Friday Finish!

 This week I worked on my bed quilt and was all excited when I got it all together, then I saw it is too short. The guest bed is a long, so I need at least two more rows, then with a border, it should be the right size. Luckily I found some more old fabrics that I can add to what pieces I have enough of, to blend it in.

At night I do hand work and finished a little mat to put on my old bench. It was from a Need'l love book with a Christmas theme, so I changed it a little to make it more Americana.

I also finished the rose I was working on. As usual, I over painted it by trying to follow the instructions and made more of a mess, so I gave up. The next one I am working on is a design I redid from a photo I took.

I have also been working in my gardens. My DIL gave me strawberry plants a few years ago and this year they are finally producing. Some are growing strangely and a lot have bites out of them, but I still get a few for myself.

On nice days we are getting out for walks. The bird sanctuary is one of our favorite places. Always a nice walk and lots of birds. I caught an Eastern Towhee along the path.

At the end of one point, you can see an Osprey nest. I am not sure what they were doing, but the dad was moving a large stick and the female was helping. 

We also stopped at the ocean to check out the waves and caught this fishermen, coming around on the rough side of the rocks. 

With rain on and off during the weekends, we get out when it stops. We went to another bird sanctuary that is down the road and enjoyed walking around the pond. Lots of birds in the area, but none sit still or are hiding in the bush.

I hope you all enjoyed your week and have a good weekend. I need to get going on old projects and now I have to get ready for a trip in two weeks. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, but keeping it simple by going camping. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week I decided to make one of my rug patterns into a stitchery. It is from my pattern, Rooster's house. It is perfect to go in my kitchen to match with my other chicken pieces. I used my phone and no matter where I shot in the house, the colors were off. 

Last week's ride took us along the coast. At the Marsh, we spotted a few birds. 

Then a stop at the piers, we watched a fishing boat coming in.

And I spotted a seal, popping up for a look.

And at another beach, I was able to find a Drift of Snow Buntings. A single bird is called a snowflake.

At home, I have had a lot of visitors. With the snow and bitter cold, they have less to eat and the feeder helps to fill in the gap. I was able to get a decent shot of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. He has been making a lot of holes in the maple tree, so he should have lots to eat when it starts to run.

It looks like a slight warm up this weekend, so hoping to get outside more. Who would have thought that 40 degrees would be a warm up. Hopefully it will continue and spring will come early. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and improving weather.

Busy week!

 This week I have been catching up from camping. Lots of cleaning and getting ready for Halloween events. The kids have a trunk or treat so I may go to that and we have some activities in town, so I decided I wanted to have fun this week, and dress up.

I have lots of black clothes, so I have a black skirt, hooded shirt, lace sided jacket and black tights, along with black booties. I also found a hat that I can decorate, I am waiting for black gloves and accessories to add to hat. A bit of mousse and I can frizz or curl up my hair to make it stand out.

I am not sure if you recognize the look, but I was going for the Stevie Nicks look, but most think I am a witch, lol. She has long blond hair with bangs, but I had trimmed mine recently and I refuse to cut my hair into bangs.

We had a nice weekend, a bit cooler and windy, but nice weather for getting out for walks. One beach I never go to is nearby, so we went there and walked on the boardwalk and along the beach. The tide was coming in and the seagulls were waiting for things to wash up.

We also went to the fishing beach to check out the waves. I was watching this boat and as it came around the rocks, it seemed to stop and get rocked around by the waves. It finally started its motor and was on its way, not a good place to stall out.

On the last night, I was on the hill to see the sunset. As I was waiting, a flock of Great Blue Herons flew overhead and were caught by the setting sun.

At another beach we checked out, I spotted a few crazy people, fishing as the tide came in.

I also spotted a group of Cormorants, hanging out in the channel. 

We also got a day to explore the river ways and the foliage. It was raining in the morning but we got a break in the afternoon.

An old mill that sat beside a waterfall dam, but they redid it so the kayakers could get through easier and to help prevent flooding.

And on the other side of the bridge.

While out we went shopping and couldn't resist getting Bean a present. He loves it but hates having his photo taken.

And I am lucky enough to be on a high porch in the back, so I was able to catch the comet. It is still visible but not as much, each night, till the end of the month. I hope everyone had a good week and can enjoy the weekend. 

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.

Friday Finish and Freezing Weather!

I hope everyone is staying warm with this chilly weather. We have high winds and freezing temperatures tonight and it won't be getting much warmer this week, winter is definitely here. The good thing is I spend more time inside and get more done. This week it was cleaning and working on a new project.

