Frustration :-( ....And Friends :-)

There has just been too much rain too fast & last night nearly did me in!

I had already had a frustrating day waiting on Bell to see why my phone line was dead...and to have them tell me that if it was at my end it was going to cost $60. I've only one jack in the house & I'd talked to Bill from China the morning before & it was working, then it went dead. I was to wait for a tech between the hours of 8am - 6pm & the quote from Craig, the fascia & soffit guy  had come & together we took measurements of the job. He'd not come yesterday, when he called the phone just kept ringing & no answering machine to pick up. I'd several calls that day, everyone though that I was not home. Frustrating, so when he called there was no answer...the phone line was 'not in service'.  Well at 2pm Michele the Tech (same woman that installed my phone in June) called me on my phone to say all is now well & it was a problem in Bell's line. That hurdle is now done & the phone works!

Then I went to pick up some transplanted flowers at Heather's that she gave me, lilac babies & day lilies. My mood had changed & I had my happy face with spirits high once more, and the sun was beginning to shine once more.

So with that task over I went down to the Coop to get a few items on sale with the kids coming. The clouds were building & I could see them moving in as I went into the store.  I said hello to the manager & he told me that there were red weather warning & I said I'd seen the dark clouds coming in. Once in the store I ran into several people I had not seen since my arrival, so the chatting began & with the shopping done, I checked out with groceries.  Happy with my purchases I ran to the car as the rain started coming down, after getting into the car the rain really started & I headed for home...oh my the rain made it impossible to see so I pulled into a driveway & waited. "I can do this" I told myself & started on the highway again...OMG I couldn't see!!! I pulled into the next driveway, turned around & waited (something I don't do so well)" I can do this" I said to myself once more & left the driveway & started up the highway again. The rain was still very heavy & I took a turn off the highway & went to my girlfriend Jean's place, I knew she would have a good cup of tea to calm me down after that incident. She did & a towel to dry me. :)
After the rain stopped I continued home...the backyard was flooded!!

See the tractor in the bush, it's on the other side of the pond at this point! The upside is everything is turning a lush green again...the lawns will need mowing. Yin/Yang.

 These large puddles could attract wildlife!

  This is one of the two pots on my porch awaiting geraniums, they're both filled with 3 1/2" of water. I measured!
Oh,  the rainbows that must be gracing the skies today, not in my area though!

Then I talked to Elizabeth, on my newly working phone, a girlfriend a couple of towns away & she & Aurella were coming over for a visit. It's always great to have a visit with girlfriends. We sat in the sunroom & I asked if they'd like coffee or tea, one of each. Well,  I'd the kettle & coffemaker plugged in on the same circuit...you see were this is going! I should've / could've , had hindsight with the toaster & kettle incidence, two heating elements = one popped breaker or blown fuse!  I popped the breaker, no worries I'll just pop it back & use another circuit...I opened the basement door to go to the electrical box and to to my horror,  as I looked down the stairs...

  It was flooded!!

 Things were floating...

 Things were submerged...

 Things were soaked...

 Everything that could had to be lifted...

 I've never...

 My new rummage sale door was soaked at the bottom...everything was soaked or floating...the girlfriends sensed my panic & told me to go get Deli, my next door neighbour.

I went next door to get 'HELP'  just driving into the laneway.  My new neighbours Margie & Deli, have been so good to me & the issues I've had to deal with.  Deli said, 'let me get my boots on.' & over the two came.
 Deli picked up Bills tools & putting them up to drain & saying 'it's a good thing this isn't salt water.' Always something positive from him! I felt sick with all of this but I'll tell you there's more to that saying 'I'll get by with a little help from my friends'!
 He couldn't get the breaker situation set right, so I call upon the past owners dad, John. John said he'd be right over & down into the basement he went & got the breaker set right.
The girlfriends stayed for coffee, decaffeinated for me as adrenaline was still running high. Nearly midnight when they left last night & I'd calmed down & was ready for bed.

Oh what I day I had....
I did get a bit of sewing in though waiting for Bell to get my phone line up & running.

R is for Richardson...or should I say Rain !?! what a day, I'll remember the day I made this pillow!

If it was not for all the help from my friends & neighbours keeping me from wits end, I'm ever so grateful. Thank you all.

And for those visiting, this is a witnessing of the 'good things' that people have to offer one another. Friendship!

Roman Shades Done!

Yes I've finally finished that task...what a monkey on my back it was. I think it was because I don't mass produce the same think & it was like 'Groundhog Day' over & over. I worked a lot of that colour too, it's the same check as the kitchen drapes. It was worth it though, now when I look into the sun room it was as I visualized.

 Light & airy,  perfect for those hot August days fast approaching.

