Renovations - Oh My!

 With Mitchell gone now, the renovations will begin to get the house ready to rent again. First to remove the beige carpet that has been there his he moved in 5 years ago. These photos are all in reverse, this the ending of the work. The floor underneath is not in good shape, so lamante flooring will be installed on top. I love the fireplace but the chimney needs mending, so it's just decorative for now. 

 Boris doing his walk through. The kitchen is at the far end with an open concept design.

 Nicholas bringing in some fresh air.

 Standing in the kitchen, looking at the living room.

 The kitchen table heaped with stuff, oh my the work ahead of us.

 The kitchen, rather galley like. The ceramic floors just need the grout whitened.

 Grout cleaning in the bathroom too.

 Notice the whole in wall, Diesel was a bit bored waiting for Mitch to come home & put in a total of three holes. Those are now patched & ready for sanding & probably more mud too.

 The beige bedroom carpet has since been removed & new carpet will be laid. With the carpet out the flooring layout showed the two small bedrooms, one in green linoleum & the other in red. This is a long narrow room with a good closet.

 The living room at the beginning of the reno. Mitch's stuff to be organized for storage & shipping. That boy had a green thumb, his cactus  plants(by the fireplace) were thriving beautifully, the devils ivy was nearly dead, you could tell which plants needed water!

Nick cleaning up after Mitch. I have to laugh--as wee boys sharing a room, Nick through Mitch's things out of the bedroom  & there they sat in a heap, with Nick saying "He's just too messy", through time - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Tiny Stitches

 I've been working on some embroidery these days. Small tiny stitches are needed & only one strand of floss to stitch with. This is a first for me, for something this delicate. Well, I guess the Alex Anderson's Noah's Ark is right up there too.  The blocks finish at 4", the same size of hoop I'm using! It will be a small hanging that will have sashing between the blocks & a toy border around it, finishing at 22" x 22".

 So cute the blocks are & they remind me of the Campbell soup kids. Those polka dots were fun.

 The stitch work is so small & compact, great to take to appointments while you wait. I'm onto my 3rd out of 9 blocks now.

Doesn't she look like on of those Campbell soup kids? Two other girlfriends are doing this project too. Bev & Lynn are at different stages & both of them do better embroidery than me. As I've heard,  "Theory will inform, but practice convinces."  This is a bit of a fun challenge for me.

Peonies in Bloom

This morning the peonies looked so beautiful I had to pick them & bring them into the house to admire them with the fragrance so sweet.

I stood on a chair to do an aerial shot, to capture the three colours & full blooms. With all the movement of me rising on the chair...

 Diesel sought refuge in his crate, he's such a good dog. His shedding is starting to slow down this week, I emptied the canister vac, wow furry dust!! I still vacuum every other day as the house has a cream haze to it & you can tell when I vacuum as the colours in the carpets come back more vibrant. His beauty comes with a 'make work program'.

A Beautiful Long May Weekend

 What a beautiful place southwestern Ontario is to be this weekend. This is my front garden, the bleeding hearts are in full bloom & the mother's day basket adds a colourful splash.

 The peonies are in bud & will be out to show their colours by the end of this long weekend

 The rose bush is in bud too! This bush will continue to bloom beautiful pink roses, till the 1st frost hits it in the fall.

 

I forget the name of these perennials but the colour is a neon blue.

 The lily of the valley are all out in bloom, I've picked so many & have them through the house.

Flax & hen & chicks are enjoying the heat & humidly these days.

And this beautiful mommy's day basket again!

Thank you Mitch, I hear you've got snowflakes in Alberta today!

The bleeding hearts spilling out onto the front porch

 The boys...doing a 'sit-stay' in front of my studio - Kyrotime. The ivy was from the sprig of ivy on my girlfriend, Edie's casket in 1994, it rooted then I planted the ivy in the spring, it now fills my yards, surrounds my studio & is in every garden! Edie was from England, how appropriated to have English ivy & it does compliment the holly, 2 more plants to be added this weekend!

 Combines are in bloom & the seeds have blown everywhere, are coming up everywhere!

 Inside the lounge - looking out, the lilacs from outside are so fragrant when brought inside. My wee rabbits that Bill bought for me to decorate with, so cute.

 Pansies showing their colours

 A view looking into my studio window---see me in the blue/black striped top taking the photo? My girlfriend Liz, presented me with this Jim Shore rabbit that has a sticker on the bottom that states it can be used outdoors. I let the rabbit look out the window, he's too precious.

