow White and the Huntsman' on the weekend.  I had seen it being promoted on a talk show and heard it was a different take on the Fairy Tale with Snow White having fight scenes and taking a more active role.  It turned out to be more of M's kind of action movie and I left the theatre feeling a bit tense.  I thought Charlize Theron did a great acting job, however.

What was new for me was a new interactive app game you can play on your smart phone before the start of the feature film.  If you answer the questions correctly you earn scene points which can be used toward movie rewards.  At the end of the game it displays the scores/results of all the players. Social media and its marketing is taking over!  We've also been told we can load our scene points card onto our smart phone and you never have to worry about carrying the card again!  Everything is changing so fast.  You can even purchase your movie ticket online and  load it onto your smart phone and have it scanned from there.  I have an older Blackberry with just one app loaded onto it.  There is a lot to learn when I eventually upgrade to perhaps an Iphone.  I already feel left behind!

Creative Tuesdays - Grab My Button

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays! MMm asked us to create our own blog icon button as this week's theme. I might never have done this if he had never asked us and I have to say I'm happy I did!  It's always fun to learn something new, after the fact anyway! 

I had done this acrylic painting on a (3" x 3") post-it note for a PPF and Summer of Color entry recently and thought it would be perfect for my blog icon.  So now if you click on it, it will take you to my blog.  You can 'grab' the html code from my sidebar on the right, to include my icon link in your own blog.  Not that I'm planning to run any link parties or anything!

Wild Black Raspberries

My friend S and I went for an early morning walk on the weekend and we happened upon some wild raspberries growing at the side of a main road. We plucked a few of the berries and the darker purple ones were fully ripened and so sweet! They don't use pesticides to spray the grass anymore, so I felt it would be ok to taste!  Ironically, these are black raspberries just like our current summer of colour theme!





We also decided to stop into a contents sale in the neighbourhood. It was being run by Sell My Stuff Canada. It was such a beautiful morning and we really just enjoyed the house tour and checking out the stuff for sale.

Sunday Sketches and Summer of Color

For Alexandra's Sunday Sketches and Kristin's Summer of Color this piece is done in acrylic on cardstock (4.5 x 6.5").  The Summer of Color theme is Baseball Nut ice cream which is a black raspberry and vanilla colour scheme.  I'm depicting fresh cut rosebuds in a simple vase.  Let's imagine they come in 'black raspberry'.  Please visit the talented participants at Sunday Sketches and Summer of Color!

The Birthday

I celebrated my birthday this past week. A friend suggested we get a group of lady friends together and have a girls' night out at a restaurant. My husband M would be out of town on business. There were a few glitches however.

Four days before the party, the friend who suggested the gathering had to cancel because she forgot that it was her son's graduation that night!

On the day of the party, a half hour before I was due to leave, there was a powerful thunderstorm. It had been a hot, humid day. The trees outside were bent over half way in the fierce wind, I swear. A window in our house started to leak. So I grabbed some beach towels and it solved the problem in the short term.

Then the phone rang around 6 pm just as I was about to leave for the restaurant (we had a 6.30 pm reservation). The girl said my 5 pm reservation had been cancelled as I hadn't shown up! I had a moment of panic and said I did need a table for 5 people as we were all arriving in the next 15 minutes! The girl put me on hold and went to check. She found a table in the bar lounge where we could be seated and I said it would be fine. It turned out to be a comfortable area and we enjoyed our food and conversation.  One of my friends had gotten a bit soaked in the thunderstorm but it had stopped by the time we left the restaurant.  The skies had a pinkish hue and were beautiful at sunset and the temperature had dropped by a comfortable 20 degrees.

This is what probably happened: the restaurant had called earlier in the day to confirm our reservation. I had quickly said it would now be 5 people instead of 6. Somehow that translated to a 5 pm reservation instead of the original 6.30 pm time. I just hope I'm not getting that old that I'm now messing up simple restaurant reservations!  The answer must just be to slow down.

Our leaky window still is under investigation.

Paint Party Friday - summer sunrise

For Paint Party Friday I've done a summer sunrise inspired by a Jim Steele photo (see below).  It's  acrylic on (6.5" x 4.5") cardstock.  Please visit some of the other talented participants in this popular art co-op!

Niagara Falls

M sent me this photo from his hotel room in Niagara Falls where he is at a business gathering.
It's a gorgeous view!

I've been weeding the garden for half an hour every day for the past week or so, hoping to win the battle against the weeds, or at least give it a good try! The lawn company is using this new iron treatment, but I don't think it works.

It's the longest day of the year, enjoy!  We're having hot, summery weather...a heat wave actually.

A Hazard

I was out for a walk and noticed this tree in the neighbourhood being removed. It's a large tree and I thought it was against the law these days. I asked the guys who were cutting it down and they said the people had a permit because it was a hazard. He said 'don't worry they can always plant another one and it will grow back in a few years'. I don't think so, let's hope the other trees on that street get to stay!

