The End Of October, So Beautiful!

 The end of October has been so beautiful! The days & nights are not normal temperatures & like everything else, this too will pass.

Today the winds are arriving from the northwest & which will strip a lot more leaves, the reds have already left us. Seeing the golds & browns reminds me of my trip to Alberta last year as that's their fall colour. I do love the red from the maple trees, so beautifully vibrant this year!

There was still colour in the gardens this week, here are a few photos of this week.

The cement urn, birdbath & statue have all been put into storage until the arrival of spring next year.

The gardens will be cleaned out in the next couple of weeks & mulch put on them for their winter blanket to keep them warm under the snow that will soon be upon us.

It makes my heart sing to see natures beautiful colours against the shorter dark days that we are having.

The sunsets are still filling the sky with colour but the skies are getting heavy with colder air.

This is the same sky in the first picture, the clouds are so heavy above the water!

Enough of being outside, let's go inside & I'll show you what I've been up to!

 

This Christmas we are going to set up a large Christmas village!

I'm seeing village pieces that I've not seen in over 15 years when we decorated the window ledge at work in London ON. I was done in our showroom's large window ledge, our work building ( The Pop Shoppe on Trafalgar St in London) the building sat between a variety store on one side & Cuddy Foods on the other side & it provided a visual entertainment to the employees, neighbours, & children walking to school. This year it will invoke some old & new memories for our family.

Finding all the accessories has been a treasure hunt! We've been surprised with other Christmas surprises too!

Repairs are being made to broken pieces, if it's broken round here we fix it!

Bill has such a sense of humour! lol

I've been watching the vlogger Marion Manner's Christmas village & she inspired me to do her techniques & it will be a labour of love for Bill & me to put our village together!

She says each house should have three trees around it. She also gives tutorials to make trees yourself so off into the woods we went & I'll show you later our handmade trees from our woods!

As you can see it will be a bustling little village!

We are planning a three-tiered village with the lighthouse being on the highest area & another lighthouse near the lowest area near the breaker wall that we're going to make.

With looking for the village buildings, a memory was fond!

I saved all the wrappers from chocolates from England that I just loved. Old world Santa warms my heart of Christmas past.

It was challenging to make these as it was an idea in my head that I needed to get out & I'm pleased with the end product!

Here is the finished product of the ten finished ornaments & are finished on the back too!

Bill is going to drill small holes to the top & I'll add a silver cord & a holly with berries on the top!

Here's how to do it!

I found that putting the silver braided cord, that I purchased at the Dollarstore with Elmer's glue that was purchased there too! I put a thick bead of glue around the edge & then added the length needed around the lid.

Oh!! The metal base of this project is the upper & lower lid from tomato paste! I used egg cups to keep the project up to dry.

You can see the chocolate wrappers in the blue box, I opened them & drew a line around them using the lid for my pattern.

Once the Father Christmas was cut out, I used ModgePodge on the metal then added the paper & once that was in place with air bubbles out, I added more ModgePodge to the top & the silver cord. The project was then placed on an egg holder to dry.

Once dried on that side, do the same to the other side!

I just loved the finished project! I love making something from nothing!

The lid would have gone into the recycle bin as would the chocolate wrapper, doesn't look like garbage now! 2021 is the finished project from an idea that I held since 2008.

So happy to be seeing it on the Christmas tree this year!

Here is the wrapper before a circle pattern is added & it is cut out. 

It's a project that took several days to make but it is here to stay for years to come with the ModgePodging that I did to hold it all together!

I just loved the scenes on these wrappers, I was shocked to see that on the back of the box stated best used before 13 Sept 2008! 

Oh my, how time flies, I loved them then just as much as now!

They seemed like little books of the past to me.

And it all started with these little lids!

I made this wall hanging to hang from Bill's bookcase. He has many Zoom meetings with work & I wanted to honour his Grandpa Richardson with this service.

When I was making this it hit me!

As I was adding the Canadian flag that I see as our country, this was not the flag flying when the soldiers in the past honoured. 

The flag that we have flown since the reveal on February 15th, 1965, I don't remember the day as a 7 yr old child but it hit me... I do remember them & the country they fought for me to live in today.

I will remember.

I just have the binding & some more machine quilting to finish it before it is hung in his office.

A fun day in Chatham NB!

John Vickers, a Miramichi man, is a pumpkin connoisseur that has been carving for nearly 20 years!