    **************************************************************************************


 Elizabeth was over cutting out her wee red quilt pattern so I played on making a bolster pillow from the leftover greatroom curtains. It was meant to be, the scrap for the width was perfect & I used a bread & butter plate for the circle used at the end of the pillow & a 16" zipper was just right. I love it when things fit just right!

If you can dream it - you can do it.

Epcot motto.

 I promised my granddaughters that we would make friendship bracelets on their visit to the east coast. Well I had to teach myself first, it wasn't too bad. I used Mustang colours for mine, I think they'll have fun doing it.

       ************************************************************************************

 I took some time to make some gluten free yummies for my son Don  that's arriving with the family this Thursday, he too has a gluten sensitivity. Banana bread always tastes better after a few days.

I also made him date squares with the gluten free oatmeal & flour. I've been sampling & it tastes so good with a cup of tea. :)
I've lost 14 pounds now since I've come east, something tells me it's going to be a challenge with company & all the entertaining that's going to go on next week with Don, Melissa, & the kids & Bill coming too! Eat, drink & be merry...a happy time of getting together.
I'll have to use my video package that I got at the yard sale on the weekend, it's Leslie Simone's Walk Yourself Slim - 5 mile walk. I like walking. :) I like food. ;0 & I love my family. Let the festivities begin! I'll just walk on...later.

Playtime Procrastination

I've been doing just that, playing with a few ideas & simple pleasures!

 I've been looking at this plain brown cushion...hummm I put a pin in the center & began to play...

 I machine appliqued four anchors on it. It's a pattern I use often for that nautical feel, it's on quilts & hooked rugs. Simple but effective, making the pillow more interesting. I used a leftover fabric strip from the roman shades. Yes still three to do! Did I mention the word procrastination. lol

The cat hair attaches quite nicely to that chocolate brown pillow, ask Bose if she cares! lol

 On this day, it's still & quiet -  look in the wing back chair...

What's that saying...'Let a sleeping dog lye'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My girlfriend Jean was over the other night & had left, only to call me to tell me to go in front of my vehicle & look at the beautiful rainbow at the end of the lane way. Well I did just that with camera in hand & here's that beautiful rainbow!

 It really had more colour in it looking at that day. Nature loves to give us a free show that makes us smile. I love rainbows, you can't have rainbows without rain.  And have we had rain!! The basement is wet again, it took months to dry & two days to get it all wet again. My studio had five different areas leaking, I'm so glad that the roof will be fixed soon. But I do like rainbows...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



 Yes Stoneware Horse is now done & I just have to bind it off. It is the biggest rug I've made & was fun hooking it. The pressing of the rug really finished it off nicely. The chair pad is nearly done,  just 2 more rounds around it & I can finish it off too.

 Tilda got a new sweater.  I've not knit in a while & the pattern from the Sea Shore Tilda book is really off. I'm going to show it to other knitters to see if they can make heads or tails of it. Nowhere was there any sleeves to it?? I know how to make a raglan sleeve & it was a raglan case off after the 'trunk' (UK pattern) was made, so I made my own pattern. This sweater goes on another doll, one that I've not started yet but you'll see later. :-)

 Another Salvation Army find this week.  I go looking every Thursday when I'm in town, I love the hunt of a good find!

 It finishes this chair of beautifully. So much work went into this $1.50 find, I love it!

This mornings find at the yard sale in the Black River Centennial Hall, perfect cottage dishes for the kids & grand-kids & they'll will be here this Thursday. :-)

I picked flowers again this morning, I just love the look of these ones. The leaves have a soft look like a fern or the yarrow's leaf. They also remind me of sunny yellow shank buttons!

Have a great weekend everyone! It's a rainy one here so I'm going to sew...those roman shades.

Sunday Fun

 Sunday morning began with a real cool breeze off the water & plenty of sunshine. With it being so cool I was able to have the doors & windows open with no curtains or shades to diffuse the hot light. It was a perfect morning! What could I do on this perfect day...have a me day! yes...

That would be a day of sewing what I want to sew, not what needs sewing(those roman shades are the song that never ends, just three more) I was looking at my bathmat & how old it was looking, but still in good shape. I'll monogram it to give it a bit of a personal touch. I had two hours before church, plenty of time.

 Here's the plain bathmat...

 Here it is with the family monogram on it, I think that did the trick! I used the 'R' from CIRCUS from one of my Tilda books. The fabric is from an old wool blanket of Boris' that he shredded, it's been washed more than a dozen times so no shrinking with this wool. I used heat & bond to hold it in place while the blanket stitch was sewing it in place. Voila!

