Sunday, September 20, 2020

Autumn here in northern NB

Oh how I love this this season! Cool comfortable nights and sunny fresh days. We’ve had some frost and the garden us winding down though; I wish it could last a little longer although I do enjoy the changing colors of the leaves.

Yesterday, I accessed the first part of a nearby trail where I could gather some wildflowers and take some pictures. Look what was in the middle of the trail a few meters in! For those without these creatures near you, it’s  bear scat - brown bear.  Generally, they wander closer to the houses at night and I’m not likely to see one here  in the daytime. 



These are my two favourite pics. The 1st on3 is a wild dogwood. And the next one is a wild white yarrow that I find so pretty, delicate and almost silvery.






I gathered a few to bring home and pop in a vase. There are alder cones, mountain ash berries, golden rod, pearly everlasting, and I think a wild celery. 





The colts match the Fiber art that I did last year. I wasn’t able to walk far enough to find the blue bead lily berries that I used for the piece. 



Before supper, I sat on the deck and sketched a quick bit of watercolour in my journal.
This morning, I sniped some of my herbs as the frost is soon going to kill them and I washed and dried them and put them in paper bags for the fridge. They will slowly dry there and last the winter.



My husband picked 3 large bags of apples which we’ll store in the cold room. I believe they me the best year ever, in 30 some years! Sweet and crispy.



I’ve been dying to make an apple crisp with our fall apples.



After lunch I cut and placed the remaining pieces on the cow and made a few adjustments. It’s ready now for stitching although I may still make a couple adjustments. 



Since 3:00 I’ve been sitting on the swing where I started winding a ball of merino dyed wool that I think I’ll use for a hat. I know, I have that poor bunny to finish but I need something easy to travel with and to work on late at night.




Once again I’m trying to add a video and I don’t think it’s working.

Monday, September 14, 2020

Autumn vibes

It’s been a couple of weeks since posting here and I really haven’t done much sewing. I’ve been tending to the garden, picking, blanching and freezing veggies and making rhubarb chutney and zucchini relish. This is the relish I did with yellow zucchini squash.




We’re not big pickle eaters. I do like a bit of relish as a side or maybe on a burger or mixed into a tuna salad.

We were just over for another visit to my daughter’s on PEI. Since I had a doctor’s appointment last Friday  in Moncton which is 3/4 of the way there, we figured it’d be a good time to do. Who knows what the future will bring as fall sets in and children are back at school. My daughter’s partner is also a teacher with a few hundred students so it could get riskier for us to go.




Story time with the both boys is sweet. Gussie the 5 month old seems fascinated by the pictures.



Sometimes after nap time when Ollie hears Gussie crying he goes in and crawls into the crib and talks to him. He’ll ask him if he has poo bum, lol, and sits him up.
Gussie loves any attention from big brother.



I brought this little repainted table home from my daughter’s. I got it at a yard sale last year for $5 and it’s solid wood, the ugly orangey finish kind. It fits my litttle corner in the studio perfectly and I like having the little shelf on the bottom,



Today, I managed a few essentials like getting some wash out and starting a veggie soup for dinner.





It’s really lovely out; however, I’m very tired and sore after our trip so must take it easy.

I’m still hand stitching on this piece, making slow progress because I can only work a short time before I need to rest my fingers.



I’ve got a pair of socks nearly finished. They are in bamboo and very soft. 



I love the colors of this small afghan I finished a few weeks ago.


I’m also making this cotton market bag for no other reason than that I like the feel and color of the cotton and I was looking for something to knit, lol.



For  my 65th birthday which will be in a few weeks, I decided I’d like a larger tv in my living room, not something I’d have wanted before. The reality though is that when I’m using the remote to search for shows through the guide or with my Roku  channels, I couldn’t read the description of the shows.
It’s a 50” which just fits our small space. I can at least read everything now.



My current favourite snack is a fruit with cheese or roasted chick peas.



My fall dried wildflowers really match my fibre art.



Love the colors.



It’s nice in the yard today, a good day for gardening or relaxing on the swing. 
Right now I’m resting as travel takes a lot out of me. 



Last week, we had a little trip to a spot on the Mi’gmaq trail where I was able to get one last swim for the year. I didn’t get many swims this summer due to the long episode with the kidney stones.

The textures and colors in the rock really attract me and I’m thinking I’d like to try this as my next piece of fibre art.
I’m thinking of painting the rock onto white fabric and adding the leaves and flowers as appliqué.
First, I need to gather some energy to get the black and white pattern made to the size I want.



Aren’t the patterns and colors in the water below gorgeous! Even this would make a nice piece of art. My head is full of inspiration but my body is not willing to oblige. 
The surgeon confirmed that I will need another hip replacement. He referred me for an injection done under fluoroscopy at the hospital for now which could take 5or 6 weeks. I’ll see if it helps and follow up with him later.
So for now and probably a good while, I’ll learn to cope with the mobility restriction and pain. It’s all about patience and finding small things I can do. I always find inspiration somewhere.



I want to make another trip when the leaves change colors. I can’t hike the trail right now but I can take a snack and sit awhile sketching and picture taking.



Take care, say safe and enjoy your days.