This and that!

 This week I have been working on a new project and started another. Before we went on vacation, I wanted something I could work on. Of course I never did work on it, but at home, it is a nice project to work on, a bit at a time, since it will take me a while to finish. It is one of the designs from Kathy Schmitz's Merry Minis Workshop. It comes with 100 designs and several patterns you can make with them.

My problem was, my freezer paper did not stay put, so my design was traced badly, but I fix things as I go. It is in one color, but I am adding a bit, here and there, to give it more pop. I also plan on adding a few areas with glitter thread.

During our trip to Maine, we visited a view places. One was Baileys island. It is a long peninsula so a nice drive with views of the inner bays. We went to the very end, where there is a large gift shop and views of the ocean. I spotted a day beacon on one island.

And on another, a lighthouse.

There was also a memorial for lobster men, near the shop.

We wanted to have lunch by the water, but one restaurant there, was closed, so we went over to the next one. At Dolphin Marina, they allowed dogs outside, but they have to stay under the table. I am not sure, but maybe because it was a late lunch,  I could get a lobster, but the sides were things I couldn't eat and they didn't cater to changes in the menu. It was really nice to sit and relax, with beautiful views and we had a very attentive waiter. 

Another restaurant we went to, was the next day. We did some shopping at the outlets and drove to the docks in Haraseekeet. They have a take out menu and allow dogs outside. I got steamers this time and we enjoyed a nice lunch at the docks.

If you are in Freeport, another great place to stop is, Cottonweeds quilt shop. I got some nice tea towels and a pattern, I am working on and should finish this week. I got a baby panel and didn't realize it goes across, not down, so I will have to rethink it for a quilt.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and a relief from the heat.

Vacation part III

 I tend to pack a lot in a week, I love seeing new places and there is plenty to do in the Freeport area. Less than a half hour, we went to Mackinac Island for a walk around their paths.

The paths go around the island, so a lot of views of the ocean and the islands. We could see an island in the distance. On one was an old fort.

I realized when I got in closer, there were seals, sunning on the rocks.

There were lots of places to get to the shore, so Bean loved that.

Another day we went for a paddle on a lake above Brunswick. It started on a river, into a nice sized lake. It was a bit windy and I forgot to get my seat cushion and gloves, so it was a wonderful paddle, except for being uncomfortable.

And one day we went for a bike ride on the Lisbon rail trail. It was a nice paved path, along a river with waterfalls along the way. The nice thing about paved trails is, we can take Bean in the carriage.

On the way back we saw a big dam. A lot of rivers with dams to control the waters, during rainy and dry seasons.

And every day after dinner, we went for walks. There were a lot of new trails in the camp, that went through fields, into woods and up and down stairs. I definitely got a lot more exercise that week. Now it is just hot, too hot to even go paddling, so hoping to do some swimming this weekend. 

Vacation part II

 It seems my vacations make the need for a rest from the vacation. Lots of laundry, cleaning up the trailer and getting things done in and outside the house. I also feel like one week was not enough, it takes me a week to really relax, then it is time to go home.

I had planned on resting on Sunday and staying at camp, but it was a nice day with possible rain, so we went to Brunswick, which was the next town over. We were lucky enough to be in an area that had a back road to go up, and avoid the traffic on the scenic route.

Our destination was the swing bridge. We started on the opposite side, which had a paved walk along the river. 

It was a nice walk across, even though the wind made it move more than usual.

It also had nice views down the river.

And looking in the opposite direction.

We also noticed a dam and wanted to check it out. You can walk to it from the paths, but we went to the parking lot, that was close to it. 

And on the other side of the dam was a brewery. Brunswick is another nice town to visit. These were all free to see and they also have a lot of shops to explore. I hope you are enjoying following along with our adventures. I tend to find new things in each place we go and if you have any question about an area or the best places to go, I will be happy to help.

Camping week

 

We have been camping all week and have I done any crafts, nope! We have been busy, out and exploring and walks at camp, so at night, I am too tired to do much. Since we are leaving tomorrow, I will show a few photos from camp and a few more extra posts this week, to share the places we went and reviews on others.

This is our camp, still setting up. No one is in the front sites, so we have a nice spot with lots of grass. This is at Wolfs Neck Campground in Freeport Maine.

There are different points surrounded by water, at camp. Sadly, the tide is always low when we can paddle, so we couldn't paddle from camp.

At the higher tide, the kids like to swim and Bean loves that they play with him.

It is a working farm, so we can walk around the roads, past fields and have views of the coves. It is a nice place to stay, though some kids seem to be running around on their own. Most of the time it is quiet and everyone goes quiet after 10:00pm. We did get some heavy rain one night, and today some rain in the morning, but were lucky enough to get a nice afternoon, so we could enjoy our last day. 

