Working on Friday!

 

This week was spent at camp, so I didn't get anything done, that I wanted. As usual, I spent the time walking and at the beach when we could. Once I got home and got things unpacked and done, I crashed. Perfect time to relax and start on my quilt, so that is what I was working on, until the new stitchery came out. I started that yesterday, since it is the perfect design for a gift box going out this month.

This is what I have been doing on the wheelchair quilt. I am hand stitching with pearl cotton the design stands out. I am doing stars on some blocks and a basic X and triangles in the star blocks. I find it works up fast and relaxing while I watch tv.

At camp we spent time walking at the lighthouse area. Views of the ocean from all sides and we got to watch a few surfers from the beach.

On the weekend, the kids came down for dinner and time at the beach. The boys had fun playing, while mom and dad went treasure hunting. It is always nice to go to the beach after dinner when the crowds are gone and we can watch the sunset.

Going to the beach after hours is also a good time to find goodies on the beach. Some things were dropped and forgotten and others were just left from vacationers who don't want to take things home.

Lots of beach toys for the boys to play with and so many extras, that I will give away a pile to our local buy nothing group.

And I was quite surprised that people left boards behind. These are for skimming at the ocean's edge, the boys will love playing on these.

And sadly the summer days are gone and school has started, but we still have nice weather, so lots of fun adventures with the boys on the weekends. I can't believe that Nick is in fourth and Alex is starting first grade, they grow up so fast.

I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy their holiday weekend. We might have rain coming in but I still need rest time, I always overdo it and need time to recover, which means more time to work on my stitching.

Happy Day After!

 

I thought I would post today, since I did finish something and I will be out and about this week, so I will be boring you with more bird and scenery photos, lol. I think that I will have to start new traditions next year, two Christmases is getting too much and today I was worn out.

The good thing was, I got things done around the house so we could get out for a ride tomorrow and I finished a piece, for next Christmas. It is a free design offered by Grandma's Trunk and you can get it on her website.

I was trying to do a gray shade at the bottom and realized it was green, so I rubbed and erased it, as much as possible. I may add some star buttons in the sky, but I need to get the right size.

Christmas Eve was our night, the boys got some presents and we had a nice dinner. As usual the boys were hamming it up, Alex loves his new Bean, look a like.

And Christmas was at their house. The boys got more presents and Nick had to show me how good he is, walking on stilts from Santa. I got Alex a robot that follows lines, made by a marker. He did not get that you cannot draw tons of scribbles, the poor robot was confused on where to go. 

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, whether with family or a quiet day at home.

The day after!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, or just a good day for themselves celebrating in their own ways. We had a nice time with the kids, it wasn't perfect but spending time with the family is what was important.

My son decided he wanted to cook and he wanted to smoke the turkey. Well, he put the turkey in and a few hours later the power went out. It was a few hours, but it finally went back on so we ate a little later, but that was ok. I am not sure what he did with the turkey when the power went out, but from the gastric distress we got after, I would say he might have let it sit out too long;)

We relaxed at home in the morning, still fighting off our own flus so we enjoyed some quiet time and a little Christmas with Bean. Bean loves presents and knows a wrapped package means a treat for him. He loves his new colored balls.

I didn't go overboard with the kids, Alex is too young to care so he got more clothes and Nick got some trucks to go with his big block set. I also got him a coloring set with a magic marker, it only shows color when he draws on the book, so that saves on marks all over the house. Alex has a unique way of opening presents, he uses his teeth but he loved ripping them open.

Alex is also getting his personality, he was making a lot of funny faces at me, maybe because grandma makes them back.

Nick loved all the attention I gave him and the presents. A set of books with an electronic reader, he loves anything electronic, so a good way for him to get into reading, his way.

The boys are ready for dinner, was hoping to get all the family at the table, but the boys were happy to ham it up for me.

Now it is time to get back to normal life again, whatever that may be and where ever my creative motivation takes me. Lots of projects to finish and new ones to start and ideas to try. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and can enjoy creating new things for the new year.  Here is a blast from the past. I got a new dress for Christmas and it wasn't home made, lol.

The Day After!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for your Christmas wishes and support with my family situation. It really means a lot to me to know that I have so many people around the world, that I can call my friends and the support and love to get me through the tough days.

