Dress-up Station

The January thaw pretty much ruined the ice skating, but now we have 12* and blowing snow so with any luck the ice will be safe again and we'll find some smooth ice underneath the snow.  I always sleep with the window open at the head of my side of the bed and last night throughout the blustery winds, I awoke several times with a mist of snow blowing in on my face.  I LOVE that! 

My daughter-in-law spotted something on Pinterest called a dress-up station and asked my husband to make one similar for her little girls.  Here are the finished pictures... as we loaded it up to deliver and in place ready for dressing up.  Isn't it cute?

January Ice

The ice is perfect for skating almost always at the first of the year and this year it did not fail us.  My granddaughter, Emily, has her first pair of ice skates ~ two-runners!  Do you remember those?  They still make them and are perfect for learning.  Emily is loving it!  We had some nice crisp sunny days for skating and ice rinks have popped up all around the lakeshore.  We shoveled a connecting pathway to the neighbors' rinks and had a good game of tag-on-skates.

Big Seven-O

Birthdays come and go.  Today is my 70th.  Yesterday I was grumpy about it.  Today I am fine.  Especially since my Aunt Ricky just called to wish me a happy birthday.   She is a young 90 and we laughed and laughed about our ages. 

My favorite birthday gift is the gift of smooth ice for ice skating.  I put my skates on at the shore this morning and it was a beautiful skate.... very fine, light snow in the air and no wind.   Delightful.  Afterwards I got a cup of coffee and sat on the thinking bench by the lake and tried to remember the decades.... some were easy, some not so much.   All in all, it's been a beautiful life and I am grateful.

Long time, no blog

In a nutshell, it has been a challenging, rewarding and special few months.  I admire those who post on their blogs in a consistently regular fashion.   I'll begin with today and work backwards posting pictures of my wonderful October trip to Italy later on when I have extra time.

After a very mild October and November, we finally received a nice amount of snow from the storm that blasted the midwest during the past couple of days.    Here's our front yard facing the lake.   Today everyone has shoveled out, however, some are still without power.  We did  not lose electricity this go-round and we are very grateful.

Today we took the long way home from town after some futile last-minute shopping and found this horse and pony.  I love them.  They are so curious and friendly.... at least the horse was.  Pony was busy eating the freshly scattered hay.  Notice the evergreen wreath on the barn door.

This afternoon I am packaging freshly made cookies for some special home deliveries.  To be truthful, I eat too many myself during the process..... no surprise there,  huh?

 

My granddaughter, Emily, and I made these cut out cookies a couple of weeks ago.  Aren't they festive?   I hope you are enjoying these last few days of 2012.

 

Into Autumn

Fantastic colorful autumn came early here this year.  Usually mid-October Mother Nature is in full swing with her paintbrush.  September went by with a flourish... lovely days and lots of sewing for me.

I am about to depart on a dream trip of a lifetime.  My daughter and I are leaving today for Florence, Italy, for a few days of visiting museums there.  Next we will spend a week hiking and sketching in the Cinque Terre region along a more remote stretch of the Italian riviera.  My grandmother was born near there so it will feel a little like going home.    Here you can visit a link that describes the Cinque Terre which means Five Lands.  It consists of five small Italian villages, each with it's own dialect, and connected only by a local train and hiking trails.    Ciao!

End of Summer Blueberries

A few more blueberries at the Farmer's Market.... couldn't resist.  This time I added rhubarb which I was surprised to see this late in the season as well.  Adds a nice tang to the pie.  Had enough for the full two-crust pie on the left and a galette on the right.... either way.... delicious!  It was great with brats and sweet corn on the grill last night.

Summer is Winding Down

The neighborhood families are getting ready to launch their wee ones.  While kids are buying school supplies and the empty nesters are rejoicing as their last child goes off to college, nature's teenagers are learning to fend for themselves.   A loon family has been training their 3/4-grown young ones to find the best fishing spots in the lake.  The pileated woodpecker family above is fun to watch as they teach their adolescent how to navigate a suet feeder.  The fawns' spots are beginning to fade.

There seems to be as much to do as fall approaches as there was in the spring and August flies by.
Somehow I am behind in my sewing...... again!  I did manage to make this ruffled apron for my daughter-in-law's birthday last week.   I'm making a matching one for 3 yr.-old Emi and a corresponding bib for baby Ruby.

And I have enjoyed making some custom items for my Etsy customers, especially this market cart liner for a gal who chose these awesome Amy Butler and Riley Blake fabrics.  Isn't this a cute one?

I hope you have projects ahead of you and more ideas than you can execute.  Happy end of summer!