Treasures From Another Time

And here the house is in colour, the tree was cut down and has regrown! Everytime we have a high wind storm we worry it is going to come down on the house.

Almost every room has been renovated, insulted and painted. Peter is painting the 3rd bedroom as I type. As we have done with all the rooms we have documented the process and the treasures we have found. This room is no different.

A piece of newspaper

Where the old trap door for the “back” stairs once was. They were taken out in the 1970’s

The old lineoleum made to look like carpet! Under that was newspaper and on top was carpet. We will paint the floor.

Peter carefully cleaned out between the floorboards, vacumming many years worth of dust and dirt as he went along. He showed me these treasures, two long needles and a button. I could tell the button had writing on it so I searched on Google by typing in the words “Ne Plus Ultra” + button. In a second came the answer, the quote means “of finest quality”! These buttons were known to be “underwear” buttons from 1820-1880. He found many pins and needles but we will just keep these!

Once upon a time...

“The Avenue” finished during covid, machine pieced, hand appliqued, machine quilted by Heather Stewart. The pattern is by Louise Pappas, Australia. I loved making this quilt!

Where did it go! February 2019 was such a long time ago. So much has happened…or not happened! Life has changed. I now have two new knees! The first one was done in November 2018 and the second one was done in January 2020! I survived, I am without pain which is a blessing. I have a wonderful surgeon and great help at home thanks to Peter and my family.

Beautiful old wallpaper, I just love the surprises we find, the joys of an old house!

Now where to start? Way back in March 2019 we went to Sugarloaf, Maine for a week with Kate, Nick and the boys. What a great trip down memory lane for me. I had not been back to Sugarloaf in 50(!!) years! It certainly has changed a lot. While I couldn’t ski, I enjoyed hearing all about the adventures everyone had each day. We had rented a beautiful log house in the woods, big enough for all of us to be very comfortable.

We had a wonderul family of Cardinals join us this spring. They made their nest in our holly bush right outside the diningroom window so we could watch their every move. Sadly only one baby survived.

I have been quilting quite a bit and especially through the last 6 months, I finished 5 projects that were on the go from quilts to wallhangings and I started a few new projects. We adjusted to a new norm of life here in our little town feeling grateful for having everything (almost) in walking distance. We were grateful when we could have our family “bubble” and see Kate, Nick and the boys more often. Plans for Andrew, Christy and the kids to come home (they moved from Calgary when it was -40 in January 2019 to the Cayman Islands where it was +40!!) were cancelled as was a trip for us to go there. Hopefully some day travel will be easier and safe but for now we rely on FaceTime and What’s App!

Another finish, “Pies and Tarts” on a windy day! The circles are sewn using the English Paper Piecing method. It is hand pieced (EPP), hand applique and machine pieced. it was machine quilted by Heather Stewart. It is a Sue Daley pattern though I sewed it together differently from her original pattern.

I am enjoying participating with some other quilters using Zoom online regularly. It is great to see and talk to them. Our local Guild will have their second Zoom meeting next week, our first was our AGM in June. while not perfect it is great to have this option to look forward to.

Work continues on our old house! Like so many people we are renovating again, this time the third bedroom has been gutted, the old wood chip insulation(not!) is gone, new insulation done and now Peter is working on the new drywall. A bit of hurry up and wait for the “mud” to dry but in between there is always golf!

I am going to commit myself to being back here every week or so. I am sure I can find something to write about or pictures to share. See you soon!

Odds and Ends

Last November I had a total knee replacement, I have healed well and went to physio for 10 weeks. I am so much better now thanks to the great staff at the Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital.

Big news from our family in Calgary! They have moved to the Cayman Islands! Calgary is having the coldest winter in 40 years, perfect time for a move! It has been a crazy time for them, packing up their entire house took 400 boxes! A container was loaded and shipped by train to Halifax, then ship to Miami, then smaller ship to Georgetown where it sat till it was processed through customs and then delivered to their new home! We Facetimed (is that a verb?) last night and they are slowly getting sorted out and settled. Andrew will be traveling a lot throughout the Caribbean.

A regular visitor to their 2nd floor balcony much to the delight of Marcus!

Meanwhile back on the quilting front I am slowly getting back to finishing up some UFO’s. Our “Slow Quilting” group continues to meet bi-weekly at a local cafe. We take over their “Library” and really enjoy the time together sharing and stitching. We are in the process of making our own banner for the room! It just needs to be quilted and bound then we can hang it.

More adventures to come, I am determined to be here more frequently!