One of my favorite places

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine.  It's absolutely beautiful!  Bill and I come here at least once a year.  We are a little late this year because of Wendy's wedding but just in time for the fall colors.  Well actually, the colors are a little late this year because of the mild temperatures at night.  That's about to come to an end, it will be below freezing tonight!

We got here on Monday, which turned out to be a fairly nice day.  It was warm enough to sit outside during the evening and we enjoyed a nice sunset from Cadillac Mountain.

Fog settling in the low areas

Love a good sunset

Tuesday brought rain!

Rain drops on the screen at Edgewater #6

The day wasn't a total washout, we went to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea, YUM!

Popovers, butter, strawberry jam and Earl Grey tea

The view was typical of the day.

Foggy Bubbles

Today was sunnier, much drier and a lot windier.  We discovered the Schooner Head Overlook yesterday and returned today for a walk along Schooner Head Path.  It's a 2.8 mile walk to Compass Harbor (and 2.8 miles BACK).

Schooner Head Path

It was an easy walk with a few uphills and a few downhills, but long!

Stairs to Compass Harbor

Schoodic Peninsula in the distance

We found a nice warm spot along the rocks and out of the wind to sit and enjoy lunch.

The view at lunch

  

Thanks for stopping by...

;o) 

Day Trippin'

Today was supposed to be spent with "the Paula's" shopping in Portsmouth.  The Paula's consist of my sister-in-law Paula (1) and her best friend, Paula (2).  Well, Paula 2 is working on a wedding dress for someone and it isn't going very well.  Paula 1 is working on a baby quilt and it isn't going very well, either.  So neither of them was all that interested in spending the day shopping.  I should be working on a wedding quilt, which I have been faithfully working on nearly every day, but a day with no plans is always a good day for me.

Mr. Bill and I talked about going to the beach; unfortunately, the weather report didn't look great for the beach.  Mr. Bill decided we would go for a day trip and it would be a surprise to me.  He said it wasn't very far away and I had never been there before.  Oh...K...

We headed South on the Turnpike, through the rotary in Portsmouth and ended up at Odiorne State Park in Rye, NH.    It covers 331.5 acres and houses the remnants of an old fort.  We took a nice walk along the coast

View of Isles of Shoals in the distance from the coastal path

One of the tide pools

and through the woods where we found a very nice granite memorial bench overlooking the mouth of the river.

We discovered a quiet area along the coast where this bird bath was located.

Next we came across this monument, erected in 1899,  dedicated to the original settlers in this area.

The path to the monument, lined with stone walls.

As I said, there was an old fort located here and several of the bunkers are still here, although you can't get inside, you can get under and come out the other side.

We discovered later, after looking at a map, that we should have continued on the path and we would have come to a point of land within the park.  Instead, we went through the bunker, and returned to the parking area.  We came to a nice view of the salt marsh across the road.

Then, in the middle of no where, with no explanation other than Dolphin Fountain, we came across this.

We ate our lunch on one of the benches overlooking the ocean and the park across the river.

  Then we took some self portraits...it's harder than you think.

"Oop's, I think I moved too soon."

Something's not quite right...
 

 Good enuf!

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

Going to Pieces

It's all about "the quilt" right now, in my spare time, at least.  On my days off last weekend...it rained!  Big surprise for those that know me.  I have rotten luck when it comes to good weather on my days off.  That's another story for another day.  Today's story is about quilting.  Well, to be more precise, it's about cutting big pieces of fabric into small pieces of fabric so that it can be sewed into big pieces again.  That's what quilters know.  Here are some photos to give you an idea what I'm talkin' about.

First I start with six rectangles .  These colors are not true but you will notice the fabric alternates light and dark.

Next, I stack them one on top of the other and draw the pattern that I will be cutting.  You have to look closely to see where I have drawn chalk lines.

Once I have drawn the lines, I pin a number to each piece.  This allows me to sew them back together in the right order.  I didn't number the two pieces in the middle because they will be shuffled once the fabrics are cut.

Next, I cut along the lines.  Remember, there are six pieces of fabric stacked together.

Now that the pieces are cut, I shuffle the top fabric of the two middle pieces to the bottom of the stack.  Can you see what has appeared?

