Holiday Weekend!

This weekend was nice for a few days and rain today, but we had plans to stay home, so we got out for some rides and a little outdoor hiking.

One place we love is Trustom Pond, a sanctuary so no dogs allowed. I was excited to try my new camera there, with the zoom. That is, until I realized I left the zoom at home, ugh. We enjoyed the walk though and the wildlife and got a nice 3 mile hike in.

The views are always beautiful from the first point and deck. Looking into the cove, a pair of swans.

An old windmill from the farm is still standing.

The rains bring more water to the streams and everything is so green and lush.

Sunday was shopping first, and we got some tin tiles to do the kitchen backsplash, hopefully Bill can get them on without messing it up too much, lol. We came back and got Bean and went to the lighthouse for a walk around the circle. Of course most of the time was spent stopping to let people pet Bean, but we got to enjoy some time on a beach and enjoy the views.

A couple were fishing, as a sailboat came by.

Today we had a little party for Nick. His birthday was yesterday, four years old. Alex was born on the same day, so his birthday was at Ivy's mothers and when she comes back tomorrow, they will have a big party for them.

Nick loves presents and we got him something small but fun and he loved it.

Of course the buddies had fun blowing and catching bubbles.

He wanted a puppy patrol cake and at walmart they do special cakes, it sure looks pretty but according to the guys, it is horrid, way too sweet and the frosting was a bit thick and rubbery. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Now it is time for me to get some things finished, get ready for our trip and build up my strength so I can do more paddling.

WIP and the last week with Nick!

This is been the hardest week, my energy level was dwindling and Nick was not being cooperative with quiet and nap times. I got a little stitching done, a piece I am making for myself. It is called Summer Sun by Kathy Schmitz. One of the patterns I got with my winnings. I got the full set so I can make one for each season.

I am doing it in multi colors but keeping it simple, 3 shades of green mixed with black, red, yellow and maybe blue birds. I will use brown for the posts, so most of the colors will be duller, but a pop of color, here and there.

We had more rain than sun this week, which didn't make it easy, but we were able to get out a bit when the rain stopped. Nick loves his new squirt gun and Bean loves it too.

The jacuzzi is covered by a tent house, so we got some fun in the "Pool". I bought the raft, last year so it was perfect for some play in the water.

Yesterday we tried crafting. Nick doesn't have a lot of patience but he loved cutting paper. The kid's scissors were too large for his hands, so I let him use my paper cutter, he loved using that.

We made a mosaic fish. I printed out the fish on card stock and cut it out for him. Then we glued on scraps of paper and a googly eye. It is such a joy to see his joy at creating something.

Today was another busy day, I needed to clean, so I do clean areas that won't get dirty again and then finish when they leave. Nick wanted to help, and he loves using the battery vacuum, he actually cleaned enough to empty two times, quite the helper.

 We also had some target practice. I printed out some turkeys and set them on a few boxes and Nick got to shoot them off with her nerf gun, he loved that. The problem was, Bean always wanted to play and kept grabbing them and chewing them up, so we gave up on that idea.

So, that was my exciting week. Now back to trying to get caught up and working on my projects, especially my painting class. I have been watching the videos and will finish the small one and do the actual class with the larger one and hopefully do a nicer job. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was a bit cooler and I was a bit sick, maybe a cold, but my body is dragging and I found it hard to crawl around on the rocks, so we took it easy. One more week of watching Nick and next week, mommy comes home. I think a month of full time care, is a bit much for me, not sure if I can catch up next month and I have the trip to get ready for.

We went to the lighthouse, since we can enjoy the views and walk around the main circle. The tide was just starting to go out so we took Bean down to a beach front with enough ground to play on.

The problem was, the tide was going out and the waves were coming in. Bean ran out, just as one came in and covered him.

Do you think he would learn that waves are deeper than he is high? NO..... he kept running in and getting hit with waves, this is his, not funny look. The waves next to the rocks go both ways, but at least he was not afraid so that is good if we take him out on the ocean.

We enjoyed watching the sailboats come by, this one was tacking in the wind, not sure if I would like having to sit on the side of a boat to keep it upright;)

This is more my style, nice and big. I have been on schooners, never a smaller boat and always under motor.

Today Nick was back and Dad is working at home for a few days. They are getting a new tub put in, so he has to stay and keep an eye on things. We took Nick to a discount store and found a great toy to keep him busy with, at least until the rain started. It is a pump squirt gun with a dinosaur head, easy for him to use and good exercise for his arms. I hope you all had a nice weekend. 

Friday Finish and Fun!

Another whirlwind week, lots of outdoor time with Nick, way too much extra cleaning and a sleepover, but I did manage to get the newest block done from Suzy's Sitcom.

This one was fun, love the word and how she has the little baby bird, taking his first step from the nest. This is something that will be a great inspirational quilt and hopefully I don't make a mess of it. She has borders, so I may do her style or I may do it more wonky and fun, that way if my blocks aren't perfect, no one will notice;)

With a record hot week, we spent days at the beach, having fun in the water.

