Happy Halloween

Wishing all the trick or treaters a safe and happy Halloween! I don't carve my pumpkin anymore, I just draw a simple face with a black sharpie marker!

Sunday Sketches - Honey Locust Tree

It's time for Sunday Sketches from England! You will notice many of these honey locust trees around here and this is what they look like in early fall when the leaves turn yellow and eventually fall to the ground. You don't have to rake these leaves much as they are small. This piece is done in my art journal in watercolour crayon and pencil (8 1/2" x 11").

Something New

Daughter L and I were at a Chinese eatery a few weeks ago and I happened to be sitting near a Korean food stall. The people on either side of my table were eating this Korean pork bone soup. It looked delicious as I love any kind of soup, and L and I decided to share an order. We really enjoyed it, including the side order of cold noodles, bean sprouts and kim chi. I didn't think I liked the kim chi pickled cabbage but it tasted pretty good with the sprouts and noodles! We had a choice of mild or spicy so we got mild. Even the mild had a hint of spice so it was perfect for us.

Paint Party Friday - Carrots

It's time for Paint Party Friday! This sketch was done in my art journal in watercolour pencil (8 1/2" x 11"). She is happy with her fresh picked carrots!

Cauliflower Hash Browns

I recently made these low carb cauliflower hash browns that Jan spoke about in the Low Carb Diabetic.  They are delicious and easy to make!  I just used a hand grater to rice the cauliflower and only needed half a teaspoon of salt.  Thanks Jan!

The Arenal Volcano

One of my sisters recently visited Costa Rica with a bunch of her friends. They made a day trip to this fabulous resort with hot springs fed by the Arenal volcano nearby. Actually this place is on my bucket list. I remember that this particular resort is booked out at least a year in advance and is very expensive. Their idea of a day trip makes a lot more sense.  Actually it looks as if they overnighted in a less expensive hotel called the  'Arenal Lodge' which also overlooked the volcano, a great idea!

Costa Rica Resort

The Springs Resort

The Arenal Volcano

Fried Cheese Appetizer

Saganaki Appetizer

Chicken Souvlaki

We went to a Greek restaurant a few weeks ago and ordered a delicious, rich saganaki fried cheese appetizer. My entree was a chicken souvlaki and they allowed me to substitute my rice and potatoes with vegetables. It was perfect!  Do you like Greek food?

It's Pumpkin Season!

We recently visited the Shops at Don Mills, it is a 'complex centered around a grassy town square' offering designer clothing and other shops and nice restaurants. I took this photo of their pumpkin display. The area was full of family activity that weekend, they had an excellent singer playing his guitar on stage and people milled about the exhibits and product displays.

Sunday Sketches - Treescape

It's time for Sunday Sketches from England! I did a treescape in watercolour crayon in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11").

Walking in the Rain

This past Sunday I woke up to a rainy morning, but it was not cold. I decided to meet my friend S for our regular walk. I donned my raincoat and set out in the pouring rain.

On the way, I saw this car pull into a driveway then I heard the heartiest laughter, it was this lady getting out of her car. Another lady came out of the driver's seat with a smile on her face too. They said a happy hello to me.  Further on, this middle-aged couple sat inside their garage, they seemed to be working on their lawnmower.

 I admired the beautiful fall leaves around me thinking the reds and burgundies were my favourite. A few tiny birds were flitting from branch to branch, they always make me think of Disney movies. Then for some reason I thought of the song by Neil Diamond 'Sweet Caroline'.

 Soon enough, S arrived at our meeting spot, she was wearing her flowered rainboots and carried her umbrella. It wasn't long before the rain held up. So that was my happy morning, albeit walking in the rain!

Paint Party Friday - The Laundry

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is done in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour pencil and crayon. It's called 'The Laundry', inspired by a photo I saw in the newspaper, taken in Italy.

Halloween Preparations

Neighbourhood Photo

The flowers planted beneath the windows give it a 'window box' effect, I like this idea.