The neatest thing to watch was the tree shredder they had.  They would feed large branches into it and it would quickly chop it into bits sort of like when you put things into a food processor!

Creative Tuesdays - Gift

For Creative Tuesday's "Gift" theme I did an acrylic ACEO. I love receiving cut flowers as gifts!  Let's go see what the others did!

I had a rough day today

The photo above is funny if you are familiar with Dora the Explorer, the children's show!

Father's Day went well yesterday. Well, M discovered that his car battery had died the night before. So we tried to jump start it in the morning to no avail. We called CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) and they sent a battery expert over within 20 minutes. He restarted the car but determined that it was on its last legs (it was 5 years old anyway). We decided to let him install a brand new battery.

L and K decided to get their dad an oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. They also got him a new shirt. Later that evening we went out to dinner with M's mom. L noticed that RyanDan, members of an old boy band group B4-4 were just leaving the restaurant and was able to get a nice photo taken with them. She says she might have fainted if she was still 11 years old!

Mint Chocolate Chip

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

For Sunday Sketches and Summer of Color I did a 3"x3" acrylic on a post-it note!  I was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest.

A compliment

Here is a pretty iris flower I photographed sometime last month:





At the end of last month I needed a refill of K's hypothyroid medicine.  The family doctor said we should be checking his thyroid levels every 6 months and we had been doing it annually with an endocrinologist.  It seems the results have come back as abnormal and he wasn't sure what to do about that.  So we are going back to the endocrinologist.  The pharmacist told me this kind of thing is normal as he's still growing  and his condition has not stabilized.  He told me not to worry so I hope he's right.

The pharmacist said 'I don't know how old your son is, but looking at you, he can't be that old'...and he wasn't flirting, quite matter of fact!  Lol, made my day.  He's about my age or younger so then on top of that he called me 'miss'...wonderful pharmacist   and he has been very helpful to us with other drug information in the past.

Paint Party Friday and Summer of Color - Rainbow Sherbet

Linking today to Paint Party Friday and Kristin's Summer of Color.

Today's acrylic inspiration is done on  a  3" x 3" post-it note!

The Mustang GT

On the weekend, M, K and I were leaving this parking lot when we saw this Mustang GT convertible nearby. K said admiringly 'That's my dream car!' I said 'Why don't we take a quick photo of you standing beside it?'  No sooner had I done that when the owner comes up to us and asks if he would like to sit inside it. So we were able to get a photo of K sitting inside it as well!

The owner was a nice middle aged guy who said he had been waiting 30 years to get this car and that his wife finally gave him permission, lol.  He went on to say that his first car was an old station wagon passed down from his dad.  He used to park it a block away from school he was so embarrassed, until he realized it certainly got him and his friends from place to place.  

I got this photo from google, but it was similar to this one, except I think it had a black stripe down the centre of it.

A Small Miracle

My daughter L was at her boyfriend's cottage recently and apparently a neighbour brought over this (duck) egg that had fallen from its nest. L decided to try to help it hatch. They put it in an open box and she put it near a lamp to keep it warm. She figured that in a nest, it would be able to turn more easily than in a flat box, so she decided to help it turn and when she did that, the bird was able to gather enough strength and its beak was able to break through as pictured:

L saw that the bird was cold and decided to breath on it a few times to keep it warm. Over the next 12 hours (a very slow process) she observed it and tried to help it along, using tweezers to ease little bits of shell off when she sensed the bird was exhausted and couldn't push anymore. She had to be careful not to overdo this as it still needed its embryo for nutrients until it did most of the breaking through by itself. When it finally emerged L described it as a small miracle as it unfolded completely out of its shell. It wasn't much to look at by this point, but by the next morning, it had transformed into this:

They think it is a Merganser Duck as opposed to a Mallard. Apparently these ducks will leave the nest in about 2 days and go off on their own.  So far, this duck has become attached to L's boyfriend's mom and has  not yet gone off on its own.

Creative Tuesdays - Celebration

For Creative Tuesday's "Celebration" theme, acrylic on (4" x 6.5") cardstock. Please visit the other art co-op participants!  What says "Celebration" more than fireworks, better still off a cruise ship!!!

Beef Tortellini with Pesto Sauce

L told me that this is really good, it's supermarket beef tortellini pasta with supermarket pesto sauce and it IS really good. Ziggy's brand to be exact. You simply boil the tortellini in salted water for about 8 minutes. Drain and then mix in the pesto sauce. Everyone loves it and it's a super quick meal.  This brand also has a tomato sauce and an alfredo sauce which I will try soon.

Sunday Sketches - Reflections at Sunrise

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches. Please visit the other talented participants!

This piece is entitled 'Reflections at Sunrise' inspired by a Jim Steele photo pictured below.   At least I think it was at sunrise!   It's acrylic on acrylic paper (6.5" x 4.5"), I'm really pleased with the way it turned out!

