February Fun

 February has not had any huge nor-eastern storms but one night we had wind and flurries and opened the front door to this!

A very 'flocked evergreen wreath'! Each season has its own beauty here and a fresh snowfall is beautiful. We are needing snow this winter or rain this spring, the weather is predicted to be very hot and dry again this summer. We will be putting all the rain barrels out this year to help with watering the gardens.

I awoke to a wonderful scene that briefly lasted as the fog rolled through, it was a whimsical scene in the woods.

Mike & Carrie gifted me this sweet wooden chicken with interchangeable hats, she's styling her Valentine Day hat. I've started saving the feathers from their moulting and have attached them in the back with painters tape. I just love how Reba just makes me smile when I view her as she sits on the kitchen counter with the chickens feed.

I decorated the window for Valentines Day with these beautiful beaded hearts. 

And made fabric postcards, something I've not done for years. I hope they surprise and bring a smile to the people I sent them out to. 

I left the kitchen Christmas tree in the kitchen & put Valentine decorations on it. Most are beaded ones I purchased at April Cornell many years ago, the velvet Love one in the centre was given to me by Bill when he came home from one of his many trips. Next month I'll decorate it with an Irish flair for St. Patrick's Day! 

I also had a chance to play with the many decorative stitches that my sewing machine has.

Nick gifted Bill a Ford model car that he painted & put together, his dad was over the moon! 

It's from the movie about racing, I've forgotten the name of the movie.

There is so much detail and the perfectionist that Nick is shows in his work. This car is going to be published in a book, Nick has been published in the past with his models.

So much detail!! A true labour of love.

Bill did a labour of love for me bringing back to life my childhood table. This table was always in the parlour with the London Free Press paper stored underneath until garbage day. I ate from that table in the parlour with dad. Dad would have a tray fitted for his wheelchair, it was difficult for him to eat at the table & because there was just him & I, we ate in the parlour watching TV together. I always though the table was larger. lol The prim bowl is from Red Door Antiques in London ON. Sandy the owner of the antique shop, found it for me and I use it seasonally to decorate with, right now its winter...next month it will to be spring!

I asked Bill to keep it as original as possible as he stripped off the stain and redid it, he also made it sturdy again as it had a wobble to it. I've always loved this table & now it's strong beautiful again!

Jocelyn's spider plants are everywhere and I've gifted several to friends to help with air quality for them too. Most of us have fireboxes going in the winter and the air becomes dry, these plants help keep to air clean. Rexton is always photo bombing my pictures. lol

Now for some sewing projects I've been working on!  

Last month cleaning a section(it's not done...I don't think it ever will be lol) I found buried under one of the many piles, orphan blocks from the Sew Fresh pattern I did a few years back & created my own pattern with the scraps on hand for a lumbar pillow!

Here's the quilt I spoke of, it's still hanging in the foyer. It was over 1,000 pieces to put together so I'm going to admire it for awhile. lol

I crocheted a large Granny Square with the small 100% cotton balls that I purchase at the Dollar-store. I used colours from the Kathy Schmitz fabric line that I've made a few quilts from.

I'm seeing a theme here in dark woodland colours as everything is starting to feel the same, just different patterns. I am comfortable working with dark colours but then I need to bust out & do colourful quilts too! 

At night I like to have something in my hands to work on, that's how this creation happened. I'll stitch it to the pillow as this is the back & the front has a map of Canada on it, two looks-one pillow!

The Farmers Daughter Quilt - Lori Holt fabric & pattern!

 

The morning sun in the great room has washed the colour out of the fabric, it's colourful! This is the first of five rows to the quilt. There are 50 blocks total - 25 are 12x12 & 25 are 6x6 finished size.

I'm working on row two of the five now with just 3 more blocks to complete then this row will be added to the other row hanging in the great room.

More blocks done for the other three rows.

This block is called Daddy's Tractor & will be added to row two, with three more blocks to complete that row.

I'm not using The Farmer's Daughter fabric but using the same colour tones from Lori Holt's past  fabric collections. I will purchase the outer border fabric from the Farmer's Daughter collection to finish it off!

 The days are getting longer with some days feeling the spring in the air, one month and one week spring will arrive! And March 8th the clocks change as we spring forward with time. I wish time would just be the same all year round! I use many wall clocks & several wind up clocks, I like them as you give back time as you wind them for the week and one clock is good for 30 days! 

The first tenant has moved into the town-home and the advertising for the other three will happen next week. They turned out beautiful!

Lots of light is given to the 9ft ceiling rooms. We also did custom blinds on all the large windows to control the light & privacy.

Sliding mirrored closet doors creating more light & space to the bedrooms. The closets also have lights inside them.

The bathtubs are a one piece tub with a light in the shower.

Light and bright in every room!

Linen closet across from the bathroom.

Linen closet has wire shelving.

The hardware is on all the cupboards now.

The granite counter-tops, back-splash, and islands are finished! The double sinks are installed and everything looks so beautiful!

The white Caracuta Botanical granite keeps everything light & bright! 

The island has drawer storage on the kitchen side and an overhang for stools on the living-room side. 

The Precision Stone in Moncton were the installers of our granite kitchen, as well as Leslie & Nick's kitchen and we're all pleased with their workmanship.

