Weekly Wanderings!

 

As usual the week went by and I still have a million things that didn't get done. Most of the week was spent, repacking the RV and getting things done around the house. We did get to spend time outside, which is always my favorite thing to do.

A day with the boys is always the best. We took them to a park that has a bike path, so Nick and I got to enjoy riding together, he loved it.

There is also a playground, so Alex got to have fun with Grandpa and Nick joined in after our ride. Anpd then we stopped at the ocean for some fun in the sand.

My favorite thing was playing with Alex in the waves, every time a wave washed over him, he would jump up and down and laughing. It is such a joy to see him having so much fun.

And we spend time at the ocean, beach combing. While there I enjoyed watching the Common Terns, while they dove for fish. They are amazing aerial acrobats.

And a lot of life in the inner marsh.

I also did a bit of shopping. I found the perfect lantern to hold glass and with a set of tea lights, I now have a night light for my bathroom.

If you are looking to do a little decorating inside or out, the craft stores have some really great sales, right now. I was able to get two new bird houses, for only 10.00, a piece.

I also love backyard birding. I have not seen any Cedar Waxwings this year, but I finally found them. They are hiding in the back area with other friends, enjoying the Mulberry trees.

And we seem to have a lot of Robins this year, my yard is covered in them, especially after a rain. You can see the different colorings on these Robins, the young ones haven't gotten all their color yet.

And a new visitor this week, my first sighting of an Orchard Oriole. I hope he comes back to visit again and I can get a better shot. I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I may do an extra posting next week since we will be on vacation and of course I will be taking lots of photos.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

It seems this week flew by, but we did have an extra day off, so it meant we were out and about. I am working on a new stitchery and I was able to make a few new masks. My son is using the store bought type that have no protection so I made him some box masks to try. When I went to the store to get more flag fabric, I couldn't resist getting a little for the boys. Nick loves bright colors and glitter and the dots you see are bit of glitter. I also used ribbon with glitter in it. I also tried one With a Christmas print, that I have,  I will have to fussy cut to show off more of the fun designs.

On Sunday we took the boys to Fort Getty. It is the perfect place to spend the day with them. We park in the campground area so the boys have plenty of space to play and water views on both sides.

And the beach is there, so they spent time playing and Nick has become quite the glass hunter. Not sure what he will do with it, but he told me he needs a lot to make something. Alex is just happy playing and running around.

On Sunday we went back to Machimoodus park, I wanted to hike the trail we missed. It was a beautiful place to hike and the views from the top of the hill were stunning, but too many trees in the way to get a clear shot of the river and the foliage along the banks from the upper hill.

We also went back to Fort Getty when Bill got home, a little glass collecting and stunning sunsets. 

With another day off, we decided to head to Devil's Hopyard to see the falls. They weren't running as heavy as they usually do, but still beautiful. It was also sprinkling on and off all day so between that and the crowds, we only stayed for a quick walk along the path.

From there we headed to Eagle Landing. There is a coffee shop on the other side of the river and a nice place to sit and relax.

We didn't see any eagles, but this Northern Mockingbird stopped by to say hi and get his photo taken. It as drizzling again and the main storm was getting closer, so we headed home before it hit. It was definitely a busy week of exploring and it is time to do it all over again. I definitely need more time in the day, or I will never get anything done at home. I hope this finds you all well.

Friday finishes and Fun!

 I have been working on a couple of projects that I am still working on, so the only finish I did, was some more masks for the family. I made the glow in the dark ghosts for the boys, something fun they can play in  as well as practical. Then I made matching kitties for me and the boys and they flags for Bill. I like the box style, even though it is tough to do a nice job on the ends, but they fit much better and not only can I breath in them, I can talk in them. That is nice for the boys, as well, since they can talk in the classroom without removing them.

I added a photo, wearing it, to show. you how it stays away from the face. It looks more pronounced from the side, but looks fine from the front.

