Paint Party Friday - River

Wow we are already at the end of July! I wish time wouldn't fly so fast.

Anyway, it's time for Paint Party Friday! Thanks to our hosts Kristin and Eva. I did a river scene today on good quality cardstock (6" x 6") in watercolour pencil. Those are salmon swimming upstream.

Green Passion Smoothie

I had a good coupon, so I went to Panera Bread and had this green passion smoothie. It was divine and I slurped it all up in no time!

Sealeg Salad

I made this quick cherry tomato and cucumber salad and threw in a handful of flaked sealegs (artifical crabmeat) and was surprised at how good it was. The saltiness of the sealegs and the raspberry vinaigrette dressing really added to the flavour.

Our Muskoka Visit 2015

We went up to Muskoka to visit daughter L's boyfriend's family at their cottage as we have been doing the past couple of years. The weather was fantastic, we went on a perfect boat ride. We came back a day early as their water pressure machine broke and we were without water Sunday night. We figured it would be easier all around so they could get it fixed.  L stayed with her boyfriend until the next day.

Askew

Sunday Sketches - Old Bridge

I was thinking what I could do for Sunday Sketches and decided to sketch an 'Old Bridge'. It's in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour crayon.

Wildflowers

The wildflowers are at their best at this time of year. Ironically, I've been so busy picking weeds out of my lawn, I never noticed a couple of huge trees taking over a garden.  I think it's an oak and an ash, but I could be wrong.  In a couple of months they have grown so tall and the shrubs beside them are choking and dying.  I would leave them if there was room but they are too close to the house.

Paint Party Friday - Over the Cliffs

It's time for Paint Party Friday, thanks to Kristin and Eva for always hosting for more than 5 years now! This piece is entitled 'Over the Cliffs' done in acrylic and watercolour crayon. It is a greeting card (3 1/2" x 5").  I've shown you both the photo and the scanned version.

Erika asked me what inspired me to make such a piece. I was watching a cooking show called 'Mind of a Chef' featuring Magnus Nilsson in the Faroe Islands (halfway between Norway and Iceland). I saw these wonderful cliff scenes and it inspired me to make my own cliff scene!

At 23

I thought this was a good one, maybe inspiring:

Pan Am Velodrome

Husband M, son K, daughter L and her boyfriend went to the town of Milton this past weekend to see the Pan Am speed cycling event held at the new velodrome. They report that it was lots of fun. I'm not a sports fan and they only had 4 tickets so I didn't go. It was a hot sunny day, so I went for a walk with my friend S.

Pan Am Velodrome

Velodrome Cycling Venue

Hopeful Article

Here's a funny one for you today:

I hope this article is true, it claims a new Alzheimer's treatment that fully restores memory is in the works.  It is a non-invasive ultrasound treatment at that.

I met an old friend this past Friday for a Summerlicious lunch.  Daughter L and son K were able to join us.  My friend and my daughter told me that the movie Gravity is excellent and encouraged me to watch it.  Apparently Sandra Bullock does a fantastic acting job and L assures me it is not really a sad movie.  Have you seen it?

So then I watched Gravity and it was ok, very suspenseful, not really my kind of movie.

Sour Cherry Compote

My friend S came by several weeks ago with her annual jars of sour cherry compote her family made.  They are great on ice cream or cheesecake, even on toast.  I will share them with friends to use now, as they are not preserved.

Sunday Sketches - Fish Art

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! Thanks to Alexandra for hosting. This 'fish art' piece is done on a (2" x 3") blue post-it note in watercolour pencil and fine point marker.

Time Marches On

This poster has a really good list to keep for those stressful times when things seem out of control.  Ultimately things should improve!

I found out this week that our regular aerobics instructor has stepped down. She is about 58 years old and says she cannot handle the pace anymore. She will still do the pump class and attends the aerobics class as a participant where she can go at her own pace. I was so disappointed she won't teach the class anymore, but then again, I am thinking how much longer I will be able to even participate in these classes myself. I don't do much of the rigorous jumping and save my knees that way.

I met an old friend of my mom's walking in the mall the other day. I inquired as to the health of another of their friends who recently had a stroke. I believe she is paralyzed on one side but she is still in her condo where she lives alone. Apparently her sons and friends pitch in to help. Hopefully with physiotherapy she will improve.

In other news this used book I was waiting on from Amazon finally arrived yesterday, a couple of weeks past the expected delivery date. 

Paint Party Friday - Humpback Whale

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! Thanks to Eva and Kristin for always hosting. This piece is done in my art journal in watercolour crayon and acrylic (8 1/2" x 11"). It's a beautiful humpback whale.  Apparently they were almost extinct but have recovered since 1966 when protection measures were introduced.  They are still threatened by fishing nets, noise pollution and  collision with ships according to wikipedia.

Summer of Color - Orange Orange Blue

Well this is the final piece for Summer of Color 2015! It's been so much fun, thanks Kristin! The colours are orange, orange and blue. I witnessed a fabulous orange sunset this past Sunday, and it served as my simple inspiration for this piece. It's done on a blue post-it note (2" x 3") in watercolour crayon and fine point marker.

Blackberries

We got a few blackberries from my garden, they have finally ripened and are quite sweet in mid-July!  My friend S did prick her finger on one of the branches however, they are riddled with sharp thorns.  This is a wonderful time of year.

In a bit of bad news my poor son K's field placement did not work out, so he has to look for another one and his graduation will be delayed until next year. He earned 67 hours then the manager/owner stopped giving him shifts and he needed 83 more hours. He learned there are mean people in the workplace, and we will move on. Fortunately he can drop the course in time so it won't affect his average.

Creative Tuesdays - Little Critters

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays! Here is my piece for the 'Little Critters' theme done in watercolour pencil on a (2" x 3") green post-it note. Thanks Michael for hosting!

