Friday Finishes!

This week I decided to finish a piece I made up for camping, and never did. I had two and decided on the angel saying and realized it was the perfect gift for a friend who is going through a tough time. I was thinking while I worked on it, that it is a good idea for me, to make up some different stitcheries with sayings that I can give to others, so I will be working on some ideas.

I like the pillow idea since it can be displayed to look at, used to comfort when they need something to hold and something they can  use to ease pain after an operation or injury, so I will think about that when I design them too. I made this one large enough, but also soft enough for her to use as a cushion.

I forgot to measure it before I sent it out, and sizes will depend on sayings too. They need to be something I can make in a day or two. This one I used a saying from Jan Patek's angel book and a free angel, I found on the web.

I also worked on my painting from the class I won, by Teresa Kogut, Gather, Dream Create. I finally made time for myself, by cleaning and getting things done, but of course, the day did not go as planned. First it was my tooth, it has been bothering me so I made an appointment for today, but yesterday it got worse so my mouth was one giant nerve pain. That along with phone calls, made me lose track of what I was doing and I got frustrated when the video kept stalling, so I just started painting the small one myself. I did use her technique and tutorial for the face, the first time I made one that looked nice, but I decided the small piece is too small to work on with the tutorial, so I will just do it my way and use the large one for the tutorial. This is what I did so far, a few details, but mostly base colors to get the overall look.

On top of that, my son called, my DIL's dad died the other day and I will be watching Nick while she is gone, while my son works from my house. So, he will be stealing a room to set up his computers and Nick will be with me, during the day for 4 weeks. Today I had him while he drove her to NY to get a flight at a better price, so I am still waiting for him to return. That would be ok, if I had any sleep last night, no sleep at all, I have been up since yesterday and then the dentist where I got the tooth removed, but the pain of that is so much better than what I had. So, I am waiting for Nick to be picked up and then I am going to sleep, lol. 

Tomorrow I will have a day out, I need to enjoy doing something fun and different and then I can start reorganizing the house. I hope  you all have a wonderful weekend.

As you can see, my angel is not finished, and some things are off, but I fix those as I paint. This is 5" x 7", so not a lot of room for shading and the techniques that Teresa uses.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was mixed, some good and some bad. Saturday was mostly rainy, but we got out for a ride and I was able to get out of the car and take some shots before it started again. We went to the lighthouse in Westerly since you can park and enjoy the views without getting out.

I spotted some cormorants sitting on the pole, and got a quick shot off, but the minute I hit the beach, they took off, was hoping for some closeups.

I watched a sailboat go by and then the rain started, but at least I got out for a little while.

On the way back, we took a back road that followed the coastline and spotted an egret in the marsh. We saw a whole flock in another area, but no place to stop and park so I could get a shot.

On Sunday we got to get out with Nicholas. My son was working on the house so he dropped him off and I was getting snacks ready and Bill let Bean back in. Bean went flying into Nick and Nick went flying into the dishwasher and smacked his face into it.

It was just open enough that he hit the door with his mouth and cut up the inside of his lip and of course he started crying and crying for his daddy. I called and he was going to come back, but while we were waiting, Nick calmed down and I asked him if he wanted to go home or go to the beach, that made it easy, the beach of course. Nick was afraid to go near Bean but by the end of the day, he asked if we were going to go back and see Bean, so that is good, I don't want him to be afraid of Bean, Bean is just a bit excitable when Nick comes over to play.

We took Nick to the Denison Sanctuary to see the owls and go for a walk. Bill found out that you are supposed to pay, even if you just go for a walk, oops. So, we paid, which I didn't mind since the money helps to rehabilitate the owls.

Nick loved walking around the pond, we got to see the turtles and ducks and a huge snapping turtle came by, while we were at the shore.

He wanted to keep walking, I wasn't sure how much hiking he could do, but he was full of energy and wanted to explore. Grandpa held his hand on the rougher areas, one accident was enough.

We also went inside the center. They have areas with dioramas of different animals and their habitats, along with some live ones. Nick was afraid of the snake, said it was bad, but I told him that our snakes are friendly and helpful. I think he got the fear when he was in malaysia, those snakes are bad, lol.

And as promised, we took him to a beach. It was on the inner harbor, since it was getting cooler, but he was happy enough, just as long as there was sand and rocks to throw.

So the day ended on a good night, he had fun and was happy again, but he will be eating soft foods for a few days. I hope you all had a good weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week flew by, seems I spent most of it, cleaning and shopping and getting ready for my new project, but I was able to make the newest block by Suzy's Sitcom, Words to Live by. This is a fun one to do and I think it will make a nice gift, so it keeps me motivated.

