It's Friday

 

Yes, it's Friday and I never got the things I started, finished. It's been a busy week and a tough week. A good friend has been in the hospital and it has been touch and go and today it looks like another turn for the worse, so she may not make it.

I know quite a few of you know Cyndi Lott from our groups, so if anyone needs prayers and a miracle, it is Cyndi. My heart is breaking for her and her husband, who is beside himself and has no support from family.

Our weather is getting nicer, which is nice, since I can get out and clear my head and get some exercise. We were able to take a hike to the Heron heronry. It is very swampy and overgrown, so hard to get a good clear shot without standing in precarious areas, between trees. But I got a few good shots.

This pair was building their nest.

And doing a little love dance.

And this is where they were at, quite a distance and a lot of nests. There are still quite a few empty ones, so more will be coming in, to nest there.

Another day we took a walk at a local park. The river was running full and fast, so it was nice to hear it as we walked along the path.

Today we took the boys out. Fishing season starts tomorrow, so we got them new pools. After lunch we took them to the playground and on the way home we stopped for a hike at a bird sanctuary. 

It was nice getting out with the boys, always brings me joy and lifts my heavy heart. Sometimes we need some joy to help us get through the tougher times in life. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

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.

Friday Finish!

 

A new month means a new design by Kathy Schmitz. This year she is doing another contest where we can make at least 8 of one type of item, from new or past designs. I have decided to go with hot pads, since they are fun to make, I have a ton of Insulation-brite and I will have gifts to give to friends and family members.

The original design is a robin, in red shades, I have gone with actual colors for mine. It also had a thistle type flower on some tops, but for some reason my brain stopped working and I traced them into smaller leaves. Mine is all leaves since I colored them before I realized my mistake. It still looks nice with all the green and the robin and I have a few nieces who love birds.

Last weekend we got a day with the boys. The weather was nice, so we took them to the Umbrella Factory, which is a throw back to the 70's. The boys got to pick something out in the shop and we walked around the grounds. They have Emu's and Chickens that roam about the property. 

We stopped at a couple of beaches and the boys had fun on one beach looking for treasures.

At another they enjoyed the playground. Nick ended the day, telling me he had a good day, which always makes my day.

And we got to spend a few afternoons at the beach. I enjoy the afternoons when the tide is just right to find treasures that get thrown up with the tide.

This week I will be getting ready for Easter. I have gotten the boys a few small toys and candy eggs to hide for our Easter hunt. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish and Fun with the Boys!

 

This week I have been working on finishing a couple of projects. One is still in the works, but I was able to do the binding and add the quilting to that. This is a panel I bought years ago and decided to hand quilt the design. Originally I was thinking a long pillow but it is too big for that. 

I just finished the last stitching tonight, so I need to clean it up, chalk marks and pet hair. I have a plan for hanging it over my desk, so when Bill makes me a hanger, I will show you what I came up with. It is hard to see the stitching on the piece, the outlines are gold and I did a black stitch around all of the designs. Someday I might make a straight quilt, but so far, that isn't happening.

Last weekend we got to spend some time with the boys at the beach. The weather was nice, but it got cold after we got there, but they still had fun exploring and playing.

Nick was a bit disappointed that he couldn't find any treasures. The tide was just going out, so not much on the beach. He was happy that there was a playground, he loves playgrounds.

Alex is at a fun age, and he loves to have his picture taken. He is happy just being a boy.

I also have been enjoying my backyard birding. This weekend is the great bird count. Anyone can join in,  you just sign in and they have a bird ID program if you are not sure what you have seen. It helps them with statistics around the states. Check out, The Great Bird Count.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and maybe enjoy birds in your area. There are lots of different feeders, and that is the best way to attract them. 

May The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Weekly Ramblings!

 

Not a lot going on this week, mostly resting, catching up at home and a bit of stitching. I did finish the large piece, now I need to decide on a border and it will be done for their anniversary next month.  I also started some small sachet pieces with the new monthly design, so those should be done by next friday.

