Friday Finish and Fun!

 

Another week went by too fast, but I did get one thing done and lots of outdoor time. I saw a new free design to do from a Facebook group, called Christmas by the sea. Each one is an ornament for Christmas with a beach theme. I made mine and wasn't sure what to do with it and got an idea.

We were taking the boys out for the day and I decided to whip up a drawstring bag for Nick to put his treasures. I wish I had thought of it since I sewed the ornie, then had to attach it by sewing it down, so not quality work but good enough. The only thing was, the cord was way too thick to draw the heavy jeans, so I took it out and used a piece of jute.

We ended up turning around since the road was backed up with traffic and took the boys to our town beach. No glass collecting but the boys had fun in the shallow waters.

Alex is at that fun age, he loves the water and even if he was going backwards, he still tried to do some surfing.

Mom and dad wanted a night out, so today we got the boys in the afternoon and were able to take them to the glass beach. Nick loved his bag and finding his own glass. 

And Alex is becoming quite the water lover, he likes to go deep and let the waves crash into him.

We also got out by ourselves during the week. The tide was high so you can see the area were Nick is in the previous photo and how high the water goes up, not the easiest way to find glass.

I stand at the water edge and wait as the waves come in, then grab whatever the ocean leaves me.

Even with the high tide, I was able to find a few nice pieces. I am also reorganizing my glass and finds so I can start making things with the craft glass. Not as much as I usually find, but I think I have more than enough to make quite a few projects. And the good thing is, I get out in the fresh air and lots of miles of walking up and down the beach. I hope you all had a wonderful week and some fun, outside this weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend had on and off rain, so we didn't get out as much, but we did get out enough to enjoy the good weather. We always like to give Bean a day where he can have fun, so on Saturday we took him to Jamestown so he could play at the beaches and go for a walk.

We spent the first part at Fort Getty, where Bean had the beach to himself and I hunted for rocks, but the tide had just started going out so not many good choices. After the beach we walked along the cliff path and enjoyed the fresh air and views. In the fields there were a few thistles and the remaining butterflies were getting their fill of nectar.

We walked around the lighthouse loop and then headed to the diver's beach, another beach all to ourselves, at least for awhile. Bean made another new friend who was goofier than he was. The tide was out enough that I found a few heart rocks and pieces of glass for my collection. Someday I want to make something with multi-art techniques, with them.

That night it was foggy and I really wanted to get a photo of the moon rise. We took the chance and of course the moon was barely visible but it did pop out at times. I was able to get one decent shot of the moon over a Bridge in Newport.

On Sunday the kids came over, and it was raining, so they visited and then slipped out, while I kept Nick occupied. He will not stay if they leave, so it was time we got him over his fear. Once I told him they had to go home to get something and we were going to the beach and then taking him home, he was fine and ready to go. He enjoyed playing at Fisherman's Memorial and running around the hill top.

Even Grandpa had fun running around. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Prayers for those in California.

Friday Finish and Fun!

Another whirlwind week, lots of outdoor time with Nick, way too much extra cleaning and a sleepover, but I did manage to get the newest block done from Suzy's Sitcom.

This one was fun, love the word and how she has the little baby bird, taking his first step from the nest. This is something that will be a great inspirational quilt and hopefully I don't make a mess of it. She has borders, so I may do her style or I may do it more wonky and fun, that way if my blocks aren't perfect, no one will notice;)

With a record hot week, we spent days at the beach, having fun in the water.

Afternoons in the pool, having fun. Having fun until Nick kicked up water and his foot landed into Beans mouth. So, after a few days of a sore bruised toe, he is back to running around again.

Yesterday I bought my play kayak. It is great to putt around in and the water was calm enough to paddle around the cove with him.

Today was the last hot day, which is fine with me. Nick found a friend to play with. I took some videos of the two of them, if you would like to see, you can visit my You Tube Channel. It is cute, since Nick was watching over him and holding his hand. His dad was very appreciative to have someone play and watch him while he sat with his baby daughter.

I am still cleaning and will be till I go to bed, lol. I do not plan on spending my weekend at home, the weather is cooler and it is a perfect time for some hiking. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

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.

Friday Finish!

A new month means a new design from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch at a Time club.  Be sure to click on the link, she also has a free pattern this week. I decided to make two smaller pillows to decorate for fall. I like to keep some halloween things out that work for fall, but it is nice to have something less Halloweeny for the rest of fall.

I used tea stained muslin and one piece had a nice streak in it, then I added a bit of walnut to tone down the brightness of the other fabric. For the back I used an orange colored fabric with a fall print, including acorns. I may see if I can find some acorn buttons to add to the corners.

 I am enjoying the nicer weather. Yesterday we went for a walk on the bike path, we start in the middle, which is a nicer section with views of the cove. The trees are turning here, always wonderful to walk along paths in the fall.

And since we got an earlier start, we were able to walk to the end and along the beach. No people around so we could let Bean off leash and let him play on the beach. The sun was in and out and the bay was covered in fog, but so peaceful. I love walking off season, hopefully we can do more hikes this weekend and catch the end of the foliage season.

I wanted to take a photo of the pilings, and was thinking, it would be better if there was a seagull at the end. And just as I walked up to shoot, a seagull came, he made my day;) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Happy Fourth!

