Tuesday, March 23, 2021

The March Lamb Arrives!

 The month of March was a snowy one & the March winds gave us more high drifting.

Get yourself a cuppa &sit down with me as I tell you of the last two weeks with the highs & lows that had me going like a roller coaster from within!

These snow pictures are two weeks ago, the last of winter I'm hoping but the future has another 10-15cm of snow coming our way next week. I'm hoping it misses us again, last week Novia Scotia was the target area.

Bill in the backyard making his way back from the shoreline, snowshoes are a must!

Bridget & Baxter had no problem staying on top of the snow as they went with Bill.

The two Boston's look like crows in the snow! lol

Bill is walking towards the back deck, it is hidden under the snowdrift!

Off to the left of the photo, you can see the end of the back deck railing.

I am taking this photo from the upstairs window, you see the porch roof, then the beginning of the snowdrift with Bill reaching the top!

Mission accomplished, he's there on top!


The Boston's running in tandem with their stick, Bill in his shoe shoes. I did not get out with my snowshoes this year for fear that I would injure my back again, I'm not as steady with balance as Bill is.

When the Miramichi Bay is frozen over, it sure looks like a tundra. I'm glad that the Bay du Vin Island is in front showing the evergreen tree line.

The bay is still frozen but this week has been very warm & soon the water will show itself again.

Bill & the Boston's enjoy the winter, I'm looking forward to spring! 

Ok, I'm going to share my low that happened 1 1/2 wks ago.
I had taken a girlfriend into Miramichi to a dentist appointment & we went to the Atlantic Superstore in Chatham for a few groceries. I reached into my purse to get my wallet to pay for my groceries & was shocked that it was not there! Someone had taken it out of my cross the body purse that I had put behind me & never closed the zipper. My bad, it was like leaving a door open for an opportunist & I lost my wallet to them. 
OMG, everything about me was in there too. Visa, interact, drivers licence,  library card, health card... so many more that I could not remember. I called Bill & there was no interaction on the cards. I cancelled the visa & interact. And planned to go to Service New Brunswick the next day for my driver's licence & health card replacement. I felt sick to my stomach thinking how it all happened & I could have prevented it by being more responsible & cautious by zipping that zipper or carrying the purse across the front of me as it was intended. 
I checked my Facebook page before going to bed & there was a message from a woman that had found my wallet behind the Atlantic Superstore!!!  I slept so much better that night knowing that my ID might be in that wallet. Yes, whoever took my wallet just wanted the money & change that was in it & pitched my wallet. 
I told the woman she was like a guardian angel to me & thanked her for searching me out to get my wallet back to me.


I had a week before found in one of my many moving boxes a porcelain ornament that made me now think of her.

Yes, I would present this to her when I picked up my wallet.

The box the angel is on opens to reveal a rose, a special surprise for her & an award gift of money too.
She was delighted with the gifts! I was delighted & so relieved to have my wallet with my ID back!

The world is full of surprises, good & bad. I look at it as another life lesson, you are never too old to learn & always know that things happen for a reason. It is a desperate time in the world right now & my dad (miss him so much even after 21yrs) would say "Desperate times mean desperate measures, be careful". I'm glad there is a balance in my life, the ying has yang! Balance. 


These two make me laugh! Bridget will not move for Baxter to have the wicker chair, so he sits on her!

I had a scrap ball of yarn in this very bright orange so I made Bridget a collar to see her better in the snow & to keep her neck warm & cosy.

Bee 'n Blossom is a new business started by two women in Pointe Sapin, a few villages away. They home deliver so I have been ordering their soap, it is heavenly & I have a bar in every linen closet now. 
I'm going to try the beeswax wraps for fruits/vegetables, or bowl covers. The beeswax beehive candle is my favourite!
Good luck ladies in your new business adventure! You have wonderful nature handmade products!

Time to finish the picture quilt for spring. I like Edta Sytar's applique for nature & movement that she creates in her design, so here's what I created from her design. Now should I use two red berries in the centre or -

one berry? I think one is enough I don't want to overcrowd the bluebirds!

Creative minds are seldom tidy, that is a saying I once heard & yes, that is me!
This is my nighttime destination to create 169 granny squares from the scrap worsted acrylic yarns.
I try not to do any two the same, that is a challenge, I'll know how well I did when I get them all together!