Strawberry Milk

I picked up some strawberry milk at the grocery store last week. It brought back memories of my childhood and I thought it would be a nice summer treat for everyone! Do you like strawberry milk?  I think we just used to add some strawberry syrup to white milk in those days.
It seems I'm the only one in our house that likes it really, so I will have to remember that for next time and maybe just get chocolate! It's a bit sweet so I fill my glass with half regular milk, half strawberry milk and it's delicious!

Paint Party Friday - Baptism

It's time for Paint Party Friday!  Please stop by and visit some of the other participants in this ever growing art co-op!

We have been invited to a family Baptism, so I made this card for the little girl. It's done in acrylic on pink cardstock paper (4.5" x 6.5").

Brave

I got this in an email and thought I'd share (haha!):

M and I went to visit his sister-in-law who had a very recent mastectomy due to a return of breast
cancer after 18 years.   Apparently it is a different form of cancer this time.  She is a strong woman and it seems they have caught it in early stages  due to a timely annual mammogram.  Her kids are all grown up now for which she is relieved.  Do you know our hospitals are so crowded that this is a day surgery procedure, you are in and out in the same day!  This is scary, but that on top of wait times for surgery is really stressful.  She was lucky to have her surgery escalated, but this is not always the case and even the most critical cases can wait well over a month.

In other news, a guy at L's workplace had his identity stolen a couple of days ago.  He found out his phone number and address had been changed and $900 worth of phones had been ordered for delivery to his 'new address' on his Fido account.  They seemed to know his birthdate as well.  In addition to that, 2 of his credit cards had been compromised.  Their boss said she never puts anything in the garbage containing her address or her name.  This is a scary thing.

At the top of the Eiffel Tower

Do you want to see Paris, France from the top of the Eiffel Tower ?
This is so COOL!

Click here and you are on top of the Eiffel Tower scanning Paris ! It may be a bit slow coming up and I wish
they had picked a clearer day, but still pretty neat. Don't forget to try all the buttons at the bottom of the photo.

So I'm at the gas station yesterday and paying at the pump only to notice they have changed the payment procedure quite a bit at this place.  The machine was asking me to authorize the maximum payment amount??? on my credit card.  Then it asked me to enter my pin number before approving the purchase.  After I got through all the steps, I was given a receipt for the actual amount I spent.   I'm machine challenged to begin with, but once I'm familiar with the procedure it won't be a problem in future.

Creative Tuesdays - Underwater

Welcome to MMm's Creative Tuesdays...I chose to do the 'underwater' theme as I thought it would be prettier than anything I could find 'underground'!   It's acrylic paint on acrylic paper (4.5" x 3 ")

Please visit the other participants in this fun art co-op.

Summer Festival 2012

I was at the town summer festival with my friend S on Saturday. There was a lovely parade and threat of rain kept the large crowds away although it was busy enough. It was nice to see all the families out, including grandparents! The local politicians were out waving to the crowds. There were quite a few marching bands and some young dance troupes from the local dance schools, they were a delight. There was even a car with someone dressed up like Queen Elizabeth, Diamond Jubilee and all that!

At the Festival, I picked up a brochure listing non-invasive plants for  a southern Ontario garden and was surprised to find that English Ivy and Periwinkle are considered invasive and unwanted.  I will therefore keep a close eye on my English Ivy, it does tend to get out of control and stifle the other plants.

On Sunday, M and I went back to the Festival and had lunch there.   We shared a peameal bacon sandwich with mustard and sauerkraut, roasted corn on the cob dipped in butter and we had Starbucks blonde coffees.  I bought some strawberries from someone's farm.  The lady told me never to wash strawberries until you are about to eat them as they get soggy.  I should remember not to do that.

 There were tethered hot air balloon rides with a long lineup.  It's something I might have tried, tethered I mean.

It rained on and off but we had fun!

Sunday Sketches - Sunrise

For Sunday Sketches I was inspired by yet another one of Jim Steele's Cape Breton sunrises (as pictured in the photo below). My painting is acrylic on acylic paper (6.5" x 4.5").

Please visit the other participants in this fun art co-op!

Barley Water

I ate lunch at an Asian Mall in the fast food court the other day.  I decided to have Tom Yum soup as pictured from a Malaysian/Thai place.  The dish came with a different type of drink called barley water which I had never had before.  It tasted slightly sweet and was simple and plain.  I didn't mind it at all.   The Tom Yum soup on the other hand was VERY spicy.  I've had it before, but at a different place and I didn't remember it being that spicy.

I noticed quite a few business people there having lunch.  In fact, 2 gentlemen next to me were conducting a serious business lunch and debating on sales strategy.  One guy was having a bowl of delicious looking Vietnamese food, and the other got Pad Thai noodles.   It was an interesting lunch hour!  Yum!

Tom Yum Soup

Barley Water

Barley Dregs

Paint Party Friday - Beer Birthday Card

Welcome to Paint Party Friday and the first of JUNE!  I decided to paint a birthday card for my husband's upcoming birthday in early July.  It's acrylic on acrylic paper (2" x 6").

Please stop by some of the other talented participants in this growing art co-op.