Very Overdue Post!

 Hello & thank you for stopping in on a very overdue post!

Life has gotten in the way of my posting with so many fun days with family. xXx

The Alberta kids came from a visit & so many activities were going on, including my 66th birthday!

The kids all took Bill & me out for an Indian dinner at Namestte in Miramichi, it was delicious, the last time we ate Indian that good was on our England trips. A wonderful warm night, and the A/C was broken, the kids said it was an experience of being in India lol.

Yard work was done with many hands and the weather was perfect! The Alberta kids came from a drought in their province & here we are growling about the rain. I'm feeling grateful that the weather has been manageable for us here in the NE of New Brunswick. There are so many natural disasters going on right now with climate change.

The front yard was beautiful this year & the limelight loved all the humidity that this summer had to offer. The hanging Costco basket was a messy addition with the spent flowers dropping on the front porch every day...I'll be rethinking those next summer. lol

The laneway covering that Bill worked so hard on looked lovely again. He hand rolled all that top cover on, bucket after bucket!

The Gnome Home is complete with the roof that is now in the aging stage for the cedar to go grey. When I see how close that huge sick tree was to the back porch/great room if it were to fall & with the winds that come with living at the shoreline, another feeling of relief & grateful to see such a view!

I'm so glad Bill took out two of the limelight so these ones could spread out!

When Bill saw the Alberta kids' pics at the airport he noticed what t-shirt Mitch was wearing & he too wore his to the airport in Dieppe to get the kids. These two are devoted NASCAR fans every weekend! 

These two Alberta kids work so hard with the outside work & love it! Mitch & Nicole are always working outside when they come for a visit. We smile at the wonderment of their work when they leave. And are happy to know that they will return for Christmas and another beautiful season here in the NE.

They were making mulch from the down tree branches, the path in the woods is becoming such a beautiful journey through the woods!

The newest playtime now is the horseshoe pits that were put in with their visit!

The plan is to clean up this area for a L-shaped pergola that will house the BQ's for Donald's cooking.

The firepit was moved & made larger too, making it closer to the BQ area for nighttime entertaining.

Bill is fixing another lawnmower deck, it has become a joke now that every mower that Donald has used has broken. He walks into Green Diamond John Deere center & they look at him and ask what he has broken now & what part is needed. lol

Before Mitch left, Bill, Donald, & Nick went out with Miramichi Outfitters for a fishing adventure. Mitch caught a striped bass that is now in our freezer! It was fun had by all!

This BOW is now done! It is a Little Red Hen called Jacl O' Lantern, it's wool/flannel applique on a cotton background & borders. The bottom right binding has been sewn & it's waiting for a hanger to be cut & soon will be hung.

When Bill was in Holland a few weeks ago, Donald & I had the surprise of horses in the backyard!

They had broken through their electric fence & were enjoying the run of the backyard!

Beautiful animals!!

They always stayed together with the ringleader leading them. lol

The owners were at work & their neighbour jumped in to gather them.

They thought about the oats in the red pail but the freedom was better!

Then the ringleader was roped up & they walked down my laneway & around the corner where they lived. It was an exciting morning for all of us!

The ditch was too deep for them to go back through, so the long way around...going down the lane.

Again another beautiful day for all!

The furbabies are enjoying the cooler days, for Baxter, he is warmed with my sweater that he pulled off the back of the chair & curled into. lol

Gordo loves to sleep under my sewing chair & uses the leg for his headrest. Having him there holds my chair in place as I spin around to use the ironing board or cutting mat. lol

Gordo has also taken to sleeping under Bill's desk. He was in one of his Zoom meetings & Gordo's snoring was so loud that people had to ask if that was snoring that they were hearing. lol

Gordo reminds me of a soft walrus! LOL, he is such a gentle creature & has fit right in with all three furbabies of mine.

The couch is a base place when we watch TV at night, Donald usually snuggles up with him before their bedtime. Gordo now goes up to his crate in their bedroom if he is too tired to wait for Donald.

The Vintage Bee BOW is done too!

Rose did a beautiful job on the quilting. I use the Country Rose pattern on Lori Holt's patterns, I think it compliments her designs.

Binding & buttons are needed to finish it off!

It's not a very good pic but I made the crow from a 1994 Simplicity pattern. It's something I wanted to do for a few years now & I'm happy with how it turned out, I changed a few things like keeping the beak black rather than gold/yellow & adding leather feet to finish her off. It was from a Costco leather coat purchased back in the 90s too.

This was the sunset the night before Hurricane Lee. It was stunningly beautiful & I worried what was in store for us. We were spared this time with no trees coming down or losing our electricity, others were not so lucky.

We only had rain & winds, the map made us fearful but lucky again the North Atlantic waters & land slowed it down by the time it reached us.

An Exciting find at Crystal's Emporium!

A first Canadian edition! It is hard to believe that in two years Winnie the Pooh will be turning 100 years old! I have always loved Winnie the Pooh & was so delighted to hear that the bear was real & came from Winnipeg! Mitch & Nicole purchased the history book for me when they drove through Manitoba in 2017. It was a gift for my 60th birthday surprise visit & boy was it a surprise!!

So finding this treasure made my heart sing.

I was gifted some cucumbers so I made a batch of Lady Ashburn Pickle Relish for the winter. I stopped having a tomato garden after learning that my arthritis was made worse with tomatoes. I loved tomatoes & ate them in a different form nearly every other day. The pain is so much better without them, you do have to pick your battles to have a good balance in life.

Thank you for visiting to the end. I know I've been quite negligent with blogging. 

It seems life is busier & days are shorter.

And the reminder of my gingerbread countdown is on! Such a sweet birthday gift from Nick & Leslie, they know me too well! xXx

When you make Christmas gifts you have to start early & I've taken a table at the 8th Annual Christmas Bazaar in  Baie-Ste-Anne for Nov 4th, sew much to do until then. I'll share with you some of the items next blog. 

Thank you so much for dropping in for a virtual visit & those who have dropped in for a personal visit!

Until the next blog stay safe & healthy as we move into the beautiful Autumn season of colour!

Cynthia xXx

Cicadas Are Singing

This month the cicadas have been singing when the rain is not falling, which means the summer is now half over & it is time to take in all the beautiful summery days that are left.

A new path has been opened in the woods & we love walking all the paths in our woods!

It has been busy here with our projects & having our eldest son Don & his 4 yr old English bulldog Gordo in our daily routine. Bill is enjoying having the help with the work in the yard both here & at the apartment getting the lawns & maintenance done. 

Our grandpuppy Gordo  & eldest son Donald, Gordo is not a walking dog & the laneway walk was a chore for him. He has adjusted very well with this rural living from his city condo living. And our furbabies have adjusted even better to having a new addition to their pack, Rexton the Manx cat!

A big job this month was to remove the trailer off the lot that next year will house some townhomes that we want to build. The location is right next to the apartment, making it easy to keep both parking lots plowed & lawns mowed.

New Relaxation...

Bill & Don take to the kayaks for morning paddles & have now started to do a little fishing from them.

Our middle son Mitch inspired that idea as he does it in Alberta!

The view of our  Hardwicke home from the water and my wee potting shed.

Too much water for this hydrophobic! it does look beautiful in photos.

Bill has always loved the water. Bill was a sailboat racer, racing across Lake Erie in Ontario, he scuba dived too. I'm happy to see he has come full circle back to one of his passions, the water.

I was so happy that the walkway to the beach was opened up again. Each winter the ice rearranges that area & it is hard to walk safely down a heaped step. The last storm left a lot of sand on our beach with the sandstone only in a few places.

Gordo's first beach experience, Bridget & Baxter visit the shoreline daily!

He wanted nothing to do with the water, bulldogs are very stubborn. lol

No coaching was going to change Gordo's mind! lol

Bill throwing the stick looked like fun to Gordo, until he threw it into the water. lol

These two love playing stick!

And will run in tandem with the stick too.

Donald had fun playing on the beach too!

We were all worried about this fellow's adjustment to East Coast life & what a relief that he loves it!

Even these two have accepted him into their pack & are enjoying that he has such a laid-back attitude.

Bill surprised me with a bunch of black-eyed-susans on the porch.

The colour was a sure eye popper when I opened the front door, it was so lovely & took my breath away!

Where Is Gordo?

Where is Gordo is a new game in the house, you can usually hear his breathing but when you cannot...where is Gordo?

He has taken to climbing the great room stairs himself & loves to view it from the mezzanine.

Or take a snooze with his head supported by the stool.

Or sometimes he is in his downstairs crate.

His new place is at my feet when I'm sewing! I sew with my left foot on the petal & worry that his 70+ lbs will hit my sewing machine petal. We are all adjusting, even my sewing room as Gordo goes where you go, like a soft furry shadow.

Last night he was at Bill's feet as Don was away for the night, serving elevators up north. Gordo did very well with him gone but will be even happier when Don returns.

Sewing Projects

The Dresden Picnic quilt is now quilted & I'm putting the binding on it.

Rose did a beautiful job quilting it! I'm binding it with the red & it was all made with my 2004 scraps from Kathy Schmitz's Bird In Hand by Moda, the background white was a recent sale purchase. I'm now working on the next BOW called Grandma's Scrap Basket & it is being done in Civil War reproduction fabric from my stash.

BOW with Lori Holt called Bee Vintage, will be 20 - 10" blocks in a vintage style with sashing when it is done.

Week One

Week Two 

Week Three

Week Four

Sunbonnet Sue was done this week & I'll show her on your next visit with week 5.

I was sewing like I was at a retreat on this table-topper design by Kim Dielh, I've had this kit since 2010 & it was time to get it done!

Don did his BQ so I did not have to cook!~ There were so many pieces to sew onto this & the challenge was to keep it all flat, there were seam-ripper songs sung as I fixed some areas but in the end, it was flat!

It did take longer to do than I thought & finished at 48" x 48", now to find a backing for it & off to have it longarmed. I think it is perfect for the fall decor!

For New Brunswick Day I made new collars for all the pets, here is Bridget with her ruffled scarf.

And Baxter in his clip-on collar. Gordo had a soft tie-on scarf & Rexton an elasticized collar.

This New Brunswick wool blanket is one of the treasured The beginning of relaxation time for Don with the trio of dogs to cozy up with. lol

We had geese in our backyard for a couple of days, it drove Baxter crazy & he chased them in flight over the breaker wall, each time he went outside.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit & I'll have more to show you as our beautiful summer season is still here. We have been so lucky not to have bad weather here in the north as our other Maritime provinces have experienced this summer. The farming that has been flooded & no stone fruit is the reason for concern, there are no cherries, peaches or plums due to frost early in the spring.

 Mother Nature is not something we can control.

I remember the 3Rs from the 90s... Reduce - Recycle - Reuse, I am trying to live responsibly & my family is often affectionately teasing me for just that. 

Have a wonderful time this summer season, soon it will be your memories.

Stay safe & healthy.

Cynthia xXx