QUILTED BAGS!

 I finally was able to get to some sewing yesterday.


I made totes to just get my hand in sewing after almost six months without a machine.


I have so much fun making bags as they are colourful wherein I use up lots of fabric. 


My sweetie commented that when he goes shopping in Dorset for groceries, he will receive so many oohs and aaws.  Maybe, but they are at least very sturdy and highly functional.


The little one on the left is from a pay it forward that I received
years ago and it has been re-
purposed as the little quilt was 
no longer being used.  I love it, may use it as a summer purse too.


The morning is so calm, all islands and mainland are in full reflections.  The lake is calm, which is not so good if it is cloudy as that means another day without sunshine.


True story....a friend who has a puppy realized that there had been a backyard escape...she ran to the front door only to see her dog running across the street...she was screaming the dog's name, frantically trying to make it across the street to catch the running dog.  A truck driver blocked some traffic, opened his door to come to her aid, when the puppy jumped into his truck!   My friend was so thankful, saying thank you over and over as she held her dog.
The truck driver looked around and leaned over saying "do you realize you are in a nightie?"  Embarrassed, she noted that it wasn't see through and it was clean!  


NOTE...daughter has been to physician it is suspected gastric problems for which ongoing tests will be needed...  

APRIL MEANS SPRING!

I am thinking that spring is here. Today was a glorious sunny day.  Not a cloud in the sky this whole day.

The wind is a bit north west, which shelters us so we are cozy.  We do have ice on the eaves spout though, so it's not that warm, but it's coming this week.  I believe the weather people today because I want to.

I won a lovely giveaway from Quilton that she had recently.  The mail  just caught up with us at our little post office.  Goodness, we had a lot.

I love this gift! Bev made it and 

it is a storage for sewing stuff when we set off again.  The little bag of goodies will come in handy too, although I have already eaten the jelly beans.

If you haven't had a boo at her blog, go over...Quilton has some great stuff.

I brought up a quilt that has been 

at my friend Mary's house to keep her tootsies warm in the winter, and it has enough green to satisfy me for the moment in the sun room at the cottage.  

Finally, my very precious Kelly gave me a scare yesterday, having to call 911 while out shopping.  Now she is tough for pain, so it must have been pretty bad.  She said that giving birth would compare to the pain....laughing now....Anyway, my friend Mary got the first call as she was 5 minutes away from her, but Mary who is our resident expert when it comes to medical stuff, said "Hang up and call 911...NOW!"   So the ambulance was called and she ended up in emergency ward with all kinds of tests, which happily they didn't find anything serious....what?   Anyway she is good today, will call family doctor for appointment tomorrow (Monday).  

As a mother, all our children are precious, but this is my only daughter!  I had visions in my head that I cannot print here, but you all know what I mean.  She is ok, and that is the main thing.  

So, in the end I thank Bob and Mary who came to her rescue, fetched her at the hospital, drove her to her car and Mary drove her home with Bob as back up.  They both made sure she was settled.

What friends....now you know why we love them like family....

  

WINTER RETURNS TO COTTAGE

We returned to the cottage just in time for winter....I tell you that this passed week has been one of adventure.


Our friends arrived with us for a week of opening up, putting in docks etc.


Well that didn't happen.  We 
had winds from the east which 
threatened power outage a couple of times.  Whew!  It didn't happen. 


So, all we did was keep fires burning, using up more wood in a week than we had all last fall.


Too cold to set up for sewing so, I am still knitting.  The sewing machine is in freezing mode, the cutting board is stiff, that's how cold it is. 


As I write this, the sun has decided to grace our cottage, making warmth.  It is amazing how quickly the sun warms us.  The bedroom which faces east is so warm.  So inviting.   I have also ventured into the sun room  where the sun is just arriving and in the past 15 minutes, the temp has risen from 50 degrees f...to 65...thank you sun shine.


The swan above, the photo which was posted by a friend, also covered its face from the cold.


Please bring on spring warmth....the hummingbirds are about 10 days from arriving.  Oh, we also found a poor little bat which was totally chilled and it died on the back deck...that is cold!

WELCOME TO THE COTTAGE.

 We arrived back at our cottage on Wednesday afternoon.  The sky was blue, the lake calm, and all was right with the world.


After we had unpacked umpteen  bags, bins, and various other needs for the cottage, we lit the fire to get the place warmed up after the long winter season.


The wood stove is such a fabulous little
item for getting heat moving in quickly.  I had left all the fixings for the spring start of this gem and just lit a match to get it started.


Within a half hour the cottage had coziness all over it.  The living room was full of cartons, more bins, and various outdoor paraphernalia left from fall closing so that it was looking mighty messy.


We moved most of it to the hall (3 X 5), left it and proceeded to take ourselves to the dock, sit and enjoy the lake in the late afternoon.


