VK - PART II

Thank you for all your comments on the first leg of our vacation :o) I'm still not feeling 100% and have realized that I have a bout of vertigo :o( It didn't help that I was fighting a cold when we left and with my immune system being so low, it's not surprising that the vertigo set in. I'm still trying to catch up on emails and Blog reading so don't worry, I will be around to you soon! Now onto the second part of our vacation...

On Tuesday afternoon, we made it down to Freeport and decided to stay there for the night. If you're not familiar with the town, it's known for the outlet shopping and LL Bean. DH and I picked up a few things :o)

That night we went to our favourite restaurant for dinner. If you ever get to Freeport, I HIGHLY recommend The Azure! We were trying to figure out how many years we've been going there. We've never been disappointed. The Calamari Azzimata is like eating Salt & Vinegar Chips but 100 times better!!!! I start drooling as soon as we head anywhere near that restaurant. LOL! For my entre I had Mussels Al Fresco. OH-YUM! It's no wonder I gained eight pounds during this trip ;o)

The next morning we packed up and continued south to Portland where we left our car on the mainland and caught another ferry (similar to this one) -

On the twenty minute ride I got to see more spectacular lighthouses to photograph -

Portland Breakwater Light

Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse

And sailboats everywhere -

Our destination? Peaks Island -

What a fascinating place! The population runs around 1,000 people year round but at least doubles or triples in the summer. The island is two miles long by one mile wide. It's not uncommon to see people walking, biking or scooting around in golf carts :o) There are cars on the island, although most of them are for island use only and have special permits. In other words, they are not fit for driving very far. LOL!

DH and I stayed at The Inn On Peaks Island -

We managed to get a special rate for our stay. The room was lovely and the food delicious! I had a Smoked Salmon BLT one day and there was enough smoked salmon on it to feed a small party...hence the extra pounds I brought home with me ;o)

Next time - fulfilling a lifelong dream while on vacation!

VK - PART I

I want to thank everyone for their well wishes last week :o) DH and I had a wonderful vacation and a lot of much needed time together. I kind of kept you in the dark though...because we actually went away! I'm going to try (over the next few days) to share our adventure with you. I haven't been feeling the best since we got back so please bare with me.

On Monday, September 20, we took off from home (e-a-r-l-y) and caught the Digby ferry that runs from Nova Scotia to Saint John, New Brunswick. This was our first time on the ferry and it was a lot of fun :o)

Bay Of Fundy

Prim Point Lighthouse, Digby, NS

Saint John, NB

I even got to see a pod of Harbour Porpoises! Okay, so there's only one in the picture ;o)

It was a three hour crossing but it saved us 339 Kms. Right now it's expensive, unfortunately, but it's something that I would definitely do again.

On our first night, we stayed in Bangor, Maine. We did a bit of shopping and I was able to track down the new Gingher scissors, Ella, at Jo-Ann's Fabrics :o) I was one happy girl! You have to understand that this was the closest I was going to get to a LNS. LOL!

The following day, we headed down Route 1. This is our favourite because it's very scenic. We made a stop in Camden and had a delicious lunch at Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Cafe. DH and I shared a Brie Panini :o) Kind of in honour of our little Brie because she loved coming to this town.

As you can see, it's still a very busy time of year!

We kept driving south and drove through the town of Wiscasset. There is a 'very' small take out there called Red's Eats that is supposed to have THE BEST lobster roll in Maine. They claim one pound of lobster in each roll :oP I tried to get a picture of the line up while we were driving by but it didn't come out :o( This is the second time we have driven by Red's and both times the line up was around the corner! Alas, no lobster roll for Pumpkin...

The colours were beginning to change while we were in Maine. It makes for a wonderful drive :o)

Stay tuned for the next instalment of our vacation!

It's Party Time :o)

Happy Blogaversary to me! Can you believe it's been FOUR years???? I never thought that I would have lasted this long. I've seen a lot of friends come and go but there have been a lot that have stayed the entire time. I've also met new friends along the way and I'm grateful for every new friendship that blossoms :o)

I love the fact that you can meet people you never would have had the opportunity otherwise to encounter. I love learning about other cultures and countries. I love hearing about other stitchers and their families. I love seeing the beautiful pieces that people are working on (even though it might be detrimental to my wallet!). I love seeing that there is still kindness in this world.

