A Wonderful Autumn

 The weather has been so beautiful on the northeast coast of New Brunswick!

And time has been moving its wings again, it will very soon be November, with just 56 days to the build-up to Christmas! I keep track because I make many of my Christmas gifts & that takes time! The time just seems to fly by!!

Get yourself a cuppa & cozy in for a tour & a viewing of the weeks past.

This is a lengthy blog of photos & chatting. xXx 

I have been working on two free sew-along quilts & will soon be caught up with the Harvest Gathering.

These are just a few of the blocks that I've completed & see the robin? That was to be a Baltimore Oriole I changed out the colours & put my personal touch to it. Then a person noticed that the head was missing the corner, thank heavens it was an easy two-seam opening to fix!

Yesterday was the robin's head redo & these two baskets finished at 15"x15". 

This quilt top will finish at 84"x100", a large sampler quilt! I'm doing it all from my stash, not a kit.

The fruit & leaves are from my wool stash.

Two long checkerboard pieces to work on today & tomorrow the new blocks are revealed & I will be ready to start the catchup again! lol

Lori Holt's Praire Meadow is a 12-block applique quilt with a scrappy border, each block will finish at 16"x16". I am caught up with this sew-along!

With the beautiful autumn days & the help of Mitchell, Bill finally got the outside of the windows cleaned that bring the light into the front foyer. Bridget just wants to play 'stick', she is happiest with a stick or ball.

It is not a job for someone with a fear of heights! Lucky that these two are both elevator guys!

I watched from the inside on the upper foyer mezzanine as the sunlight came through!

And the beautiful colours of autumn were revealed once more in a vibrant state.

It was a perfect day for window cleaning. Fiona's wet winds placed much debris with salt water in the wind covering everything, including plants in the garden. I hope they recover & come back next spring.

The sun will feel so warm this winter with the thick film now gone!

Oh the colours of autumn, I just love sewing with the colours I see & feel!

Nicole, my DIL never stops amazing me, she splits wood for hours for our winter wood!

Mitchell our son, worked hard with his dad milling & slicing wood for the new bridge to go over the pond run-off stream. There is still water in the pond again this year!

The path on the other side of the wooden bridge has had mulch put on it & it has been widened, it is such a wonderful place to be now that the mosquitoes are gone!

Bridget & her sticks! Just hoping someone will take the time to through it. She has such joy retrieving it!

It was a large job doing a small bridge made with wood from the woods! 

\

Nicole worked just as hard doing all the splitting of the wood!

Bill does not trust me with sharp-moving equipment. lol, I make him very nervous. lol

It is going to be a lovely walk through those woods this winter, I am so enjoying the beautiful autumn!

Mitch is so clever at building structures, I can't wait to see his place in Alberta this spring & the 10 acres of land that he & Nicole now live on!

The paths have mulch & leaves all over them & look so inviting to bring you in for a walk!

So Canada!

This old dead tree was here when we purchased the property back in 2012 & I noticed the wood propellor placed into the tree, it is still there. It makes me think of my dad & his flying days so many years ago.

The pond has many bullrushes growing in it & it will look so cool as it freezes like a skating pond!

The Boston terrier's old swimming pool took a ride in the wind & ended up in the pond! It had holes in it so it is not missed but will be a challenge to get it out!

The autumn colours are now ending & soon a new texture & colour will be painted with Mother Natures' brush.

The front of our property from the road is so vibrant in colour with all the maple trees.

Donald spent a day on the tractor cutting & opening the laneway from the overgrowth of weed trees & brush.

This autumn has been the best I can remember & it is still warm every day!

The road view of the front of our property soon will be just the skeletons of trees with no leaves.

My girlfriend Deb was walking through the woods & took this photo for me as I loved the burst of colour the maples were displaying!

And Bridget & Baxter were enjoying the walk too! It is such a paradise of nature here & we all enjoy it! 

This is the new roadway into the woods, it is about 1/3 way down from the house. From there are paths through the woods & that will take you out to the new wooden bridge that once crossed, you are at the firepit! 

After Fiona, we took a trip to PEI to purchase these beauties for the woods. Mitchell had never been to the Island & Nicole was too young to remember it so the drive over the Confederation Bridge was exciting! The Lambe Concrete Company has the best selection of items that we have ever seen! And they are very reasonably priced items too! These beauties are now in storage until the spring when they will be put in place on our property. I have always loved gargoyles & whimsical creatures & items... it will be a fun place to be in the woods next summer!

Family Time xXx

Nicole & I are in the kitchen preparing a meal, it seems like so long ago since the kids were here.

