Creative Tuesdays - Pie

Here's my offering of pie today, (pumpkin pie) for Creative Tuesdays. It's done in my art journal (5"h x 7"w)in watercolour pencils.  I love pumpkin pie with whipped cream, probably a lot more than is on this slice!

Ebola Precautions

I was at the blood lab the other day, I had taken my mom for a routine blood test. I noticed this sign on the door. They are taking the Ebola crisis very seriously around here.  Admittedly, it is scary.

Well I hope your weekend was good anyway.  We are having the most fabulous summery weather.  I was at church on the weekend.  Our church is having an upcoming pet blessing, you are invited to bring your pets for this, ensure they are on a leash and be aware that it is a blessing and not a baptism, according to the priest, lol. 

In other news, confirmed handsome bachelor George Clooney got married if you have been living under a rock.  And Chelsea Clinton gave birth to a daughter Charlotte, proud grandparents, Bill and Hillary.  I don't know why, but I do enjoy happy gossip!

Sunday Sketches - Celebrate

Welcome to Sunday Sketches!  This piece is done in my art journal (5"w x 7"h) in watercolour pencils. I call it 'Celebrate'!  Or maybe it just means 'It's been a long day', lol.

Meatloaf

I've been making a lot of meatloaf lately inspired by Crystal's post.  She is right, that ketchup topping (ketchup, brown sugar, mustard) is delicious!

In other news son K told me has a new girlfriend.  She is a pretty girl and sounds really nice.  He is 19, so it's normal.  I was just hoping he could keep his focus on school for a bit longer as we work towards a college diploma.  Staying positive, maybe this will make him more mature and focussed.  And I don't know if it is a good or bad thing that she doesn't live close by although they are at the same school for now.  As I've mentioned K has a non-verbal learning disability which affects math and english.  He had a really awful first girlfriend when he was 16.  That one couldn't understand why he had to listen to his parents at the time.  I don't think I'm too protective, more on the practical side.

So how do you spell 'focussed?'  Some say 'focused'.

Paint Party Friday - A View

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is done in my art journal in watercolour pencils (7"h x 5"w). It was inspired by a furniture catalogue I was browsing through. I just cropped a section of the photo that appealed to me, I suppose it was the fabulous view out the window.

My Food Tip

Maybe most people do this, but we have started tossing our leftover vegetables into a can of vegetable soup before bringing it to the boil.  The vegetables can be boiled or roasted with whatever spices you may have made them with.  It will be all the better.  So you use up your leftovers and end up eating more vegetables.

Pisa

Neighbourhood Flowers

Did you know that the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy is no longer in danger of tipping over? It was fixed to its original tilt 300 years ago.  The restoration started in the year 2000 and took 2 years, requiring 100 tonnes of earth under the foundation. I hope to visit there someday although it is very crowded.

Do you have a dream destination?

Petals Starting to Fall

These are some beautiful roses taken in the neighbourhood on a sunny afternoon as the weather turns to fall.  The petals are just starting to fall.

I took my mom to the dentist yesterday for a checkup, all was good. We give her antibiotics an hour before she gets any dental work as a precaution against the possibility of a dangerous heart infection. They do this for heart patients. Then we went to McDonald's for lunch. I usually get her a signature Mcwrap, the bacon and chicken grilled one. I substitute a side garden salad for the fries that come with the meal. She eats the wrap while I eat the salad. These are probably the healthiest options at McDonald's. She was saying a lot of silly, untrue things and I just humoured her.  She has advancing dementia and has no idea there is anything wrong with her brain.

Taco Dinner

This is a taco dinner daughter L made the other day.  It's from a pack of those Old El Paso dinner kits.  You add your own ground beef and toppings.

We have been having glorious early fall weather, in between some heavy rain.  Just a cool breeze with lots of sunshine and you barely need a sweater if any.  The leaves have started to fall.

I just recently watched Forrest Gump the movie and loved it.  It's the 20th anniversary of the movie. Isn't it a classic?