This is the earliest we have returned to the "in residence" mode.  We spent a week at our friends, Bob and Mary's place, organized the plan for opening, so it was decided that the guys would go to the lake, take down shutters, and put some semblance of order to the cottage.


Perfect!  Our boat which has a new weather
protection visor on it was perfect for being out on the lake in April...Brrrrrrr!  At times it is quite chilly, but I had the pleasure of sitting up front with my back to the wind, midst all the bags etc.  The dog was cozy too, under an old jacket as he doesn't like the wind.


So, here we are, the place is starting to look lived in again.  There is no sign (so far ) of the pesky bear.  The dog is dirty from hunting mice at the wood pile.  And on the weekend, Bob and Mary will arrive, as will Helen and her sweetie to open their cottage.


South about 120 miles, is our grand son in spring training mode.
He is out on the water doing his passion and not feeling chilly at all.


Bring on the spring sunshine for the weekend!  Can't wait.


It's my favourite thing for Friday!  The cottage.

LEAVING FLORIDA!

 We left Cocoa Beach at 8:30 this morning.  I 95 is an interstate that we were told is full of traffic all the time and on an Easter Sunday it was full of action!


We saw this smoke about 5 minutes before we came upon it.

It was a diesel bus, full of people on full fire as you can see from 
the photos I managed to take as we were moving through.


After we left the scene, the highway was closed!  It took 5 firetrucks to put the fire under control...we were so lucky to have missed the cut off.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a lone boat on a very peaceful river in Georgia.


We also saw a car in a ditch on the road which looked like the car had stopped on the shoulder and just slipped off ....no injuries
and some lucky spring break
young men.


As we made it to Charlotte North Carolina, we are tired and happy to have traveled this far in one day with the occasional stops for this and that. 


The dog of course was a good little traveler as usual, and slept
in the back seat of the truck most
of the way.

You have heard me say time and time again about how small our master bedroom is at the cottage, well here is Jeremy's room at his training camp.   It is the only place where they could put the cot at night because of the space....Only for a week and he said it was really comfy, on the second floor so that if there was a fire, he'd have been able to jump off the balcony!  

So, tomorrow we are heading to Eire Pennsylvania....then we will enter Canada for the first time in ages....I am still in shorts!  How good is that!

QUILTS IN THE SNOW

An artist, Simon Beck in Savoi France, spends his days, walking on snow shoes to create these fabulous patterns in the snow to create snow quilts.


The quilts take approximately five to nine hours to create.

Enjoy yourself looking at these.
My sister in law found this site  and
she thought I would love this.

COCOA BEACH DAYS!

 Cocoa Beach is just down the road from Cape Canaveral.  The LaQuinta Hotel was built by the original astronauts as you can see from the plaque at our hotel.


Apparently, so the history has been told to me, the goverment felt that the Original 7 should not 
profit by their fame!  So after a few years, it became something else and now is a LaQuinta.


 CBS had its headquarters at this hotel (talk about profits) and the families of the astronauts lived above the headquarters when they were in town.


So many of the streets in this town
are named after different things that
reflect something of flights from here.There is even an "I dream of Jeanie" street.


Our grandson, Jeremy who is pictured at the pool of the hotel, is in Melbourne Beach at a Canoe/Kayak training camp.  He is with two other boys also working hard.   We took them 
shopping for food.  What an ex
perience that was as our truck is
full of our belongings, so we 
packed as much as we could leaving 
the cover unhooked so as not to
crush eggs and the cereals.  They
are good for the next couple of 
weeks.

I have finished Jeremy's sweater. It wasn't fun for him trying it on in 85 degrees F weather!  It fits, but if he muscles out more, I think the mother or sister of this guy will want it.  I'm not happy with how the bottom is, but am assured that it does stop the curling out that I see when being a critic of the pattern.  Next time I would do a binding on the bottom.


The space centre awaits visitors and I do think that we will go today as it is cloudy after a torrential downpour this morning.


I have been told by Helen my friend and teacher that the ice is out on most of the lake.  However, that doesn't mean that the boats are ready to be launched, so we will be travelling a bit more.


Don't you just love my life these days?  I do!

IT'S FRIDAY....FAVOURITE THINGS AGAIN.

 Once again, it is Friday, and time for fav things.


This sweater which I made for my darling daughter Kelly is a tweedy brown wool.  I love it and am sure she will love it too!


It's a surprise for her.  She doesn't

check the blog much in the winter
as I haven't done much here.


I am posting the close up as it is so lovely in person, as most things are.  That touch feely thing, right?


I am now also knitting my final project of the Florida season which is a sweater for Jeremy, the
guy at the Florida winter training 
camp.  Tough life he has, fun in the
sun doing what he loves to do best.

