getting ready for the New Year

Christmas has come and gone and we had a nice restful few days,plenty of sleep and as you can see in the picture above I was on my Bike Christmas morning and boxing day morning. What wonderful weather we had and are having. Snow will be here, all too soon.Some of you out there, have questioned ,teasing us regarding the Gym and the fact we are there and doing it...here is proof.Loving every minute of it, I for one have gotten my life back by being able to walk better ,what I am doing has been helping my arthritis ,I now am a big believer and would like to tell the World...do it.. this exercise stuff works!!! who knew??not me.Chuck has started his program given to him by Liz who is so understanding and good at what she does. I will start my program soon. By working with this program we as well as the cardio will work on the whole body, look out "Arnold"step aside make room for two buff old guy's ,that would be us...hahahaha but we are working on staying alive,OK ,I believe.

Along with a quiet Christmas a few tunes were enjoyed ,drumming is like exercise ,at least to me,I love my drums. I have not picked up a paint brush since just before Christmas,so will get back into my latest project very soon and I have a couple if not a few commissions to start soon and on top of all this I want to paint our living room, this house is small so it should not take long to do that.This morning we were remembering the days when we went cross country skiing in Mill Village ,skiing from Charleston ,Mill Village and back again, my skis today are being used as a Christmas decorations, I am thinking maybe it would be fun to get back at it,that's when and if we get some snow instead of rain.We will see.

Well I just got off the phone with a wonderful old friend Mary C...Love ya Mary, great talking with you . Oh the old days in Lunenburg..and the farm when we first moved in I remember Mary came to visit one Spring , I was soaking in the tub and out the window I saw Mary headed to the river for a swim, back then there wasn't even a path to the river ,only a deer path and the wood ticks were thick,but nothing would stop Mary from a swim in the Medway. Then one Christmas early years on the Medway Mary and her oldest daughter came for Christmas and New Years , what a wonderful time we all had, skating New Years Day on our little pond and Chuck working on a stain Glass lamp for me with the help of all in the house that Christmas, I still have that lamp and think about that year many times, homemade donuts made on the Kitchen wood stove and homemade root beer, homemade gifts ,tons of food and fun, remember that year Mary? So Mary and her younger daughter will hopefully get to visit us here, nice to reminisce and wonderful to make new memories.

Email me Mary. I look forward to staying intouch easily via the internet.

another day closer and deeper in dept...

Santa's looking for a home...still here..

Merry Christmas to all out there in Internet World ...pass on the blessings to all you meet.

First off with this installment ,I have been holding back regarding information on a little project I am working on and it will come to be ,but my hopes are that it is a success. I have been working on a Children's book , my story board is done and I am working on the first draft of illustrations these past days while silent here from my blog. It is a book about love and happiness and it's star character happens to be this lively puppy "Baby Belle" who we puppy sit days while her Mom and Dad work. Along with her Dear Friend Laura who stays with us on a regular basis while her busy Mom is away. Belle is a Border Collie with much energy and I am, her main character when she is here,she never leaves me alone because Aunt deb is the one who always plays with her .When I am done playing I try and sit and paint or whatever I am always busy with while she sits and stares at me with her ball in her mouth, actually I can't even look at her and smile or laugh because she takes that as a lets go...wheeeeeeee...playyyyyyyyyyplayyyyyy..so I have been making up all kinds of stuff in my head regarding this Puppy,singing little songs ,poetry and one day the light came on and it is coming to be...with oh so much more work ahead of me, I am thinking that the actual writing and illustrating of this book may be the easy part. OK, we will talk more about that later after all the excitement of Christmas is over. As we all know anything, everything will happen when one least wants it too..."Murphy's Law " anyone? That Murf is always close by around some corner ready to pop out at any moment, one must always be aware and never step too quickly in fear of tripping over him, we tripped this AM. We headed for the gym same time while wearing our Santa hats this morning, working on making work fun, had a few laughs as always with the rest of the gang there. We left all sweaty and being such a drab ,dreary ,wet rainy day here in the Maritime's, I suggested to Chuck that we should stop by the post office first before heading home to then hopefully stay in the rest of the day. So we did just that. He jumps out ,very busy there, gets the mail and we are ready to back out, yes you can see where I am going ,but, don't ruin it for me?do let me tell...long story short, there is a truck with a large dent in the back in the shape of our broken tail light. Now the fun begins, remember, we had just come from the gym and we only literally live if two blocks away so Chuck did not have his wallet ,only the car keys, we will never leave home without such things ever again, I promise. Now to our luck, the Mountie car which was coming from down the road and only maybe two cars back from the truck we hit ,kept on going and didn't even bother or noticed what had happened, the truck driver who we later found out knew of us, Oh ,can that be good? Anyway the truck driver did not freak and stop right there but peacefully drove into another empty parking space and business was taken care of then. But gee, no business card or license to be had from us. Thank you ,out there Mr. Truck Driver for being so nice . Off we drove after picking up the pieces of our tail light ,realizing that we were going to end up at the end of the day with a bit of a bill...but lucky to have hit someone with a big ,kind ,heart. By the time we got home ,I was feeling oh ,so sorry for us ,considering I had an other little personal issue going on in my life at the moment the past few days,I was about to spill with sorry ..sorry, poor ,poor me tears when the phone rang, I looked at Chuck and said you answer ,it must be to do with our fender bender, I can only wish it were a fender bender. But no ,it was a call from Labrador ,from a lovely lady who received a gift of one of my smaller paintings . She told me that this scene was of her family homestead ,now abandoned on the coast of Labrador, she looks across the way to the open sea daily at this old house and buildings where sometimes families raised well up to fourteen children. Smoke rising from the kitchen wood stove chimney and wool long johns hung frozen on the line ,OK another painting I am seeing for in the future . So back to my story, she has commissioned me to do six paintings of this ole place for relatives of hers in the New Year. Amazing how things happen, this commission may not pay for all the damage but will put a dent in it..so to speak...my little pun.....Thank you ...