Even with a few mishaps, we got to enjoy some time at camp and fun time with the boys. They love the beach and Alex loves being slammed by the waves, he is fearless. Nick took some time to brave the ocean but he finally went in with me and I taught him how to body surf. We are going back next weekend, and we will bring the boards so they should have fun on those.

We had a nice day, the boys got some goodies at the flea market and time at the playground. I admit, my greatest joy is seeing them happy and laughing. 

With my bad arm and shoulder, it is hard for me to hold the camera for long, so I used my phone or shot with the regular lens. I finally caught one of the many Woodchucks that hide in the bush, along the camps.

We got lots of nice walks on the beach and caught this guy with dinner.

And I am not the only one who has mishaps. Ivy fell while cleaning the stairs and got banged up. They dropped the boys off while they went to the hospital to have her checked and stitched up. She is ok and the boys had fun, even though my pool isn't up yet. 

I hope everyone had a good week and even when things don't go as planned, we can always find ways to have fun and find joy in our lives. 

Friday Finish!

 

It has been a slow week, most of my time is spent taking care of the house, the pets and of course Bill. Today I finally crashed and spent most of the day on the couch, watching tv. I have had the kids and a neighbor do the shopping and lots of online shopping, so that saves me from doing that.

I decided to make an easy project that I could finish in a week. I have one that is large, so that is being worked on, a bit at a time and another that I should finish by next week. I also want to finish a couple of needle felted projects, so hopefully I can find more time for myself, next week.

This is a pattern by Jacquelynne Steves that she offered in her newsletter. I made them into lavender sachets, a fun project from Spring.

I haven't had much time to take photos, but I was able to catch this young, female, Downy Woodpecker. The females are shyer, but this one is getting used to me and visits more often.

And I got to spend some time with the kids last weekend. It was my son's birthday so they came over for dinner and cake. Before dinner, we took the boys to the playground for some fun time.

Alex's smile always brings me joy.

And Nick loves to show Grandma how brave he is. Time with them is just what I needed. I hope you all had a nice week and a wonderful weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a nice weekend, one day of sun and one cloudy day, but as long as it isn't raining, I am happy. We decided to head into Connecticut and go across the upper, middle area. That way we could decide which was to go, since there are places in all directions.

We ended up going straight across to a town called Glastonbury, which is on the Connecticut river. The town was really built up, lots of stores and homes on the outskirts and we would have had to go further up to get to the city section and historic areas, so we just made a stop for coffee and headed back down on a scenic road.

We had never been in this area, so we drove until we saw something. Of course there are always lots of churches, so I took some photos and we stopped at one that had a large graveyard. It was in the town of Portland. The church is beautiful, a lot of beautiful detail and sculpture on the church.

There were a lot of old stones, but the slate was deteriorating and most of the fronts were missing. There were quite a few war heroes, from all periods of history.

The next thing I spotted was a ferry sign, so I wanted to check that out. It also means access to the river. There were a couple of cars waiting and the sign said,  honk when you want to come over, lol. The ferry is a barge that is pushed by a tugboat.

As we came down, we saw a bridge across the river and a large area of the town, so we went to see what was on the other side. There was a church right by the bridge and we found a parking lot in the back and an old graveyard. I was walking around and most of the stones were people from Ireland and all their info and place of birth was on the stones.

I had to steal a photo from the internet. I started to walk through the cemetery and I realized it was under the bridge in a bad neighborhood and there were older kids arguing with a man. I listened long enough and the man left, then I left, the kid was still screaming and getting upset, so not the place I wanted to stay. So no photos from me. Now I wish I had known where we  were, Wesleyn College was down the road and there was a larger cemetery on a hill, with views of the valleys. Now I can go back and know the area better. There is also a park with falls, so lots more to explore.

Saturday was a day with the boys, so I didn't want to go too far. I also wanted to try the new apples at the orchard, they are supposed to have a hint of pineapple flavor. I got a few for me and Nick said he liked them, so I let him pick his own small bag for his lunches. Not sure if they taste like pineapple, but it is a flavor that tastes funny but gets better as you eat more, lol.

This is a new crop for them, so these took 4 years to produce. They are called sun crisp.