I also started my canvas boards for the painting class, that I won. It is offered by Teresa Kogut as part of her courses, Gather, Dream, Create. This one is called Angel Strokes and she also has one that offers several others. Of course my boards are different sizes, one is slightly smaller than the original and I also made a mini one for practice. I also cheated and used art pens to trace the designs, so they are wobbly and messed up, but paint will cover us those mistakes;) I am not at my best this week, so I will let them sit till next week and then start painting. The weekend is here and time for another adventure.

I took a photo at my art table, I think it is time to finish my room and start decorating the rest, so I can enjoy using it this summer. The room is a lot cooler and will be nice since I won't have to use the air conditioner. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with adventures and creativity.

For some reason things look crooked, so I have to look at it, maybe we hung up a crooked, or the wide angle made it look off. You can see the mini board in front of the larger one.

Holiday Weekend Part II !

We packed in a lot of things in 4 days, I am still recovering, lol. Cleaning and cooking to catch up and then to top it off, I won a contest. I won a free class from Teresa Kogut, Angelic Strokes Tutorial. I was totally surprised and thrilled, never thought I would win one of her classes. I love her angel designs and her style and now I am learning the technique she uses while making one of the angels.

Today was shopping for supplies, even though I have painting supplies, I didn't have the ones I needed. I still didn't find everything, but I can substitute on the ones I didn't find. Today was cutting up paper and applying that to the canvas, then tomorrow I seal it all, then I can start painting on the next day.

The camp we stayed at was close to multiple beaches, so we stuck close by and enjoyed each one. We did get cooler temps, but warm enough during the day to get out for some walks. At night we got some rain, so I didn't get to enjoy as many sunsets or see the meteor showers, but it was nice to get away and give me a change of pace, just what I needed to recharge.

One nice thing about off season is, we can take Bean to the beaches. We realized after, that this month is off limits to dogs, but everyone else had their dogs on the beach, so I guess they don't enforce it.

And we found a section with no people, which Bean was thrilled about since he gets to go off leash. He was really good and stayed with us, but if he is close to kids and dogs, he wants to go play and jump on them, so I am careful about that. He loved playing in the ocean, I guess the cold doesn't bother him.

We got down before sunset, so we got to watch as the sun went down, then the clouds took over and we never got to see the full setting, but still beautiful as it went down.

On Sunday we spent the morning watching the ferry go out and then headed home  to get ready for Easter dinner. The kids cooked and my son smoked beef and salmon and made foods I could eat, it was a real treat not to have to cook and be able to eat most of the items at the table.

They also did an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Hard to take photos when they are running around so fast, you can't keep up. Nick is so cute, he kept up with the older kids.

Alex is at the age where he is aware of everything and seems to have taken cues from Nick on making faces for photos, he is such a ham with his expressions. Most are blurry though, he never sits still.

Now it is back to creating again, hopefully I will have some progress of my painting and a new stitchery block, by friday.

Holiday Weekend!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and weekend. We went camping, but spent more than  half the time, on the go, but lots of fun and relaxing and of course, Bean was the happiest, he loved camping, playing and visiting new places.

We had a nice site, open view to the salt water marsh and inlet and plenty of grass for Bean to roam around on. He was really good on this trip, but on the first night he was sick and we spent all night taking him out to go. I think he got too much salt water and beach objects into his mouth.

Sitting by the fire and looking out at the marsh was the perfect spot for relaxing.

We had a few larger grassy areas for Bean to play and it wasn't crowded, so he could play without his leash.

We visited the lighthouse and walked along the beaches and enjoyed the views from the hilltop.

On the other side, views of the lighthouse.

A little relax time to just enjoy the tranquil sounds of the ocean.

We also took Bean to another beach where he invented a new game, clam shell rolling. He loves to push rocks around on the beach, clams were more fun. And not a good idea since he probably got sick from all this fun;)

On the road next to our campground, is a bird sanctuary with nesting boxes for the Ospreys. This pair has made quite the nest, from found objects. Which of these things are not a common nesting item?

To end the first night, we had a beautiful sunset. We didn't have to go anywhere, we just climbed up the hill and watched it go down and then enjoyed the afterglow from the campsite. Since this post could go on, I will stop here and share the last two days with you, on Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed some of our adventures this weekend.

Friday Finish!

Posting early today, since we are going off grid, this afternoon. The weather has changed back and forth all week, and now it looks like a great weekend for camping. The bad thing is, I thought it was going to rain, so I let my Son host the dinner, which he wanted to do, so no picnic, and now it is going to be 79 on Sunday, ugh. It also means, we come back to the house and get things ready and Bean can stay home while we spend time at their house, then back to camp.