Rexton the Manx cat loves the pile for a nap or my work just exhausts her. lol

I know it looks messy but I know where everything that I need is located. I have only 44 more blocks to make, then the design challenge of placing them all together for the design I made on graph paper.

The spring pictured quilt is now all sewn together!

The Boston's are always with Bill when he is home & Rexton seems to always be with me. She photobombed me & just kept looking up?

Friendly giant, 'Look up, look way up!'

So many flies are moving around on the sunny window & buzzing whilst they move. It so reminds me of the Amityville Horror movie. Sunny days = flies & ladybugs!

Bill thinks I have cabin fever & I'm bored as I play with the cat for these pics! lol

Rexton is very tolerant of me & is probably hoping my ADHD takes me somewhere else. lol

I got the baby alien together, he is so cute!

He was made for Leslie & Nicholas as an Easter surprise so I felted a hairband for the felted ears that I made it. I broke seven needle felting needles do it. Thank you again Katie for your rug hooking yarn that you took out of your project a few years back & did not want, it has been used in many of my creations!
Is he not adorable with his Easter ears on?!

The ears are removable & he may need a Christmas hat made for him too!

He's wishing all of you that are reading this right now a very "Happy Easter!"

Bill installed the quilt in the frame & I love it! Thank you, sweetheart!

It measures 3ft x 5ft & was a joy to make.

I love rabbits & this fellow was made from an old scarf that was washed & felted in the dryer, a piece of the fringe is now his tail!

I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the yellow finches, they are so beautiful to watch!

This is Cecile's project that she has been learning the foiling method, tulips are spring! It's looking good Cecile!

This is where I want to keep the granny square quilt, one the black rocking chair, I think it will make an inviting vignette of days past.

I sure like black! It goes with everything & is such a grounding hue. I made this when the students were working on their projects but never soldered it until last week. I need to attach a black chain to it.


The geese are ready for Easter in their bunny & lamb outfits.
They are going to undergo some fresh paint this summer, they have seen many many seasons outside & need to be refreshed for the many many years ahead!

Look!!! The ground is finally showing itself!
Winter snow is starting to melt away from the house & tree trunks.

It will melt into the woods & the pond will fill with the spring thaw making a home for the frogs to bring it to life and by June the night air is filled with their mating calls. So much to look forward to as the seasons are always changing!




I have a fabric addiction, Silhouette Patterns in Texas USA has fabric too! I saw this fabric as Peggy Sagers YouTube channel revealed it & it was love at first sight!
This 60" width 2yd purchase was done for a throw for the great room leather sofa.

The colours that are mosaic are stunning!
The touch of it has so much quality in it, it is from Fabulous Furs, such quality!


This Melange Fox spoke to me about our bedroom, it is in the northeast corner of the house & winter is cold at that end of the house when the nighttime temps fall, both outside & on the thermostat. 

The bed is a kingsize & this fur throw fits ontop beautifully!

This is the backside of the fur, you can see the pattern very clearly here.

It is so luxurious on top!

The IKEA rug in the dressing room reminded me of that fur too!

Purchase from the Candle in the Window in Boisetown. I love sheep & the primitive design in this pillow looks good with the cowhide pillow I made a few years back.

I wanted a new spring pillow & what says spring more than a bunny with pussy-willows!!

With the scraps from the granny square pillow, I've made a narrow runner for the cat to sit on my desk, she likes to look out the window there.

I will use my Briggs & Little wool on these chickadees in the center of the runner.

I always see Popeye in this design & colour choice!

. 
And another anchor to 'anchor' the design down on the runner. lol

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I hope you are doing well & spring is lifting your spirits as the sun shines on you. It really is an exciting time of year, spring has sprung! Smile, winter is in the rearview now!

Have a wonderful week, smile under your mask, it makes your eyes smile when you look at someone.

Bill has had his first vaccine & the second will come in July... hopefully putting Covid in the rearview mirror too! Stay safe, wear your mask.

Cynthia ;)


Wednesday, March 3, 2021

So Much Snow - Time To 'enjoy the good life' - Ginger Snaps - Granny Squares

 There's so much snow today! The winds have made the snow drifts so high & so solid to move.