Muskoka Sunset

Daughter L sent me this beautiful shot of the Muskoka sunset taken from her boyfriend's family cottage the last time they were up for the weekend.

I went to church yesterday morning.  The birds, chipmunks, squirrels are having fun at this time of year, it is a delight to see them all over the place.   The priest was fundraising as we are under the Sharelife charity goals.  The church is very much against gay marriage and the introduction of the revised Ontario sex education curriculum which will teach children that it is ok to be gay.  I met my friend S for coffee afterward.   We had fun picking and eating wild blackberries as we walked home, they were so sweet.

I spoke to my neighbour across the street who was mowing his lawn.  We had noticed that his older son must have moved out and indeed he recently bought his first home, a townhouse.  I remember when he was just starting high school.  My neighbour told me his 97 year old dad and 93 year old mother live in their own home not too far away, and prefer it that way.

Sunday Sketches - Crystal Dishes

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! I did some crystal dishes in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour crayon.  I am sorry I cannot comment on Google+ blogs as I have not converted.

And here is my inspiration photo:

Used Book from Amazon

The Pan Am Games are in Toronto! Husband M is all excited, there are 41 countries here from July 10 - 26! The opening ceremonies were held last night.

So I bought this used book from Amazon the other day. Then I looked inside the back cover as per the photo...it is a hardcover library book! I wonder how this came to be? I bought the book for about $8 plus postage of about $7.

Well I did some googling and it is likely to be perfectly legitimate.  I am expecting another book I bought for 1c plus about $7 postage, it is about a week late, I hope it gets here.

Paint Party Friday - Coneflowers

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! I did some orange coneflowers for you today in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour crayon.

Summer of Color - Green Green Pink

I have been following Lisa Taylor Huff's 'The Bold Soul' blog for many years mostly as a lurker.  I was shocked when her husband made a final post on her blog last night to say that Lisa had succumbed to kidney cancer on Monday.  It was a six month illness, very sudden and my heart is heavy having followed her for so many years.  Middle-aged Lisa had moved to Paris where she met Georges.  They fell in love and the blog chronicled her life and their love.  It's strange, I was just a lurker, how affected I am, almost as if she was a friend, she was so open.

Anyway, this is supposed to be my post for Summer of Color, this week's colours are 'green, green and pink'. Thanks to Kristin for hosting this wonderful co-op. My piece is done in my (8 1/2" x 11") art journal. I am attaching a photo and a scan, I think the colours look better in the photo for some reason.

Here's the photo:

Here's the scan:

Ribfest

Husband M and I went to the Ribfest that travels around the province in the summer. It rained for most of the weekend that it arrived in our neighbourhood, so fortunately we went on the Friday evening before all that started.

A Birthday

Husband M celebrated his birthday this past Canada Day. We all went to visit his mom that day, he thought she might enjoy the visit. Daughter L's boyfriend also came along. She didn't feel up to going out to a nice dinner, her arthritis was acting up,so we went out to dinner and came back to cut the cake with her. I might add that I woke up that morning and realized we didn't have a birthday cake to cut. So I baked a cake mix and made my own icing. I don't think I've made icing before but it turned out ok. It was a simple buttercream icing.  I got a lot of good-natured teasing from some of my sisters when I sent them a photo of my efforts.  I am definitely not a perfectionist, especially when it comes to frosting a cake, lol.  Daughter L didn't have time to help that day.

New Pressure Cooker

I am happy to show you this new pressure cooker I bought at Costco. My old one is not working properly and I was happy to find the same model, x years later. It operates in the same way, no learning curve, just a bit more modern looking.  They don't provide a small cookbook anymore, maybe it is online. It was a guide for cooking times for various foods, but I still have the old one.

Sunday Sketches - Looks Like Rain

Welcome to Sunday Sketches! One morning I snuck out for a quick walk, hoping the forecast rain would hold off. I snapped a quick photo of the skies, it looked pretty. I then sketched the image in my (8 1/2" x 11") art journal in watercolour crayon.  It didn't rain that day after all.

Here's my photo:

July 4th

Happy July 4th weekend to our American friends!


I saw this pretty sitting area at the mall, love the blue.

We saw the new Jurassic World movie a couple of weeks ago and I liked it, surprisingly.  I had never seen any of the other movies in the previous series.  Are you a fan of these movies?

Paint Party Friday - After the Storm

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! It was just over a week ago, I snapped a photo of the clouds in my neighbourhood the day after a violent thunder and lightning storm. This is my version of my photo in my (9" x 12") sketchbook in watercolour crayon.  It never did rain that day, but the sky was still angry.

Here is the actual photo (to help you figure out what my painting is lol):

Summer of Color - Red, red, metallic

Here is my Summer of Color entry this week done in my art journal in acrylic (8 1/2" x 11").  I just drew the model's face and hands in with a pencil.  Kristin chose red, red and metallic for this week. I am using a burgundy red for the shoes, and a metallic bronze for the shirt, with a red skirt on my model.

Here is another photo where I tried to get the bronze to look more shiny in another angle.  I had fun with this one!

Mint Tea

Mint

Happy Canada Day to all the Canadians!

I have mint plants growing at the side of my house, spread over from the neighbour's garden.  It inspired me to make some mint tea.  Here is an easy recipe if you want to try it.  It tasted like a teabag as daughter L said.  This made me wonder how I would make peppermint extract to make things like mint chocolate brownies!  The peppermint extract recipe sounds really easy, you steep the mint leaves in vodka for about a month.  The mint chocolate brownies sound so good too!

This led me to the discovery that the peppermint plant is a different plant than the spearmint plant.  So there is peppermint extract versus mint extract which would be a combination of peppermint and spearmint.  There is always something new to learn!  Were you familiar with all this?