Ta Da!  A heart magically appears.  Then I sew each rectangle back together and every seam is a C.U.R.V.E!  I use lots of pins and I don't sew quickly soooooo, it takes me about 45 minutes for each one and there are 36 of them.  Each set of six produces a different heart because I drew the template differently each time.


Good thing etiquette allows a year after the wedding to present a gift.


The photos are a little blurry because I cropped them to bring them closer.  I'm a quilter, not a photographer.


Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

"The Dream"

When I considered what to call this blog, I was indeed Livin' The Dream.  For a number of years I dreamed of being away from New England in the winter; away from shoveling snow, driving on icy roads and freezing my butt off.  I dreamed of spending the winter somewhere sunny and warm where I could be outside, getting some exercise, going to the beach, just chillin'.  January, 2009 the dream became reality when we parked in Florida for the winter...hence the name of this blog.

"The Dream" is not the same for everyone.  Some dream of more money, a bigger house, a nicer car, a faster boat.  Others dream of a healthy child, a rewarding job, enough to eat.  I realize that I live "The Dream" every day, one way or another.  I live TD as I watch my children grow into mature, hard-working, compassionate adults.  I live TD as my son becomes a husband and a father and I become a grandmother.  I live TD as my daughter prepares to wed the man she loves and I become the "mother of the bride".  I live TD as the man that loves me shares his home with me, cooks for me, works in the garden with me, sometimes dances with me, makes me laugh, shares his life with me.  I live TD as I visit with old friends and make new ones. 

For me, TD is doing things that I wanted to do before, but wasn't able to for one reason or another.  It's sleeping in my own bed every night. It's sleeping until I wake up, around 8:00 am and laying there until I feel like getting out of bed.  It's having a job that I enjoy and that makes me feel capable and competent.  It's having a dog again.  It's enjoying the holidays knowing that neither Bill or I will have to work or take vacation .  It's getting the senior discount.  It's spending the winter in Florida, where it's sunny and warm and I'm not freezing my butt off.

What's your dream? 

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Thankful Thursday

After days and days of gray skies, damp weather and cool temperatures, I thought it might be a good idea to think of some good things about this stinky weather.  Here is what I came up with...

The grass is really green
The trees and flowers are blooming nicely
It's good for mushrooms
The frogs like it
The ponds are all full
There is little fear of a drought
We are being spared the dreaded cancer causing rays from the sun.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Yard Work

Although Sir Titan has an underground electric fence that keeps him safely in the yard, it does not keep other dogs or wild animals from coming into the yard.  It also does not allow him to have friends over for a romping good time.  Alas, Sir Titan has not had any doggie friends to play with since Christmas.  We feel that it is important for his well being to be around other dogs and have "play dates".  Sooo, what's a family to do?  We decided to fence in part of the back yard, which requires some big time yard work.

We contacted a former co-worker of mine that has all the big toys needed to get the job started.  It was a three day project but we are well on our way to a nice, big play yard for Sir Titan and his friends.

4.1.11...Lots of brush needed to be cleared

5.8.11...Bill had cut some of the brush by hand

5.11.11...Some of the trees are down, this one is on the list

5.11.11...A nice load of lumber

5.12.11...Removing another stump

5.13.11 @ 7:35 am...Fire showing, note the pile on the left

5.13.11 @ 8:23 am...adding fuel to the fire from the other pile

Scott, Barb and their two boys came over to watch the excavator and cook hotdogs over the fire for lunch.  They even found time to help Harold move some of the brush.

Cole is a good helper

So is his big brother, Trevor

5.13.11 @ 3:33 pm...after the fire

The fire smoldered well into the night before Mr. Bill put water to it (only after he played with the excavator a little). 

Next step is having an estimate from the fence company and maybe some loam and grass seed.  Unfortunately, after rain all day, it's just a bunch of nice, wet dirt (otherwise known as mud)!

We think Mr. Titan will enjoy a new fence, a big play yard and doggie friends over on a play date.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

It's A Start

September 23 is coming REALLY fast.  I haven’t been sewing as often as I would like, which is nothing new.  However, today I completed the first (of many) blocks in the "wedding quilt"…

It looks a little skewed because I was standing on my tiptoes trying to take the picture while it was sitting on the ironing board.  Like I said, "it's a start".

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)