I am sharing with you again pictures of my Felted Santa's who are still looking for a new home for Christmas. Reasonably priced at $60. per in hopes of selling ,give you one guess where the money will go?...you guessed right, I love smart on the ball folk's. Call me:-)

So my Dears, may the sugar plums dance in your heads and in your bellies ,may your hearts fill with joy , and may you all be blessed with happiness and Health for 2011.

And may you have no excitement such as ours in any way shape or form over the holidays.

Thank you all who bought from me this Christmas , I pray your choices are a great success and I look forward to hearing from you in the New Year.

Beauty all around us...

I have been beating my brain trying to remember the day I saw this "Fire in the sky" just a week or so ago.Wow!!!I see a painting in the near future. Actually I have so many wonderful sunset and sunrise photos ,many from back when living in Charleston and so many from Summerville Beach that I am considering doing a whole series of paintings from these dramatic shots.We have such beauty around us all the time here on the South Shore,everyday ,always something to photograph. Today after biking to the gym ,I came home, changed and went out again on my bike . I did my usual run to Fort Point where I saw the most incredible ocean roll as the tide was coming in and the waves were huge . I stopped for a bit to watch and was so disappointed that I did again forget to ride with my camera. Or if one could have filmed the ocean as it slammed unto the shore over the smooth beach rocks to then roll back with the sound of the rocks as they rolled back over each other , such a sound ,so powerful. It has been awhile since I have heard that sound.

Last night here on the South Shore we had rain and wild wind, but woke this AM with no loss of power ,unlike many in other neighboring Communities. When we lived in Charleston the power was out whenever we had a bad storm, here in town,knock on wood ,we have never been without power in the four years we have been here. That is a good thing ,for we no longer burn wood and it just might be a bit more of a challenge without the kitchen wood stove to cook on . But we are survivors and I am sure would live through any loss we had.Plus we have nice people around us who burn wood...knock...knock....:-)

I have been seeing many flocks of birds this last few days, whether they were down because of the storm or headed elsewhere and the Ducks are circling mornings for a treat from one of our neighbor's ,so many I wish I could paint the sound of their quacks as they fly over our house.There is one pure white one amongst God knows how many others .I had a few more felties leave for new homes this past while and also have picked up a few neat props for new future felties. Last night I finished a dog commission. I have one more t0 start today as a gift and am putting the last minute touches on a gift or two but besides those I can say I am pretty well ready for the old guy in the red suit. I am sorry to say that those of you out there who in the past received my Bites and Bites, not this year, I refuse to do that to myself again this season...because of taste testing, quality control I always gain so much weight that this year I will take control and help you all as well by not sharing this oh so nice treat, one of my favs..oh well I will survive and hopefully you all will too. Back in Charleston when we fostered we made homemade root beer, chocs...everything that was delicious, we would make gifts from all this and then we all ,kid's and adults would divide up what was left and Chuck would be sitting evenings in the New Year with one of his Chocolates cute in two pieces with a piece of Old Cheddar cheese while myself and the Kid's would be watching him enjoy his treat because we all had eaten all of ours. We worked hard on the farm back then so we could indulge once in awhile with these types of treats and not really gain any weight, not so today. One more thing before I head off to start my needle felted dog , since joining the gym I have been feeling so good and I find my Arthritis in my feet has been better, maybe with the lose of weight, or the fact i am using the treadmill and exercising my feet, one thing I do know ,it is thankfully helping. I just may walk again...not really so bad ,but has been bad enough..wish me luck:-)

