Pincushions and Twilight

I finally was able to get around to making myself a couple of new pincushions. I was going to make just your old run of the mill pincushion. But then I thought why not make something pretty and sweet so I finally settled on a couple of cupcake pincushions. I have a tendency to not take to much time when I am making something for myself. Don't know why that is other than I have so much other stuff to do. Well from now on I get some of the pretty stuff too!I have been meaning to blog about a trip I took with my daughter and niece last October. My niece Chloe was visiting from England and is a huge Twilight fan. So we just had to make a trip to Forks Washington the town that the movie was about. We set off very early and very excited. It was a wonderful trip and a wonderful weather day. The scenery was spectacular. Around every corner it just kept getting better and better. We finally arrived at Forks around lunch time. We stopped on the outskirts of town by the "Welcome to Forks" sign and took some photo's. Of course apples were brought along to re-create the front cover on one of the books. They were of course promptly eaten as by this time we were quite hungry.Forks is quite a small little town but we found a restaurant and had some lunch. This was one of the items on the menu. After much laughing we settled on something else for our lunch. I guess a lot of the businesses in Forks were cashing in on their new found fame.Lunch over with we took in a spot of sight seeing. Here is one of the trucks that Bella used in the movie. I say one because further down the road we came upon another one. So we will never know for sure. It was still fun anyway.You can even have your photo taken standing next to these cardboard cutouts of the characters in the movie. Not going to tell you if we did or not... it's to embarrassing!
Down the road we went to the Cullen house. Edward wasn't there of course but we took a photo of his mail box.It took a bit of searching but we finally found all that is left of the high school that Bella and Edward attended. Just the front fascade is still standing. They are building a new high school so they pulled that old one down. Apparently they are trying to raise money to save and I think move this piece. I hope they manage to do it.Last stop in town was Bella Swans house. I stood there wondering how many times a day this little house gets photographed. I wondered too if the owners got fed up with all the cars pulling up out front.
Anyway on we went with our trip.After driving for what seemed like forever we finally ended up in La Push. My goodness what an incredibly beautiful place.... and incredibly windy too! This is the place that they all went swimming or surfing. At least that is what they would like us to believe.
What a day we had! We still had a very long drive home but on the way back we decided to cut out some of the driving and take the ferry part way.The sun was starting to set as we got on board the ferry to take us back home.
Hope you enjoyed our little Twilight trip, we certainly did. In fact I can't wait until I go back again. Want to come along?

See you soon.

No Snow Here!

I almost feel a little mean doing this post today. With a good deal of the country battling snow and ice here I am showing you how incredible lovely it was here. The sun was shining brilliantly and the sky was as blue as could be. Although it was pretty cold I took my afternoon tea out on the front porch and soaked up some Vitamin D.Right there, the chair on the left is where I sat. I had actually thought about bringing out some knitting or crocheting but I did have to keep reminding myself that it was February.The Flowering Plum Tree in the front garden is already full of buds.The only plants that are blooming at this time of year are the heathers. This one is in need of a trim after it has finished blooming. Must add that to my to do list.Through the gate and into the back garden I went. I was very surprised to see that the Daylilies had already popped through the ground. The temperature difference from the front to the back is quite amazing. Sometimes it can be almost 8 to 10 degrees cooler back here. It does make it nice in summer though when it can be blisteringly hot on the front porch.My Flowering Currant Bush is also full of buds. This is one of the first plants to bloom in Spring. The returning Hummingbirds are all over it once the flowers come out.Last stop in the garden... my little bench. Looking a bit sad without the Honeysuckle vine in bloom. But watch out in a few months, it will be buzzing with Hummingbirds and Bees.... and of course I'll be sitting there sipping tea and sewing something or other.

So I hope that my little garden tour has brightened up your day if you are dealing with lots of snow and ice. Just remember it won't last forever.

See you soon.

Cheswick...

... the Great Horned Owl! I am sure all the Great Horned Owls everywhere are very insulted by my version but he's mine and I love him! He did give me some grief in the making but he proudly stands atop our bookcase looking down with those enormous eyes.