This is our bedroom at the moment.  Not too shabby.  We are enjoying glorious sunshine in the low 80s which my sweetie is moaning about...It's so hot is his daily comment....or...it's gonna be a hot one!  Well what do you expect....Sunshine and more sun
shine!

Our sweet dog has acquired an ear infection!  We were at the vet's a couple of days ago and he is in full recovery mode.


Apparently, westies and some such dogs are susceptible to this because of the humid weather.  Well, he is on the mend now, with me having to pounce on him when I must do the dirty deed of cleaning the ears etc.  He is smart and hides under the bed to keep away from me.


Our days are winding down for sure.  Our food stuffs are dwindling and we will be eating out for a while it seems once we leave here till we find another abode.


OK, another ad.  I lie a bit, but have been saving them.
Free!  Yorkshire Terrier....the little bastard bites!   This was a true one!

GOODBYE WINTER, HELLO SPRING!....

 Our winter diggs are owned by an artist.  She comes to the Villas each winter for a few days with her  other artist friends.


They paint, they walk the beach and at times do lovely works of art which hang in the rooms of the villas.


This year, this playful creation was
done for those of us brave enough
to put our pusses in the hole and
say "cheese".  I was the first.


Also the last pot luck dinner was had with the gang bringing their best left over dishes.  We were there to feast and watch the sun go down.  It does get chilly in the early evening glow.  


Next year more "new from here" gang will have grown.  We will  be with the last of the gang to depart for the north.


Even the pelicans have decided to leave the beach for the spring break crazies who come to the pan handle.


The weather has been mild in Ontario, in the mid 50s in most places including, yep, even our little piece (peace too) of heaven on the lake.
We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping to be back by April 20th. The ice should be gone by then.


I have new quilts to sew, and so little time to do it all. My fingers will need to remember 1/4" sewing all over again.


I have finished a sweater for my girl, and will post it soon.  I do have one more to do, but my arm has been bothering me a bit.  Probably from bending it so as to hold up my head!  Really....when I am on the computer I do that and it is now sore.....don't laugh, I must learn to hold up my head by my neck!


Local paper add....must sell washer and dryer....have joined nudist colony.

IS SPRING NOT FAR AWAY?

KNITTING IN FLORIDA CONTINUES...

 I am still knitting little things to keep the fingers busy.


I have decided to keep the socks and fingerless gloves that I made with Sirdar yarn. 


At first this yarn wasn't my favourite to work with, but as time went on the patterns turned out well, so I am so pleased with the
results.


In progress is a sweater in a brown 
tweed, which will be a surprise for
one of my girls.

 The waves on Sunday were wild!  I mean 10-12 ft waves, surging onto the shore all day long.  The result is that the beach has changed mightily as some of the beach is gone to sea.

I'm not sure if the little video shows well here, but it was truly a wild day.  The pelicans were flying over the villas instead of over the 

water.

This little gal is a cross between a Maltese and a schnauzer.  She is so friendly as you can see, and the centre of attention wherever she goes.


The dogs avoid her as she has so much energy, and is all over them.


My sweetie is growing a mustache which he hope to be able to add wax and have it curl up.   I think he may eventually decide that this facial thing is too much work and he will chop it off.  


The puppy from......loves it though.


The days are winding down here on the Panhandle.  Just eight days to go till we head to the Orlando area for our final weeks in lovely Florida.   I feel like I shall be leaving one home for another.


Ad in a local paper.....Wedding dress for sale....worn once by mistake.
Enjoy your day.

Kearny Quilt....Helen

This is Helen's simple quilt which was donated to the Kearny Ontario Dog sled race day.  I love coin quilts and all the variations that come with them.  This quilt has a strip on the back which makes it fabulous with the red print binding.


The days are winding down here in Florida as a few people are starting to count the days left in their little villas.  We are about ten days from leaving here and heading further south.


Our dear friends, Bob and Mary who have been with us for three weeks are at another location for an extended week.  We were a gang of party people at their place last night.  A rock and roll event that had us dancing till the wee hours of 8:30 ish.   Honestly, we were all probably in bed in the next hour.  


The weather is humid, warm and I love it.  The announcement of thunder showers on the weather network made me yearn for rolling thunder, but nothing like we have at the lake in summer.


I look forward to our return to the lake in about seven weeks.  Honestly, the time has just flown by, leaving me to wonder how it is that it has happened.  Oh well, spring is just around the corner isn't it?

SWEATER IS FINISHED. HAPPY VALENTINE!

 As the sunny takes take their toll on our tans here in Florida, I usually take knitting down to the pool area to keep myself busy.   This sweater of course as most things looks better in person.  It is for a granddaughter's  birthday in a couple of weeks.

