Inspiration

Isn't this inspiring?  I love it!

Yesterday after dropping my daughter L to the train station, (she works downtown), I had a quick breakfast at McDonald's and got the combo meal which comes with a hash brown. I got the hash brown to go as my son K is always happy to eat that. As I left the gym I decided to offer it to the receptionist who always has a friendly greeting for me. He was glad to have it. Then I went to the hairdresser's who kindly offered me his copy of the latest Chatelaine magazine. I told him it was okay and that he could save it for his other customers to read.  However, he insisted, he said his wife told him 'if Christine comes today, please give it to her as she likes this magazine'. I guess it was a 'give something get something in return' kind of day! Might I mention it was a beautiful morning. We've only had a few days this summer where it has been really 'heat wave' hot.  Mind you, last night was a bit cold  (sweater weather).

Beautiful Voices

Hortensia?

So I was in church on the weekend, and it was a wonderful experience.  A well known priest was visiting from Jamaica.  He brought these 2 singers with him who were out of this world, with soaring, beautiful, moving voices that filled the entire church.  The congregation applauded after each song.  It was like being at a concert, the 3 songs they sang.  They seem to visit every now and again, as I remembered the male singer from this post last December.  The 74 year old priest himself writes most of the songs for his  'Missionaries of the Poor' foundation and he is a powerful speaker.  However he is anti gay marriage and abortion and was very outspoken about it.  That's the Catholic church for you.  He has devoted his life to the poor, ill and imprisoned.  This post is really about the impression left by those beautiful gifted singers and the powerful, emotional songs written by Father Ho Lung.  They really lifted my day.

Another thing I noticed was that the man sitting next to me left his car keys on the bench and went up to receive Holy Communion.   People leave their handbags like that all the time, but these were just his keys.  It seemed like a test of honesty!

A nice cottage

On the weekend, we were lucky enough to be invited to my husband M's old classmate's new cottage up north in the Lake Simcoe area. We had great conversation, another classmate and his wife were also there.  The topic these days turns to retirement plans and concerns about our children's futures and job prospects.

We had delicious barbecued chicken and roasted corn, and lots of other yummy food. They actually soaked the corn on the cob in water, then let it steam in its skin inside the barbecue as the chicken cooked. It had a lovely, steamed texture.  It's funny as I brought a carrot cake for dessert and the hostess had also baked a carrot cake from a gluten free mix.  So we had pieces of each, all good.

My son K had a ton of fun riding on their new seadoo.  I only had one or two mosquito bites.  My daughter L socialized with one of their daughters who had a friend also visiting.  It turns out L used to go to dance class with this friend when they were little girls.  It's a small world.  The kids had fun roasting marshmallows and eating them between chocolate chip cookies.

sunset at the cottage

Sunday Sketches - ATC

This is a tiny ATC (Artist Trading Card) done in acrylic.  Happy Sunday!


Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Blueberries

The gorgeous summer weather continues. It's even great for walking around late at night. My daughter L and I are doing a fasting blood test in the morning, checking for routine stuff like blood sugar and cholesterol. The hard part is fasting for 12 hours although you go to bed and have it done first thing in the morning. I suppose we shouldn't have eaten fried food the night before.

Blueberries are plentiful at this time of year. I found an easy blueberry muffin recipe and made these recently. I decided to substitute brown sugar in place of the regular sugar.

And can you find the cat in this photo?

Paint Party Friday - Cosmos

Today's piece called 'Cosmos' is a (2" x 2") canvas in acrylic, outlined with a fine point marker. The materials were gifted to me by Valerie at Bastelmania, isn't it so tiny and cute?  It's even smaller than an ATC (artist trading card).

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

This was my inspiration photo:

Evolution

I made this simple apple cobbler using a cake mix, based on a recipe I found on Pinterest. It was delicious! Seriously, you just empty a can of apple pie
mix into a baking pan, top with a white cake mix, then pour a can of sprite over top! Then you bake for about 45 minutes!

It's time to start thinking about my daughter L's return to her university for her final year.  Her time at home has gone by too quickly.  It doesn't help that my son K is out with his friends more than he is at home these days!  My husband M and I have to adjust to our upcoming empty nest I suppose.  We're approaching a different stage of life.  I think more about what it was like when I was in that 'emerging adulthood' stage of life and now I understand what my parents were going through.  My mother always said things like  'life is short'.  It is.  I get this way every year around this time!