Backyard visitor...

We had an unexpected guest over the weekend. I was looking out the window and spotted our guest in a tree. Since we live in town, I don't expect to see many of these guests but they have been showing up occasionally for dinner. (I don't want to know what the menu was since they prefer fresh food...)

We had some adventures over the weekend and they will appear here, I am sure.

For now, it is Monday and the new week begins.

Enjoy the day!

Saying hello...

Just popping in to say hello. I took this photo in Millertown, NY, but I didn't get the name of the shop. It really put me in the Christmas spirit!

Hope you enjoyed a good Thanksgiving. I have a few photos to share with you in the days to come. We have been traveling here and there...

enjoy the weekend!

Thoughts for Thanksgiving...

Count your blessings...

Donate to a food bank...

Don't eat too much...

Help wash the dishes...

and, as always,

enjoy the day!

Another warm and sunny weekend...

How was your weekend? It was another sunny warm weekend in southern Connecticut. We accomplished a great deal. The leaves are finally raked and bagged, we have made a dent in Christmas shopping, groceries have been procured, and we even had time for a ride to Rhode Island.

We took these photos by a stream near an old mill which has been converted into an antique store. It has been so warm that mushrooms are growing where there should be snow.

Time to get going here and start the day. Happy Monday...

enjoy the day!

Unseasonably warm..

It is unseasonably warm around here. As you can see from the photos, the grass is still green and there are still leaves on the trees in southern CT.


Last night we went to bed with a down comforter and woke up to a thunderstorm during the night. The temperature rose to 61 degrees overnight.


Other years, we might have had snow by now. Ironically, this is the first time I put away my summer clothes in a timely fashion and could really use some of them now. Timing is everything...and mine is seldom right!

What are you all up to? Anyone shopping for the holidays? Still up to my nose in projects here. The weekend is around the corner. Thanksgiving is next week. Time flies...

Enjoy the day...

and happy weekend!

Hand made charms...

As those of you who read this blog know, a friend and I swap all sorts of paper art regularly.

Several weeks ago, we decided to make charms for a charm bracelet. We each made 2 sets of 8 charms so we would each end up with 16 charms. Here is my bracelet with the two sets of charms. We used beads, polymer, wood and fiber besides paper. We love the way the bracelets came out.

As for me, I am working on five creative projects simultaneously. I am almost finished with one of them. It was a really ambitious project but I cannot show it in my blog as it is a gift for someone who reads this blog. As a matter of fact, a lot of what I am working on is for people who read here so those things will not be making any appearances.

Last night we dropped into IKEA to purchase a down comforter. We enjoyed dinner in the cafeteria and looked out into the sparkling New Haven skyline. It is one of the best views in the state..in a cafeteria! That is another simple thing we like to do....the food is inexpensive but the ambiance is priceless.

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments about my simple things list. I loved visiting other blogs and still have a few more to visit. There are many kindred spirits out there and I am glad to know you are all there!

Until next time...

enjoy the day!

Simple Things on Monday

Gentle soul, Christina, at Soul Aperture, invited her blogging friends to join her in a project called "simple things that make our hearts sing."

It is a pleasure to make a list. Of course, there are thousands of more things that make my heart sing but here are some of mine. Maybe you will make a list of your own sometime. In fact, whenever you feel blue, it is a good exercize for your mind.

the first snowfall of the season

the last snowfall of the season

people I love

people who love me

my crazy little dog

autumn

spring

summer

winter

holidays

babies

chocolate

hugs and kisses

sharing through blogging

the kindness of strangers

art, music, literature..

***

....and as always

enjoy the day!

Stormy weather...

We are feeling the effects of the Hurricane Ida in New England. Gray skies and wind gusts have started and I think we are in for a blustery day. Wind gusts are predicted for the next 24 hours.The bird feeder was swinging back and forth all day and brave little birds clung to feed. Occasionally I quick sketch birds at the window and this is one of mine.

Yesterday I worked 8 hours straight through on a creative project without even stopping for lunch. It was exhausting but worth it because I made a lot of progress. Right now I have 5 or 6 projects in the works and a a few deadlines to meet.

What is on your plate today? Can you believe that we are so very close to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah? How quickly the holiday season is upon us! Christmas carols are playing everywhere. There was time I didn't care for the holiday season to start so early but the past few years I have grown to enjoy it.