I have always noticed that the most snow falls the last 2 wks of Feb & the first 2 wks of March, yes Mother Nature did not disappoint me this morning & even threw in a few surprises!!

This was sunset last night, you can see the warm glow of the sun setting.

Walking to the kitchen for my morning coffee I saw the snowdrifts had made their way to the front door.

Oh my, this is a new kind of drift on the front porch, rather mountain-like!

You can see how the snowdrifts will leave areas bare & pile high in other places. The laneway was piled high & took Bill many shoves with the plough to break through to the road.

The view through the dining bay window was so high I couldn't see over that huge wave of a drift!

I was happy to see that the winds had died down & that would stop the snowdrifts. It had gotten into the 60-70km moving the snow to newer heights.

My sewing room has been cozied in with a north-winded drift.


The exercise room has a huge drift too. The funny thing is when you look at the house edge, there's hardly any snow, just that huge snowdrift wave in front!

This is looking out the garage window at the dogs' fenced area, the snow has covered the fence by a few feet higher! Oh, the drifting!!!

This is the view to the laneway when you open the garage door!!

Bill pushing the snow to clear the laneway. I have a hair appointment & a chiro maintenance appointment this afternoon.

So much snow, where do you put it?!

This was Mother Natures' surprise this morning & a first for us! The winds came through so fierce that it brought the snow into one of the sunporch windows!!

Bill had to shovel from the inside now, it was on the floor, MDF window ledge(hope there is no damage) & the window. The Louis XV couch was spared, it was such a sight to see this morning!

I had taken this picture out of storage to place on the side table in the kitchen. I was talking to Dave,  from London ON & he told me had seen his first robin in his backyard! I love robins & they are plentiful here in the spring/summer/fall. They are my bird of hope, you made it through the winter when you see your first robin! I won't be seeing mine for a while!

The Armysillis has bloomed a beautiful pink bloom!

And it is a double bloomer too! I love the spring-like colour of the flower & the yellow stigma too!


How spring-like is this bulb flower?!! I'm hoping the other one will bloom for Easter.

Bridget has a new Irish green sweater!

I had to tuck the front under as her torso was small for the length.

The back length was good.

Bill went grocery shopping on Saturday morning & brought me home some spring bulb plants! He was careful to find ones that were not in bloom so I could watch them open & now they have!
The smell from the hyacinths is heavenly! It is spring-like indoors & just a taste of what is to come when spring does arrive.

I like to have a little something with my afternoon teatime & I tried out this simple recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. They are delicious if you like the flavour of molasses & ginger such a warm taste on winter days.

With simple pantry ingredients, this recipe comes together quickly. I used parchment paper on the cookie sheets which I use again & again for recipes with cookies/biscuits, they just slide right off & no messy sticking!

Yes, the warmth of working wool in your hands & listening to the winds howling outside!

I'm moving along with the Granny Square Afghan & boy did I miss judge the number of squares needed! This is about 1/4 of the amount needed. I ordered a large Red Heart Jumbo ball of yarn & could not believe how much yarn has increased over the years, especially the colour black! I'm so glad that is the only colour I needed to purchase for this afghan.

The cushion for Joey's grandma was much loved! Joey has his own Instagram #Life with Joey the Boston. He was born without sight & is thriving in his adopted home with so much hands-on love & affection.

I've had this pattern since 2004 I have modified this square quilt pattern to go vertically, to fit into the gold 3'X 5'ft frame. The blocks & words are the same, it is just designed differently to fit another area, my frame!

I found this free PDF pattern download on the internet & I enjoy watching the Disney series of The Mandalorian & wanted to try this pattern. It is 30 pgs long & thought it was going to be a challenge but it was so much easier than Bernie Sanders! I thought I was going to run out of yarn but had a bit leftover that will now go into the Granny Square project!
 
So cute! This little figure reminds me of Bridget Loree the Boston Terrier!

With Covid lockdowns here in New Brunswick it gives you time to pause & take a breath & enjoy what you do have. It has made for a simpler time for me with some baking, sewing, crocheting, & spending time with my husband of 35 yrs. Life is enjoyable if you are with the right person.

Wanting what you have rather than having what you want.

It is such a sunny day today, it makes your heart sing!
Stay safe & wear your mask, wherever you are.

Wishing you health & happiness this week. Smile under your mask, it makes your eyes smile!
Cynthia