I've bought my Halloween candy and my pumpkin so we are all set for Halloween! We don't typically get very many kids these days, but it's good to be prepared!

On blogging and happiness

I read this recent article on 'how to triple your happiness' by Neil Pasricha. He says that journaling 20 minutes a day about one positive experience increases your happiness. Re-reading it further increases your happiness. This process works because it makes us feel better about ourselves.

I'm thinking this theory must also apply to regular blogging. For some reason I usually never go back to re-reading my posts, do you?

Creative Tuesdays - Treehouse

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays' "Treehouse" theme! My piece is done in watercolour pencil in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11").  I outlined the drawing with a waterproof black pen, going with a 'fairy cottage' inspiration for my treehouse.

A good use of social media

Son K has 'the gift of the gab'. He has no trouble talking to people and is very comfortable with new acquaintances, at work or in social situations. His friends have trouble meeting girls, for example. K will add them to his Snapchat 'friends' list no problem, often with no motive other than to have a new friend to share things with.  K told me that this guy was watching him add a new female friend to his list after talking to her for a bit, and thought it was a great idea.  It really seems to be much less of a big deal than asking for someone's phone number.  This is a good use of Social media don't you think?

Sunday Sketches - Neighbourhood Watch

Welcome to Sunday Sketches from England! This "Neighbourhood Watch" piece is done in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour pencil and crayon. It is based on a photo I took in the neighbourhood.

Reflecting on Thanksgiving

We celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend. Husband M's sister hosted an extended family gathering as she usually does. It was lovely with great attendance. The food is always delicious, they do a moist butterball turkey. The nice part is catching up with everyone and seeing how much the young ones have grown. And everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Of course they were watching the baseball game which our blue jays won, while flipping to the presidential debate from time to time.

Paint Party Friday - Treehouse Practice Run

Welcome to Paint Party Friday!  This "Treehouse" piece is done in my art journal in watercolour pencil (8 1/2" x 11").

The current Creative Tuesdays theme is 'Treehouse'.
Won't you join us? You have until October 18th to link up!

I will be posting a different treehouse for the CT theme, this is a 'practice run' I guess!

Early Sunday Morning

Early this past Sunday morning I set out for church, running a few minutes late, coffee in hand. It was cooler out. A neighbour's medium-sized dog barked loudly, he seemed to be tied to a tree but I went the other way just to be sure, there were no owners in sight. I noticed a jogger, and a few walkers out.
A squirrel scampering off with an apple in his mouth crossed my path. I admired the still blooming garden flowers along the way.

The church deacon gave the homily in mass. He spoke of gratitude on the birth of his first grandchild late last month. The child was over 9 pounds. He wished the congregation a Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

Fun at Step Class

My step class was fun the other day. The instructor played a lot of catchy older songs from the 70's and 80's, starting off with 'What a Feeling' by Irene Cara. She said to her friend in the class 'This next one's for you Jane (not her real name)!' As it started, Jane guessed which one it was, and the instructor said 'She has your legs!' Jane said 'I wish!' It was a Tina Turner song 'Rolling on the River', haha.

Here is some leaf art for your enjoyment today:

Put My Foot in My Mouth

Hope you enjoyed today's leaf art!

Husband M and I were in our local McDonald's restaurant for coffee when M noticed our former neigbour sitting at a table. I went over to say hello. In the course of our conversation I noticed his female companion. He had not introduced me, so being a curious (sometimes friendly) sort, I said 'Is this your daughter?'. He said 'No, it's a friend'. After I walked away M said to me 'I knew that wasn't his daughter' and I hadn't known his daughter well enough to recognize her. Then it occurred to me that it might be a date, as the man had been widowed since January this year. Then I realized I may have put my foot in my mouth to have assumed it was his daughter, which implied he was with a much younger woman! Oops oops and oops, it's not the first time I have been guilty of embarrassing blunders, how about you?