The new design this month was a set of tea cups, I was only able to finish one, a cup with snowflakes. The second has greenery inside. I kept it simple since it is a Hot Pad for hot dishes, a nice piece to decorate the table with and have a use. I use Insulbrite batting for the inside.  The piece is about 12", a bit uneven so I need to watch how I cut to get better squares.

Going for rides on cold days is nice, just to get out and have a change of scenery.  We had a nice snowfall so I enjoyed taking photos around Galilee and at the lighthouse.

On the way home, we stopped at the local dock to see if there were any birds in the harbor. No birds but I always love seeing the fishing boats.

When I enlarged the photo, I noticed something strange in the bucket, on the boat. I am still debating on what it was, I thought a stuffed toy, others have said an old towel. 

 On Sunday we tried a new place, a farm area with a bird sanctuary next door. Most of the birds were hiding and it was so windy and cold, we did a quick walk and got back in the car. This pony was so cute, a good place to take the boys when it warms up.

 We decided to take a ride along the ocean roads and stopped at a nearby beach. It was too cold to walk the beach but I got a few shots of the beach and the lighthouse across the way.

There were a few birds, running around the parking lot, so I got a few shots of them and the one I was able to get a shot of a Chipping Sparrow at the sanctuary.

The next stop was Fishermens Memorial. The waves were rough and the air was cold. I can only imagine what it was like on the ferry.

I decided to go to the top of the hill even though it was windy. I wanted to take a photo of something I had seen on a photo site, our states motto done in rocks. I have to admit, I almost fell over the cliff trying to get a decent shot, the wind was that strong. 

We had one nice day, so I enjoyed time on the porch with my feathered friends. The Cardinal has been getting more used to me and I caught him in the tree and then when I sat down, he came to the feeder.

This is a White Throated Sparrow. I was practicing my other camera and I think it got better shots than I usually can, it has more focus points. 

I hope this finds everyone well. Sadly the kids are still sick so I am staying away from them and today Ivy got her test back and it was positive. t now contact until I am sure they are safe to be around, but it is hard not to see the boys. I am using the time to get more done around the house and working on my projects. We are also getting ready to paint the main rooms, I am looking for a light grey with a hint of blue, but havn't seen anything that fits what I have in mind. I am thinking of using my paints to come up with a color they can match. Sending blessings to all of my readers.

Friday Finish and weekly friends!

 

This week I finished a piece I was working on, a design by Cheri Saffiote. It is fun to do Christmas throughout the year and I will have lots of gifts for next year. I do plan on selling some things this year, so I need to organize what I have and what will sell.

This piece was done with colored pencils and DMC floss, then I used a bit of glitter floss in each design element to add a pop. I am not sure what the black line by the glove is, but it doesn't belong.

And what is not showing is the edging along the outer border. I did a feather stitch in red and love how it looks on the piece.

Last weekend we took a drive to the ocean and sat at the breakaway. Of course the seagulls were abundant, there are several restaurants in the area, so lots of scraps. They are the same seagull, the darker one is the younger one.

And I always have fun watching the common Eiders, they are great fishermen. The female has a catch and the males are white and black, the other is the younger male.

And we got to watch the seal as it swam in, as the tide was going out. Someday I will get a close up of some seals.

And another thing to enjoy on the docks is, boats, and ferries. Someday I would love to do some art pieces of the fishing boats. I cheated and added a blue sky, not much sun lately.

On the way home, I spotted a few hawks. Bill drives and I saw Hawk and sometimes he actually hears me and stops, lol. This guy was closer, but when I opened the window to shoot, he took off, so I was able to catch him further in the field, high up in a tree. This is a Red Shouldered Hawk.

No sun but lots of snow lately and more today. I enjoy seeing all the birds who come in the snow, they seem to be more active when it is snowing.

And a few sit in the trees, too shy to come to the feeder when I am around. The chickadees are the friendliest, they sit and chatter at me.

And a visitor who is not allowed on the porch, but I let him sit for a photo. I have food in the other feeders that they are allowed to have, but they know there are peanuts upstairs.

And last but not least, time with the boys. Mom and dad were car shopping so the boys spent the day with us. Too cold to go out, so we had fun playing at home. Of course Bean wanted everyone to play with him, he is such an attention hog.

I hope you all had a good week and staying warm. It won't be long before Spring is here, I can't wait.