baby blocks set

While in Nova Scotia, I made my annual visit to Atlantic Fabrics. It has such cool cotton prints and I always find something interesting in the wood section. More on that later.
This time, I couldn't resist the Urban Zoology line of prints. I bought some fat quarters, even though I had no plans for them.
Enter: the baby block and taggie blanket.

Those animals are so cute.

For the cotton blocks, I used an iron on interfacing to help make it stiffer. For the fleece blocks, I used a non sew, stiff interfacing and sewed it to the squares by making the shapes.

One for a girl.....

One for a boy...

Don't forget to put a bit of crinkle ( chip bag) in the taggie blanket and some sort of sound maker in the block. I bought a cat toy with an enclosed bell.
have a great one...
Amanda

bounty from the water

A few nights ago, we had a feast from the ocean. A maritime favorite... lobster!

It would be a shame to come all this way and not have any, you know, to help support the economy.

Let me say, it tasted as good as it looked.

And what do you have as an appetizer for lobster? Caplin of course!

These were caught and salt dried by my uncle in Newfoundland.

Some good tell yer mudder! and smelly on the BBQ. I'm a little picky about the bones when I eat them. But oh so good!


Cheers,
Amanda

from the water to the valley

I didn't think we would get to go here, but we did on this last day of our vacation. I lived in the Annapolis Valley for 5 years and cried and cried the day I left, almost 20 years ago. Every time I come to Nova Scotia, I try to get to the valley.

The mud flats are part of the Bay of Fundy, the basin of water between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with a rapid tidal bore. Lovely to look at and to walk the dykes. The smell however at times!??

We stopped at a U-Pick for some apples and a leg stretch.

Sun shining, breeze blowing, sweet smell of apples.

We tried the 2-4 kinds there were in the rows.

And Neve explained how to pick an apple from the tree. She's the expert you know. She learned it last fall on her Kindergarten field trip. A voice of authority!

Tasty.

There were many apple varieties and some weren't ripe yet. We just looked at the bottom of the trees for the windfalls. If there were apples under the tree, they were ready for picking. We tried the fallen apple to see if we liked it or not. The first batch we picked were indeed a baking variety.

A cute little sprig.

Then we found the jersey macs. Yummmy. Sweet and crispy.
But my favorite apple was a rare bright red one amongst a tree of a different type. Sweet and soft.

There were also pears and plums to be picked. We passed on getting them as we ate too many within the last week. We did try the fallen plums though. Warm from the sun and juicy. There were 2 kinds on the same tree. A yellow and a little red one. wee and red.

After everyone had enough apples and sunshine and walking, we went back to pay for them and smelled them all the way home.

A great outing indeed!

thanks for stopping by!
Amanda

Salt Water

Our trip to the Maritimes has seen lots of swimming in the water. Salt water! A lot different than swimming in lake Ontario.
The first dip was a t a cottage rented by a friend in Mahone Bay. What a great night.

There were starfish, hermit crabs, periwinkles and crabs. They touched whatever fancied them.

After a bang up bbq, marshmallows and a cuppa tea rounded out the night.

Beauteous.

Another beach was in Shelburne, Roseway beach. How beautiful.

White, fine, powder sand.

The best thing to do with it is to dig trenches.

And tease the waves.

We went to another beach yesterday, Queensland beach not far from Halifax. The photos are on my phone and I can't find my charger/adapter. Anyhow, it was another fun sandy beach with cooler water, but great waves.
One big difference from swimming at an ocean beach and a lake beach... the tide!! Yesterday, we set up by the water so we could watch the kids easier, but had to move closer to the locals up from the beach when the tide started to come in rather quickly. I'm certain I could hear them snickering when we set up so far down by the water. Now I'm the wiser.

Cheers,
amanda

Determination

Last week, Neve wanted her training wheels off of her bike.

Daddy complied and she worked very hard.

In a parking lot, down a hill.

She didn't care that she fell. She jumped up, fixed her dress and said, " I'm ok, I'm not hurt this dress is armour and it protects me." Then off again.

But boy did she have a leg full of bruises the next day. Just one leg, not the other.


Keep that working spirit and determination young lady.

Amanda

little felties

On this vacation, I only took my felt with me, thinking of making gnomes and some hair clips. While out shopping with my mom, (how nice was that!) I found the book "Felties" by Nelly Pailloux. I had taken this book from the library once, but wasn't in the frame of mind to make wee things. Well, when you only have felt and restless kids, you give them the book and promise to make whatever their heart desires from it.
My friend's son chose the green alien. I made a red one for his brother. You can see it in the final photo.

My son chose the Panda as his 1st request. there is a long list.

My daughter about fell out of the seat when she saw this mouse, so she had to have it.

And another little girl wanted a red lion with blue hair. I like her "thinking out of the box"

These were easy and fun to make. I'm sure I'll be making more to round out their collection. I put lavender in the mouse. It smells so great. I heard them all playing with their softie friends in some other realm, pandas in space and the lion coming to save them all. It was fun to listen to and they were all so proud. When I presented each finished piece to the owner (and they would wait close to me, watching their creation come to life) I would say the following:
"I have made this especially for you to your colours and animal choices. Will you love it? Will you be careful with it? Will you respect it? Will you think of me when you play with it? Will you cry when you lose it?" Of course, all the answers in a row were yes, then the last question always made them stop to think about it! It was funny.

If you get a chance to look at the book, it will make you smile!
Cheers,
Amanda

road trip!

We're settled in after a 2 day car ride. Not a bad one. Much to be entertained. I was going to have a post on things you see on the road, but my DH wasn't fast enough with the camera. We saw a funny looking car with lots of antenae. it was a storm Chaser. The kids were concerned, thinking there was a storm ahead on a clear blue sky day.
Here is a motorcycle with a side car.

A stop at the 1st Quebec roadside stop. Yeah for playgrounds and big climb-y things.

We slipped down to Vermont, New Hampshire and stopped in Maine for the night. Very pretty countryside. Too bad it was night. The swerving, rolling hills were a little too much for me, but we played tag with the moon. Very full and bright mood guiding us.

The next day was a little rougher to handle. But we tried to make light of it. Little Neve assisted with some of the driving. She wore her pjs for 3 days straight. a bit lazy don't ya think?

Our 1st outing was a trip to the Public Gardens.

There was a bit of ice cream consumed.

And a few ducks wanting her to share.

They had a music program for the day. Swingology. Nice tunes to wander around to. Refreshing and lovely to stretch some road weary legs.


We went to a little harbour today and will go to another tomorrow. Some good fish to be et.

have a good one,
Amanda

She Likes it!

Happy Birthday to my daughter, Neve. She's 5 today. Many trips around the sun. Many laughs around the moon. Much love from many.

Here is a photo essay of her present opening... you know, THE doll....







Happy Birthday to you Missy moo Moo and your independence and growth. We look forward to many more!