Friday Finish!

 I hope this post finds you all well and not affected by all of the storms and fires that seem to be taking over the country. We have had some rain, lots of wind and sun, so I can't complain. I had another bunny to do, so I finished that, this week. I went with more yellows and found a yellow ribbon with glitter in an old box of supplies. This one is for me, or Alex who is always stealing the little dolls I make. Of course, Grandma can never say no to the boys. 

Last weekend we did our drive around the ocean areas. We went to one that has a boat launch and there area always birds around. In the photo montage you can see the launch at the bottom and the birds out in the water, that was only a few of them, there were hundreds. The rest were in the breachway, catching things that went out with the tide.

And here are some of the others, fishing in the breachway.

We also went to the island, always nice to walk a little on the beach and enjoy the wildlife and views.

Today it was windy, so we just went for a ride and a little walking on the beaches. We like to take Bean one day so he can have some fun. On days we stop in shops, he has to stay home. Today it was too windy to be out, too long, but the cove beach was a little calmer.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and can enjoy getting out and exploring your area. If you use Google maps, you might be surprised to find parks and sanctuaries that may be near your area.

After the Holidays!

It has been quite a hectic week, which I am sure it is for most of you. Christmas has come and gone and we have been going out for rides and hanging out with the boys. I have had no time for sewing this week, the day ends too soon and I am catching up at night.

We had a nice Christmas Eve with the kids, always more fun with little ones around.

Christmas Day was spent at the kids, and Ivy's friend and her kids came for dinner. We had fun playing computer Pictionary, lots of laughs. Alex had fun decorating a Gingerbread man with Bella.

Another day we took the boys out for a few hours. We got the boys new shoes and spent some time at the beach.

I also got a new camera, this one is a fixed lens that goes up to 600mm, so more zoom, but not true zoom. It isn't as sharp as my other cameras, but a lot lighter and easy for me to carry. It will be nice for when we go on hikes and biking.

I took a photo to test it out, usually I cannot get birds in the trees too well.

We also went to the lighthouse and I got a few shots to test her out. This boat was out in the ocean, you can tell they have a fresh haul with all the birds.

And the lighthouse, up close.

On the way home, we stopped at the bay campus to see what is new.

Today we had the boys again. We took them to the beach for a few hours and they had fun collecting glass and shells. I hope you had a nice week and may the new year bring you blessings and good health.

It's Friday!

 I didn't get anything finished this week, busy with Easter, the boys and beaching. We had a nice Easter with the kids. I kept dinner simple but nice and made my son's favorite, Delmonico Potatoes as a treat. Before Dinner we had an Easter egg hunt, which the boys loved. I put two of each item in one place so they can each take one.

After dinner, we went to the school playground to run off their energy. 

Alex loves to show off and getting too brave for his size.

Since they had the week off, they spent an afternoon with us, while their parents got things done. We took them to the new beach I found and Nick was thrilled to find so much glass. Even Alex gets in on the fun of finding pieces.

Speaking of new beaches, we went to the beach on Saturday. The plan was to spend a few hours at the beach and then come home to get ready for Easter. We hit our regular beach and then I decided to go to the diving beach to use the bathroom and see what was on the beach, and found quite a few pieces. Then as we were leaving, I wanted to try an area I thought might have a good glass beach and we hit pay dirt. There was so much that I left half of it there and just took the better pieces. We got quite the haul with 3 beaches.

And today, we went back to the new beach. The tide was just going out and I walked up and down the shoreline and picked up what was being thrown up. I even spotted some large pieces sitting in the water, glad I had on my thermal boots. We stopped at our regular beach before we went home and I found some nice blues, and some old greens. We even watched a snail as he made his way back to the water.

I guess I need to start making some things with all the glass I have found. Some things I end up putting in the junk box, I may use the large chunks of pottery in the garden. Have a wonderful weekend.

Anniversary Camping!

Well, we made it back, the week seemed to go by too quickly, but it is nice being at home and having my modern conveniences again. I went tired, spent the week tiring myself out and been going non stop since we got home, so I am tired, lol.

Since we did a lot and I have lots of photos, I will be doing more blogs this week of our adventures. Today I will give you the low down on the camp. First we had a beautiful spot on the water with wonderful views. The bad thing was, it was so foggy the first few days that we couldn't enjoy the views and the fog was so thick, it was like rain and we were cold and everything was wet.