On Saturday I sent Bill to the store to get me a new camera body. I told him the two choices and a list of questions to ask. Well, the store had no one that knew cameras so he went with the expensive one. I really wish I had more time to think on it, It is a nice camera, but more for a professional than for what I need. I do like how it syncs up with photoshop, so my edits are getting better, but it does seem like the photos run on the darker side. I guess I will just have to learn how to use this one, lol. The good news is, today I was looking at their website before Bill went up to take in the old one and mine was on sale, so Bill was able to get the discount taken off of our price, so I saved money. 

We decided to go to Fort Getty to walk and take some photos. It was dismal out, but with a little editing, I was able to brighten them up.

A picture of the lighthouse on Dutch Island.

A close up of the lighthouse. The photos have a higher resolution, so I am able to crop in closer and still retain most of the details.

And on the beach, I thought this scene was quintessential New England.

The next day we had plans but the boys wanted to play again, so we took them back to the island. They loved playing on the beach and Nick found more treasures than I did.

And all the boys had fun, just being boys. The campground is closed, so we had the place to ourselves, just a few visitors who come to walk around.

It was a wonderful weekend and I always find my greatest joy when we take the boys with us. I had taken a photo of Alex while he was walking further away and cropped his face for a close up. I was not trying for a portrait, but love how it came out, so I will practice more with portraits. I think that is one of the benefits of this camera, it can do nice portraits, so something new to learn.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find time to find your joys and happiness in these trying times.

Monday Finish and Finds!

This weekend I was able to get more work done on my new rock, we had rain on Sunday and today I finished the last of it. It is a bit shiny since the spray finish was still setting. But I need the higher shine since it will be sitting outside.

The design came from a rock painting book by Lin Welford. She has several books for animals and painting on rocks, that have easy to follow patterns and diagrams for each step. Of course I never follow directions and added a few of my own touches. I really do think I do better when I go from a photo, when I try something simple, I make more of a mess, lol. I like the idea of doing churches that I have taken photos of, I just need to find the right shapes.

We were able to enjoy a day at the beach, even though it sprinkled on us, a few times. The good thing was, no people and Bean got to play off leash. I found a few nice pieces, but with a dreary day, it is harder to see glass with all the wet rocks on the beach.

Since we had more time, and the tide was at it's lowest, we were able to walk along the entire beach. It is good to get some walking in and I did find a nice piece of driftwood. The photo is deceiving, I am at the farthest end that you can walk, before you hit cliffs and looking back, there are rock areas and small beaches in between each one, until you get back to the sandier end.

The Rocks in this area are carved out by the strong waves, they remind me of a landscape in the mid-west. It was nice to get out, before the rainy Sunday.

Weekend Wanderings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, mothers day can be bittersweet for so many of us. My son and family came over on Saturday, and of course we cooked for them. He doesn't quite get the concept of the holiday, haha. They did bring me some flowers to plant in my garden, so that was nice, and of course spending time with the boys, is always fun.

We spent the day shopping and had no luck and since we had some free time in the afternoon, we took a trip to the beach. The tide was almost in, but we still found some treasures on the beach.

On Sunday we went back, one more time. Camping starts next week, so the park will be open, but you have to pay to get in, so I doubt we will be back, until the fall. It was cloudy and cooler, but a great day for searching, since we hit the tide as it was going out.

Of course Bean loves it when we go to the beach. It is his favorite place and he can go off leash if there are no people around. He is fine with other dogs, but he wants to jump on everyone he sees and not everyone he sees, wants to be jumped on. He spends his time staring at us, until we throw a rock, then he pushes it across the beach, until he hits the water. Then he is back, until we throw another. He is easily amused.

Today was cleaning and catch up, a little bit of sewing on the baby quilt. Hopefully I will find time to get my canvases ready for painting and maybe some beach art.

Weekend wanderings and finds!