So...to keep this short and sweet...I'm going to celebrate my day by giving back to my wonderful readers! Without you, my thoughts and adventures would just be floating out there on the WWW ;o) Unfortunately there is only one prize :o( I wish I could give back to everyone that gives to me on a daily basis. I really do.

Have I kept you in suspense long enough???? ;o) The winner will receive a $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO HANDCRAFTS ONLINE!!!! If you haven't heard of this ONS before, go visit and take a tour. Mary Kathryn is a delight to deal with and she is the creator of Impie, Hattie & Bea! I never knew that until she revealed it on her Blog.

How do you get your name entered? There are two rules and believe me, they are not hard to follow ;o) First, you MUST be a follower. New or old, it doesn't matter. Second, you MUST leave a comment on THIS post only with a way for me to contact you if you are the winner. If I cannot contact you, another name will be drawn so don't forget!

Just imagine...FREE stash! Or as I like to look at it...buy $100 worth of stash and know that you've gotten the whole order for half off :o) More bang for your buck! LOL!

I'm going to leave this open until Monday, October 4. On Tuesday, October 5, I will post the name of the winner :o) Good luck everyone!

Into The Light!

Would you believe that Sabrina is back? I FINALLY took her out of the dark and started stitching on her again -

Not much, I'm sorry but at least I'm working on her again :o) It feels like I never took a break. Maybe my lack of stitching mojo was because I just missed her. I love the sweep of her gown and I'm excited to put the trim on the bottom of it! Hopefully I will be contented once again.

Okay, has everyone been watching and drooling over the new releases from the St. Charles Market???? Have you SEEN these two lovelies -

Pumpkin Hollow Farm by LHN (photo 'borrowed' from her Blog). Ahhhhhh!!!!! I'm SO in love! Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

Pumpkin Cottage by CCN (photo 'borrowed' from her Blog). O-M-G!!!! Does this have me written all over it or WHAT! I NEED! I WANT! Can't you see this one on my wall? :o)

WHY? WHY do designers have to do this to us???? Just when I think I'm good for another 100 years, out comes something delicious like these. Oye!

Please note: starting Monday morning, I am taking a week long break from Blogging. Wait! Don't worry, I'll be back the following Monday ;o) DH is 'finally' taking some time off so I want to spend that time with him. I just wanted you to know just in case you email me and I don't respond. When I return to Blogland, I'll catch up with everyone :o) It will probably take me a week. LOL!

Also, keep your eyes peeled for my Blogaversary coming up on September 27. You're not going to want to miss it :o)

A Thursday Thought

Omigosh, I just saw this commercial today and almost died laughing!!!!

I can't believe they've allowed it to stay on television. You have to admit though...it is pretty 'brilliant' ;o)

Our Cool Find!

For months I have been drooling over finds that some Bloggers have come across while bargain hunting. We don't have a lot of places around here but there are a few; you just have to hit them at the right time ;o)

DH and I were out one day and decided to drop in on an antique store that has really weird hours but I'm glad we did! While browsing, DH came across an empty gramophone cabinet that he thought would be perfect as a bar -

Isn't it gorgeous? Since we moved into this house, we've been trying to come up with something that would work well as a bar but we only had so much room. This fits perfectly in our dining room!

As you can see, the top opens up on hinges. Normally there is a shelf close to the top but we're going to remove that and this will be where DH will put his liquor bottles and decanters.

When you open the two doors on the front, there is an area to store glasses :o)

Definitely not a $2 find but much cheaper than if we bought a new cabinet! LOL!

Monday's Photographic Memories

This past Friday, DH and I took a drive down to Lunenburg to do an errand. Believe it or not but the camera jumped in the car this time ;o)

Remember my post about Stephen King's new show called Haven? Well if you don't, you might want to go back there and read it so you'll know what I'm talking about. For those of you who do, I thought that while I was there, I would take some pictures of the town to show you where some of the scenes where taken :o)

This is the overall view of the town -

Of course the scenes they have on the show are much more beautiful than what my camera can capture!