Of course Bean had no problem with that, the minute we got there and he saw the beach, he was ready to go, he loved playing and exploring. Another wonderful thing about Old Quarry is, he is a dog lover and Bean could go off leash anywhere he wanted, as long as he behaved. Of course Bean was thrilled to have the freedom and meet lots of new people and their dogs.

If you would like to see a video of our camp and the surrounding area, you can go to my YouTube Video. I have others, but need to put them up.

We had come here because it is a kayaking center, and there are islands all around to explore.  I was not sure I could handle a long paddle and the fog was not something I wanted to get lost in. But, lots of others were going out and enjoying the area, I do wish I had longer since I was feeling better by the end of the week.

The fog did lift and one morning we were up to see the lobster men, putting in their pots.

On our anniversary we had dinner on the dock and a wonderful view, as well as lobster fresh from the ocean.

And with the fog ending, we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset from the docks. Even with the fog, we were able to get out for walks and exploring, further inland. We also got to do a few things that we missed on previous trips, as well as find some fun new places, so I hope you will come back and follow along, as I post more this week.

I really enjoyed camping at Old Quarry, but it would be better in warmer weather, which is why they are always booked. The other down side was, the owner just had lung surgery and our camp fire goes straight to his bedroom, so no fires after 9pm. That is when we like to relax and just sit by the fire and with the cooler air, I really missed having one. It just wasn't worth having one while it was light out and then have to put it out. The other bad thing was, everything is far away, so we spent more time traveling than I would have liked. I hope everyone had a wonderful week!

Holiday Happenings!

First I would like to put out a request to a blog follower who sent me the most beautiful floral arrangement from Sprigs. It really came at a time when I needed something to lift my spirits and get me through that first week. Could you please email me with your address.

I still need to go through the cards and do thank you notes to so many who have been there to support us and send us their love, it means a lot to us. I still have a hard time dealing with things, for now, but I want to thank all of you who have sent me wishes and support on my blog as well.

This holiday my Sister -in -law hosted a party at her house. Of course she had to take photos of us, sitting with her husband.

 It was nice to meet her husband's side of the family and Nicholas loved playing with his cousin, Bella.

Grandpa and Nick, walking the beach front.

Nick and Grandpa watching the action on the water, these photos warm my heart especially seeing Bill smiling and enjoying life again. I hope you had a nice weekend and hopefully I will have some finished projects to show by friday.

Monday at Blue Hill!

Well, it is late and I am exhausted as usual so I am going to be short tonight and when I get home, I can show more photos and news about our trip and a real review of the home. The house is not what is looked like in the photos, it is old and it is musty, so it is hard for me to relax inside since the smell is sickening. We got scents to cut it down so that helps but not enough;) The outside is wonderful, love the views and sitting outside.

We got rain yesterday so we went out and got supplies and things and today we got out and walked and hiked around a sanctuary, and rode around the islands to see what the areas would be like for paddling. Tomorrow will be raining again, so we will do what we can and then three days of sun, so we can paddle then.

This is end of Deer Island, Stonington, a beautiful seaport.

This is the view of the bridge coming back from Little Deer Island, to the mainland. This area is a public boat launch, looks like a nice place to paddle from.

When the tide goes out, we can comb the beach areas in front of our house. Bean loves to run around on the rocks and today he went in the water, he loves it here. This is my collection today, some I will keep and some I will put back, I will decide which ones later, but I am having fun, finding heart shapes and some I just like, the top left one is a little bird.

Still Paddling!

Today I relaxed in the morning and decided it was a good day to take a short, easy paddle. Well, so much for that idea, we ended up paddling 8 miles today. No idea how that happened, didn't seem that far, lol.

We stuck close to home and went to our town launch. It was low tide, so not too many places to paddle in the coves, so we went around the island and then headed out to the bay. We were going to go to a spot on an inner cove that has a strong current coming through a channel, so you can swim in one spot and never move, but it was too shallow.

We ended up paddling to the other side and paddling, till we found a nice sandy spot. Rhode Island has a lot of rocky coast and this area is mostly rocks, but we were able to find the perfect spot all to ourselves.

Lots of beach, just for us;)

Since the tide was out, there were a lot of exposed shells on the beach. I threw this guy back in the water after I got his photo, way too hot to be stuck on the beach.

It was a humid day out, but the cool ocean breezes made it perfect for paddling.

Coming into the harbor was fun too, lots of boaters coming and going and all with a friendly greeting as you pass by, I love my town:)