This weekend, we did our usual beach combing. I want to take advantage of the good beach while I can, in a few weeks the campground will be open and they charge 20.00, to use the area. The campground has beautiful views, but a bit crowded for me and hard to get in.

It is always good when I can hit the tide at the right time, when it is going out, I can stand at the edge of the rock piles and grab the glass that gets thrown up and find some hidden under the piles, you can find more, as well.

During our shopping trips, I got some shell lights for my beach tree and I found these smaller bottles that are perfect to help separate the glass by size. I have a large one for the big pieces and one for the tiny pieces, so these will be for the medium sizes, I just threw some of the glass in, that I found this weekend.

On Sunday we took Nick out for a hike. He loved exploring the buildings and climbing on the rocks. We had a nice view of the pond from the tower.

Nick was curious about the little bunk houses, not so sure I would want to sleep in one. 

This is a camp for boy scout troops. It is a big area and they have several buildings, including an area for services.

The building actually leads to a larger amphitheater, where they have gatherings and services.

This chapel was used in the movie, Moonrise Kingdom. It was filmed in Rhode Island and this camp and the surrounding forests were we hike, were also part of the movie. My Sister in Law had a small part, Bruce Willis knocked on her door, looking for the kids. They wanted authentic, older homes and hers is off the main road.

It was fun to spend some time with him, but he got tired easily and wanted to go home. I think we need to get him out more, he is spending too much time in the house;)

Weekend Works!

This weekend was rainy again, so we took a day off and I worked a bit on my painting and finally finished a rug. I made it a few years ago and forgot all about it, so I got the binding on, this weekend. It is a design by Maria of Star Rug Company. A friend sent it to me and it was a fun one to do.

I used wool yarn roving for the bunny and old thrifts for the background. I bound the edge with an off white rug yarn. It has been a while since I did a rug, my edge is a bit wobbly looking. It is 14.5" x 11".

Sunday was another threat of rain and it did rain a bit in the morning, and the weatherman said we would be a break mid day. So, we headed to the beach and of course it started to rain, but once we got to the beach, it stopped. It was even a little warmer and it was full low tide, so we spent a few hours, combing the beach.

We didn't get as many larger pieces of glass, as last time, but I grabbed lots of little stones to play with. Now I have enough to make a few art pieces. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. This week I have a new free pattern from Cheri on her Facebook Group and I will try and finish my painting.

Weekend Wanderings!

We actually had weather that was nice enough to go outside. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air without freezing to death. It was still a little chilly, but with gloves and a hat, it was the perfect day to enjoy a few hours on the beach.

Of course Bean loved getting out too, enjoying his favorite activity, rock pushing. And, the freezing water temperatures didn't seem to bother him, he kept running in the water too.

It was also the perfect day for beach combing. The tide was going out and with less people going out in the winter, I found a nice amount of sea glass. Some is shiny and the tiny bits are being collected for art pieces. I am thinking of trying some mixed media pieces.

Sunday was another nice day and a great day to take Nick out for some exploring. He loves going on trails and leading the way. He decided to mark the trail so we wouldn't get lost.

He was excited to see the tower at the end of the trail, at first he started running, saying playground, lol. But even though, he was just as thrilled when he found he could go up the tower and enjoy the views from the telescope.

We headed across the road to the beach and enjoyed some time, beach combing. Nick was grabbing rocks, so it was slow going. The tide was still going out, but this beach has steep slopes so the rocks get tumbled and I even found some nice smooth rocks for painting.

We walked down one side of the beach to the rocks, a nice spot to stop and enjoy the views. The clouds are superimposed with photoshop, it was all washed out from the sun glare.

A beach bench, made with found materials.

We ended the day at the park, down the road. I knew they had bathrooms and I had to go, lol. Nick loved the fun equipment and digging in the dirt. It was a wonderful weekend, but Grandma is beat, so today was a rest day. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and now it is time to catch up around the house and work on some projects.