Summer = Family Visiting, & Tastes of Summer

 It is so good to have our borders opened up again and have family visiting again.

Don, Stephanie, & their 15-month-old 'little girl', Millie, a St Bernard/Newfoundland dog, drove the 16-hour trek from London ON, to spend time with us their parents for two weeks.

The time went by so fast & it was wonderful having them here!

As soon as the kids took their belongings to their room, Millie felt at home, they turned around & took this photo of her on the queen size bed. Millie is such a wonderful gentle giant of soft fur.

She was always curious about what I was doing & every time I looked up...way up, there was Millie!

Look up, look way up, there's Millie!

Don took this photo of Millie in the backyard, she loved the freedom of having her own dog park, if only those two Boston terriers, Baxter & Bridget would just want to play with her. They had not seen another dog since 2017 & it took quite some time to get them sorted out with this large, I want to play with you, youngster. 😄

Don worked on this photo trying to get all three to look at the camera was nearly impossible, he did get all three tongues hanging out this hat summer day! 

Stephanie did get this photo of the trio on their property in Point aux Carr NB. 

And Stephaine got this one of Don & his dad Bill walking down their lane to the shore & campsite.

What a lot of work that was done for the three days of camping there!

Don, Stephanie, & Millie at their campsite. So much nature to surround them!

Bill giving Stephanie a 'How to drive the tractor' lesson. 

Stephanie also got a lesson on the branch mulcher, she was clearing hedges larger than herself!

But it was the tractor that she liked best & rode it again to mow the lane before they left for the long trek home.

Millie waits patiently on a cleared area, with her blanket to keep her clean, as work gets done.

Millie just wanted to play with Bridget & Baxter but those two did not want to play with Millie. 

Millie swam every day twice a day! She loved the new toy that was bought for her to play with, in the water.

But these two took hold of it & shred it into two pieces that I had to repair by sewing it back together with dental floss to give it strength as a whole piece again. The Boston's never saw that toy again!

I got my 2nd vaccine the day before the kids arrived & I was nervous as I was mixing my vaccines. 1st was a Phzier the 2nd a Moderna, that I might have a reaction but it was just like the 1st shot... absolutely nothing but a sore arm for just a day this time. 

I'm still sewing the border on this wallhanging. I really wish that I had not sewn it onto the center blocks, it is so hard to get under the machine & is taking so much time refolding to do a small area at a time. I also had to use applique pins to hold all the wool applique pieces on! I spent 1 1/2 hours the other morning & not much got done to what I am used to. I tried sewing it by hand but that was futile too. Slow & steady to the end of this project. 

The new wallhanging Under the Harvest Moon BOW was released with the 2nd block...I'm not sure if I will start it & work on this too. Both are stunning designs by numerous designers.

The Nova Scotia strawberries were in season & Sobey's had them at a good price so Bill & I washed, hulled, & froze them to be enjoyed this winter/spring till they are fresh again next summer.

It really went fast with our production line & fun conversation!

Oh, the tastes of summer!

We have had excellent BBQ with Don & his cooking on the ones he brought here. Stephaine had him surrender a couple as she wanted a dining area in the backyard & he had so many it looked like a showroom of BBQs! He prepared ribs for our 34th Anniversary dinner on the 4th of July. I could not remember the last time I ate ribs & they were delicious!! So was the pull-apart pork, oh my I will miss his BBQ cooking & will have to relive it viciously through the Facebook postings of his backyard BBQing in ON. XOXO 

The summer sunsets in our backyard this time of year are spectacular!

Each one different & I know the good ones as the house will glow red from the colours coming through the windows that face the backyard.

I had a repair job to do on Stephanie's pillow, the one I made her in 2018 for Christmas. 

Millie liked it so much she took out three of the four corners by sucking & nibbling on it!

The idea I had to repair the corners was one of a photo book of long ago, the way that photos were held in place with the corner triangles!

Once sewn in place, I serged the edges clean!

Once the black triangles are flipped back on the front & the back & a new zipper are installed at the bottom, the pillow will be as good as new with a different design.

I asked Stephaine what one word described her feeling when riding her bike and she replied without hesitation 'freedom'. Little did she know that I was making a pillow for her that Christmas in 2018.

I forgot to take a finished photo but Stephanie had tears in her eyes when she saw that her pillow was as good as new!

Bill & I had an idea! What about making one of our huge backyard evergreens a gnome home?

I asked for a door that was rounded on top & he had picked up scrap old wood from Cecile, my girlfriend, to help tidy her yard. When he put it in our firepit to burn, I asked if we could keep the wood for an old-looking sign for the woods & he came up with the door idea!

It was perfect & then I wanted to add a stained glass window to it!

I did it in gold to look like there was light in the tree. lol

Here it is with the gnomes that live there!

Bridget & Baxter are curious to see the new gnome home vignette & are being attacked by mosquitoes, look at Bridget on the left, she's dotted with them!

I love the way our ideas married together making this backyard gnome vignette

And here is the Gnome Home by the Bay, it turned out wonderful & whimsical! Great job Bill! XO

The sweet pea is flowering & loving its new home in the front garden!

It has the prettiest coloured flowers coming out, these were started from seeds in the house when snow blanketed the ground!

I'm so glad I took a picture of this flowering rose bush because after the rains from Hurricane Elsa left there were no flowers left either!

The Anniversary Garden is beautiful this time of year & Heather has helped me with the succession of the flowering plants so there is constant colour going on!

The hummingbirds, bees, & butterflies are plentiful too!

I followed a fellow blogger Julia - Of Petals & Wool for years watching & learning from her garden as we both live in the same province. She truly has a green thumb & a lovely garden every year. Sow, between Julia & Heather I hope to become 'The Company I Keep' as the saying goes!

The lavender bush is looking lovely this year too!

I've been reading Beatrix Potter in the Garden book & have really enjoyed my time reading it. I like her saying that as she ages she is not so fussy & goes with the Darwinian theory that the strongest of plants will survive. lol So she plants many flowering bushes over little fussy flowers, I too will be looking for flowering bushes that go on sale at the gardening centers.

Lambs ear is everywhere & I've been giving lots of it away for other gardens to flourish with it. I cannot help but touch it, it has the feel of velvet, how rich is that?!

Daisies are everywhere & when Bill & I see them we think of our dear friend Liz, it was her favourite flower & this year it is the border flower on the west side of the yard all the way to the shore!

My geraniums are very stressed this year & have red leaves, too much water or sun?

The potting shed garden is looking fresh these days.

The morning glories, one of my favourite are starting their climb upwards!

I'm enjoying the sound of the fountain on the small deck of the potting shed. It faces the sunporch windows that when they are open you hear the water running, so soothing.

The ever-spreading lamb's ear has been planted against the back deck, where it can spread out as far as the lawn mowing will let it. 

We've black mulched it to help protect it from the hot setting sun since this photo. 

The small backyard garden has the flowering marigolds that we grew from seed.

The kids have safely made it home & the house is quiet once more until Nicholas & Leslie arrive at the end of the month. I've not seen them since October of last year, it will be wonderful to see them again!

Thank you for visiting me on this virtual visit, I hope you too are enjoying this fast season of summer & are enjoying everything that comes with it. 

Wishing you a wonderful week of health & happiness!

Cynthia

Millie relaxing in the kitchen on the cool ceramic floor.