Sunday Sketches - High End Sofa

This is a high end sofa done in my art journal with watercolour pencils (5"h x 7"w). I saw it in the newspaper. It is Scandinavian (Danish) design by Jaime Hayon for Fritz Hansen. The piece is called 'FAVN' and retails for $10,849. I was attracted to the clean, simple lines, but who knew it would be so expensive!

Happy Sunday Sketches! Thanks to Alexandra for always hosting!

Finances for the Young Adult

This is a photo of the roasted cauliflower and chickpea dish I took to a potluck supper last weekend.

Daughter L was telling me she advised her girlfriend on her finances recently. It seems the young woman has a student loan of over ten thousand dollars. She was just paying it off slowly at $100 per month. When asked why, she said it was the government default and she just figured it was okay. On top of that, she was paying this $100 with her line of credit at the bank. L pointed out that her friend was being hit with double the interest charges this way. It seemed at this rate, the friend would be out of debt in about 9 years. L worked out an increased payment schedule (avoiding the use of her credit limit) that the girl can afford having started her new job. In this manner, the girl will be painlessly out of debt in 3 or 4 years. I told L maybe she should become a financial advisor. (She is more in a marketing type of career that she loves.)

It seems some people (not necessarily just young adults) have a real need when it comes to managing their finances. It's something they don't like to give a lot of thought to or possibly don't know how to begin.

Paint Party Friday - Party Shoes

For Paint Party Friday, this piece is entitled 'Party Shoes'. It invokes a holiday atmosphere, I think, with the red and green colouring. It's in acrylic on 6" x 6" quality cardstock.  I was inspired by a photo I saw in a shoe magazine catalog recently.

A wonderful meal

Son K took this photo, it was the night of the super moon.


I bought a Groupon recently for a wonderful meal at Marlowe Restaurant and Wine Bar. It cost $129 for 4 people so husband M and I took the kids one night. Here are some photos I took for you. The meal included 4 5oz glasses of wine, 4 appetizers, 4 entrees and 4 desserts. It was a good deal.

Bread with Olive Oil Dip

Appetizer Platter

Shrimp Appetizer

Lobster and Crab Spring Rolls

Seafood Jambalaya

Filet Mignon Brochettes

Seafood Linguine

Salmon

Apple Fries

Apple Fries

I found this recipe for apple fries while cruising through the AllRecipes tumblr blog.  It sounded easy to make and healthy.  They were crispy after they cooled and pretty good!  The leftovers were soggy next day so you will want to eat them right up.

Just thinking that it's a perfect recipe for fall. I took a lovely walk in the early sunny fall weather yesterday and was greeted by a cute small dog unleashed, with his owner not far behind.  He was very friendly and I gave him a pat before his owner carried him away.  I'm not overly comfortable with animals, but this dog was so little and cute.


Ingredients

2 apples peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 225 F 
2. Arrange apples slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl; sprinkle over apple slices.
4. Bake in the preheated until apples are dried, 45 minutes to 1 hour. They will go crispy when cooled

Creative Tuesdays - Red Apples

The theme for Creative Tuesdays is 'Red Apples'. Here is my piece on textured cardstock (8 1/2"h x 11"w).

Roses in the Church Garden

Son K has to do a movie review for school on the movie 'Eat, Pray, Love' starring Julia Roberts, directed by Ryan Murphy, co-produced by Brad Pitt.   So we watched that on the weekend.  It's based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert.  The main character is on a journey of self-discovery.  A writer from New York, she divorces her husband, moves in with a handsome guy for awhile, still very discontented with life.  She decides to travel for a year.  Her first stop is Rome where she EATS a lot and seems happier.  Before long she goes off to India to meditate and PRAY.  Finally it's time to go to Bali where she faces the prospect of finding true LOVE.  I must say Bali looked very appealing, wow, so beautiful there.  I normally like movies like this, but I kept expecting more from it.  Oh well.  Have you seen this movie, did you like it?