I hope everyone has fun plans for the fourth. We are going to go to my sister in laws, time to say yes to invites and we will be seeing her husbands side of the family for the first time and My son and Daughter in law will be meeting all of them for the first time too. If you have ever seen the movie, Moonrise Kingdom, it was filmed in Rhode Island and my sister in law was actually in it, Bruce Willis came to her door when he was looking for the kids that ran away in the movie. It is hard to know it is her, but still neat  that she got to meet him and be in the movie.

Bill and I have been able to get out and enjoy the beauty of our own area this week. Yesterday we visited a dog friendly beach at the old base. It is in between the ferry and a ship builder, but the beach is nice and clean and a perfect place to let Bean have some fun at the beach. He finally realized that water is fun to go in and getting braver so next we will have to try him on a kayak.

Today I wanted to try out my mini sit on kayak to see how she handles on the water. Well Bill, who needs a hearing aid, put my sea kayak on, so I used that instead;) I am out of shape, so it was just a nice easy paddle in the main coves and time on the beach to enjoy the cool breezes.

There are two small islands in the cove, they were home to the indian queen at one time, it was there summer place.

We went out to the breakers, we had to go the long way around since it was low tide and we had to avoid the mud flats.

Coming back we enjoyed another trip around the islands and the beautiful views of the harbor. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.

Must be Monday!

Bill had to work another weekend, so no paddling this weekend. He did work a later shift yesterday so we took advantage of the extra time and nice weather and went for a bike ride.

With heavy traffic from the beach traffic, it is nice to have a bike path close to home. The path starts in a shopping plaza but runs along the back side of the old base, so a tree lined hill blocks out most of the buildings.

Past the base, it is a long stretch with coves on both sides.

This is a nice area to stop and enjoy the views.

The end of the path is worth the trip. You come out to a beach with views of the bay. I definitely plan on riding here more, during the week, during the fall months.

Weekend Wanderings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to enjoy some nice weather and time with friends and family. Memorial day is a time that we remember our parents, who have all passed and except for my mom, were in the armed forces.

We also got out and enjoyed some nice weather between the rain storms. Saturday was a day for a drive to the ocean and walks at the lighthouse and then along the rocky cliffs.

The tide was low so the seagulls were coasting on the wind, looking for tidbits along the rocks.

Black Rock was the perfect place for a hike and walking around the rocks.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the beautiful day.

This week is Nicholas' first birthday, so Sunday was time with my sweet grandson and sharing his special day with him and the family.

Dad and son, who I think have that same sweet smile.

The fun was birthday cake, this was his smash cake, just for him to make a mess with. At first he started crying, then he finally realized that it was fun and tasted good too.

He got lots of presents, and Grandma and Grandpa could not resist getting him this special present just so we could see that wonderful happy smile, on his face;)

Today we went for another walk. It was raining in the morning and then I thought it had stopped but it kept showering on us. The good thing was, the woods were so thick and lush, we didn't feel it in the woods.

It started raining again when we hit the beach, but I decided to keep walking and was rewarded with being able to watch this guy, catching a crab in the shallow waters. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

TGIF Day!

Well, I haven't said that since I had my last job, lol. I have had the baby all day, all week and it has been a long week. He is such a joy and he loves to be loved and loves the attention grandma gives him but it sure wears grandma out. They are looking into day care so we are trying to work it out so he can stay there 3 days a week and 2 days with me. That will help them to save money and not wear me out.

We got some nice days this week so Nicholas got to enjoy going for a walk with us. Everything fascinates him and he loves being outside.

He loved walking along the bike path at the town launch, lots of water and seagulls to enjoy. I wonder how small they make life jackets, I bet he would love to go paddling, lol.

The next day we went to the new bike path in town, we just walked along the last end. It goes past marshes and inlets, so nice views. I have to see if we can find a used baby bike trailer to pull him in.

Now grandma can rest for the weekend and enjoy some hikes and some sewing time.

Winter Wonders!

We had a beautiful day  yesterday, the temperatures went over 50 and today, back to winter. The birds love snow and my trees were filled with so many birds, I think every bird in the area was here today. Yesterday I counted 21 Mourning doves in one tree and today there were three cardinals.

We woke up to a light snow and it continued most of the day, so this is what my world looked like today. It was hard to get a close up since I had to use a zoom and the falling snow confused my focus. I keep forgetting I can use manual focus.

The Mourning Doves just sit in the trees and stare at me, a bit disconcerting, lol. It is nice to sit on the porch and watch the birds, my time to relax and center myself.

I found some new print outs to try and an idea for making postcards, so hopefully I can make a few tomorrow and have something to show you on wednesday.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a beautiful weekend to be outside, so of course I had to take advantage of it. Saturday we watched Baby Nicholas while his mom went to an interview, so we enjoyed out time with him and went for a late drive to the lighthouse.

We walked around the road and Dani had fun scrambling around on the rocks.

The tide was out, so the seagulls were soaring with the winds, looking for anything that washed up, for dinner.

This guy was enjoying crab for dinner.

Sunday was bike riding day. We went to a bike path that starts at a historical rail station. It goes through  swamps and even towns. It is a beautiful place to ride in the fall.

Lots of winding rivers, we have actually paddled down this one.

The bike path still has one section that isn't finished, so we kept going and went to Narragansett Beach.
We sat on the wall and this was our view to the right.

 And our view to the right. We did 15 miles on this trip.

Today we finally got to try the bike path in town. It is a new one and was surprised at how nice the path was, all paved and new plantings where the old base used to be. It goes past a cove and ends at a beach, so perfect for riding close to home.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. This afternoon I caught up with housework and working on a stitchery.