Friday Finish!

 

Another week has gone by and a few more weeks for Christmas. I have gotten out my packages and most cards, so I can relax now.  I finally got a change to do the stitchery of the month, by Kathy Schmitz. I decided to use up the last of my balsam and making a pillow for my neighbor. 

I used glitter yellow thread on the stars and ties, to give it a fun pop.

At home I am still able to get out, even though the days are cooler, but the fresh brisk air, does wonders for my energy levels. We went to the docks to see what was going on and stumbled onto an event. They were doing a 24 hour polar plunge for Special Olympics. Every hour for 24 hours, they jumped in. Way too cold for me.

While waiting, I caught this guy.  He was trying to break it by dropping it in the sand, but he finally figured out, he had to drop it on the nearby rocks to crack it open.

Then we sat and watched the boats come in. The parking is at the entrance, so we can sit in the warm car and enjoy watching them.

The next day we went to Moonstone Beach. I haven't been in ages and wanted to see what it was like and do some birding. Unfortunately, no dogs are allowed, I thought that was just during breeding season, so we couldn't stay. I got out to take a few picts of the beach and actually found a green piece of glass, laying on the ground. 

We drove down the back road and followed the coastline till we found a private beach that is open to all, off season. If you look at the photo above, you can see the house in the distance, that is where the other beach starts. 

And this is the beach we ended up going to. The tide was the lowest, I have ever seen, so we enjoyed looking through the rock piles for treasures. Not as much glass, but what we found was nice and a few large pieces. The house you could see in the last photo, is at the end of this beach.

And this is the house, it has been through a few hurricanes and been moved a few times. The original area was grassy with a lot of summer homes, but the ocean has claimed all but 3. The one next to it, was a carriage house and all that remained of the main house. 

Today I was out walking Bean and spied a hawk, scouting the area. Once he was gone, my feathered friends came back for the food I had put out. I hope you all had a wonderful week and can find your own ways to get out and explore your area.

The big guy is a Red Shouldered Hawk. Then a Dark Eyed Junco, White Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse and another nuthatch.

How we spent our New Years!

This weekend we stayed close to home and no partying for us, I had enough of that in my younger days;) Saturday we stayed home most of the day, but I got bored and we took a trip to the antique store. I needed some lavender and they carry fresh, by the scoop, so I am all set for making sachets to add to my boxes when I restore things. It is a great way to keep the moths away and the musty smells from my basement.

Sunday was our big day. The day there is a polar bear plunge in almost every town near the ocean. We decided to go to our local plunge and luckily the temps went up to 45 that day, haha. I was surprised to see so many kids at the plunge and a few old timers, but I also noticed a lot of people just ran in and ran out, no dunking. At ours, people pay a fee to participate and bring a jar of peanut butter for the local food pantry, so it is all for a good cause.

Here are a few photos I took, the tide was going out at the town beach, so not only was it further to run in, but further to get back out to a warm towel.

After a rest and warm up at home, we went back out for a walk at Fort Getty, while the sun was out. Bean was very excited when he saw where we ended up, one of his favorite places. We walk down to some inlets, where he can run off leash.

Through the maze of rocks to get to the beach.

Lots of room to run and play, though he didn't seem to understand it was not a good time to go in the water.

On the way back, we stopped at the other side for some views of the inner bay and the Dutch Island lighthouse. When I was little, we took our little boat to the island for picnics and exploring.

After a ride up to the other lighthouse I realized how close we were to sunset. I hated missing out, but I didn't want to sit in the car that long and it was getting colder, so no more walking. Instead, we went to the other side of the island to Fort Wetherill to see what the sunset was like there.

The sun was right at the opening of the channel and casting beautiful glows across the water. I wish I could have gotten a nicer photo, one of those things, you have to be there.

The sun sets fast, but we got up the hill on the other side to catch the last golden colors as it streaked across the sky. I added a saying to the photo, it seemed perfect for this one.

On the way home it was dark and the village was all lit up. This is a set of stores on the dock, my camera decided to light it up for me, so it looks like twilight instead of night. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and ready to get back to creating again. I have two pieces I made and more this week, so there will be some new things on Friday.

If you are a cat lover and looking for a free project, Theodore Cleave is offering free cat designs that you can use in a quilt. She also offers fun buttons that you can add to your pieces, that match her designs.