They call this 'The Great Pumpkin Walk" & it was stunning to see!

With just over 100 pumpkins on the walk on Water Street, they are illuminated from the solar panel/electric lanterns!

Let's take a stroll!

As far as the eye can see down Water Street, there are lit carved pumpkins made from polyurethane moulds & will last forever!

It takes about 45mins to carve a pumpkin & John Vickers has carved over 100 pumpkins!

Such a labour of love for the community, thank you, John Vickers!

There is such a wide variety of pumpkins, scary, funny, cute, stunning... 

My favourite was the ship!

So much work & planning went into this project & so many people will enjoy this!

The downtown was busy with people & my friend Dorice 9on the right) was greeted by many people that were known to her. She enjoyed the pumpkin walk too!

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What a talent this man has!

This is such a charming village within the area in Miramichi, that is known as Chatham.

The kids will just love this Paw Patrol carving! lol So cute!

There was sun yesterday afternoon too, making the trip to Chatham enjoyable.

Today is rain & wind, very eerie for the Halloween that is to come soon.

Congratulations to our youngest son Nicholas for being published in the Elevator World magazine!

This is the photo that won 2nd place for a photo of Projects In Action.

He's working on a circular glass elevator installation.

He is third generation elevator technician. My father, his grandfather Skip, invented the 'Skip Lift' the 1st handicap vertical platform lift in Canada in 1972.  Dad would be so proud, I know I am that all three of our sons are in the elevator industry. Yes, it does have its 'ups & downs. lol

Thank you for stopping in for a visit! 

I'm glad that you came & do come back again as the Christmas village comes to life.

Special Times & Surprises

 This month has been one of the happy surprises!

A yes it does come in three's!

Bill drove to Ontario to pick up his father's Harley. My FIL decided that his wishes were to happen in his living years & one of his wishes was for Bill to have the last Harley that he would have ever rode.

Harley Davidson's are big & heavy & the trailer that has faithfully moved us-east is not so good after Bill had a moose tangled on the front of in on a Plaster Rock mishap. Remember the building of the apartments & he & the granddaughter Madison moving seven full IKEA cabinets, complete with seven fridges & stoves (yes, too much for one trailer) but they did make it only 4 hours away from home when the axle broke. 

So, with that knowledge, Bill set out to find a smaller trailer to bring Ernie's Harley home to New Brunswick. Covid has made a huge shortage in so many products but luck would have it that a manufacturer of trailers in SW Ontario had put one into production for Bill. Thank you Miska Trailers!

The new little trailer, it is a beautifully made trailer.

Bill is over the moon with his new Harley Davidson!

His dad gave him everything that belonged to him with riding that bike, Bill has his dad's kevlar jacket that fits him perfectly!

He rode the bike around the parking lot & I thought I heard his heart sing with all that rumbling! lol

It is a beautiful bike that has been looked after very well & has travelled very far in its day.

Bill & Nick have already taken it apart and washed & hand polished it to be put away for the winter which should be upon us soon. The weather is so unusual these days!

The bike after its hand polishing is all clean & sparkly! Bill has had his bike licence since his teens, he had a very bad bike accident wrote the bike off & never replaced it. This is a special bike for him to ride out here. He's trying to think of a way to get Bridget & Baxter on the back, this should be interesting!

Nick & Don were there to help Bill load the trailer for its long journey out east.

Ernie with his Harley shirt on - Bill with Eastcoast Lifestyle & the two logos shall meet!

Bill with his dad Ernie.

Ernie with thee grandsons Nick & Don. 

Everyone went to the A&W as grandpa's treat & all went their separate ways from there. xXx

Bill brought back a wonderful surprise for me too!

My friend Sandy had a labour of love for me for this birthday but the refinishing of it & shipping issues were leaving her fretful. Bill could bring it back with him but she needed to get the package to him. It was pouring rain in London when she went to give the package to Don & Stephanie but they didn't hear the door, so the next-door neighbour Val came to the rescue & took the package to give to them. 

Then from neighbour Val, the relay went to Don, then Bill, and finally me!

The box was custom made to protect the precious item inside! I love her labelling! xXx

Sandy is an antique dealer & the owner of Red Door Antiques in London ON. She has an eye for antiques & I do miss our shopping time together going into antique shops for that rare find! 

She spied this & instantly thought of a unique birthday gift for me! 