Speaking of owls so far this year we have not seen the real Great Horned Owls down at the nature refuge. Last winter their tree that they had been nesting in blew down in a bad storm. Everyone is on the lookout for them though. I hope they have found a new suitable tree and will again have young.

Well I am going to take a long weekend staying up at my daughters house. So enjoy your weekend and I will see you all again next week.

Dreaming of Spring

At this time of year when we rarely see the sun I just love it when I am given spring flowers. My lovely daughter gave me this beautiful Hyacinth plant on Saturday. I wish you could smell how wonderfully fragrant it is. I am starting to notice already that there are quite a few spring flowers for sale. Gives me hope that Spring can't be too far away. So far this winter we haven't had too much bad weather. In fact it has been pretty mild here. Not so for the rest of the country. Many places are inundated with snow, poor things. At least we don't have to shovel all our rain!While our daughter was visiting this past weekend we took her to our favorite walking place. Quite a bit of wildlife was spotted. These two Bald Eagles were perched high up in a dead tree scanning the horizon. No matter how many times we see them it is always a thrill.There is always lots of bathing and splashing going on. Now that more and more ducks are returning there is usually quite a bit of squabbling for the best nesting spots. I always love the time of year when all the new babies arrive. Still making those little pouches for my shop. I am also trying to work on some other projects that I have had in my mind for a while. I have been trying to work on a little owl. I just have to keep plodding away until I have it just right.

Wherever you are I hope you are having a great Tuesday.
See you soon!

Unfinished

Unfinished is the right word to describe my week! I have so many projects laying around unfinished. My week started off really well with such wonderful plans. By Tuesday afternoon however all my plans for the week just fell apart. As soon as I got started with a project I had to abandon it because something else came up. It's really been that way all week. Frustrating! Here we are at Friday already and all I have to show is what is on my work table. Even my new sewing machine was cast aside for some other important task. Don't you just hate weeks like that. Especially if you are in a creating mood. Why is it when we have all the time in the world to sew or knit that we really don't feel like it then? Grump, grump, grump!
I do have one finished project to show. Last weekend at my daughters house I wrapped some soaps. These are our new soaps for Spring. It was so much fun picking out the pretty paper and matching up the soap with just the right one. It is nice to take a break from all my other crafting and make soap. It's pretty nice too that at the end of a long soaping day I get to indulge in the products and take a nice long bath.

Well time for me to get out of here for the weekend. I sure hope that next week will be a lot different than this one. Maybe if I don't make any plans it will work out better... yep that's just what I'll do!

See you next week.

My New Toy

Well here I am sitting in front of my brand new super duper sewing machine! What a wondrous thing this is. I think it does just about everything but bake a cake... and it just might do that too but I haven't found that button yet! I am feeling and looking I think, like a deer caught in the headlights. I have never had a sewing machine that could do so much before. Can you believe that there is even a feature that let's me know that it's time to go and make dinner! I kid you not! Hubby really likes that feature! This will take some getting used to before I can just sit down and whip out something great. I have already signed myself up for some classes to learn all the ins and outs of this little beauty. I really had no intention of buying a new machine. We just popped into the store to take my old machine in for a service. It was all hubby's fault as he spotted it first and called me over to take a look. (A big mistake on his part). Anyway, a short while later she was mine. Before I waved goodbye to my old machine I was able to crank out a few more little pouches. I hope to have these listed in my shop sometime today. I was sad to see my Pfaff go as it really has served me well. My goodness the things that I have made on that machine.

I know you'll forgive me for making this a short post as I am going to try to figure out how this new machine really works.

Have a wonderful Monday.
See you all soon.

Excited and Chomping at the Bit!

I am as giggly as a school girl and I know I am probably driving my family up the wall with my exuberance. Something new and wonderful will be arriving at my house this weekend and I just can't wait to get my hands on it! That will have to wait til Monday however as I will be away for the weekend... poor daughter she will have to put up with me blabbing on about it all weekend. My husband saw it first and called me over to take a look.... well one look was all it took and I was sold. Bet by now you are all wondering what it is, aren't you? Well like me you will all have to wait til Monday! No it's not a puppy!

See ya!