 On my way upstairs to audition this bathmat, I smiled at Tommy have a snooze on my Stoneware Horse.  I was working on it last night but with the black/grey coloured yarn it was getting hard on my eyes & I just left it on the couch.  Tommy's happy, a cozy cat enjoying his Sunday morning too. :-)

 The finished product adds a personal touch to my newly painted bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On my way to & from church I couldn't help but view the colours that graced the long lane-way. When I got home I grabbed a pair of scissors & Boris & I went flower cutting. How blessed of a day with all natures beauty to have it 'just there'.

And now here!  Purples, yellows, & whites, beautiful!

I installed a wee shelf that was a thift store find this week in the newly painted laundry room & now have a place to put a plant but for now it's the fresh lane-way flowers.

 The wild rose bushes are in abundance here & I purchased one for the other cottage last year. The smell from these beauties are heavenly. There are dark pink bushes & light pink bushes everywhere this summer. It sure is pretty here at the cottage & this Sunday has allowed me to see & feel this special place in the maritime.


Now for the sewing that I've been longing to do. My girlfriend Ursula introduced me to the world of Tilda by Tone Finnanger. Her designs are whimsical, stuffed toys, quilted bags, applique, so much of the things that I enjoy doing. So I ordered from Amazon some of her books, today I had the time to 'play' with her design of the Tilda Angel doll. I did not make her angel wings as I want her clothes to be able to be changed. The wings are sewn onto the clothes...maybe her clothes will come with wings. LOL

 This is Tilda's arm... yes Bev it's small! Tone Finnager gives instruction on techniques & lots of pictures to show how. That's a plastic batten piece from the roman shades & I used a pencil sharpener to get a bit of a point on it. It was a hint from her book.

 Here's her body, arms, legs that are stuffed to the knees. Once the knees have stitches in them I can continue to finish stuffing the legs.

 The breeze & sun in the sun porch made this day an awesome day. The mosquitoes are very bad here & with the bats nearing extinction from the 'white nose fungus' I feel sad that something is not being done quicker & sooner rather than later, when it may be too late. Extinction is Forever.

 Tilda's all sewn together. Her hair needs to be found in town somewhere...then her eyes & blush are applied.

 She a whole 24 inches tall.

 Here she is wearing her wraparound dress & pantaloons. I'm hoping to have more sewing playtime but in less than 2 weeks the cottages will have people in the again. It's always great seeing family!
And those roman shades will be fully installed but first I have to finish three more. Procrastination, I really let it steal my time - today was a me day with playtime! Ursula your next! Lynn we'll have some Tilda Time when I get back!

Sew Much Fun!

Painting Resumes...

I've been painting this week, the laundry room & the upstairs bathroom. I used the same colour in both rooms & really like the outcome. I used Benjamin Moores Origins paint from Canadian Tire, Palest Taupe. It's a light colour but allows the white trim to still have a fresh presence. Here's the before & after photos ---

Before - this is a photo I took last November 

This is today's look to that wee room. I'm going to paint the ceiling out in white, the brown trim around the room weighs heavy overhead. The guys painted out my kitchen ceiling & it looks great.

It seems so much brighter & lighter upon entering the room, you have to travel through that room to get to the downstairs bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This to is from the November photo shoot. I found it bizarre that this bathroom was painted the same colour as the lounge colour...which was changed over the winter.
I'm really into light colours these days & the dark things come from accent decorating which can easily be changed seasonally.

 When a room is small like this I use the same paint & wrap it right around the room & the ceilings really gives you a feel of the colour & it appears higher because there's not dividing lines. Paint is your biggest impact to a room & the cheapest way to decorate to achieve the feel you want.

 These are a pair of my favourite bathroom paintings - Before The Bath & After The Bath by Paul Peel. He was originally from London Ontario & died in Paris in his early 30's from influenza. The work he did do in his life time was amazing.  I've view many of his pieces in the art galleries in Ontario & have gone through his birth home in the London Pioneer Village numerous times. What I think is really great is I went to school with one of his ancestors, Peggy Peel, way back in the 60's. Peggy was a very kind, soft spoken girl, I wonder where she is now?

I've just the hall & spare bedroom to paint now, family will be arriving in less than 2 weeks so I'll do it after they leave. I can't believe that summer is already half over, although it sure is hot & it's gorgeous living next to the water during these heatwaves, summer breeze everyday!
Winter here would be another story...

Boris just wants to laze in the heat, I'm always trying to get him out of the sun. He had heat stroke as a puppy & I worry with the sun being so intense.
The intense sun is what created water in the lawn mower's gas tank! The tank was low on gas & had morning sun on it, day after day & the rest is now history. A very expensive lesson that the sun is not always our friend!
Stay cool & hydrated & enjoy these summer days, savory them in your memory to pull out in February when it feels that winter will never end.
Fun & Sun for now!