It's a Clapp & Bailey's Remnants mercantile box from the late 1800s. 

Sandy also did the research of this store & the owners & printed it out for me!

The corner dovetailed corners are so gorgeous to me! Quality & craftsmanship from the past!

But wait there's more!!

Sandy handpicked several fat 1/4's to place in the bottom drawer & the top sliding drawer had a beautiful red scarf in it! The inside & the drawer were all relined in a rich red felt. I have it in my sewing room now & will take a few pics once I tidy up a bit. lol

But wait there's still more! Sandy also packed a surprise for Bridget & Baxter from her, chewy Milk-bone treats. She always has them for the furbabies, her last visit in 2017 & their Christmas's after that are these treats, a special treat from her. xXx

Thank you, Sandy!! for gifting me this beautiful mercantile box that I will treasure & think of you.xXx

Nicholas & Leslie would arrive the next day & the house went from just me to the adding of three more! I love a full house & in 68 days the kids will be here for Christmas too! 

Oh, the shenanigans that go on with this trio of boys! xXx

Leslie made her wonderful lava cakes, from scratch! So delicious!!

I topped mine with vanilla yogurt ice cream & walnuts!! Thank you, Leslie!! xXx

Several days later Don & Stephanie arrived! The house was filling & the newlyweds' Mitch & Nicole were visiting her parents this Thanksgiving in Kelowna BC. They just celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary there! 

Don made a delicious rib barbeque with meat from Miramichi Meats, so delicious the next day too!!

With don's ribs, he also made mushroom cap's filled with creme cheese & bacon, cream cheese & scallops, cream cheese & lobster, served with finely grated coleslaw! Oh my, it was delicious!

The coffee bar was a big hit too! With everyone needing their coffee & tea, it was used morning, noon, & night! Such a grand spot to work from!

Bill is having a coffee before going to the Moncton Airport, thank you for installing that much-needed coffee bar area in the dining room! xXx

With the kids gone back home to work, the house is quiet once more with just the furbabies running the show. This too will pass in just 61 days they start flying back!

Rexton the Manx having a nap after being lovingly covered by Leslie. xXx

Thing One & Thing Two wearing their Halloween collars, Bridget has a spider collar & Baxter a gentlemen's tie of skulls.

                                                                     Handsome Baxter.

                                                                        Sweet Bridget.

Two rabbits are seen around here lately, this one & a white one with black spots. They look to be from someone's bunny hutch!

Bill planted two new baby hydrangea bushes on each side of the new fence vignette.

The cement bird bathe is still being used by the birds as there is no cold weather yet!

The cement urn with its annuals is still blooming for the bees!

Nick took this photo of a bee on a marigold flower! 

The Boston's are supervising the planting of the new bushes.

Jocelyn's retirement plants have taken a liking to their new home in front of the fence. It was a long harsh winter for them but they bounced back. Jocelyn did say they were very hardy!

You would not think this to be in the middle of October!

The Cosco mums are in full bloom & have changed their colour & are turning a mauve colour now.

The backyard garden with our marigolds from seed did so well this year! They turned into bushes!!

The newly transplanted limelight are enjoying their new home next to the rain barrel by the potting shed.

The morning glories & rose bushes are still blooming too!

I put a paper bag into the trellis with the morning glories to keep wasps away, simple yet effective.

As this vignette matures it will be a lovely view from the dining room.

We made this view to view & it has been such a positive lovely sight to see through the three seasons before it is buried in snow for the winter season.

For having only 12 tomatoes plants we sure had a lot of tomatoes! With the last ripe batch, I made Chili Sauce for now & froze the other two bags.

Photos to enjoy, that were taken by our youngest son Nicholas.

So many Blue Jays around here & they're enjoying the freshwater from the birdbath.

Our shoreline viewing the Bay Du Vin Island. Sometimes It always amazes me to see the beauty where I live through the lens of others!

This area is known for its spectacular sunsets & friends & family that stay here run out at sunset to capture nature's beauty of saying good night.

The sunset has moved its position since summer but it is still beautiful to view!

Nature at its best!

I did do some sewing of an autumn-coloured square quilt with a Bonnie Sullivan design but it still is in pieces & I'll show it next blog. It was more work than I thought!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. 

I hope you are doing well & that Thanksgiving was one that warms your heart as you think of all you are to be thankful for. 

Wishing you Health & Happiness!

Cynthia xXx