Cauliflower Mash

I finally decided to try a low carb cauliflower mash after reading Low Carb Diabetic's recipe here. It is a winner! I liked the fact that this recipe didn't call for a food processor, a potato masher works fine. I do own a really nice food processor, but prefer a simple hand mash.  I used a small amount of full fat (as opposed to light) old white cheddar cheese and it added a lot of taste!  Of course the more cheese you add, the better.

Denise in VA also had a nice cauliflower mash recipe using a food processor here.

Sunday Sketches - At Work

Welcome to Sunday Sketches from England. This piece is done in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour pencil. It's called 'At Work'.

I cannot comment on some Google+ blogs as I have not converted. But I will visit your blog and leave a reply on mine. Some Google+ blogs are set up to allow me to comment.

Kind of Funny

Husband M and I celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary today. It is also the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend.

I took my mom for some lab tests recently. She has some memory loss. The X-ray guy was asking her 'Are you Elfreda?' and mom wasn't answering. I came into the room and she says to me quite seriously 'who is Elfreda?'  I said to him 'That's her middle name, she is Doreen!  Problem solved.  It was kind of funny.

It was raining one early morning and I took these shots of wet leaves on the pavement for you:

Paint Party Friday - The Harvest

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is called 'The Harvest' and is done in my art journal (8 1/2" x 11") in watercolour pencil and crayon. Have you been taking advantage of the harvest vegetables?

I cannot comment on some Google+ blogs as I have not converted. But I will visit your blog and leave a reply on mine. Some Google+ blogs are set up to allow me to comment.

Toasted Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Daughter L made these delicious cookies recently. What made them different is that she toasted some peanuts to add to her cookies. Even the smell of toasted peanuts is wonderful.

Low Carb Eggplant Pizza

Jan, the Low Carb Diabetic, featured this recipe on one of her blogs and it is a winner! I used an old white cheddar as the cheese on mine, and added some sundried tomatoes. I believe using a full fat cheese (as opposed to light) does wonders for the taste of anything!

Creative Tuesdays - Snow White

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays! I chose to do 'Snow White' for this theme. My piece is done in my sketchbook (9" x 12") in watercolour pencil. It's a young girl in a snow white costume.  My daughter L thought the piece needed something more, so I added the apple as an afterthought.

A knocking sound

On a sunny afternoon last week, I heard a knocking sound against my window that seemed to be coming from outside. I peeked out and saw a squirrel wrestling with a small apple on my windowsill! He must have sensed my presence because he abandoned the apple and went scampering up a nearby tree.

Son K noticed the apple on the windowsill some hours later and wondered where it came from, as we don't even have an apple tree. It's that time of year!

Sunday Sketches - Prize Pumpkin

October seems to have come upon us so quickly!  It will be Christmas before you know it.

I did a 'prize pumpkin' for you today in watercolour pencil (6" x 6"). I started off on good quality textured orange cardstock, thinking 'orange' for pumpkins, although there is not a lot of that orange card showing up!  Happy Sunday Sketches from England!

The man behind the pumpkin was added to give a sense of scale, but he looks a bit spooky doesn't he?

I cannot comment on some Google+ blogs as I have not converted.  But I will visit your blog and leave a reply on mine. Some Google+ blogs are set up to allow me to comment.  

An Interesting Dilemma

Welcome to October!

 I was talking to a friend at the gym this past week.  She is in her mid-sixties I believe.  I had sent her a dentist referral for who I believe to be an honest dentist.  A cousin of mine used to work for her.  Apparently my friend has been seeing her current dentist for over 30 years so it is a hard decision to leave him.  However, she feels it may be time for him to retire as he is aging and he actually hurt her recently while doing some crown work.  I agreed it was time to leave.  It is an interesting dilemma.

 I took these fall leaf photos for you today, great shadows at this time of year: