Paint Party Friday - Mermaid

I'm reading this book by Ian K. Smith, MD called Happy. It's about how to get the most out of life. I found it interesting that he says Happiness has proven to be much like a virus, it's contagious and spreads easily. So if you hang out with happy people or even friends of happy people, you become happy yourself!  The book also suggests that you can dream and imagine happy things and it makes you happy! What do you think about this, sounds good, heard it all before?

Anyway, welcome to Paint Party Friday! I did a Mermaid theme in acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5").  I got her red hair by mixing gold, orange, and red paint, was pleased with how that turned out.

The Grapes

In my Sept 8th post, I had a photo of some grapes I saw hanging outside of a neighbour's fence and never thought to try them. On Laurie's suggestion, I decided to have a taste the next time I went by!  Indeed I plucked off this little bunch.  They are wine grapes with seeds, but oh so flavourful and sweet, a lovely burst of flavour!  I'll have to drop by next year, lol, I don't think I want to plant my own.

On the subject of grape tasting, one supermarket was offering tastes of their grapes, it was delicious, so I bought some sweet, crunchy green and red ones.

A somewhat healthy snack

I was at my hairdresser yesterday and while I was there, his longtime barber friend came in for a quick haircut.  The barber then proceeded to cut my hairdresser's hair!  I must admit I never wondered where he got his own hair cut!  It was a gorgeous, sunny day, a bit cooler as fall sets in.

L wanted to try these baked lentil chips we saw at Costco when she was here. They weren't so great on their own, but paired with a good hummus dip, they are fantastic! It's a somewhat healthy snack, the chips are made with bean flour, with 110 calories per 22 chips and only 5% fat in the serving. At 210 mg of sodium it's salty but it's a chip. Maybe if one has 11 chips it's not so bad. The dip itself is 80 calories per 30g (2TBS) with 8% fat in the serving. So this means you just dip the chips as lightly as you can, it's still a dip after all! Would you try these?

Lentil Chips

Hummus Dip with Lentil Chips

All set (not)

Can you believe this (Stop - No dog poop please) sign?  Some people apparently need to be told this!  We have super mailboxes on each street where we go to collect our mail.  The city went so far as to put these blue boxes beneath them as a receptacle for unwanted mail, no doubt trying to stop people from creating a mess with their garbage.

We were all set (and excited) to visit a friend's new cottage on the weekend.  He called at 8 pm the night before to cancel.  It seems he had stepped out of the cottage that day and twisted his ankle on some wooden steps which were a bit damp and slippery.  He was on his way to emergency because he was now thinking it was broken as he couldn't put any weight on it.   M had to call the other couple who were also invited to inform them of the mishap.  We hope he's not in too much pain and that he'll make a swift recovery.  It sure beats a heart attack though doesn't it?  When friends call like that  you think the worst, and this man had a heart attack in his late thirties.  He's in his early fifties now and has been fine.

As a followup to this story, it seems M's friend is in a light, modern type of cast, having broken a small bone in his foot.  He is able to get around quite well with the new cast.   It will take 4 to 6 weeks to heal.

Meatball Dinner

When was the last time you had an Ikea meatball dinner? (Assuming you have one nearby). It's currently $2.99 on Tuesdays for a 15 piece meatball dinner between 2 and 5 pm.  It's an extra dollar for coffee or a soft drink.  M gave me his lingonberry sauce as he doesn't care for it.

They also sell frozen meatballs, mashed potatoes and a gravy mix (to which you add your own cream) if you were inclined to make it yourself at home. You microwave the meatballs and mashed potatoes (adding your own salt and pepper to the potatoes which is a good thing). Then you boil the gravy with half a cup of your own cream. They also sell jars of lingonberry sauce.

Sunday Sketches - My Autumn Tribute

It's time for Alexandra's Sunday Sketches! The tree leaves have started to turn here and in some cases the first leaves have fallen. This is my autumn tribute, in acrylic on cardstock (6.5" x 4.5").

Signs of Fall

We're having LOTS of rain today.

Walking through the neighbourhood this past weekend, it had just turned to September and I noticed early signs of Fall. Do you see the leaves starting to change colour? This is a maple tree:

Some leaves had actually fallen to the ground.

I noticed these grapes hanging outside someone's fence. No, I didn't even think to pluck a few off for tasting!