When I went to church the other day I took these photos of some roses blooming in the church garden:

Sunday Sketches - Toucan Tote

This is my Toucan Tote, designed for Sunday Sketches today! I was inspired by the Toucan I painted for PPF this past Friday. It's done on good quality cardstock (6" x 6") in acrylic.

Public Art

Some neighbourhood roses in September:

Giggles recently posted about some public art on concrete silos in Vancouver.  Quite eye-catching and I thought I'd share this article.

I'm going to a potluck dinner tonight, a friend is having a 'girls night out'.  I'm making a roasted cauliflower and chickpea dish.

Paint Party Friday - Toucan

This is a Toucan for Paint Party Friday. It's done on good quality textured cardstock (6" x 6") in acrylic. I was inspired by a post Adam did on Toucans the other day.

A Connection?

Here are some beautiful neighbourhood Zinnia flowers.

This genius Ikea ad is hilarious, you have to watch it!

I was at the gym yesterday.  This personal trainer and his client where chatting nearby.  I heard him say 'I love mugs, I just got this new one' (it looked like a Starbucks mug).  The client replies 'You love mugs?  I love socks!'  and so the conversation began!   Do we have a connection here, lol.  They were young people (20's, 30's) what can I say.

Breaththrough Therapy

I am noticing these beautiful roses blooming in people's gardens at this time of year, simply stunning colours.


There is hope for heart failure patients (like my mom), Novartis has developed an exciting new drug.  It is being hailed as a rare breakthrough therapy and they are rushing it to market.  Of course, my mom also has some advancing dementia, it won't help that.

On another topic, son K and I recently took a bus tour to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.  I occurred to me that these bus tours are not necessarily safe.  I keep hearing in the news of these tour bus crashes that injure and kill tourists in different parts of the world.  In fact, our tour guide seemed to be falling asleep at the end of a long day.  We had 2 brief but scary moments.  I guess a lot depends on fate.   Overall it was a great tour that we took.

Costa Rican Art and Chocolate

One of my sisters sent me some Costa Rican art and chocolate from a trip she made to Costa Rica. The chocolate is not as rich, creamy and sweet as I'm used to, more watery I'd say. It was interesting to try it though.  The art looks playful, just what she would choose!

Costa Rican Art

Costa Rican Chocolate

Rose of Sharon

I'm hearing that September 8 is the night of the Harvest Moon!  Look out for a big bright moon tonight.

Husband M, son K and I took my good friend out to lunch for her birthday yesterday.  Then my friend and I went for a walk and a cup of tea after.  We had severe thunderstorms this past Friday then the weather got a bit cooler.  It is still very pleasant though.

Here are some Rose of Sharon photos in the neighbourhood, in the last one the blooms are open.  A friend gave me 3 sprouts and I am trying to figure out where I can plant them!  I have them in a pot right now.

Sunday Sketches - Lily Pond

I did this 'Lily Pond' for Sunday Sketches on good quality cardstock in acrylic (6" x 6"). It was inspired by a photo Kay took on a recent family trip to Japan. I have permission to use any of her photos, thanks Kay!

Vegas 2014 Continued

We visited Las Vegas last week as husband M was on a business trip and it fit well into son K and my schedules.  K and I decided to do a one day bus tour to the Grand Canyon.  The tour stopped at the Hoover Dam briefly and went through the town of Seligman on Route 66.  The Disney movie 'Cars' was based on this town/route.  Here are some photos of our tour.  It was a long day but it was worth it.

Hoover Dam

Lake Mead

Seligman/ Route 66

Route 66

Prickley Pear

Grand Canyon Tour Guide Chad

The Grand Canyon

Elk at the park

Fresh Spring Water tap

Sunset over the Grand Canyon

Sunset over the Grand Canyon 2

Paint Party Friday - Columbine

This piece for Paint Party Friday was inspired by a photo taken by Kay on her blog. I had never seen columbines in those colours as the ones in my garden are yellow and don't look two-toned really. She took the photo during a family tour to Japan. My lavender version is on good quality textured cardstock (6" x 6") in acrylic.  Thanks Kay for letting me use your photo.