My Food Tip

Maybe most people do this, but we have started tossing our leftover vegetables into a can of vegetable soup before bringing it to the boil.  The vegetables can be boiled or roasted with whatever spices you may have made them with.  It will be all the better.  So you use up your leftovers and end up eating more vegetables.

Pisa

Neighbourhood Flowers

Did you know that the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy is no longer in danger of tipping over? It was fixed to its original tilt 300 years ago.  The restoration started in the year 2000 and took 2 years, requiring 100 tonnes of earth under the foundation. I hope to visit there someday although it is very crowded.

Do you have a dream destination?

Petals Starting to Fall

These are some beautiful roses taken in the neighbourhood on a sunny afternoon as the weather turns to fall.  The petals are just starting to fall.

I took my mom to the dentist yesterday for a checkup, all was good. We give her antibiotics an hour before she gets any dental work as a precaution against the possibility of a dangerous heart infection. They do this for heart patients. Then we went to McDonald's for lunch. I usually get her a signature Mcwrap, the bacon and chicken grilled one. I substitute a side garden salad for the fries that come with the meal. She eats the wrap while I eat the salad. These are probably the healthiest options at McDonald's. She was saying a lot of silly, untrue things and I just humoured her.  She has advancing dementia and has no idea there is anything wrong with her brain.

Taco Dinner

This is a taco dinner daughter L made the other day.  It's from a pack of those Old El Paso dinner kits.  You add your own ground beef and toppings.

We have been having glorious early fall weather, in between some heavy rain.  Just a cool breeze with lots of sunshine and you barely need a sweater if any.  The leaves have started to fall.

I just recently watched Forrest Gump the movie and loved it.  It's the 20th anniversary of the movie. Isn't it a classic?

Sunday Sketches - High End Sofa

This is a high end sofa done in my art journal with watercolour pencils (5"h x 7"w). I saw it in the newspaper. It is Scandinavian (Danish) design by Jaime Hayon for Fritz Hansen. The piece is called 'FAVN' and retails for $10,849. I was attracted to the clean, simple lines, but who knew it would be so expensive!

Happy Sunday Sketches! Thanks to Alexandra for always hosting!

Finances for the Young Adult

This is a photo of the roasted cauliflower and chickpea dish I took to a potluck supper last weekend.

Daughter L was telling me she advised her girlfriend on her finances recently. It seems the young woman has a student loan of over ten thousand dollars. She was just paying it off slowly at $100 per month. When asked why, she said it was the government default and she just figured it was okay. On top of that, she was paying this $100 with her line of credit at the bank. L pointed out that her friend was being hit with double the interest charges this way. It seemed at this rate, the friend would be out of debt in about 9 years. L worked out an increased payment schedule (avoiding the use of her credit limit) that the girl can afford having started her new job. In this manner, the girl will be painlessly out of debt in 3 or 4 years. I told L maybe she should become a financial advisor. (She is more in a marketing type of career that she loves.)

It seems some people (not necessarily just young adults) have a real need when it comes to managing their finances. It's something they don't like to give a lot of thought to or possibly don't know how to begin.

Paint Party Friday - Party Shoes

For Paint Party Friday, this piece is entitled 'Party Shoes'. It invokes a holiday atmosphere, I think, with the red and green colouring. It's in acrylic on 6" x 6" quality cardstock.  I was inspired by a photo I saw in a shoe magazine catalog recently.