Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Blessed Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate the season in other ways.

I finished my Christmas pillow and still debating on making a corded edge for the outer edge, I think it will finish it off nicely. Maybe after the holidays, since I have no desire to go to any stores this weekend.

The design is by Bird Brain Designs, the pattern a gift from a  friend.

Today we took Nick out and had some fun at the submarine museum in Groton Ct. He had a lot of fun and enjoyed playing with grandpa.

Going inside a submarine was an adventure for him, a few times he started thinking it was time to get out, but he made it through and had fun climbing through the hatches and up and down stairs.

 We picked up some lunch and enjoyed a picnic at the point. We got to sit on the porch of an old home and enjoy views of the long island sound.

On the way home we stopped in Mystic Village and checked out some shops, Nick was awestruck in the Christmas shop, and I had to watch what he was trying to put in his pockets, lol. It was a fun day and I am sure he is as tired as I am.

Christmas will never be the same for us. We will have the joys of our son and his family, but Danielle will always be missed and a big part of our hearts. I still send her a note or add a photo of her childhood to her Facebook page each Friday. It is my way of keeping her memory alive. This is the card I made for her, for Christmas. May all of you who have lost loved ones, may you find peace and joy in the memories of those who have gone before us.

Wednesday Wanderings!

Well, it really was the weekend, but I had so much going on this week, that I saved some photos to share with you today. I needed a rest day Saturday, just me and Bill, no plans, just go where we want and explore.

Bean is doing well and fitting in with the family, even Moki loves him and the nuzzle and give each Bean loves to play and runs at top speed when I take him in the back yard. Of course, as with most Border Collies, sticks are too tempting to pass up, so we spend most of the time picking up sticks and chasing after them.

Saturday we went to Groton Connecticut. My husband is a test engineer at the Electric Boat, so he knows all about subs and I decided I wanted to go the the submarine museum. It is free to visit and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed all of the displays. They have a lot of history, as well as submarines through the years.

We were visiting inside the museum on the upper level and a real submarine was passing by. I was disappointed that we weren't outside but we got to enjoy watching it and the escorts as they sailed out of the harbor.

The treat was going inside an older submarine. My husband actually worked on it before it was decommissioned.

Inside was definitely close and the rooms are small, I cannot imagine having to be in one for long periods. Throughout the submarine there were rooms with mannequins, depicting the crew and how life would be for them on the boat. It was a bit unnerving since some were very realistic and I kept thinking someone was standing there, lol.

These guys were just creepy, not sure why they were playing cards with masks on and Bill explained it, but I forgot;) The funny story with this is, I kept thinking I was bumping into people on some of the displays and as I was looking at one side I turned and saw another on the other end, so I walked over to it. I was trying to figure out what the room was, when the mannequin moved, lol. It was a real sailor who was touring the boat in uniform and you could say it definitely startled me;)

After the tour, we went for a drive on the back roads and followed the Thames River up to the city of Norwich. The drive was relaxing and there were beautiful views of the river and foliage. We stopped at the park where the river diverges and enjoyed a stroll on the boardwalk.

We kept going on another back road and found another beautiful park in the town of Occum. We also found a nice boat launch, so a future paddling place. The foliage is still not full but it was still beautiful.

They had a walkway that we followed and were treated to a beautiful view of the dam. The areas and towns following the rivers in Connecticut have beautiful old buildings and river parks, so we will be doing more drives and exploring the back roads.