I hope everyone had a good week and I will be posting again, after I get home.

Friday Finish!

It was a slow week with the flu, mostly watching tv, resting, cleaning and working on my projects. I had to redo the background for my snowmen, better than before but not what I wanted. At this point, I am not redoing it again, so I will fix a few things on the main design and leave it as is.

I do enjoy stitching when I am sick, easy to do and few supplies to gather. I made up some more lavender sachets with a design by Theodore Cleave. She used to offer a lot of nice free designs, but she still sells some nice ones. They are great as gifts and I still have a batch of finished stitcheries, for a quilt or I may make pillows as gifts, since the saying are so nice.

I loved making this one, and fun to color in. I tried some buttons on one and glitter floss in the middle of the other flowers. I also used glitter thread for their wings. I usually get lavender from a local shop, but since I am stuck at home, I decided to order some online. I was surprised at how fragrant it was, much better than what I have gotten. I think 2 pounds will make plenty of sachets to place around the house and some in the new trailer.

Last weekend we were able to see eagles at both ponds. The problem was, my camera was acting up and wouldn't focus, so I think I am pressing the button on the side by accident, so I have to watch my settings when I shoot. Most of the photos came out blurry from the first spot, so hopefully I can get better ones, the next time. He flew close a few times and then he flew off with a hawk, following behind.

I also enjoy watching the birds in my backyard. It is the time of year when large flocks gather in the area. There is a flock of robins and a lot of different blackbirds, they fill the trees around me.

And one day I noticed that one of the squirrel's nests had gotten twice the size. I looked with my binoculars to see what it looked like and this is what I saw. A squatter took it for a safe place to sleep, but he did leave the next day. I rarely see raccoons, but I think he was startled by something or at night and wanted somewhere safe, to catch up on some sleep.

We haven't been glass hunting lately, it is way to cold and breezy at the beach. We decided to go for a quick look and grabbed what we saw as we walked down the beach and this is what I found.

And I decided that I needed to make early reservations if I wanted to get a spot at Wolfe's Neck in Maine. It is a working farm on the ocean, so we can relax, bike ride and paddle, and lots of places to visit in the area. We stayed there fifteen years ago and even though I can't paddle the long distances, it will be fun to paddle in the coves.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Vacations must end!

This vacation was bittersweet. I have always wanted to go to Old Quarry to paddle, but this year I am not in the best shape with my injuries and watching Nick, wore me out. We were able to enjoy a lot of things and the camp was a nice place to just walk around and relax, but I really wanted to paddle to the islands and the boat rides were more than I wanted to spend right now.

We were able to get out for one paddle, one I had always wanted to do. It is in a protected area, so we avoided the winds and fog and there are islands all around. The main reason for this paddle was to go to Holbrook Island, which is part of the park we started in. It is a large island with a beach and a campground and the perfect way to spend the day.

I had the map in my photo brain, so we headed out towards the island. The paddle was in a river that led to thePenobscot bay, so I wanted to go to the mouth of the river, since it was not far away. We could see Castine and the area we had visited earlier in the week.

Bean is giving me the, hurry up and stop taking photos so we can get to the beach. He knows kayaks lead to beaches.

 We landed on a beach, that had no signs, so we figured it was ok. You can see the lighthouse sticking up, at the end of the point on the right.

This is the view to the left of us. We did paddle over to the middle of the two islands, now I wish we had gone all the way, but I had no idea what islands they were and if they were private.

It wasn't until we got back home and I looked at the area we paddled in. And that is when I realized, the island I thought was Holbrook, was a private island, duh. I knew it didn't look as nice as the photos but when we headed from the launch, we were actually on the opposite side of what I had in my mind from the map. So, this photo was taken at the launch, from across the road, the island on the left is Holbrook and the island on the left in the last photo is Holbrook, I could kick myself, lol. Next time I will use my phone to keep track of where I am. You can get turned around with so many islands and coves and with low tide, the islands connect with sandbars.

So, I missed out on landing on the island, but we still have a wonderful day of paddling and beautiful weather.

And we made it to the hill for a spectacular sunset. The sun was just going behind the mountains in this shot, I love how it cast beautiful colors through the clouds.

We had planned on an extra day to go home, but I woke up before 5 and decided to just go home. We saw a lot of places we wanted to stop at, but hard to get in with a trailer. Places to visit on another trip. We did stop at the Rockland Prison store, the prisoners make wooden items to sell to the tourists. I found a wonderful bird feeder, now I need to set up a river to put it on;) I also found the ship at a local thrift store in Blue Hill. The money goes to the local pet shelter.