Afternoons in the pool, having fun. Having fun until Nick kicked up water and his foot landed into Beans mouth. So, after a few days of a sore bruised toe, he is back to running around again.

Yesterday I bought my play kayak. It is great to putt around in and the water was calm enough to paddle around the cove with him.

Today was the last hot day, which is fine with me. Nick found a friend to play with. I took some videos of the two of them, if you would like to see, you can visit my You Tube Channel. It is cute, since Nick was watching over him and holding his hand. His dad was very appreciative to have someone play and watch him while he sat with his baby daughter.

I am still cleaning and will be till I go to bed, lol. I do not plan on spending my weekend at home, the weather is cooler and it is a perfect time for some hiking. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Weekend Wandering and a Finish!

I actually got some sewing time in, this weekend, and I spent a little time working on my painting. I realized I was trying too hard and the little painting is not a good size for the tutorial, so at this point, I am just going to paint it and finish it, then work on the large one with the video tutorial.

I did get to finish my piece for the One Stitch at a Time Club. I love doing the monthly piece, they are wonderful designs and work up quickly. I made mine with lavender so I can place it with my wools to keep the moths away.

I realized when I looked at the photo, that I missed a few pieces of two leaves, duh to me. I can go back in and fix that. I pull the thread through from the side seam and that way it goes in and stays put with the knot.

The green and yellow threads are Cosmo threads, that I ordered with my winnings. I got patterns, but I wanted to try the threads. I have to admit, they are wonderful to work with and I am getting tired of my DMC, twisting and catching and having to pull out and fix them. It seems the quality has gone down, do others notice that?

This weekend we got out for a bit and enjoyed a visit to the island and hit our usual parks for some short walks. We enjoyed views from the cliffs, the boats are starting to come out on the weekends.

We did a little cliff climbing to enjoy the solitude and views in a hidden area.

Of course we had to take Bean to the other side, for a play on the beach. It was high tide so we stayed in one area and let him play, while I looked for sea glass and heart rocks, much better to find it at low tide. The cormorants were hanging out at the rocks.

We had the kids over for Mother's day. Bill did the cooking and Billy surprised me with a new light pad. I have been wanting a new one and this one is large and skinny, perfect for my new patterns. I already have two done on backing that I can work on this week. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

I stole this photo off of amazon, it is a 20" long, great for those oversized patterns. It is a huron, adjustable light. I am not sure if it really has more light than my old one though, I still have areas that are harder to see but I may be doing something wrong, will have to test it more with different fabrics.

Friday Finish and Fun!

This week I finished two pieces. One was a comfort pillow for a friend, but I forget to get a photo of it. I will do similar ones, so I will share those and basic patterns so others can do them for friends.

I finished my pillow stitchery, this one I made for spring and summer, it will fit with both seasons and look nice, sitting with other items on my chest.

The design is from an old Kindred Spirits book, called Homespun Stitcheries. I made mine into a pillow and kept it simple and prim. It measures 9" x 12". I use my Faber Castell art pens to give it a touch of color. I like the markers since they are archival ink and quick drying. I alway do the coloring before I do the stitching.

Grandpa has been keeping Nick busy in the mornings, though he tends to do things that put Grandma's nerves on edge, lol. 

Bean doesn't like it when he isn't getting all the attention, so he decided to show off some of his skills. He will catch one ball and hold on to it and when I kick the big ball to him, he catches it with his hands, he would make a good soccer goalie.

We also took Nick shopping and decided to give him an early birthday present. He will be 4 this month and his mom won't be home till the end of the month, so I wanted to get him something he could have fun with, at our house and take home to ride, when Ivy comes home. He tried it in our yard and I realized it was not a good idea on grass, small bikes and little legs do not peddle well, but he still had fun and then played on the porch with it.

Today we took Nick to the bike path, though it was more hilly than I realized. He did really good though and got up the incline and had fun going down again. It was nice to see him enjoying his bike on a better surface so we will have to take him to areas like this, next week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and mother's day. I plan on resting and Sunday we are getting pouring rain, so no day out. I guess Bill will just have to cook me a nice dinner while I relax and work on some projects;)

Weekend Wanderings!

It seems someone gave Nick and I a cold, luckily he is just sniffling and I got stuck with the joint aches, lol. Of course that did not stop me from getting out this weekend, I always feel better when I am at the ocean.

On Saturday the wind was kicking up the surf, so we went to the fishermen's site and walked in, and enjoyed the views of the ocean surf. I can't wait until they finish cleaning up the parking area so we can drive in again.

The seagulls were gathering at the shore, waiting for the horseshoe crabs to get washed in, they had a feast that day. It was nice getting out and I was happy to go home early, to relax and do some stitching, but my son decided to come over for dinner, so no rest that day;)

Sunday we went to the island, it was Bean's day and the beach is the perfect place for him to run off leash and play in the water. Funny how he was afraid of water at first and now I can't keep him out.

