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The View from my Happy Chair

With the outdoor scaffolding gone a week now, I’ve really come to appreciate the view from what Hubby calls my princess chair but I’ve renamed my Happy Chair.

Some of the reasons I am happy today:

1) had a nice nap in that chair today

2) the view of the east yard contains almost pristine snow since the deer have been fenced out since December

3) the scaffolding has been gone from outside for a whole week and from the inside since Feb 1 (after being up in both places since October of last year)

4) the last time that contractor will be in this house – ever again – was Monday night and the last bill was just received and will be paid tomorrow

5)  the remote controls for the gate have finally been installed and they work

6) we’re finally getting some warmer weather and spring may be here soon – at least we can see the end of winter

7) I’m knitting my first sweater and it looks like it is going to fit !!!

8) I am going away on a quilt retreat soon

9) there have been bluebirds at our sunflower feeder and on the nesting box in the north yard

 

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Will work part-time as traffic cone

While on vacation in Vermont in July, I found an expensive a great jacket which turned out to be fantastic for bicycling on cool September days in Cape Cod.  It is a rather vibrant orange with red accents and I decided that it looked quite like traffic cone orange.  So, while on the bike path, I couldn’t resist having Hubby take my picture.

I call this “will work part-time as a traffic cone”

Traffic cone on the bicycle path
Traffic cone on the bicycle path
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Out of hibernation – AGAIN!

Off in Cape Cod on our annual vacation and determined to re-awaken this blog.  Apparently Facebook is causing me some problems.  It is so easy to do a quick post and then forget about it.  They are much harder to review, however, and I miss looking back at my year on this blog.

My birthday is at the end of August, and for the past few years, I have used this date as the start of a “New Year”.  I make more resolutions at this time than January 1st.  And, I enjoy the fall cleaning more than the spring cleaning.  So, in many ways September is a new start for me.

So, in the purpose of a new start — the first blog post of the new year — from Orleans, MA in Cape Cod.

Selfie at Wellfleet Harbor
Wellfleet Harbor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a little catch-up with the goings on ………

TV is prepared for hanging

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The great TV migration of 2013 started with the purchase of a new large-screen plasma TV which had not yet been delivered.  So the old flat-panel went up to the bedroom, installed by handyman, a.k.a. Hubby.

... and it's up on the wall
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First Fruits – and Completed Commitments

Today was a busy Saturday.  Hubby was up early for a swim.  I was in town to visit Ridgefield’s Summerfest on the way to a rehearsal.  Lunch on the patio of a local restaurant.  Trip up north to the pond supply store.  Home to sit on the deck and read (Hubby) and knit (me) for a while.  Then gardening for Hubby and baking for me.  Then dinner cooked on the grill.  A run to the grocery store for missing ingredients for cupcake frosting.  A stop at the Carvel!!!!  And home to frost cupcakes and watch le Tour de France.  Whew!  No wonder I’m tired and Hubby is sleeping in the chair with his computer in his lap.

Some random thoughts and photos before I close the lid on this laptop and head off to bed . . . . . . . . . . .

This picture is of some of the first fruits of our garden (gathered and eaten today), though we’ve had some zucchini prior to today.

First fruits

In the completed commitments category are the two quilts made for the two new homeowners of the Linden Place homes built by Housatonic Habitat for Humanity.  The home dedications were in June and I made a quilt for each of the two homeowner families.  I haven’t heard that a CO has been issued for either home, but I’m sure they are anxious to move in.  Here is a photo of me by our pond with the two quilts in my arms.  They are about to be loaded into the car and driven to the dedication ceremony.

Me and the Linden Place quilts

I really enjoyed the quilting and finishing of these quilts.  They were done in beautiful weather and in my wonderful quilting “studio”.  Doesn’t this look like a great place to work?

My quilting studio
View from the "drivers seat" as one of the quilts is being quilted

 

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Big announcement from Mr Wren

Hubby and I spent some time sitting out by the pond yesterday and watching the male wren work.  He was tireless and his routine was unvarying.  He’d be gone from the nest area — then we’d see him come back and fly straight to the birdhouse and hop inside — then out he’d come and he’d hop onto the same tree branch and sing his delightful song.  Off he’d go in search of more bugs for his mate who was apparently in the birdhouse sitting on the eggs.  And he did this continuously the entire time I sat outside (which was over 2 hours) and was still working when the mosquitoes drove me inside.

Well — sometime, I would say this morning — something changed.  At about 9 am — I heard the male sitting in the tree just singing that same song over and over and over and over and, well you get it, over again!!!!!   I thought something was wrong and went downstairs and eventually outside to watch and see what was up.  Little did I know that this was the “THEY’RE HATCHING!!!!!” declaration.  I heard a second, different wren voice also and by the time I got out to watch, both the male and the female were flying to and from the birdhouse.  Not as much singing now, though there’s still some, as there are mouths to feed.

In the photos below, the female wren can be seen peeking out of the box before she leaves it to go search for bugs.  She seems very careful.

Just checking before she leaves the bird house
Feeding time

 

Yes, it’s a beautiful time of year.  I managed to go outside and in the space of about 30 minutes, take 91 photos worth keeping.  Here are the Stella de Oro day-lilies from beside the pond.  Could have stayed out there all day!

Pondside beauties
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Gingerbread boys

Just posting a photo from my sister’s visit at the end of 2011.  Some gingerbread boys — some with a bit of extra icing!

Gingerbread boys

Keep the icing off the lamp!

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Saying Thanks Sunday (day 1)

Power was restored to our home late yesterday afternoon after 7 days and 2 hours without electricity.  There are folks in our town (13% of the households) that still don’t have power tonight, so we are considering ourselves to be quite lucky and are thankful that life is returning to normal for us.  Some of the people that I’m seeing at the town emergency shelter where I’m volunteering are totally at the end of their patience with the situation and are mad and getting tough to deal with.

Sitting in church listening to the sermon and music today was good for my mental state, and of course for my soul.  So, thus begins the counting of the blessings each day (just as I counted the days without power and logged this in my journal).

Today, November 6th, is Day 1 of restored electricity (not counting, of course the fact that it went off again for a bit this morning).  I’m thankful for, . . . . . . . , let me think . . . . . . . OK . . . electricity!!!!!

I’m thankful for electricity,

the house is warm,

the TV is tuned to one of my favorite shows,

hubby is sleeping on the sofa next to me,

tomorrow will be quite busy, but life is really good.

Saying thanks on Sunday.

And the Christmas cactus is getting ready to bloom — before Christmas as usual — here is a photo of what’s to come.

"Thanksgiving" cactus blooming in its new location in 2010