I made Bill pose for a photo.

And of course we spent lots of time on beaches, most were rocky but a lot of granite. I did find some treasures to bring home, some I plan on painting and the one in the back, is a whale shape. It sits on it's own, so I will paint him and sit him on a shelf. I was surprised to find sand dollars on one beach, they were just sitting there, no others around.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I think it is time to hit the ocean, and hopefully we can steal Nick to have some fun on the beach with.

Vacation sights!

It is a good thing I take photos, or I would forget what I did, lol. My short term is on the fritz, but I have been on meds again and slowly getting back to my normal. We did a lot in a day, a lot of driving so we didn't get to go to as many places as I wanted, but we did enjoy some wonderful rides and sights.

One thing is, Bean is getting tired of having to stop to have his photo taken, so he is becoming a smart alec. I wanted to take a photo of them walking through the Lupines, that are all over the islands. So, when I told them to smile, this is what I got.

One day we drove to Acadia to walk to Bar Island. The island is accessible at low tide only, so you can walk across to the island and hike up to the top and we made it at the right time, this year. The problem was getting a parking space, there were none. We drove a street up and found one, right at the access road, so much better than parking in town. 

The walk was fun and cooling with the cross breezes and the views at the top of the island, were spectacular. This is looking down at the sand bar and Bar Harbor. We also went to Thunder Hole and the tide was just right to watch the waters come in and pound into the hole. You can see a video on my You Tube Channel.

On the day we went to Nervous Nellies, we also stopped at the Haystack School. They have a public area that you can walk down the stairs, to enjoy the views. The school has art classes and beautiful condo style lodgings on the sides of the hills. 

The last stop was the Tennis Preserve, which I thought was an easy walk, but turned out to be a long walk and lots of hills, roots, rocks and mosquitos, but the views are beautiful. 

On rides we saw some beautiful sites, this field of flowers had a gorgeous view and I think it may be a future design element. 

And at one causeway, we spotted these boaters. Something seemed off to me, and I stopped for a closer look, can you see why? 

We also did a hike up the quarry, we had a path, right from the camp. It was fun climbing around and exploring and this is the view we had, haha. The board shows you what you are supposed to see.

We also stopped in Castine to enjoy the views from the docks and the forts. One reason we like that area is because they have a wonderful dog beach and we explored that for awhile and I even found three small sand dollars, I never knew they were up this far north, now I do. Bill and Bean are exploring the old fort.

I did take a lot of photos, boats and scenery, but the fog kept getting on my lens and leaving spots, so a pain to clean up, someday I will get to them and some might end up in a design. One thing I love is sunsets, and we were able to get another clear night and headed up to the hill to watch it. The sad thing was, when we got to the turn off, the police had it blocked off. There was a bad accident with one driver getting killed, so we headed back and watched it as we drove down the road. I was able to find a spot that the sun was still coming through and I loved the colors in the sunset and sky. 

Tomorrow I will finish with our paddle and last day, I hope you are enjoying seeing a little of what the Downeast area of Maine has to offer.

Art in Maine!

The one thing that you see a lot of in the Blue Hill, Stonington area is art studios. Lots of painters and pottery but I avoided most of the galleries since they are a bit pricey. Then there are the places that sell pieces that are slapped together to sell to the tourists, not what I would buy.

There is one place that is a must stop, if you are in the area. It is called Nervous Nellies Jams and Jellies. I knew they had art done by Peter Beerit, but I didn't realize how extensive the art and displays were, until we arrived. Peter came to Deer Island to start a jelly business and little by little, he has been creating sculptures from found items and building towns based on his travels.

The minute you come in, you are greeted by this lovely couple for a cup of tea.

Bill and Bean are spending time in the jail for smiling too much.

The sheriff is relaxing in his office, unaware of what is going on outside.

Unbeknownst to the sheriff, a jailbreak is in progress.

There are characters in every building and the surrounding areas. This guy is just chilling.

The piano Player....

Bill is getting his fortune told.

After a stop to get some jelly and maple syrup, we found an entire scene of characters, including a castle.

And back to Peter's studio, where a group of characters, were swapping the local gossip, on his porch.

It is a wonderful place to visit and Peter's art is sure to put a smile on your face. He is continually adding to his towns and characters, and there is much more than I have shown here, and more to come. He also has living characters, who visit the bird feeders, that is builds. This little guy was enjoying his perch, waiting for us to leave, so he could raid the bird feeder.

I hoped you enjoyed seeing a bit of Nervous Nellies with me. More to come this week, places we visited, our adventures and misadventures.