If you move your gaze to the left of the picture above, you'll see the Marine Museum (red building) -

W-a-y up on the hill in behind you catch a glimpse of the school -

I'm not sure if this is in the show or not because I've only seen 3 episodes so far. Just in case it is, you'll know that it's really a school :o)

In the first episode, there are quite a few scenes that take place in an antique store. This is that storefront -

It really used to be an antique store but now it's a photography studio.

When they show pictures of the town, sometimes you'll catch a glimpse of some brightly coloured buildings :o) This is the street that they are on -

One is a kitchen store and it's one of DH's favourite places to go. Another is an Italian restaurant that we have yet to try but we do plan on it at some point.

They used Town Hall for police headquarters -

I have caught glimpses of these signs in the show -

They have them all through the town. Each shows a different fish or crustaceans that can be found in our waters :o)

Finally, the church -

I saw just a glimpse of it in the opening credits but it was just too beautiful not to take pictures of it.

During each show I keep my eyes peeled to see if I recognise any of the locations :o) If I find some more, I'll do another post for you. I hope you have enjoyed 'my' tour of Haven! LOL!

My Poor Mailbox!

I'm seriously worried about it! The past few weeks it's been blowing chunks of stash ;o) LOL! Yes, I've been holding out on you...

The first to arrive came from Karen -

There were also five skeins of NPI silks as well but it's not in the picture. The two pieces of fabric are for He's A Flake and Frosty Flakes by LHN.

The second to arrive came from Theresa -

I also have the frame for Ode To Snow but was too lazy to go get it for the picture ;o)

Next came my order from ABC Stitch -

They are having an awesome sale on right now! Have you checked it out? Maybe this will enable you to wonder over and see :o)

Drema's package arrived next -

I finally have my fabric for Christmas Rules by LK but I'm missing some threads. I've given in and have decided to use the CC and WDW.

I was so excited to see the next arrival -

I had won second place on Belinda's Blog and received one of her project bags and a pattern of my choice. She was sweet enough to put a personal note and signature on my pattern :o) Thank you so much Belinda!

Finally, cross stitch magazines -

I can't believe my good fortune that I was able to find all three around here! It really is hit and miss. I guess I hit it just right ;o) LOL!

So...I've got lovely stash...now I just need to get my butt in gear and STITCH!

A Thursday Thought

Monday's Photographic Memories...On Tuesday!

LOL! Sorry I missed yesterday but for one, it was a holiday and two, I had to drive to the 'big city' to pick up DH :o) After being away at sea for eleven days, we figured we deserved some time together.

Yes, so yesterday morning (bright AND early) I drove to Halifax to pick him up. I got to see just how hard the city got hit by Earl. There was a lot of tree damage and power crews were still going around trying to get power to those that still didn't have it.

DH and I were very happy to finally see each other :o) We've only been able to email during the time he was gone. This was his offshore training and therefore, doesn't have to do it again. Poor guy was still wobbling when he got out of the car. He wasn't sick but he said that the last few nights were rough. Apparently he didn't know all the tricks of the trade on how to stay in bed during rough seas ;o)

If you haven't figured it out, DH was out to sea while Hurricane/Tropical Storm Earl came through. I was not happy about the situation as I was told he would come in if conditions were not good :o( They went W-A-Y out to sea though and got on the other side of Earl. DH sent the GPS coordinates and I was able to locate him on the map :o)

I'm quite jealous over his trip because he got to see a lot of things. I can't post a lot of pictures because of different reasons but I chose a few to share with you :o)

I guess they boarded quite a few tuna boats and DH was able to see them bring one in. He says this one is about 300 pounds and is considered small to some of the others ones he's seen! These are Blue Fin Tuna and they are caught with rod and reel. That's a lot of work!

Yes, that is a shhhhhh-a-r-k! I told DH that if I was in that boat, I would have headed for the highest point, even if that meant I had to crawl on top of someone ;o)

These are Blue Sharks but a shark is a shark is a shark. They were coming around to eat the guts thrown overboard by the fishermen. Yuck! It's a shame you can't get an idea of how big these sharks are. DH said they were about 10 feet long and there was more than one swimming around! Gulp :o(