I decided to take the boys to Mohegan park, Nick's favorite place, which is anywhere with a playground. Alex loved checking out all the fun things at the kiddie section.

And we enjoyed a walk around the pond, Nick likes to run ahead and Alex is always trying to keep up with him and Grandma is trying to keep up, period.

There were areas bursting with color and others, just starting to turn.

We ended the day with a stop at the farm stand for ice cream. The boys enjoyed eating in the old hay wagon.

The clouds were out all day and by the time we headed home, it was nearing dusk, but I was able to get a few nice shots of the pond in Acadia, before we dropped the boys off. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a beautiful weekend for getting out, so we took advantage of the weather and the lower tide. We spent a few hours at the beach on Saturday and of course I was happy I found more glass this time. There were other collectors who had gotten there earlier, but they tend to look for glass that is at the shore, I went for the rock piles and found a lot, hidden under the pebble beds.

And while we were there, we spotted about 100 sailboats coming toward us. I found out that it is an annual charity event, that was started after 911. They do it every year and the money goes to local charities, one is for sailing lessons, for wounded warriors and a kid's sailing program.

On Sunday, I was still feeling sick, but the boys wanted to go out, how could I say no. The plan was to take them to the park for a short walk and some time at the playground. But, Bill went by the exit and we ended up at the beach. I am glad he messed up, the weather was so warm, I wished I had put on my suit. But, we still got wet with the crashing waves. Nick enjoyed playing in the sand an all Alex wanted to do was stand in the water and have the waves hit him, I loved seeing him playing and laughing so much.

We finished the day with a trip back to the playground and then we took them to the farm for some ice cream. They have a play area for the kids with a giant sand pile for them to play on. They also had great displays outside and in a barn, for picture taking. Of course no one could sit still long enough for a nice porttrait photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I seem to have over done it, so I crashed today. Some housework got done and lots of sewing on my quilt.

Camping with the boys!

Yesterday the boys came for the day and we enjoyed some time at camp. They loved swimming in the lake, playing with Bean and Alex tried some rowing in the raft. They are also such a joy and make everything more fun, but they also have way too much energy, so grandma was worn out by the end of the day.

The camp has a nice playground and a nature center, so they kept us busy.

Before we went home, we stopped at the salt water launch, nice shallow water, so more time to play and explore. Of course, telling them not to get wet didn't work, too much fun running and splashing.

The day before we went to Blue Shutter beach, across the road. Dogs can go after they close, so we enjoyed a nice walk and I was able to catch this guy surfing. I wish I was able to get his name so he could have a photo. I will check with the local surf groups to see if anyone knows him.

We stayed long enough to watch the sun setting. A beautiful place to go when the crowds are gone. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We are home for the night. Rain came in today, so we stayed and I got to paddle a bit, then we left, just as the rain came down. They warned of heavy storms, but so far, just rain. We are staying till Saturday, so I will probably post that night or Sunday.

Happy Easter!

This week seemed to go by in a flash and I made a stitchery but it still needs to be finished. I did spend time finishing my new garden, and planting some seeds, so more time spent outside. Easter is another bittersweet holiday,  remembering the moments with my kids, but making new memories with the boys.

I tended to spoil the kids on the holidays, but the joy on their faces when they came downstairs, was worth it.

And speaking of the boys. Today mom and dad needed to get out for Easter shopping and dropped the boys out. I really wanted to go to the beach before the rains came, so we took the boys. The problem was, the temperatures dropped when we hit the beach and it was windy. Alex kept saying cold and wanted to snuggle in Grandpa's arms, so he went back in the car while Nick and I hunted for awhile. It was the perfect time with the tide going out and lots of rock piles from the storm, but we took what we could find, quickly and headed back to the car.

After a rest and nap for Alex, we headed up to their house and made a stop at a playground on the way. It wasn't crowed and just the right size for the boys. Nick always has to try out everything and he loves to climb.

Alex was content to swing in the big swing and on the regular seat swing, he loved going up high, he seems fearless and it is wonderful to see him smiling and having fun.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Easter.