 I've two holly bushes to plant somewhere in the yard, I love to have holly through the house for Christmas.

 Lily of the valley in a mason jar on the bistro table, this is one of my favourite spring flowers!~

 Japanese lilac bush at the side of my studio, so fragrant. This is the one I cut & brought into the house.

 Pink tulips in the bird bath. Yes the water is blue, my friends John & Janine from England started me on this,  putting blue food colouring in to help stagnant the allege. This year Bill painted the birdbath interior white, wow the blue is so blue now.

 The holly bush has wee blue delicate flowers under it, maybe sweet Williams? Forget-me-knots?

 Diesel is sun worshiping, such a natural poise for howling at the moon. Behind him is the squirrel cage, I've had Squirrel 7 yrs now, he was a 5 day old pink, hairless babe when he fell from a front porch renovation. His mom never returned, so I mended his injured leg & with an eye dropper fed him every 2 hours baby formula. His leg isn't strong enough to be released back into the wild. He has gotten out twice & returned to his feeding perch each time, once so scratched up my heart went out to him. The last time he returned by sunrise, that was the home invasion blog in January. Girlfriends save batting & selvage cuts for his nest. The nest is removed in the summer with the 'spring cage cleaning' & the new fabric scraps are taken in for him to make another nest for the fall/winter. I think he's one of the oldest squirrels in the neighbourhood, we have foxes that live along the river that keep the population of these rodents down. I'm not fond of rodents however this squirrel has grown on me & reminds me of Squirrel Nutkin, a Beatrix Potter character.

 He will swing for pistachio nuts..

or any kind of nut, almond, walnut, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts...even sunflower seeds. God love him - all creatures great and small.

 Boris & Diesel, they've each their own personalities, 'the boys'

Some of these little mushroom bells were 1st found & brought home from a visit to England, then I found more in a shop in St. Mary's, so much closer to home! They look at home with the pansies.

Tom cat snoozing inside whilst Boris & Diesel are outside! I just love how his little back feet cross over one another as he sleeps. Sweet dreams Tommy.

Primitive Gatherings Meets Bareroots

I've been working on the buttonhole embroidery stitch these days, using it on one of the wool kits I picked up on the Elmira Mystery Bus Tour. I still have the willow tree leaves to embroider & the window panes to be done in all the windows. With the wee scraps of wool left over from this Primitive Gatherings Saltbox Table Mat 22"x 22"... I used them to make this Bareroots #165 House's Candle Mat 8"x8" 

And together - I really like the look! So the two shall work as one & when I've something to place in the center of the large circle, I'll just remove the small center House Candle Mat.

For now I have to take a time out from hand sewing,  all the embroidery has done my finger in, I must find that thimble! I wish my middle finger was tougher!! The layering project was a pleasant surprise,  with the use of the scraps --- everything has harmony, from the scene of houses & trees to the same colour palette such fun!

Sara's Scraps

Sara had sent a handful of 1 1/2" strips of every colour that was to be in her new quilt,  the fabric which she purchased on the Elmira Mystery Tour this February. I saw the strips as a colourfull palette-- that when placed with black made me think of licorice candy! I had fun playing with the scraps. This is them layered...

Here they are individually, I used diaper flannel for the batting so they're not as thick & flannel backing so they stay in place. Yummy & cute placemats for my outdoor bistro set. 

Mitchell's Departure for Calgary AB

Mitchell has begun his life out in Calgary AB. He has taken on the huge challenge of  living away, far away, from home & heading a new job in the elevator industry. With him now done Durham College in Toronto, we had him over to the homestead to present him with a graduation gift.  Last December when we were on the cruise (in the Carnival boat that stayed upright!)he saw a watch that showed all the workings through the front & back, he was also the penniless student & admired the watched & put it back. Bill & I decided it was the perfect gift 'of time' for him. We purchased the watch & held it for this occasion. Last year we also found a card that was so him, now was the time to bring everything together...

Later that Saturday night, Mitchell had his going away party at Crabby Joe's & I captured this picture of him, with his grandpa Ernie, his dad & brother Nick! a rare photo indeed. 

Mitchell left Monday morning on the 7am flight with his dad. I miss the tight hugs from my Boo Boo Bear already! ...he'll be home for Christmas, however I still have a heavy heart.  

I do have the grand-puppy Diesel to keep me busy till then!