I know I won't have them for Christmas this year so our time together was special. xXx

Donald even dressed in his 'good fat' shirt of avocados for our Thanksgiving meal. xXx

And Leslie & Nicholas are now living in Miramichi & it is a 30 min drive door-to-door now! 

I'm so happy for them & for Bill & me too! xXx

We had a wonderful feast together & all of us were grateful for the meal & for the family time together!

Rexton & the Boston terriers have been enjoying the cool evenings with the firebox burning. 

She is the last one on the pillow at night after Bridget & Baxter are in their beds.

I saw this sign & it was so Rexton! She will push things off dressers, countertops, and any flat surface to get your attention when she wants it! And yes has even gotten into my plants on occasion!

Thank you for stopping in for a visit during this beautiful autumn season!

I hope you too are enjoying whatever your area has to offer this time of year. Stay happy & healthy.

Cynthia xXx

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day xXx

 Wow, we are into The second week of October already!

Happy Thanksgiving Day weekend to everyone, I hope you have a wonderful time with family & friends.

Bill has been helping me decorate the house as all three sons and family are here for Thanksgiving. I'll give you a tour of our home as we await the plane this morning.

This stuffed turkey has graced our Thanksgiving Day since the 2000s & Nicholas, in grade four,  was doing wood burning at school, he made this for our Thanksgiving Day decorating. I like the two homemade decor pieces together. 

Then I found this VIP panel print at Woolco/Walmarts now & had it quilted up by Beth in London ON.

Tommy Turkey is a heavy fellow & sits proudly every year. 

Wishing everyone that views him, A Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I had fun making this little vignette of the Hallmark Thanksgiving Day mice that were gifted to us from Bill's sister Margaret & B-I-L Scott, so many years back. I used an empty glass coffee jar & a sticker that says ' Wish' & filled it with wishbones. So many wishes to come with the snapping of them!

These little figurines stand about 1" tall! I stuck them down with a sticky tack putty to stay in place for Thanksgiving.

A new look in the great room with these custom blinds. We can now control the sun setting as we watch the large screen TV.

The front porch has been made inviting but the weather will be chilly for the next few days.

The Mystery quilt from Fat Quarter Shop gives the porch a shot of colour!

I got the Blackbird design of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven finished. I love working with Briggs & Little 100% wool when hooking a plan. I dated it with Roman Numerals. I think it is really unique this year having every letter doubled this year! MMXXII = 2022

                         
It finished about 21" x21" & will complement the quilt once I get into doing it this winter.

This was last winter's project with The Fabric Cupboard's Mystery quilt. It now hangs replacing Vintage Tin on the landing.

I like the shot of colour it is going to give this winter!

An area in the dining room. All Blue Willow & blue dishes have returned to the china cabinet & the Friendly Village dishes are out awaiting the family's return.

From the coffee bar, you can see through the garden doors to the sun porch. The sun porch is now in its last season & will soon be too cold to be out there.

These fellows have been moved to the great room beam & our traditional paper Happy Thanksgiving has been hung!

Here is our traditional paper banner!

I really like it on the old kitchen beam that has been into a wall mantel.

I hung a wall quilt that I made several years back when I was dealing with my mother's dementia & mini-strokes. To me, it was like she was playing with the fairies...

So this whimsical quilt of leaf fairies really calmed me inside as she was changing & then institutionalized. This quilt makes me really think of her living years whilst she played with the fairies.

The great room with patio doors to the sun porch.

The other side of the great room is ready for the full house that will soon be here.

The sun porch with the sun pouring in. Bill cleaned the windows as salt water spray from Fiona was coating them making it hard to see out!

Rexton loves having her naps in the sun on the sun porch. Bridget & Baxter love it too as their black fur holds the last of the warm season's sun.

Another spot to sit down on the sun porch.

This was the table before we got it ready for the kids' arrival this afternoon.

I'm happy that the dining room is long enough to accommodate the two-leaf extensions!

The table is ready for sandwiches later today & the turkey feast tomorrow.

The front foyer is ready for them to come through the door & spend time with us.

The foyer mezzanine stairs have the new wall hanging & some summer plants to give life to the landing.

The Modernational Bear Paw quilt is seen at eye level on the mezzanine.

The large window over the foyer shows the autumn colours in our neighbourhood. The quilt is not in any sunlight so it is in a good spot to stay safe from the sun fading the colours.

A view from the upper glass mezzanine, so sunny with the morning sun coming through.

Soon the family will open that door and our Thanksgiving festivities will begin!

Thank you for stopping in for a Thanksgiving Day decor visit. It is elaborate as we don't have the kids for Christmas & I want warm memories to go home with them. And I hope it gave you a warm feeling coming into the house too!

Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone - wherever you are! Wishing you health & happiness!!

Cynthia xXx