The weekend is near, so for now,

happy weekend


and


enjoy the day!

Of Birdz and Thingz...

It's birdhouse time again, and I am busy with them for the holidays...

I purchase many supplies on Etsy and my fringe from Linens and Laurel. Nancy has an amazing selection of fringe, tassels and other trims. Her blog is Le Chambre Rose.

She mails out orders quickly and offers various discounts as well . Here is something else I did with her fringe (on the doll with the red hair).

As for the real life birds that frequent our bird feeders, yesterday I was happy to see a lovely pair of cardinals in their paler autumnal colors. For several weeks there have been very few birds at the feeders

This time of year there is plenty of natural seed on the ground and on branches. Birds come to the feeder more in the spring and summer when the seed supply is low and they are nesting and hatching. I love watching them feed their little ones on the railing and teaching the babies to fly to the feeder to eat. They squawk loudly with their tiny beaks open as the parent rush to feed them. Eventually, they will follow a parent to the feeder very gingerly. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Busy day ahead today, so for now,

Enjoy the day!

Sunbathing squirrels

We are having some wonderful summer weather in southern New England today. In fact, we have had several nice days in a row with temperatures around 70.

Everyday we have sunbathing squirrels on the deck or on the roof of the shed. This trio were there for three hours!

We didn't travel for fun this weekend because we were busy with practical matters so no scenic photos today. The weekend went by quickly.

I hate to do this but I will have to change the comments section due to nasty spam writers. Look for authentication for a while. What a pain!

As always,

Enjoy the day!

How small is Hank?

Yesterday Hank and I passed by the soup pot on our table. I was wondering if he would fit in it and of course, he does! Don't worry! He didn't end up as dinner. He liked posing and was hilarious with it. He actually fits in our mailbox (which is a basket) and in many of my handbags.

Hank doesn't like to walk outdoors. He will sit down promptly when you put him on the sidewalk. I suppose the world is scary at 4 pounds and 3 ounces. He is a couch potato and a real home-body. He does, however, go out in the winter in a coat and in his dog stroller.

Dog stroller you say? Yes. They are very popular around here. People also walk cats and ferrets in them. Hank is fierce though. He thinks he is a huge guard dog and can be very unpleasant when the door bell rings.

Right now he is curled up on a chair in a nest of fleece blankets. Sleeping seems to be his hobby. He would rather sleep than eat!

Unlike Hank, my day is just beginning and I won't be going back to bed. The weekend is around the corner and there much to do today. As always,

Enjoy the day

and happy weekend!

A new girl, pretty in pink...

Another Carole Bailey Edith Ackley doll has come to live here. Isn't she sweet in her pretty hat?

It is really cold here this morning, only 30 degrees. The frost is on the pumpkin across the street and everything else. It is light in the morning but turns dark in the early afternoon. It takes a while to get adjusted to the end of Daylight Savings Time.

We installed the new windows upstairs in just in time. We ordered them so long ago thinking they would arrive in September. Not!

My husband did a great job on them and you would never know they were replaced. Of course, we had to have the old windows duplicated because the size is not made anymore. Seems to be the same with anything these days. Gone are the days when one could find what used to be standard!

Wherever you are, whatever the weather or season,

Enjoy the day!

A cow of a different color or how now brown cow...

If you read this blog, you know by now that I cannot pass a Belted Galloway cow without taking a photo. Belties are usually black and white and reminiscent of an Oreo cookie.

Once in a while I could see a brown one but not too often. It was so much fun to come across these milk chocolate versions. This breed is so wonderful to me. They seem to love to be photographed...maybe because they are so photogenic?

Halloween is over and we had 95 trick-or-treaters. It was a warm windy night and our street looked fantastic with decorated homes and lots of tiny kids in great costumes. Some of the parents wore fabulous costumes, too. And Hank, our Yorkie, did not disappoint. He barked for three straight hours and wore himself out.

Our favorite ice cream place Canterbury Cones was open for the last time until the spring. So, now we know that summer REALLY is over. Their fat-free Purple Cow frozen Yogurt was my favorite--raspberry with white and dark chocolate chips!

Onward to Thanksgiving, onward to Monday!

Enjoy the day!