Well there it is! Next week to advertise for the best tenants for these beautiful town-homes! 

Thank you for stopping by and do visit again! 

Have a wonderful weekend, I know I will as Bill is arriving home tonight after being gone for a week with the elevator code meeting in California USA. Driving to the airport he was stopped by ICE, they looked in the vehicle to see a single white man & told him to drive on. Several were not so lucky & were pulled over to the side of the road.

So happy that he's home again in Toronto awaiting his flight to Moncton and then to our home - Beaver Moon. 

Have a safe wonderful weekend wherever you are and come back for a visit to our Beaver Moon!

Hugs,

Cynthia xXx 
 

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping 

 

January Brings A New Year 2026

 I love the start of a new year, it's like a fresh start full of possibilities for all the procrastination that has gone on in your head. This year I'm going to get organized in my sewing areas.

Bill has been so helpful in suggestions & making me these holders for my rulers, I'll show you the process and hello and thank you for popping in!

This was my design wall that was taken over with unfinished projects and ideas that I had for the future. This board was from our trade shows that we did in North America in the 1990s.

The goal was to get all my rulers organized & the ones that were used washed & dried. I used 2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and my Face Off cloth(soft makeup removal cloth) to wash them and dried them with a linen tea towel. I was pleased with the effect that this simple solution had cleaning the rulers!

It was a long process but one that was over due & I was able to organized them by size as I dried & placed them. Like things together has been my motto for the past few years.

Bill asked what would work best & we measured the size that would fit on the design wall. He made me boxes & ruler ledges.

I was amazed at how many quilt things that I've accumulated over the past 22 years of quilting. I had my sewing & decor decorating before I dove into quilting and I lived & breathed it for a good decade.

This area is also my ironing area, file storage, zipper storage & my stool for reaching areas that my 5'2" frame will not reach. Last year Bill installed a light above & it gives such beautiful light, it's like being outside on a sunny day, I love it!

At the shore side window I unearthed a toy bench that my father had made for my older sister & brother in 1949. Then it was in my childhood bedroom & was given to me in the 70s. I moved out east it came with me and all the memories of all the places that box has been over the years. My children used it for a toy box too. The seat is a heavy metal with the original strap to lift it open & the wood is a solid 1" x 2" pieces. Dad told me he made built in bunk beds to go with this box. By the time I was born in 1957, he was a certified welder and I grew up with everything welded, my sandbox, swing set, kitchen chairs, & anything else that was metal & needed repair. Dad passed this welding passion on & taught Mitch to weld at the age of 7. He would spend weekends with Grandpa Skip & come home with holes in his t-shirts, that was the telltale sign of his welding lessons.

The antique fireplace from St. John is once more visible in my sewing room. It was such a beautiful piece with it's original mirror & cast iron insert.

I grew up in London Ontario and the oldest house called Eldon House from the 1834 & this is so like the fireplace in the library area. I live in a modern house but love antiques and have them scattered around our home. The wood adds warmth to the areas and somethings are just timeless.

 The Eel River Townhouses

I'm so pleased at how the kitchens are coming together, these are all custom cabinets above the counter top area and below are all drawers. The appliances are now in place adding to the beauty of these units.

All the double kitchen sinks are below a pencil grid window that looks overlooks the woods.

The two units without the garage have the stack able washer/drier in the kitchen, that's popular in Europe. Around the corner is the linen closet and the door beside it houses the hot water tank & Hvac.

I found the Boston terrier's I made years back, Bill installed them on their crate doors.

Bridget Loree in her crate.

Baxter Loree in his crate.
 

Such a clever idea placing them under the stairs, before their crates stood out in the hallway. These dogs are known for their smelly farting so Bill installed an elevator fan/vent that goes into the garage, it's on a timer so they too can have good air once the curtain is down for the night.

I was delighted to receive this framed canvas photo taken by Nicholas of the Beaver Moon last November 2025. He had taken it & when I saw it said it would be a great photo as I named the property Beaver Moon. It was the Beaver Moon of 2012 that we purchased this beautiful property, so I thought it was quite fitting that it had it's name. I love handmade items from the heart.

I wanted to make a winter wreath to hang on our door & when I saw this wreath that we purchased from an auction, I knew it was right. Look at how real the faux pines look!

So I took pine cones & wrap 18 gauge florist wire around them & secured them around the wreath!

I was pleased with the outcome & it can now hang outside to greet those that come, on the front porch.

I added the dried thyme flower shoots that were in a vase in the kitchen to add aroma therapy, I loved the soft texture that this natural herb added!

At the bottom I put in two stems of lambs ear adding a velvety texture. All in all it was everything I already had, it was just a case of bringing it all together & voila a large natural winter wreath!

This is how the pets spend their evenings when the firebox is burning, it keeps us all warm & cozy through the winter storm's that blow our way off Miramichi Bay. Today it's coming up the south coast keeping the temperatures -2C, really easy for shovelling with no wind.

Thank you for visiting this snowy day on the north east coastline of New Brunswick, we're bracing for 25cm of snow over the next 24 hours. 

I'm hoping you are enjoying the beginning of this year.

Wishing you health & happiness!

Hugs,

Cynthia