I Cooked up a pot of Goulash and some corn bread, so we can just relax and heat up dinner. Baskets for the kids are done and now we are just doing some finishing things and waiting for the milkman before we take off.

One reason we are going away is, it is not only Easter, but Danielle's birthday on Sunday, so it would be too much to sit home and think about the fact that she is not sharing it with us. She loved camping, so this will be a time for us to relax and be with her in spirit as we walk the beaches and enjoy nature.

I worked on a pillow, an idea I saw on a website, who made a pillow to ease her grief. She lost her daughter right after birth and spent the day, loving her and saying goodbye. I can only imagine her pain, for each of us grieves in our own way.

I made my heart with some of our clothes and some of hers, a special memory and inspiration as I walk this journey called Grief.

I also finished my eyeglass case, it is a bit smaller after sewing and I like a roomy case, makes it easier to get them out. It is also good for pocket cameras, too. I used old blue jean material behind the felted piece, and for the backing.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a Blessed Easter.

Weekend Wanderings!

We are finally getting some beautiful weather, warm and sunny with a cool breeze, just right for getting out and enjoying some exploring.

On Saturday we did some shopping first to get some camping gear, though we may not go if the weather goes downhill. Looks like rain on Sunday so we won't be able to have the kids down for a picnic, so my son will do the cooking and that way if we do go, we can just go there for dinner and not worry about cooking.

We decided to take Bean for some fun time at his favorite beach. No one was around since it was a bit cool, so he could run off leash and he had a wonderful time.

We had a low tide so we could explore the shoreline and I found a few new heart rocks and some sea glass. Bean was happy running around and pushing rocks in the sand.

On the way back I spotted the Osprey on the perch, next to his nest.

Sunday the kids stopped by and Nick stayed with us for the day. It was so nice that we decided to go to the beach. He was so cute, jabbering away and saying Wow, over and over, when he saw how big and long the beach was. We got him a pail and he had fun digging with grandpa and collecting rocks.

Someone left a row of roses, some going this way and then on the other side, there were more. Not sure why.

The minute we got back in the car, Nick fell asleep. I wanted to visit another area nearby so I got out for a few shots while Nick slept.

No people in this area either, so I got to enjoy the piping plovers who were busy picking at plankton with the low tide.

On the other side, the sandpipers were getting their share of a meal in the water. They are fun to watch and these guys didn't seem to mind that I was so close.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoying sharing my adventures.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on a new projects and finished a couple of Christmas stitcheries. I had made a bunch up, so I decided it is a good time to finish them. I will wait to make them into something, probably later in the summer, so I can concentrate on finishing more seasonal projects and maybe make some new ones.

I am working on a new inspirational pillow in memory of my daughter. I found the idea on a blog, so I will be sharing that, next week.

This design is by Kathy Schmitz, from her One Stitch at a Time Club. I wasn't sure what to make it into and then I got the idea to add a saying. A saying makes it into a nice pillow that I can give as a gift, for now I will enjoy looking at it on my shelf;)

I used art markers to color in the quilt, just a little touch of color.

It looks like spring is finally here and I hope it stays. I am ready to get out for long walks and hikes, though my body is still not recovering, as well as I would want, so I may have to take it easy.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend we got one rain day and one beautiful day. It was so nice to get out and not have to wear a coat. This time I found a new place to explore called the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center.

I read up on it and it said that dogs were allowed, but when we got there, I saw on the sign to the center that dogs were not allowed in that area. I asked at the desk and she told me we could hike on the trails on the other side.

The trail was nice, though a few wet spots from all the rain, but it was a nice hike and we didn't see anyone on most of the hike.

Some areas had board walks for the swampy ponds.

There are also farm fields and an old quarry area. One thing the sanctuary has is, plenty of birds, especially wood peckers. I noticed a lot of holes in the trees and even spotted a few babies peeking their heads out. Now I know why so may trees look like faces.

One reason I wanted to go was, they have an owl sanctuary. Bill sat in the car with Bean so I could go and see the owls and check out the sanctuary area. They have ponds and trails and I will definitely come back with Nick so we can explore that area.

This owl seemed to be mocking me. He was making hissing sounds and blinking at me.

This guy just looked sad. He had some strange growth on his stomach, not sure what was wrong with him, but he was not a happy guy. I cropped him in more and used photoshop to make the bars and background disappear.

There are also barns and old homes, and they are associated with a farm, so lots to explore on future visits. I have been by this area when we are in Mystic and never knew it was there. I might even go back next Sunday and bring Nick. Great time of year to see nature as the ponds come to life and the flowers will be budding.

Today we put out fresh feed, so all the birds and critters were feasting on the seed. The chipmunk got too close to the squirrel's spot, so he scared him away. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.