Weekly Ramblings!

 

Nothing to show this week, I think I might have had one hour to work on a stitchery. I have a few things I am working on, but with Bills appointments and doing double the work at home, not much time or energy for myself. But I have been getting out, which I do need, good for my health and good for the spirit.

One thing I did this week was, buy Nick a used bike. It is a nice bike and I got it for a good price, but it was bigger and heavier than I realized. He loved it and rode it, but was really nervous about falling. I told him, if you are falling, jump off and let the bike fall, a few dents won't hurt it and he is more important.

I did get a new one for his birthday this month, similar type but less heavy, so hopefully it will be just right. 

One good thing with Bill's appointments is, they are in nice areas. After his first doctor appointment, we went to Watch Hill in Westerly. Bill enjoyed sitting at the wharf while I walked up and down the beach.

The tide was going out, but not a lot of glass on this beach. The point is the site of an old fort.

I walked on one side of the beach, but the paths across the dunes were closed off, so when I got to the end, I had to backtrack until I found a path I could cross. 

His physical therapy was in a town with old mills and a river walk, so I enjoyed walking around the river. Much better than sitting in the waiting room.

And another day we spent a few hours at my favorite glass beach. Not as much as I usually find, but still nice to walk and find some treasures along the way. 

And today we set up our trailer on my favorite site. We had a yard sale and made enough to pay for a month at the campground in Connecticut. Our site is on the river, so I can paddle and ride my bike in the surrounding, state forest. I have a quilt that I can hand quilt and my art bag, so hopefully I can find time to get back in shape and time to be creative. It will be easier than finding places that Bill can enjoy, since he can relax at our site while I am out and now that he is more mobile,  he can take short walks around the campground.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We will be staying overnight on some nights, but mostly day tripping to camp. We have to hire a pet sitter for Moki's shots, so that adds up if we are gone a lot. 

This is our site, tomorrow we will put up a screen tent and rugs. The bush hasn't come in yet, so not as lush yet. But, it will be great for bird photography.

Beach Combing for Art!

This weekend was warmer but it was windy, so beach combing wasn't as easy. The tide was also out earlier, so we go there as it was coming back in, but still lots of shoreline to explore. I got a nice amount of glass and some stones, so building up my stash of glass, a bit at a time.

We got quite a few large pieces this time, the large heart rock is 3" wide, to give you a perspective. The heart will be painted and hidden, hoping to finish a few to hide before Valentines.

The wind got so bad, I decided to give up, since the wind was blowing the waves back in, higher than normal. Another reason to go to this beach was, to go to the lighthouse to watch the moon rise. It was daytime, but I just wanted to see what it would look like as it rose above Newport. We waited over a half hour and no moon, the fog took over, so I gave up. I found a spot on a cliff side, with a rock ledge to protect me from the wind. At least I got to enjoy some relax time while enjoying the views.

Sunday was a rainy day so we decided to go shopping. I hit the jackpot this time, I found a motorized, ride on firetruck that blows bubbles marked down to 15.00 dollars. Alex will love it and I will save it for his Birthday. I also got myself some art supplies, so I can start painting more angels and other items. Luckily the rain stopped when we got down the Watch Hill, but it was definitely foggy.

The boardwalk is desolate in the winter, but it is so calm and peaceful when it is shrouded by the fog.

We enjoyed a ride around the ocean loop and came out to Atlantic Beach, a long strip of beaches, hotels and amusements, but nice and quiet in the winter. This is a beach that has high banks, so the rocks get thrown up and tumbled, so there are a lot of smaller, smooth stones, which is just what I was looking for.

We found a nice amount but gave up with the rising tide. I was looking for stones that I can use as heads and bodies and as you can see from the photos, this is why I am collecting them. I have seen pebble art in the stores and they charge a fortune. The rocks are free and what you can make is only limited by your imagination. It is like a puzzle, you just play with them and see what you can make. You can also go online and look up beach, pebble, art and you will find lots of wonderful pieces to inspire you.

I was just playing around, I want to try a bird piece and something simple to start with. I like the idea of painting the background with watercolor and adding a quote or word to the upper corner. I played in photoshop to see who it would look, and like the color better. I also want to use a small piece of glass for his beak and maybe wire legs, still playing and thinking.

I hope you all had a nice weekend and remember, even in the gloomiest days, you can find joy and creativity in the simplest of things.

Weekend Wonders!

With the holidays and getting things done around the house, the week flew by, so I decided we needed to get out and enjoy the last weekend. It was a bit cold but the weather was beautiful and the skies clear, so a perfect weekend for enjoying some sunsets.

Saturday we went to Beavertail Lighthouse and watched the sunset from the cliffs. There were clouds on the horizon so we were treated with a show of colors as the sun went down between the clouds. A wonderful way to end the first day of the new year.

Sunday we went to church and I had forgotten that they were having a concert after service. We stayed and enjoyed beautiful Christmas music from the adult and youth choir. I started getting too sore to sit any longer so we missed seeing the children in a reenactment of the nativity, so I stole a photo from our church page.  A wonderful way to end the Christmas season.

We decided to do some shopping at the south end of the state and I realized we were only a half hour from sunset, so we went to Watch Hill and watch a spectacular sunset from the dunes. It was definitely cold, but well worth a few frozen fingers.