The good news was my son sent me a message and said we were welcome to stop by for a visit. So, I was torn about going but knew I would regret it, if I didn't, so we went. I enjoyed seeing the baby and we played and took a walk outside with Bean, but they were getting ready for dinner and we were not invited, so I left.

Nicholas is quite the talker, even though most of it sounds like a foreign language, lol.

This was Bean's first Christmas and he was 6 months old on the 24th. I put his first present on the floor and he kept circling it and touching it, and when it moved he jumped back. It really didn't move, it rolled and once he got to see what in inside he was thrilled with his new ball.

Once he got the hang of what was in a package, he opened up his next one. But, he did it very, very slowly, ripping off a piece at a time, lol. Another one of his favorite presents, something to shake to death.

Today was a "Me" day. We went for a ride and I bought myself a new pair of boots so I had something  more practical and comfy for the winter and a large vintage style jar for Bean's treats. After shopping we went to Black Rock and walked along the path and rocks.

Bean loved running along the rocks, he has a natural ability for maneuvering around them.

It was so beautiful today that we kept going and walked along the beach, as well. Bean loved greeting all the people and running in the sand. It is the first time I have been out since I have been sick and the fresh air and exercise put some color back into my face.

Taking a break with Bean for some hugs. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Playing Around!

I  had planned on finishing my new pattern this weekend, but life gets in the way. But sometimes it is worth slowing down and enjoying a day with my grandson.

I have wood floors and that is not a great surface for a baby to crawl on, so we got a new rug. Something that covers the living room floor so he has plenty of room to play now.

He has so many unique and fun expressions, I couldn't resist taking some photos. I should have a new design and punch to show you by wednesday, the punching is done, just need to decide how I want to finish it.

Nick likes the new rug too, lots of colors to look at.

And look who has his first teeth.

And of course he can crawl much better with the rug so he wants to see the fun toy grandma is pointing at him.

If you like to take photos of your family or send them to others, a fun program to use is PHO-TO. They have all types of photo editing tools from fixing a photo, resizing and lots of fun frames and effects.

This will be nice for holidays too, you can take a photo and then make it into a card to send to friends and relatives. The only thing you have to remember is to crop and size your photo to fit the frame. There is no way to position the photo in the frame, once it is in.

Giveaway! Chris at We Love Quilting is having her giveaways again, so don't miss out, she has wonderful surprises for her winners.

Monday with Nicholas Giveaway!

Today was a full day with Nicholas and I spent the weekend finishing my mug rug, so no new projects.  I decided to keep it simple and just added an outline stitch around the tree. In person it is more prim since I used older homespuns and too much detail would distract from the raggedy look, so thank you for helping me decide.

I have been decorating for Christmas a bit haphazardly, but it will do, lol. I wanted to put a tree up, but for some reason Bill threw out our trees. No idea why and wonder what else I will find missing;)

Today Nick was awake more often and a bit fussy, but a few shorter naps gave me time to relax for awhile. I needed to get dinner ready, leftover turkey and gravy makes a great pot pie. While I got that ready he sat in his chair and actually kept himself entertained today. He also hit another milestone, he found out he has fingers and spent most of the day moving them and touching them together. It won't be long before he can manipulate things better.

Of course he is teething and there is nothing better than a cold carrot and as you can see, he can be tough with anything he gums. I found that out when he tried using my knuckles, really, really hurts, lol.

When he got bored with that, we moved onto his stacking cups. Half end up on the floor, some he chews and some he plays with. Here is must be deciding which color would taste better.

When he got bored with those, we had a snack, bananas. He loves making a mess with them, and when he was finished I got out the washcloth and he grabbed it. He prefers to wash his own face and lick his fingers clean.

Now for the giveaway, give me a caption for this photo. The winner will get a free epattern or booklet from my ecrater store. I will draw a name from all of the entries on Friday, December 6th and announce the winner, that night.

Merry Christmas!

Opening presents is fun, I knew there would be a ball in there.



Now this present looks interesting, wish they wouldn't tape it so much.



Hey, there's no present, this critter ate it.



I'll show you, oh it squeaks, happy happy, joy joy, I really really love my toy.



I think Mom has lost it, I think I will go hide my toy before she starts playing with it.



Merry Christmas to all!