We enjoyed a ride to the lighthouse and then went to the forts on the other side and enjoyed a walk around the cliffs. It got colder and started to rain, so that was the end of the day. We did get to enjoy watching the ships come in.

Today I am beat, luckily Bill works nights so he watched Nick this morning so I could rest and get going on a new project I started today and finished, thanks to his tiring Nick out and he got a good nap in. Bill is tearing down the old fence posts so we can get the new one up, Nick loves helping, cart the rocks to the garden.

I hope you all had a good weekend, hopefully I can show you the new project on Friday, since it is a gift, I will wait till it arrives.

Friday Finishes?

It looks like another week of not enough time. With Nick here during the day, I have little time for myself and by the time they leave, I am catching up around the house and only have a few hours to stitch, but that is ok, I love having Nick and hopefully we can get on a better schedule.

I finished one more angel, from my old set and started a new one, which will be a pillow for me. I like making larger pillows to set on my chest and Moki loves them too, it is one of  his favorite spots to sleep.

I received two packages this week, I guess it was my lucky week, last week. I won Kathy Schmitz's giveaway on the One Stitch at a Time Club. I enjoyed spending my money and got a lot of wonderful patterns and a pack of threads and material to use for the club. She also sent me some additional prizes, bookmarks, gift cards, a banner pattern and an acorn pin. I felt like it was Christmas, she is so generous with his giveaways and special surprises for me.

I also won a bag from the Green Bag Lady. Not only did I get the beautiful floral print bag, I also got a bonus Christmas bag. I want to make my own, so this way I can use her pattern and see the finished bag, to help me out. I think it is a wonderful idea to use as a gift bag, then I can put gifts or a pillow inside the bag, instead of wrapping paper. I also think it is a nice idea for the cancer heart pillows, then they can carry their pillows and items in the bag, lots of possibilities.

He loves to help, we got a couple of daisy plants to get a start on the garden area. He also loved spraying Bean and Grandma, lol.

And or course Nick, he loves to play outside and that is fun if it is nice out. It is also more relaxing for me if he is playing in one place, instead of running around the house. We took him shopping and he wanted the wheel barrow set, he loved pushing it around the yard. Earlier this morning he and Grandpa where pushing their wheelbarrows around the yard, wish I had seen that, but Grandma slept in so she could have more energy;)

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity and a lot of tired from no sleep and a day of Nick, and today I am still going and still tired, lol. His dad has a few days off, so I am cleaning and making space in my sewing room for him, so he can work from here. The bad thing is, I won't be able to use my room during the day, but I have plenty to keep me busy.

One thing that I will be busy doing is, lots of stitchery. I belong to Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch At A Time Club and each month, if you submit your stitchery on Facebook, you get entered into a contest and I won this month and I won a 100.00 gift certificate. What a wonderful surprise to wake up to and of course I have my order in and on it's way. I got stitcheries for fun and some that I can make into gifts. I also treated myself to a kit with threads and fabrics to use in the club.

Saturday was a low key day, I was still dragging, so we went shopping and a few stops at our favorite ocean spots. I really wanted to get out for a walk so we stopped at the rocks and enjoyed the views and the fresh air.

I love the mix of colors on the rocks and do you see the hidden heart in the photo? It is formed from a bed of muscles.

On Sunday we went to Jamestown and Bean's favorite park. The campground opens this month, so we enjoyed some time before it opens. The regular beach was crowded, so we walked along the cliff path and found an opening to a rocky beach. It was the perfect spot to let Bean play off leash.

Bean has no sense and he kept going in the cold ocean water. I told him it was too cold to go in and this is the look I got.

We decided to walk around the campground loop and I noticed a sign for the bird sanctuary. It as a nice walk and I am sure there were some nice birds, but they all seem to disappear when I come with a camera. We found this wonderful old tree on the path, a nice place to walk and enjoy the views on the inlet.

We took a ride up to the lighthouse and it was a lot windier there, and cooler, so we just took a short walk around the main loop. The crazy ducks were swimming in the swells and trying to stay above water.

This seagull did not want to give up his place on the rock, but the incoming tide made the decision for him.

We left, planning on going home and resting and having dinner, but my son decided to come over to visit. Nick was thrilled that we had a new tractor, the old one died and he was so disappointed that he couldn't ride on it anymore. The tractor was the first thing he went to.

Then he wanted to play with Bean, he gets such a kick out of Bean's skills and the two of them are a bundle of energy and laughter.

Bean will go to any length, to catch a ball, wonder how he would do in a soccer field, lol. He has a ball he can throw in the air and bounce off his head, his newest trick to show off with.

To end our day, Danielle's tree is finally blooming, a bit late this year. We also have old apple trees that have finally been blossoming so it is wonderful to see the beautiful pink flowers and the white apple blossoms in the back. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.