Holiday Colors

In honor of Christmas, I'm wearing the only red and green garment that hangs in my closet.

 

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Thankful Tuesday

This is my beautiful daughter, Wendy Bee

I have inadvertently hurt her feelings by not counting her as one of my blessings in my Thanksgiving post.  I can only imagine how she must have felt reading the post that counted many blessings, but didn't count her.  Not really an oversight on my part, because I'm thankful for her EVERY. SINGLE day and I was thinking along a different line when I wrote that post.  I believe I take her for granted because she is here, in the same town and I know I can talk to her or see her whenever I want or need to.  I have updated my original Thanksgiving post and this post is an expression of my thankfulness for her.

I'm thankful that she is a strong, independent woman.  I'm thankful that she has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to express her feelings.  I'm thankful that she found and married the man she loves.

I'm thankful that she stepped out of her comfort zone and became a Zumba instructor.  It's such fun for me to watch her in front of the class, where I know she feels self-conscious, knowing that she is MY child and I'm so proud of her. 

I'm thankful for her beautiful "self".  I not only cherish her as my child but also as my friend. We check in with each other most days, not long conversations but a nice chat just catching up on the day's news. She is beautiful inside and out. She is strong, intelligent and compassionate. She is my daughter; she is my friend. The words "I Love You" are inadequate to express my true emotions. It is so much more than those three words; so much deeper. They will have to suffice...I Love You, Wendy and I'm sorry I hurt you.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

There is much to be thankful for today...

Mr. Bill and I are very healthy and happy.  We have enough money to make ends meet and still throw in some fun.

Bass Harbor Headlight, Mt. Desert Island

We didn't get any snow yesterday.

Wendy and Dan are sharing their first Thanksgiving as husband and wife and she is responsible for everyone being together on this day.

Ireland

Greg and his family arrived safely from MA for the holiday.

Fun at Camp, Brownfield, ME

My fantastic sister-on-law, Paula, welcomes my children into her home as though they were her own.

My best friend, Su, is still hanging in there.

We are able to spend the worst of the winter months in FL.

I have a job that I enjoy and they hired me knowing I spend the winters away.

One of my co-workers, Julie, is going to foster Sassy, the cat, over the winter.

Grandma Bee, at 90 years old, was able to join us for dinner.

Beatrice Wehmeyer (Grandma Bee)

I could probably go on and on but the simple truth is...I am very blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

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;o)

Updated 12/6/11

Falling Leaves ;o(

UGH!  Mr. Bill has cleaned up the yard several times already.  After the rain and wind there are lots more leaves off the trees and on the ground.  Maybe just one or two more times and it will be over for this year.

Mr. Bill likes to ride over them on the tractor, grind them up, then pick them up with the tractor and dump them in the woods.  It's sure better than picking them all up and carrying them into the woods ourselves.

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Happy Halloween

This was the best I could do today...

Just a local yokel

Hope you had a howling good Halloween.

I Miss the Dog!

As much as I sometimes miss our foot loose and fancy free lifestyle...I really miss him when we are away.

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Holy Windy Batman

According to the weatherman, today was going to be sunnier (which it was) but not as windy (which it was NOT).  We hiked Cadillac Mtn. North Ridge Trail, which coincidentally, we climbed on this same date in 2004.  How weird is that?  It was a much nicer day in 2004.  According to my notes, it was 50*-55* with a cold wind on the summit.  Today it was maybe 45*-50* and there was a very strong, cold wind blowing the entire time.

We hiked uphill for 1 hr. 50 min., which is only 5 minutes more than it took us SEVEN years ago.  I guess we haven't slowed down too much.

This is where we were...overlooking Bald Porcupine Island

We were going up, over and past this... Looks like a long way

We ate lunch at a picnic table behind the gift shop.  We had on several layers but were still freezing.  The little weather station in the gift shop recorded 41* with wind gusts up to 26 mph making it feel like 31*.  No wonder we were freezing.

Cadillac Mtn Summit, 41* feels like 31*

I can hear you gasp and say "OMG, I didn't know she was THAT fat!".  As you know, the camera adds 10 pounds.  Add that to the 10 pounds of clothes I have on to keep warm and that explains why I look so fat.  That's my explanation and I'm sticking to it ;o)

There is something about stone stairs in the woods that intrigues me.

It was a beautiful day and it wasn't raining!  It took us 1 hr. and 30 min. to hike back down (10 minutes longer than 2004).   I guess our knees aren't what they used to be.  It felt good to get in the car and warm up.

We had the awesome popovers and tea again, which were wonderful as always.  The late afternoon sun on The Bubbles created a picturesque backdrop for our own little photo shoot.

Jordan Pond and The Bubbles

Another great day together doing something we love, hiking in Acadia.  We are heading home tomorrow but looking forward to next year already.

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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

  

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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!

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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.


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