At the blood lab

My kids really like getting this 'dippin dots' ice cream:

Dippin Dots

I was at the blood lab with my mom last week, both of us doing routine tests.  I've noticed this summer that the lines haven't been as long and attributed that to people being away on vacation or that they don't tend to come in the summer.  I was talking to the attendant and she mentioned to me that they have changed their process.  It used to be that each worker was assigned an individual task, so one would take the blood, one would type, one would do ECG's etc.  The new process is that one worker is assigned to one patient and sees him through from start to finish.  And it is much faster!  I asked her if she was more tired, and she said initially it was but now it is fine, it is just always busy.  From a patient point of view, we are all much happier!  Well, except for these two little kids who were screaming for a long time after getting their needles.

Sunday Sketches - Sour Cherries and Hibiscus

Welcome to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches! This is a greeting card (5 1/2"h x 4 1/4"w) done in watercolour pencils. The piece is entitled 'Sour Cherries and Hibiscus'.

Joys of Summer

My friend S dropped by with these jars of sour cherry compote that she made with her family. She also brought me fresh beets and kohlrabi from her sister's farm, so fresh I had to wash the grime off the roots!   Any simple recipe ideas? It would be great to use those large beet leaves.

Paint Party Friday - Bonfire

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! Today's piece is entitled 'Bonfire', a tribute to summers at the cottage toasting marshmallows, that is if you have a cottage! (I don't). It's done on textured cardstock (8 1/2"h x 11"w).  It was inspired by a beautiful photo I saw in the newspaper (see below).  Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to!

Summer of Color - Nightscape

I decided to do this nightscape for Summer of Color this week. It's an ACEO in acrylic (2 1/2w x 3 1/2"h) on textured cardstock. It seemed to suit the colours for the challenge which were royal blue, red and a smudge of light blue. Thanks to Kristin for hosting!

Annual Summer Ribfest

The ribfest was in town this past weekend. Son K went with a friend Friday evening and husband M and I went the next day. Daughter L was out of town at her boyfriend's family's cottage. Of course we lined up in the longest line to get our ribs as K had told us they were good. Then some people at our table were eating ribs from the shortest line and proclaimed them to be excellent. So we took a rack of those home and indeed they were delicious! It just goes to show you that the longest line doesn't always mean the best ribs!  We later found out that yet another team had won the competition.  Apparently they even look at things such as signage, how attractive your sign is.

Cute

Son K took this photo last week, look what was blocking traffic!  I've warned him not to even touch his phone while driving, but he was lucky this time.  He said traffic was stopped.  Even so...

I was walking to church on Sunday morning, feeling a bit stressed about this and that, thinking the walk would do me good.  This Chinese lady approached me asking for directions.  She didn't speak much English and I got the impression she was looking for the church, so I told her to follow me.  In the pathway, a man warned us that he saw a skunk which had by this time disappeared through the hedges.  We all hurried through.  The lady told me she had just moved to the area from Niagara Falls, I think she said.  She had 2 sons and was living with one of them.  I noticed she was smartly dressed.  Then she told me she was 80 years old!  What good shape she was in, she said she walked every day.  Almost at the church I understood that she was in fact looking for the grocery store.  So I pointed her in the right direction and she ran off.  I said 'ran'!  I hope to be in good shape like her when/if I get to 80!  I think she was a bit lost when I met her because she wasn't going in the direction of the grocery store.

The church had a new associate pastor with a pronounced Scottish accent.  He gave a good sermon, the bit I listened to.  He said not to be so focussed on your own day to day problems, I guess, to think more of others.  I think that's what he said.