Sunday Sketches - peeking through the fence

This looks like a fun book, 'What's for Lunch, how schoolchildren eat around the world', by Andrea Curtis. It was featured in our local newspaper.  It showed some neat photos of lunches around the world.

For Sunday Sketches, this piece is entitled 'peeking through the fence'. It's acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5"). I did it based on a photo I took recently on a walk, just at the beginning of the fall season.

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

Hindsight

I saw this interesting article in the newspaper where Toronto taxi drivers are using phone apps to find fares. Interesting because, instead of using " a centralized dispatch centre to connect drivers with passengers", this method seems better.  It's the way of the future and traditional jobs will be phased out or downsized due to technology.  It's happened in other areas...bookstores, record stores, video stores.  And I'm sure history is repeating itself...you know how the horse and buggy were replaced by cars, etc.  It's hard to keep pace with change, and easier to look back in hindsight!

I got this in an email and thought it would be a nice Saturday share!

Paint Party Friday - Autumn Reflection

Next weekend will be the Thanksgiving Day long weekend in Canada.   A lot of people will be closing their summer cottages in preparation for winter.  It will be time for turkeys, roasted meats, pumpkin pies, butter tarts....kids will be coming home from universities, some with lots of laundry!

For Paint Party Friday, I was inspired to do this piece from a photo in a calendar.  I had trouble with the reflection until I realized I had to make it much darker than the real trees.   I tossed it in the garbage at least twice, but felt I had invested a lot of time into it and kept trying with it until I was more satisfied!  I also count the time I spent thinking about it (creative time)!  For the artists, has that happened to you or do you just not bother?

Five Cents

The latest thing I've noticed that Walmart is doing is having the cashier ask if you'd like to donate 5 cents to a good cause.  I had to double check the amount.  It might be an ingenious way to get a lot of
money for charity, who can't afford 5 cents?  What do you think?  I actually told the cashier 'next time' as I had already said 'no' before registering the amount requested.  

I saw a wildlife control truck outside a neighbour's house yesterday.  I asked the man if it was raccoons, but he said it was squirrels he was there to remove.  Yes, there are lots of squirrels around and they are getting inside of people's roofs.


I got this in an email and thought it was a good one!

Personal Genetic Testing

Fall Leaves

I came across this news article concerning personal genetic testing. It was interesting. This lady found out that her grandmother was pre-disposed to an eye condition called macular degeneration which eventually caused her blindness. The lady found out she has a 60% chance of developing this herself, compared to the normal 3% chance. She believes 'forewarned is forearmed' and is now having regular eye checkups and taking eye strengthening vitamins. Her test cost about $1600 Canadian. They will probably keep improving these tests in the future.

Is this something you would consider one of these days or are you more comfortable not knowing? 

Here's an interesting article I read yesterday in the newspaper, where a genetic study is pointing to new breast cancer treatments. They are seeing a relationship to ovarian cancer in here somewhere.

Creative Tuesdays - Birds of a Feather

It's time for Creative Tuesdays! The theme this month is 'Birds of a Feather'. I did an acrylic ACEO (2.5" x 3.5") of a colourful bird I saw in an email. I don't know what kind it is or where it's from unfortunately. He does look Christmassy doesn't he?

Please visit the other participants in this fun challenge!

Crockpot Misadventure

I finally decided to buy a crockpot (slow cooker).  Walmart had a big anniversary sale and I got this large 7qt one for $22 not including tax.  It seemed like a reasonable price although to be honest I didn't do much research.  I couldn't wait to try it out as I've never used one.  I was thinking slow-baked ribs.  Well, stupid me, I misread the icons on the control button...They meant low high warm in that order.  Well, I thought the warm button was the high button.  After 5 hours I had to discard the ribs as you're not supposed to cook on warm and I feared bacteria must have built up after all that time on warm.  I did read the manual, but it never explained the icons.

Anyway, I tried the ribs again the next day and they were successful and quite delicious.  Nothing beats slow cooked ribs!  It was so easy, just add the spices and turn the cooker on to the correct setting!

I did some research after the fact and it seems I got a nice stoneware one with a glass cover and 3 settings which is good enough.  It suggests purchasing crockpot liners for easy cleanup.  You can make roasts or whole chickens with this size. I understand you really don't even need liners.
 
 Do you use a slow cooker?