Monday, November 14, 2011

Magical Monday - Roses

Last week I went to an Xmas sale in the area. As I was browsing I saw this beautiful Rose painting and some pretty felt coasters as pictured. Hope you like my purchases, I'm always happy when I make purchases of future treasures!

Linking to Carol's Magical Monday Blog Hop. Please go see what everyone else found magical this Monday!

Rose Painting

Flower Coasters

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sunday Sketches - Cutlery

Welcome to another Sunday Sketches hosted by Sophia. Please visit the other participants and join in the fun today!

This acrylic ACEO entry was inspired by a post from 'LĂ­neas, sombras y reflejos' (Lines, shadows and reflections' entitled 'Fuente de luz'. Strangely enough it had nothing to do with cutlery, but when I saw the post, translated as 'light source', I immediately thought of a fork turned on edge and it went from there. I've always thought nice cutlery is an art form, there are some beautiful designs out there. And thank goodness for Google Translate, I don't speak any Spanish!

Cutlery in Silver

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Sweet Saturdays - Salt Lamp

It's time for Diana's Sweet Saturdays!  Please stop by the other participants and join in the fun!

This is my new Himalayan Salt Lamp.  People believe they have many benefits as outlined here.

'Q: What are the benefits of Himalayan lamps?
A: Himalayan lamps are said to:

Improve air quality by reducing air pollution, airborne dust particles, and airborne bacteria and viruses
Reduce symptoms of asthma, allergies, bronchitis, sinusitis, and other respiratory diseases
Reduce the effects of Season Affective Disorder (SAD) and other mood problems
Reduce stress
Improve concentration
Relieve headaches and migraines
Reduce feelings of fatigue and insomnia'

Beyond all that, it has a peaceful warming glow, very zen!  I love it.  This small one weighs about 6-8 pounds and costs about $40.



Himalayan Salt Lamp


Friday, November 11, 2011

Paint Party Friday - The Resort

It's Remembrance Day in Canada.



Welcome to Paint Party Friday! Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today.

This acrylic ACEO was inspired by some travel resort photos I found in the newspaper (it's that time of year!)  I used the colours from one image and features from other images and am quite pleased with the unique result.  That's an infinity pool in the foreground.



Thursday, November 10, 2011

Food For Thought Thursdays - Salmon

Welcome to Food For Thought Thursdays! Please stop by the others and join us in some inspiring food fun!

When I'm looking to make a quick, easy meal, I just bake salmon fillets, skin side down in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes at 350F. This time, I added some lemon pepper and tarragon for flavour. I had an 8oz package of mushrooms, so I mixed them with some olive oil, some garlic and herb mix, added them to the salmon tray to bake alongside it. Everything was delicious.

Salmon With Whole Mushrooms


At this time of year, the best fruit to buy is often a bag of apples. I got these from Costco, they are sweet Royal Gala apples.

Royal Gala Apples


I put some in my salad and they were crisp, and delicious with the cherry tomatoes and romaine lettuce!  My favourite dressing is Kraft raspberry vinaigrette.

Apple Salad

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Limited Edition, Aging and Movember

Look at the cute bottle of limited edition coke they are selling now! It's 400mls (1.7 cups).  I couldn't resist picking one up for my son.



I asked a friend if she wanted to meet for a walk yesterday morning as the weather was supposed to be mild. It rained a bit in the morning though. Anyway, she told me she would love to but unfortunately she had put her back out and had to see her chiropractor. The joys of middle-age. We had just been out walking last week. In fact the very next day after that walk, I was easing my coat off my left shoulder at the gym and felt a terrible pain in my arm! A few days after that, I was at the doctor getting my flu shot and asked him about it. He said it was likely a stretched tendon and if I was lucky I would be fine in a week. Otherwise, it may take 2 or 3 weeks to heal. It feels a bit better, but it's not healed yet!

As well as getting my flu shot, I had also taken my mother in for a memory test as she has been forgetful lately. She got a moderate score and we will be seeing a specialist kind of psychiatrist for seniors whenever we get an appointment. Apparently there are Alzheimer drugs available which can delay the onset of the disease from say 5 to 10 years. Well, we'll see what they say. My mom had no idea what the date was, or what the month was for that matter. Her math skills seemed to be fine though, she can add and subtract, no problem. She's only 73.

A friend of ours notified us that her father passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 86. He had been ailing for several years but she is very upset as she was close to him.
His orbituary indicates he led a full life.

Another friend told me her son is growing a moustache for Movember. So we made a small donation on his behalf. It's a charity for Men's Health issues. Have you heard of Movember?

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Creative Tuesdays - Thank You

It's time for Creative Tuesdays' 'Thank You' theme. Please stop by the others and join in the fun!

I'm pleased with the way this piece turned out. I wanted to do a turkey with fancy feathers. I was walking by this bunch of artificial fall leaves displayed in my house and
realized this would be the perfect idea for my turkey 'feathers'! Here is the result: