July 2023

 It's summer, the fastest season & it is flying by quickly!

This visit is going to be a long one so get comfortable & come on in for a visit!

We've been busy with more summer visiting friends & family. Our eldest son Donald & Jon, his childhood friend, drove out to see us for a week from Ontario.

They were a huge help for Bill to get work done that I could not help with. The final gargoyle was installed & what a job that was as it had to go over the little bridge. First, they thought with the three of them it could be carried & placed on its podium but no, it was solid concrete & could not be lifted!

So the ATV & the John Deere trailer were the answer & the bridge was very well constructed to take all the weight that was to cross it!

Cameraready, let the journey begin!

We had gravel delivered that week to so there was some tight navigating to get through.

Over the bridge to the podium on the left & it will be done!

The ATV had 4" on each side to clear the width of the bridge, just as was planned last year.

Slow & steady...

This was the tricky area with a large drop off the bridge's one-board ramp. 

Bill was worried that the tongue would rise up & let loose but it did not, thank heavens!

Everyone was nervous at this point...

And the trailer with the gargoyle is board and on dirt ground again!

Bill made the cement pad the week before so it would be solid for the weight to be placed upon it.

Now detach the trailer from the ATV and bring in the tractor to lift it in the air!

See the solar lamp lights that were installed & the side railings, the guys were busy that week!

Now to lift the gargoyle out of the trailer!

Bill let the guys know what he was going to do & what to watch for.

I asked Donald why he covered the face of the gargoyle, and he said it was to protect his face from any bumping. 

I was nervous & I'm sure the gargoyle was too!! So glad he wasn't watching! lol

Steady...

That was my job guiding the hanging gargoyle when we installed the other gargoyle on the laneway side & I was very nervous doing it!

It was in position, now to lower it safely!

And then Don & Jon spun it around to be in the position of being the bridge watcher to the woods.

He is watching the path in this position, not the bridge.

Bill made me nervous backing the tractor down the woods path with very little clearance & muck from the rain the night before.

And the gargoyle is now in the correct position looking grand! The whole height is tall & grand, Donald is 6'2" to put a scale to it!

How beautiful is the gargoyle in the woods with all the nature surrounding it?!! I am over the moon!

At night solar lights are illuminating it and the lanterns are an orangish flickering light. I find myself taking one final glimpse before going to bed, it makes my heart sing!

 

This is the other gargoyle looking from the woods to the laneway.

The two face opposite directions, keeping guard of those coming & going and enhancing the beauty of the nature around them.

The laneway gargoyle greets those who visit!

Last September at Lambe Concrete it was love at first sight when I saw the gargoyles & Nicole & Mitch came for the ride to PEI to pick them up with us. I was happy to have them for our property & now after sitting through a couple of seasons in the garage, they are where they belong.

Thank you, every one of you that made my vision a reality!! xXx

Now to look at the beauty of this summer season that does not last but is so beautiful while it is here!

The lamb's ear is everywhere & is the very best feeling to touch it! So so soft!

The peonies were so beautiful & full of ants at first opening them up & then the bees doing their pollinating!

I did bring in a few to enjoy in the house & the rest were left for nature's enjoyment.

Nick & Leslie's anniversary black hollyhocks are going to bloom soon!

They only bloom every other year, so this year is special to watch again!

Bill brought me another Costco basket for the old black urn. The summer colours are spectacular!

The battery in the smoke sector started to scream to let us know that it needed replacing. Our smoke detectors are hard-wired into the electrical as well as batteries. And it will only accept Duracell batteries no other kind! So Bill was on a quest for Duracell batteries, in the meantime, we in the house listened to the one-minute interval screams.

Bridget was terrified & climbed into a bookshelf under my sewing table! This was the first time to see her do that!!

She would not come out either, so I just left her & sewed until Bill returned with Baxter & the batteries.

Rexton the Manx cat often sleeps in my wool piles in the winter months when I'm sewing but never has Bridge taken refuge under my sewing table.

The pitch from the smoke detector has her terrified!

Laundry Basket Quilts BOW Spring Mystery is done!

On the left are the pieced blocks & the right is the applique added.

This project was the first for me with all the applique!

And I enjoyed the outcome with the colour & movement!

Here it is complete! I am going to use it as a summer table topper.

This pattern was called Pennsylvania, I gave it a Dutch twist with the red, white, & blue. 

For years I have had this beautiful needlework that I purchased at Value Village in London. On the back, a first-place ribbon had been pinned from Petrolia Ontario. It is a beautifully crafted piece & I have made it into a pillow & have pinned the red ribbon inside!

This beautiful English thatched cottage scenery now is an admired pillow on the couch!

I found my piece of rug canvas & have made a grid to fill in with black Kona fabric. I'm not sure of the pattern so I will wait until I know what I will do. Thank you Karen Cole for teaching me this new crafty art! I will start something when the weather turns cool.

The BOW Dresden Plate Picnic quilt is coming together nicely too! I used the Moda, Kathy Schmitz Black Bird fabric from twenty years ago that was in my stash.

And the Connecting Threads Americana for the background, adding freshness to the muted colours & making them pop. We are now on week 9 with not many to go now. I have already signed up for the next free QAL called Grandma's Scrap Basket, it is nine patches with an appliqued border & will use up scraps from my stash again!

Billy Baldwin said it best! 'Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style.'  And playing in my fabric stash shows just that!!

Bill surprised me on this anniversary with a dish collection that I have admired for many years. It is called the Charles Dickens Curiosity Shop dishes.

It is a ten-setting set! This set is from the 1950s and I have never seen such a full collection of it!!

I have watched the black/white story on YouTube and it is one of sadness & truth of addiction.

The outward design & the green colour makes the scenes pop out!

The only pieces I don't have are the salt/pepper shakers & the teapot if they even were made.

I was delighted with each & every piece of the Curiosity Shop dishes!

I did find this nappy dish a few years back at a thrift store, it had a chip & I made it the cat's dry food dish. Never did I ever think that the whole collection would be mine!

This 36th anniversary will be one that truly surprised me! Thank you Bill for making it a reality! xXx

I have finally regained my health again & without health, life is not so good.

You know how they say it happens in threes...

First I got a cold from Bill returning from Holland, then I was putting my joggers on & lifting my leg to go into the pant leg, threw my back out!! 

After several days of coughing & back pain then travelling down my right leg to be sciatica, I was cutting with the rotary blade (those that know me know I don't sit/stay well) & it jumped & cut my finger!!

It took off my nail too! I had sewn my finger too the month before. I really need to slow down & live in the moment & it's times like these that bring it to the forefront!

With Bill to the rescue, he fixed me up & within one week my hand was healed, then in two weeks today it is like nothing happened! I'm so glad I heal quickly!

The cough is gone, the back is better & I will go in for my chiro maintenance spine adjustment for scoliosis that I have neglected since April.

All in all, life is good & I'm back on track.

The new news is that our eldest son Donald will be moving in with us as he has taken a job with Kone Elevator & will be starting work August 1st. He will also be bringing his mini English Bulldog Gordo with him. He says he's mini but he weighs in at 72lbs!! That is more than Briget, Baxter, & Rexton combined!! I look forward to meeting the new grandpuppy of Hardwicke.

Gordo is going from a Condo City dog to a rural dog. Gordo has his own stroller for going for walks, I will need a ramp to put him in his stroller as I know I cannot lift a 72lb grandpuppy!

He will fit in nicely with the 'no tail' look that all three have here. lol

Thank you for stopping by the northeast Atlantic coastline for a visit. I hope you were not scared to see the gargoyles on your visit. They were used by religious churches centuries ago to ward off evil spirits & greet those of kind & kindred spirits.

 Welcome to all those that enter Beaver Moon by the laneway or enter into the woods.

Stay healthy & happy & stay in the moment that you are taking in! xXx

 Cynthia

 

Yellow & Purple Blooms!

 Everything is blooming the colour of yellow & purple with green leaves & stems!

It was pouring rain outside when I took this photo but you can see the miniature purple iris in full bloom with the yellow lilies behind them.\

I picked flowers from one of the side yard gardens with the yellow/purple iris, the allium greens we eat in our eggsalad sandwiches & a yellow blooming flower that Bill keeps pulling out & insisting that it is a weed. I like it for its colour & how delicate it is.

Lupins & bleeding hearts, & bachelor buttons fill the anniversary garden with their colour & unique flowering texture.

How glorious now that summer has arrived & this burst of life has emerged!

The bumble bees are back enjoying the garden too!

The lilacs are nearly done for another year, but I have heard of a new bread of lilac called a Double Bloom & it will bloom twice!

The peonies are reaching for the sun & the ants are coming in to help them open up, soon these too will be in bloom once again!

It is such a joy to walk around the house & view the life that has been hidden with snow all these months! The white pom-pom bush is singing its praises too!

The lamb's ear that outlines the back deck has really taken off this year. I cannot help but touch the soft velvety texture of this beauty, the flower is a soft mauve that the bees adore!

The scent of something has got Bridget & Baxter's interest as they sniff it out.

The corner of the deck is the harshes with the nor'easters & the harsh winds but many have survived, we'll replant some more there since the large deceased evergreen is now a Gnome Home & sun can reach the new batch.

Bill has started the cedar shingled roof & it is quite detailed so this will be time-consuming for him on top of all the other summer chores & working full time.

 

Lilies are beginning & flowering in other areas where the sun reaches them more.

This is our kitchen garden of alliums in the backyard.

It is also by the back deck, the plant will grow anywhere!

Out Of Province Company!

Jim & Karen Cole came for a visit of 6 days & what fun we had! I had not seen them since their last visit in 2019.

Karen & I had so many laughs together, she too is a quilter & artist. 

I told her I like to learn a new art form every year so this year she taught me, latch hooked rug making with the gizmo that looks like a crotchety hook at one end and a very large needle eye at the other!

And I taught her stained glass another art form of colour & design with a different medium & she loved it & did it very easily!

Karen chose an art deco design & her glass colour was beautiful!

Once the black patina goes on the colour & texture jump out!

I worked on finishing a student's work that was never finished.

It is now ready for the sun to shine through it!

I made a mug rug with one-inch fabric strips to make this blue beauty! I like the look of the wrapped cloth & plan on making a whole rug with it this winter. Now I have the basics of starting & finishing it!

Shuffling around my studio area I found a pattern that I made for our eldest son & will make it for him this year! I promise Donald...by the end of 2023 it with have the sun shine through it! xXx

The sun coming through my student's wonderful colour choice for her tulip!

Bill is enjoying his zero-turn lawn mower & feels that it could cause me or the property harm, so I was never given a lesson about it.

It is a lot of lawn to keep mowed the way he likes it & I do enjoy looking out & seeing the mowed look as I view Miramichi Bay.

I'm ready for the next company this Friday of our eldest son & his childhood friend Jon Cole, who is no relation to our company that has left. We have not seen Jon for decades, it will be fun!!

These purple flowers are so pretty with the red geraniums. I'm seeing purple as one of my new summer colours, it so makes me think of my girlfriend/quilting buddy Paulette. I made a purple quilt once & could not stop thinking of her, so I gave it to her, and she loved it!

Our laneway is an 800-foot one but well worth the travel up it to say hello & view the beauty that this gorgeous Beaver Moon has to offer.

He's sitting on the front porch to welcome you!

Have a wonderful week & enjoy this fast short season & all it has to offer!

A fun saying my son taught me - 'Look through the windshield it is a lot larger to see ahead than the review mirror behind you.' 

Oh so true with the seasons!

Cynthia xXx

Time Has Wings!

 Next week June 21st is the first day of summer!

Wow, time is moving quickly into summer. It is glorious seeing the tide come in & the tide goes out, the water moving one way or the other way gives movement to the frozen water that laid still just months ago!

Bill has been busy outside making the Gnome Home come to life! He has put solar lights to illuminate the darkness of night. Here is a pic of it last night!

He is now making an octagon roof with cedar shingles to crown the top of the tree so we can enjoy it for years to come!

A taste of summer is rhubarb pie! This is from our batch & will now have to wait until more comes up but oh,  the taste of summer having this pie! It makes me think of my Grandma Haynes & her pantry with pies! xXx

The garbage bin now has our Beaver Moon on it & will help navigate those up our laneway this summer. Our home is not viewed from the road & an 800ft laneway must be travelled to even see the house.

And now coming up the laneway you see...

The Bunkie! aka The She Shed! The siding has now gone on & we're waiting for the decking to be put on the front & back & the front will have three steps across the front to have a sit down outside when the mosquitoes are gone this fall.

Our eldest son Donald has accepted the Kone Elevator job for New Brunswick & now he too will be living here with his English Bulldog Gordo. They will be here until he too finds a place to live. 

Our youngest son Nicholas & his girlfriend are happy in their home in Miramichi, in Chatham. 

With our one son Mitchell in Alberta & his wife, Nicole lives away & we will visit them again in their new beautiful 10-acre property & when we can. They will be visiting us on Labour Day & at Christmas this year! xXx

Sew Alongs------ oh my I love those sew along, some are BOW(block of the week) and some BOM(block of the month) they keep me sew busy!!

This was a Patchwork Possie with Becky - BOD(block of the day) called Walkabout - one block & you were to walkabout your neighbourhood, daily! With so much going on I did do a bike ride with my girlfriend Debbie!

I also changed it out a bit to make it my own. I live on the Acadian coastline & have many Acadian friends, so this is to honour where I live & my friendships.

This is a mystery BOW with Little Red Rooster called Jack-O-Lantern Lane: a pumpkin wooly mystery.  Block 1.

Block 2 

This is a BOW with Piecing the Past Stitchers called Dresden Picnic, we're on week 5 this is from week 3 & more blades to the fan have been made!

There are also Edyta Sitar's mysteries that I'm keeping up with but have no photos to show that are recent.

Sew many projects!!

These are pillows in the making!

A pair of velvety bolters for the sofa, they were so easy to make & cost a fortune to purchase!

Oh, Canada Day is just a couple of weeks out now!

So I got a head start on my decor for that day as the company will be here soon!

Holding down the table topper is a piece of petrified wood that Bill found on the beach last night, it is so heavy!

I covered the rotating chair at the end a couple of years ago & will make throw pillows for the new sette. I smile at the yarn-tied Canada red with white maple leaves from a small throw I made the guys when they went to the Route 66 race back in the early 90s. It has survived so many washings, kids, & pets!

This is the new seat that Bill got me & it has a matching glass-covered table. I put a tablecloth on the bottom & covered the two cushions with flags I made several years ago attaching them with 5pcs of elastic for easy removal & storage.

The Canadian geese are all decked out too!

The porch is one of my favourite places to sit & watch & listen to the birds at the feeders.

I'm making a sewing bag with this in the pocket front! 

The Labyrinth Walk has gone off to be longarm quilted & will be raffled off by the 4-H Club.

My donation to the community to help it grow stronger with our youth.

So much sewing in my daily life & ideas of sewing & decorating when I am not!

The sunsets in our yard at this time of year & each one is so beautiful. On really red nights the house has a red glow in the rooms that face the water, such a sight!

Bill & I are always saying how wonderful it is to live year-round at the resort! 

Thank you for stopping by for a virtual visit & I do hope you too get the opportunity to visit the beautiful Atlantic Maritime.

As always, wishing you health & happiness.

One of my many favourite sayings...

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind.  -  Dr.Seuss, pen name for Theodor Suess Geisel

Until next time enjoy what summer has to offer!

Cynthia