Good Deed

I was excited to receive my new 2020 Calendar from Shutterfly customized with some of my art pieces and selected quotes.

As I walked to the mailbox one night I noticed my neighbour's garage door was open although the lights inside the garage were out.  I decided to knock on their front door to make them aware of it.  They thanked me and immediately closed it.  

Paint Party Friday - The Summer House

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I came up with a Summer House in the mountains for you today.  At this point I have no idea where it would be but it sure makes me feel warm!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Grays and Browns

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Photo

my photo

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date! Her theme is 'Grays and Browns'. Here is my piece on cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in permanent markers outlined with a PITT pen. It is based on a photo I took of some fall leaves the other day, I just changed the colour scheme to grays and browns.  I think the scanned version is quite close to the photo colours here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. friends at home or abroad!

Swiss Rosti Potatoes

I made these Swiss Rosti potatoes from scratch recently. They are delicious, a lot like hash browns. I hand grated the potatoes and found them really easy to make. One of my sisters did not agree when she heard about the hand grating part. Here is an excellent video if you are interested in trying it, they are delicious!

Hilarious Puns

I got these these signs (image credits: Indian Hills Community Signs) off the Boredpanda website. They are hilarious.

The 60th Birthday Party

Husband M and I attended a wonderful 60th birthday party recently. It was hosted by the lady's son at a pub downtown which closed for the event. We feasted on delicious food and cake with an open bar and dancing. It was nice to catch up with old friends.

So my diabetic husband M said he had 6 little sliders, 2 fish, 2 beef, 1 lamb, one pulled pork. He also had little toast triangles topped with mushroom dip, bacon and swiss melt, grilled cheese, channa/coriander. Then there were the spicy pork meatballs and the delicious charcuterie board. The main course was pasta with sauce and tender rapini and green beans for the vegetables. The strawberry shortcake with whipped cream icing was so good too. He is very good with his carbs normally but I guess he cannot resist small, dainty appetizers.

Plastic teabags

One of my sisters came across this article which says that some teabags may be secreting microplastics into your cup.
The teabags look like silk but are plastic. Sure enough I had some in my house, which I disposed of. There is something to be said for using tea leaves to make your tea.

True and Touching

I recently found this Alzheimer's Poem by Owen Darnell and wanted to share it here. It is beautiful, very true and touching. It can even apply to the mentally ill.

Do not ask me to remember,

Don’t try to make me understand,

Let me rest and know you’re with me,

Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I’m confused beyond your concept,

I am sad and sick and lost.

All I know is that I need you

To be with me at all cost.

Do not lose your patience with me,

Do not scold or curse or cry.

I can’t help the way I’m acting,

Can’t be different though I try.

Just remember that I need you,

That the best of me is gone,

Please don’t fail to stand beside me,

Love me ’til my life is done.

– Owen Darnell

Paint Party Friday - Holiday Bear

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! I have done a 'Holiday Bear' greeting card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in permanent markers, outlined with a PITT pen.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Chilling

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Chilling' theme!  The piece (4 1/4" x 5 1/2" ) above is new for today's theme, done in permanent markers on cardstock.  Winter started early and this is what it looks like with ice dripping off some of the roof lines around here.

 I did the piece below close to five years ago, we were having a 'chilling' winter indeed! There were icicles on the shed roof! Brrr! This was done in my art journal in watercolour pencils.

Young at Heart

Sandra posted some fun memes the other day and I particularly loved this one!

Laurie, in case you stop by, the photo is of these 2 adorable grey haired older ladies having a little tea party sitting together on the floor beneath a dining table, its red tablecloth pulled aside to reveal their fun cameraderie.  It is indeed something we did as little children.  It is lovely because it captures the feeling of being 'Young at Heart' .

Thai Green Curry Shrimp

Thai food is not my favourite, I find their sauces very strong but this dish I made is quite good.

The 'Blue Dragon' green curry paste I found at Walmart and used here was surprisingly mild.  If you google, it says green curry is traditionally hotter than red curry. Anyway, here is my recipe if you are interested. You can experiment with Thai red or green curry pastes according to your taste:

2 tbs green curry paste
2 tbs canola oil
2 gr onions chopped
1 tsp dried basil
600g (40-60 peeled deveined shrimp)
1/2 c coconut milk
1 red bell pepper sliced (I used a small orange and a small red pepper)
1/2 c water
3/4 tbs fish sauce
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 tbs sugar
2 cloves garlic minced

Heat oil, add onion, then garlic. Add basil, sugar, curry paste. After a minute add shrimp and peppers, stir fry for a couple more minutes until the shrimp starts to cook. Stir in fish sauce, coconut milk, water, green onions for an extra 5 mins until shrimp is opaque.

I used the remaining can of coconut milk to make a coconut rice. I just added the coconut milk with extra water to a cup of rice in my rice cooker with a bit of salt and pepper.

Some shopping

I bought some new soaps at the mall, I can't wait to try them! Do you like soaps, they are a small luxury.

Comforting Tea Latte

The Holiday season is well underway. The mall has been extra crowded all month.  I got this warming candy crush tea latte from David's Tea, it has just a hint of sweetness and that candy mint flavour. I ask them to add almond milk to mine.

Smiling each time

I was finishing up the Halloween candy and got addicted to these peanut chocolates! All too soon they were gone.

