This is a long post, go get a cuppa whilst you have a visit.
The furkids & I are doing well & have survived the pups first real winter.
Yes, with the warmer temps & some April showers, the snow should start melting quicker, & the last couple of days have been great for just that! The snow is nearly away from my potting shed which will allow me to open the door for the first time this year!
Mornings are not for the Boston's they like to sleep in, staying all warm & cosy in their beds.
A popular trait with the Bostons is that they sleep under their covers, this is a black blanket!
Once out front under that warm cosy spot, the stretching begins. Limb by limb till the wee tail begins to wag & they're ready to greet the day...
Or each other, they sleep in their own individual crates & have their own blankets. I have done this from the day they arrived. Baxter gets upset with Bridget always taking his crate over & the whining begins with him to let me know, 'She's doing it again!'.
Rexton the Manx is enjoying the windows & the activity of bird watching in the laundry room.
Nice poise in the photo Rexton! Scary cat... not! LOL
Mr Boots is just being himself, a Boston terrorizer to Bridget & Baxter, that cat rules those two!
He waits for them & then doesn't allow them to pass into the kitchen until he says so!
I don't know what or why he dislikes those two but makes it his mission to control them. He looks scary in this photo with his eyes lit up!
Baxter wants to play & Bridget is always after Baxter to stop, she is truly scared by that the cat!
Now get! And don't come back till I let you! lol He's a mean one, Mr Boots!!
Jocelyne gave me her leftover cutoffs from her new bathroom curtain sheers & I remade the leftovers into an upper curtain in Bill's bathroom. The fabric design really complimented the stained glass window I made back in the 1990's. In the century home, it hung vertically with a roman shade as the upper valance.
The window has a finished look to it now & a big thank you, Jocelyne, for thinking of me & my creative needs!
The summer dress is now finished!
And I'm glad I did not make a top with it. It's hard to find an inexpensive dress these days & I've had this fabric for a long time. I think it was going to be a midi-skirt back in the day it was purchased.
With the nice weather coming it will make a nice going into town or Sunday dress, now don't I sound rural!
Another block from the Garden Mystery Quilt, my goal is to have it finished by the time the snow is finished with us!
I had some evening handwork with this Classic Potholder Kit that was purchased at a Cracker Barrel in the USA. I love that chain store & restaurant & would have Bill stop in for a meal or purchase. Well back a few, maybe quite a few, years ago I purchased this kit for one of the kids & no one enjoyed working with it. I saw it & thought to finish the loops, which are cutoffs of sock toes. One, then two, th7en three, then four. I had so much fun choosing the colours that I thought I would purchase the refill loops. The original bag shown in the picture was $3.99 & today the same bag is $27.89. Wow, I didn't see that coming! I will be weaving the threads through or purchasing socks at the Giant Tiger for the next project. Time certainly is money!
I made this pillow top from the Amherst NS trip to see Kaffe Fassett several years ago & trying to tie up some UFO's is challenging for me. I'm going to have to live to be over 100 years old now, an incentive isn't it! lol
I prewashed this trim, hindsight from the dining room chair covers I made in blue/white toile years back, after the first washing the trim was shrunk around the fabric. I'm going to use that trim on several of the summer pillows that I will soon be making. I like learning hindsight from other people, not first hand! lol
I made a chickadee from felt, the free pattern was used for Christmas tree decorations, I thought it would look nice in a grapevine wreath on the potting shed door.
Great in front of the TV project at night.
Another UFO finished! These are 1" & smaller, finished strips. I had just enough black trim from my dress tunic front, to use as accents to this Oriental fabric placemat. The fabric collection was from strips of a quilt I made Bill when he got his Brampton apartment a decade or more ago.
Love houndstooth fabric, such a timeless classic!
I was changing the bedding this week & Mr Boots was on the mattress. I thought he would move with the kingsize sheets being thrown high into the air to reach the other side of the bed. No, he just slowly moved onto the fitted sheet as it was fitted. Then I thought I would lose him with the flat sheet, no. The duvet comforter, no, he just slowly would move to where it was finished, the top quilt, no just stayed put.
This 24-pound cat is so easy going with me, now the Boston's, he has his own plans with them!
Baxter is modelling a denim borg lined coat that I had made for Boris. It fits him perfectly!
Bridget & Baxter are 16 months old now.
They are very food driven & pay close attention when they know that treats are involved! lol
They fill my days with so much joy, I couldn't imagine not having this pair.
Doesn't this look like a hug?
Wrestling is still a daily event with them, jackets on or off!
Their personalities are so different & together they are so good.
Old Tom moves to the sunlight these days.
It's wonderful seeing him in with us in the great room, whenever the afternoon sun graces us you can find Tom bathing away.
**+
I walked int the stained glass studio today to find this gorgeous flaming red beauty! In just one week it burst open. I brought it downstairs to place next to the large table decor to give you an idea how big it is!
This gorgeous amaryllis is 30" tall!
Pussy willows, we have pussy willows all through our lane! Bill & I were out walking the lane this weekend & what a delightful find! I placed them in my maple syrup pail & dollar store hydrangeas.
I found the vintage milk bottles at Open Door Antiques in Chatham NB, always a find to be found there! I love stepping back in time, seeing things that are familiar to me, I grew up in the city & we had milk & cottage cheese delivered right to our door.
The parking area & lane are now without snow & we saw the red buds of the maples against the bright blue sky this weekend. Soon...
When I started blogging this morning snow & ice were still holding the door closed. It's suppertime now looks like a huge puddle in front of the door now!
The west still is snow covered.
The north which is our backyard has the drifts of the snow storms still 4 feet in areas.
The top of the breaker wall is visible now & grass is showing to the robin's delight.
The snow waves of winter, the last remnants of the horrid noreaster's that pounded us this winter.
As everything, this too will pass & be a memory of the 60th winter that I have survived in Canada!
I know that I need the changing seasons & I'm looking forward to seeing spring literally spring from the ground as the bulbs come to life! Such a wonderful rejuvenating feeling it makes people smile & the heart sing!
Have a great week, wherever you are.
Thank you for visiting the northeast rural coast!
Cynthia