I have also been knitting socks, the fingerless gloves which are a huge hit here and a couple of frilly scarfs. I could go into business!  Of course the pay would be about 0 cents per hour as I do a bit here and there with the gloves etc.  But having said that there are a couple of ladies here who would like to knit a bit, and one has even gone so far as to by yarn!  So good things are happening.

We have hit a bit of a cold spell on the panhandle of Florida, but in the sheltered area of the pool, we Canadians hung tough and sat in the sunshine.  It was funny on Sunday.  There we were, eight people along the sunny sheltered side of the pool.   As the sun moved off an area, one person would move to the far left till we were all sitting on the other side of the pool!  Too funny, one chair at a time and everytime someone moved, there was a cheer!  Life is never dull here.

We saw this amazing plane in our travels here.  It is one of those that hovers, then wings come out and it flies like a regular plane.  I can't remember the name of it, but Osprey comes to mind.  I refuse to ask (one more time) what it is called.  But it was a thrill  to see it take off.  We are living between two air force bases here so we see lots of military stuff.

Yesterday a plane flew so low we could have hopped on!  For we Canadians, anything like this is a big treat and we waved like crazy.

Today, being Valentine, we are going to a pot brunch at noon.  I do have red to wear for the occasion, and am making a yummy appetizer.  It is the one that I call Monica's Recipe.  Monica being one person that I know that really doesn't cook, but this is her recipe for each occasion that calls for "bring something".

Okay, here it is....one cup of chopped onion, one cup of mayo (hellman's only), one cup of cheddar cheese.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350.  I use a food processor to mix it all .  Also spray the dish before putting the mixture in.  Very very good and no one can guess the ingredients.    I serve this with rice crackers or other crispy crackers to dip.

I have also discovered Google Phone.  All I needed was gmail and I was dialing my fingers off.  A great little device.

Today it is raining and the sea is huge.  We are loving Florida Panhandle.

FIREFLY RESTAURANT, DINING AT ITS BEST!

If it was good enough for the President of the United States, it must be good!  Good is an understatement for this restaurant where we went last night.


The photo is in the middle of the restaurant, and above the lights on the tree are little green lights that just twinkle here and there for the "firefly" effect.  Beautiful!


Here in Florida's panhandle there are many fine restaurants.  But this one is where I had one of the most memorable meals of my life!


The shecrab soup was so good that I could have made a meal of this.  There was flavour such as I've never had, and the little piece of puff pastry in the soup was perfect.


There was planked salmon.  Perfect!  We had the Delmonico steak, done to perfection with the right amount of bernaise and an au ju sauce on the side.


I have never been to a restaurant where there is no salt and pepper on the table....seriously...have you?  


I am being so careful about eating as it is easy to get fat when one doesn't cook for ones self.  The bread pudding dessert which had chocolate and blackberries on top, homemade ice cream on the side.


Delicious, I couldn't finish it though as I was so full.  Imagine me being full at a restaurant.


This is probably the only restaurant review that you will ever read from me, so salivate....I ate the best for the best price too.    I'm not even mentioning Michael our server who guided us throughout the meal.


Today, we are going to tell everyone about this place.  I will advise the shecrab soup for sure.  


Enjoy the weekend.

KNITTING IN FLORIDA!

 This is a boa or a scarf that is becoming quite popular in the knitting circles of Canada at the moment.


Over Christmas when we were visiting my friend Helen who is also knitter extraordinaire, can you believe, she gave me one of these
little gems.


Of course it was easy for her to 
knit, but me?  I had to do it
twice to get the darn thing right.


The yarn is called Frill Seeker is wide as you can see and one adds nine stitches and the above photo is the result.


I didn't pick up enough of the 
yarn, and when I shook it to 
make the frills, it unraveled!
Oh yeah, what else would one expect
from my first attempt!


I am loving the colours for sure.


This photo of my knitting place is from our balcony with a wee Mary swimming in the pool getting her morning exercise which she she has been doing every day.


Me?  I'm walking on the beautiful beach, my sweetie is walking 5 km each day.  Wonderful, wonderful, and he is loving the walking even if he has pain in his hip.  We should be in great shape for cottage time.


The weather has been extraordinarily warm for this time of year, in the mid 70s and so sunny too that even the locals are wearing shorts.  


Not too far from our villas is a bar, a biker bar to tell you.  Anyway one morning Mary (friend in residence) needed change and since this bar only closes for an hour a day, she walked over got quarters for laundry.  Coming out of the crowded bar, she noted a Harley Davidson with rider parking.  Now Mary is a nurse, and she notes that this guy has all kinds of coloured tubing wound around the seat of the bike, and looking to the rear of said bike is an oxygen tank with the mask.  Only if Florida folks, only in Florida.