Well time to put snow tires on our cars if you haven't already. There has already been a lot of snow in this year, winter has come early.  The ski resorts are happy.

Yesterday I came home tired from a busy day and got caught up on my blogging and leaving comments for everyone.  It must be very good for the soul, I always find myself smiling each time I leave a comment.  It definitely bestows a sense of well-being and relaxation.  Does that happen to you?

Paint Party Friday - Holiday Dancer

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! I have done a 'Holiday Dancer' greeting card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in permanent marker, outlined with a PITT pen. Yes, it is that time of year!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Forest and Critters

It's time for Rain's Thursday Art Date 'Forest and Critters' theme! My piece is done on cardstock (8 1/2" x 11") in permanent markers, outlined with a PITT pen. It is whimsical and was fun to do!

Sushi Host

Husband M and I went for a late lunch at a favourite Japanese restaurant. Waiting for the host to receive us, they pointed to the machine in the photo above and told us to enter our information into the machine. It did give us a number and let us know how many people were ahead of us.  So now there is no need for a human host per say. Although someone did come to lead us to our table. It is standard here to enter your order into an ipad. If you take too long, (or perhaps look older), someone comes to ask if you need assistance.

I am quite lazy and prefer to speak to a person.  Oh well.

At the eye doctor

I was at the eye doctor for my annual checkup. He is a new optometrist I started seeing last year in addition to my annual cataract checkup at the eye surgeon. It is expensive at the optometrist but I figure it is worth getting your eyes completely checked every year. I like that he is more than willing to answer any questions I might have. They have a lot of eye machines, one for glaucoma, one for a new tomography type test, etc. In addition the doctor does his standard reading of the letters and various passages. One question I asked was 'how does he test someone for example who only speaks Chinese?' He said there are some basic figures he can use and often the patient will bring a translator. He says it is more difficult to test someone with say autism, but there are ways and they manage. He said it is possible to communicate with people who speak different languages, not a impossible as one might think. It was an interesting answer.

Remembrance Day 2019

This is my November 2019 calendar page, commemorating Remembrance Day today.

"Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die."
—Pierre Trudeau

On Eggs and Mouthwashes

Daughter L noticed that these eggs are quite different.  The small yolk on the left was purchased at my local drugstore where I always get them on sale (large eggs).  The one on the right was bought at a different grocery store, L is pretty sure they were also large eggs.

My friend S was telling me that her dentist recommends mouthwashes with no alcohol.  I googled this and sure enough they make sense.  It says the alcohol kills both good and bad bacteria.  I think I will switch to zero alcohol mouthwashes.  Do you use a mouthwash?

Ham Bone Soup

baked ham with apple cider glaze, spaghetti squash, potato salad, cranberry sauce, sugar snap peas, salad

ham bone soup

I made a special meal on Halloween inspired by this ham I had bought on clearance just after Canadian Thanksgiving. It was a fully cooked 9 pound ham, butt end with the bone in. I decided to bake it with an apple cider glaze. Daughter L and her boyfriend came over, she had decorated the windows nicely and the pumpkin was on display at the front door. The candy was ready to be distributed.

The next day husband M and I looked forward to making this ham bone soup with the large leftover bone. We were more excited about this than the actual cutting of the ham! I found this recipe. I used parsnips, sweet potatoes and less potatoes and no corn to cut down on the carbs. It took 6 hours in the slow cooker. The soup was delicious!

Paint Party Friday - Birthday Card

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scanned version

For Paint Party Friday I did a birthday card on cardstock.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Crisp and Brilliant

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date challenge, the theme is 'Crisp and Brilliant'. This piece came together quickly on a crisp autumn morning, I went outside and snapped a few photos of leaves. I chose to do this piece on white cardstock (3 1/2" x 5") in permanent markers outlined with a black PITT pen.

On labrador retrievers

Recently I heard that Labrador retrievers tend to be more obese than other dogs. It seems a third of them have a faulty POMC gene that is missing some DNA.    It makes them more food motivated. This gene is also present in humans.  It is food for thought, pun intended.

Not Always Anyway

It was a gorgeous fall day last week when husband M suggested a walk. I had hurt my back a couple of days before when I sat on the toilet on a cold evening if you can believe that. However I did manage to walk that day. We had a late breakfast at Panera Bread. A younger woman who worked there told me she had hurt her back also, except it took her two weeks to recover. I guess it has nothing to do with age (not always anyway).

A quick update to this post:

My back is fine now, it usually takes about a week to recover.  Thanks for your kind wishes.

New Samples

I received some new samples from Samplesource. I can't wait to try the new chicken broth with white wine. I will likely cook something with it

Apple Cider

Son K and I went for a nice fall walk the other day, I had to take some photos of the pretty foliage. We stopped in at a new coffee shop near Main Street and I had some hot apple cider. K said his peanut butter cookie was good.

On Immortality

moon over an apple tree at 8 am

left behind

I was walking to church around 8am one morning and noticed the moon above this apple tree. Then I saw that someone had left a knapsack behind.

Tanza posted about an immortal jellyfish the other day and it got me thinking that maybe our immortality lies simply in procreating.

We got 11 kids on Halloween, not bad for us really.  I have started eating the leftover candy.  Coffee Crisp, and Smarties are my current favourites.

Paint Party Friday - Birthday Card

scanned version

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For Paint Party Friday, I did a birthday card on cardstock in sharpie oil paint markers.

Happy November!