King's Landing

Once more I explored King's Landing, a live history

village here near Fredericton, NB.

The leaves were turning, the air was rich with wood smoke and apples,

and the sky was just overcast enough to deter crowds!

My friend, Teresa, strapped her 10 month old granddaughter to her 

and we hit the paths.

The mill I hooked last year

A woman strings beans to dry for winter

I love these vignettes

A determined sheep reaches for the apples

After we had hot spiked cider in the candle-lit pub
we stopped at the gift shop.
They were trying to sell heavier pieces as the season is ending.
I nabbed this table and Teresa got a buffet
at 60% off!
Having a truck was convenient...

Home again.
My Grandma's Rug is really coming along

Wheels and Deals

                             

Last weekend we hooked up the trailer

and drove an hour plus away to the peninsula on the St. John.

Part of a club which allows dry camping on specific places of business,

we chose Gillis of Belisle Vineyard.

The days were unseasonably warm so we did not

need the propane heater.

We walked a marsh trail with little Lucy dog,

sipped wine under the stars,

and I hooked on the stone patio while hubby caught up on 

office work.

The vineyard logo is taken from the painted quilt

at the side of the barn.

As the limit is one night's stay, we slept in

and slowly decamped to the calls of birds and bullfrogs!

My two awesome scores this weekend included

this little cross-stitch piece I put in the trailer.

Cost a whopping quarter. So sad, really.

But it has an excellent home now.

And this dry sink:

Cost? 

$30.

It will take elbow grease to strip it down to the wood and wax it 

 and I'd like to change the handles.

Two more house viewings over the weekend 

but no 

feedback yet.

May your week be blessed!

                          

Rainy September

What a rainy cool day! 

I feel some stirring to prepare for the upcoming Winter already.

I have a new client from 7-9 every morning;

a super schedule that pays well and gives me the day!

Today I returned home, made a cup of tea and lit a fav candle.

Here’s a plug for my fav candles:

 I used to buy Swan Creek exclusively but my tastes have changed.

We

Gable House Goodes turns out more primitive, homey scents.

The lit one is a clove molasses scent.

The Olde Salem candle small like all the good things

in an old house.

My K Creations bargain of a frame arrived and 

I love it.

I took it to the first booking meeting of the year last night

and my friend, Ute, presented me with a cover she made!

Wasn’t that thoughtful? 

And it fits perfectly! 

We had some interest shown in our home which has 

been on the market since June:

Here’s hoping!

Happy Humpday

Cozies

Atlantic Canada got Dorian-

Here in my town we had strong winds and 2 inches of rain.

In other parts they had 5" of rain and category 2 winds.

Apparently Nova Scotia is 80% without power.

The storm brought cooler air too, so out came these:

My wool socks from Briggs & Little mills nearby.

I have 4 pair and they are toasty.

I've also been working on cleaning yellow stains off a 60 year old quilt.

Much came off with OxyClean, both from soaking and washing,

but a friend recommended this Italian soap and I was lucky to

find it locally.

(My friend used this to hand clean a yellowed wedding dress and

she couldn't believe the difference.)

Here is the quilt, a twin size plus and hand stitched. 

A client gave me this quilt while I was helping

her declutter. 

She was disgusted to find it so stained

and asked me to keep it or pass it to the thrift store.

I decided I'd try to remove the stains and then

offer it back to her.

As it was made by her mother she may want it but in good repair.

I've also been making lasagna today to take to a family 

who just lost their elderly mom.

The house is filled with the delicious smells of sauce and meat.

I handed off the guild project rug to someone else and now

I will turn to my own for hooking again! 

Warm socks, baking and quilts--

all cozy representations of domesticity.

Happy Week...

RV Life

One week in rv camp and I must say we love it.

Days spent by the river or in the river

Or hunting frogs

Lucy only killed one frog 

She likes the chase and will do it for hours.

With  a bathroom and tv we are 

hardly roughing it...

The only thing I have missed is hooking 

on a rug.

I decided that my hooking stuff would take up

too much room and be more of a hassle on this first foray 

into camping.

Now I am more familiar with the space we have.

And I have  gotten a fold down frame 

and put in an order for a travel Bolivar with 6 & 8 heads.

Anyway, this rv park is small and friendly.

It’s run by a couple who sold up everything in BC 

and came east three years ago.

This weekend we have community cards and camp fires 

and a corn boil.

And yes we have Labor Day weekend here in Canada as they do in

the States. 

May your Long Weekend be a good one!

Cleaning Up

Cleaning out a wool room is no fun

But when you HAVE to clean it out it’s a real drag

It’s forcing me to separate my colours into huge boxes.

Try sorting oranges from golds when there is little difference.

And showing me that I have-brace yourselves- too much wool.

If I hooked every day for the rest of my life I would use a quarter of it.

Maximum.

But some forgotten treasures have popped up: extra red dot, two UFOs,

long forgotten patterns (I used to sell on eBay), Sharpies, hook books, a

punch needle.... the list goes on.

I had to stop working mid day when I decided to clear out

a box of my son’s.

I reached into the dark recesses and came

out with a fishing hook embedded deep in my pointer finger.

The other barbs were attached to a lunch bag and two T-shirt’s.

It was quite a sight until I cut off the extras.

I took a pic later but will spare you.

Our Canadian ER is notorious for six and eight hour waits so my neighbors

took me to their doctor nearby.

The office is closed to new patients UNLESS you happen to

walk in with an STI (formerly STD).

We joked that I could tell them I’d drop my pants after

they removed the fish hook.

But no need, they took me and an hour later I left with

a tetanus shot, a bandaged finger and a tube of polysporin.

Just when I want to complain about our healthcare they do something

extraordinary.

This is hubby Erik and Lucy. 

Lucy loves rides on anything:

 wheelbarrows, kayaks,cars.

Such a sweet old furry face!

And I was up in Erik's office yesterday and had forgotten

that I had lent him one of my rug's for his decor.

Here it is, hooked about four years ago.

Wonky camera angle.

I was surprised that it has faded so much.

Well, I'm off to test the new rv today.

The hitching and unhitching has me unnerved.

Here is our new toy:

And I turn 49 soon.
Scary fast this life is!

August Waning

Rug hooking groups don’t meet in summer?

Bring a hooker to you.

I threw a pot pie in the oven and set a vase

of garden flowers and some Chardonnay

on the back deck and viola!

 My German friend, Ute, and I had a super

couple of hours of hooking, eating, and catching up.

Last week hubby and I went up to northern

New Brunswick.

 In our 12 years here, we'd never been

and we wanted to look at rvs along the Bay of Chaleur.

The word "chaleur" refers to warmth but certainly it

must apply to the people and not the water temps.

Brrrr... not a soul was swimming but fishing and beach combing.

 Rugged and raw beauty!

 There were these huge piles of debris

along the water, guess they will be bonfires soon.

I have a part-time decluttering job.

Look what I discovered today at her home:

This is a small 10" x 12" (ish) mat attached to a stool.

Guess who hooked it? Doris Eaton! 

My client won it at a political function years ago.

I love the beautiful simplicity...

Time is flying and there is much to do before we depart 

on a one year rv sabbatical and tour of the US. 

The house needs to sell.

Say a prayer if you're so inclined.