Walking to the top of the dune, the sun beaming down on the landscape.

The sun just as it hit the horizon. No clouds in the sky, the sun looked huge over the water.

The sun appeared to be sinking into the sea and it cast a beautiful glow across the ocean. The land in the distance is Fisher's Island, New York. This is an area that you can see all three states and cross the line if you are in a boat.

Even as the sun disappeared it cast a beautiful glow across the sky. This is a wonderful place to watch the sunset, though you have to hike through the sand to get to the dunes.

Our shopping trip was a bust for items I was looking for, but I did find some fun christmas items on sale. I found feather wings that are ornaments, but I will use them on pieces I made. Another item I loved was this angel, she changes colors with optical lights, hard to catch the true lights with a camera but this gives you an idea of how it looks. This will be perfect to put with Dani's tree next year. I hope everyone had a good weekend and now I plan on getting back to creating again, so hopefully there will be new quilts and punch needle patterns in the coming month.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our anniversary and of course I spent it, doing my favorite thing, paddling.
Today marks our 38th year together and I won't say it is perfect or bliss, but we love each other and we work through the tough times and the differences.

I saved my favorite place for today and the original plan was to go to the island but I changed my mind and we paddled to Napatree Point at Watch Hill. Watch Hill is famous for it's grand homes and stretches of beaches at the point.

We started at Barn Island in Connecticut and headed to Napatree point in RI.

As we got up the point the waters got too shallow to paddle, so we had to walk the boats into the shore.

We had our own quiet beach area, no one around on this side. Bill got himself a present, now he can sit on the beach without worrying about the sun.

We spent the day enjoying the views and walking along the beach. We also went over the dunes to the other side, this is where most people go and a lot deeper. It is wonderful having vacation before school gets out, no crowds.

The winds were picking up and the waves were getting higher, but fun riding along as we headed back to the launch. The end to a perfect day.

We will probably do more paddling this weekend at our local launch, but I think I am about ready to relax at home and start sewing again. Next month will be my 5th blog anniversary, look for a special giveaway. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Wool Quilt Progress!

I finished sewing up the blocks on my quilt and then I realized the last one, was sticking out too far, so I added a row of wool strips going down. I still have to cut and even it out, then I can see if I need to add anything to them, or leave them, as is. If I add anything it will be something simple, maybe more pennies. Which makes me think it would be fun to add strips to the other side with pennies, a suggestion by one of my followers. But at this point, I just want to finish it, I have so many more project to finish and start.

I am adding details now, just some stitchery in the leaves and flowers and then I will probably do some basic quilt stitching in some of the blocks, but I might do that, after I put on the back, so it will hold them together. I also need to add some words to my green blocks.

Using a plain cotton back to attach the wool blocks, made it a lot easier to lay it out and sew it down. I used a simple blanket stitch on all of the blocks, using a pearl cotton.

I tried a lamp and the flash, but it still came out dark on one end, so I lightened it up, which messes with the colors, but you can get the general idea.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, so we drove to the Watch Hill Lighthouse. The road to the lighthouse is very narrow and the storm wiped it out, so it is passable again and most of the damage is cleaned up.

During the storm, this area was covered by water, so the keepers were stranded at the tip.

Storm Recovery!

Yesterday was a beautiful day, so we went for a drive and visited a few beaches and did a little shopping. The clean up is still continuing on the beaches. The waves bought in a lot of sand and rocks that still litter the streets. The sad thing was the stores, most were cleaned out and you could see where they were tearing up the floors and redoing them. This is a boardwalk type of area so it is as close to the beach as you can get, the hazards of being so close to the water.

The main beach lots were covered in sand. They are shoveling it out of the area.

And were are they putting it? Back on the beach of course. They are piling it up and the surf will smooth it all out, eventually. The beach houses did well, though a few were missing stairways. Even with the mess, the beach is still a beautiful place to walk.

There was a lot of erosion on the dunes, but the homes on the ocean are protected by walls and the lighthouse looked fine. It was great to get out and enjoy the warmer temps, while they last.

If you are looking for a good bargain on wools, my friend Bren is having a sale at her Destash Blog

I got a gift certificate for my birthday, so I used it to get some more whites. If you look at number 4, that is what I got, it is wonderful for snow pieces.

Saturday Beach Walk!

Today started out with rain, but it turned into a beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze coming off of the ocean. What better place to walk then along a long stretch of beach on our southern coastline.

There were a lot of people and no parking, but today was my lucky day and someone left a spot, as we came around the parking lot.

We had to walk through the private lots to get to the main beach area, this is the view looking down the beach.

It is a mile long stretch, and ends at a rocky point. The views are spectacular, open waters and lots of boats out today. This is a view, looking towards the Watch Hill lighthouse.

Of course I didn't stop there. We trudged further, across rocks and really smelly piles of muscles left by the seagulls. We decided to stop at this point, a perfect spot to take in the views and have a rest.

We had to turn around and go back to the beach, a long way back. I was getting tired, so we decided it would be fun to take off our shoes and walk through the water, this time. It was a lot of fun to splash in the water and cool down. I hope you had a wonderful saturday, as well.