Santa business everywhere

Well I have been up to my ears in Yes Santa business as I am sure you all out there are doing your part as well, for the Jolly Ole guy is right around the corner.Liverpool is in hopes of getting a Farmers Market up and running for next Summer. So we are all brain storming at the moment. Anyone out there can hop onboard with this project ,if you are close enough to come and sell,super!!! or visit once it starts in May.Get in contact with me ,I will give you the info.

A few of my Felt Folk are on their way to Ontario to be given as gifts. Great to know they will be given to someone who will enjoy something different. The New Year will find me making a few new Characters as well I have some thoughts regarding paintings, I guess Christmas of course makes me think of the New Year and new creations to bring forward from my mind into the light. Liverpool has also been given an opportunity to possibly be chosen for a 10 week documentary "A Village on a diet" gosh!!!and Chuck and I just had to get on a fitness routine ourselves these past Months and both are going to the Gym and see a tremendous difference in our strength and weight, we may not be big enough for their show..we laughed and did consider it..but believe maybe we might be just under the wire...plus I do really find I do my weight/strength moments most times better by myself, not being one to follow along with the crowd but to waver off course on my own. But this may be an opportunity for those who find it hard to get fit and healthy on their own. Some just can't get started without a buddy system. Actually I enjoy challenging myself, the Gym is wonderful, such a variety of equipment and you can joke and have a few laughs to help the time fly or focus and work alone . Happily I have lost weight ,which makes my problem with walking ,oh ,so much better..I am a new girl..almost.I am even thinking of getting my cross country skies up and running after their hiatus for the past 4 or 5 years. When living in Charleston it was nothing for me do do miles by myself on the old highway along the 103 in Mill village as well ski during a snow storm around the Medway River from Charleston to Mill Village ,back around to Charleston and ski to work when I worked at the Village Store, back then ,it was different , not much going on down there, I would wear a headlamp and had no problems at all except the times it would start to rain and the snow would disappear and I had to get a ride.During snow storms we would drive our tractor up the back road ,me sitting in a large fish tub strapped to the back of the tractor, one night, there was so much snow our tractor couldn't go through it so we all walked back to our house to play a few tunes . What wonderful days ,old time music Kitchen parties, Kid's sitting on parents laps ,eyes closing while listening to some good time sing alongs.

A reminder that any of my cushion floor mats are still at a very reasonable price till Christmas.anyone interested ,give me a call. Here is a photo of "Mona"and my "Gauguin "and yes you can walk on any of these I have more check past blogs for photos,or email me I will send along any info .

I still have a few felties at reasonable prices as well as paintings and some gifts still under $8. for anyone interested ,just call ahead. We are out more these days running around the Gym with the rest of the Kid's. I did get out on my bike yesterday after the Gym, I had to ,she was calling me, but I will be removing the air from her tires soon and hang her up after I give her a bath so to speak, she has a bit of salt on her from these Winter rides.

Check back here again soon and I will share a photo of one of the only or very few ever store bought Christmas Trees we have ever had, we like a natural tree, but this year because of dog sitting ,we had to do a table top..I like it and it fits in rather well, indeed.

something old,something so new

This sign is as you can see from the United Church in Mill Village... the story on this is as follows. We moved to Charleston Mill Village in 1985 as I have mentioned here in my blog many times before and when our son Clay became old enough to go to Sunday school ,the only local Sunday school class was at the United Church in Mill Village, several combined denominations.

I taught Sunday School there back then and of course I was known by the locals and was asked if I would refurbish their Church sign by updating the new Clergy .So over the years while living there I would happily to this for them. The last time I changed the name was just before moving to town from Charleston about four years ago. Never really thinking about the sign these past years while here in town. Well,the other day the phone rang and it was a member of the congregation asking me if I would update their sign again. I was surprised to hear from them, I thought they would have forgot about me by now or maybe find someone else nearer to them to do it. But, I was tickled pink and pleased that they did remember me and I was only too happy to help them out, my hoping there might as the old saying goes, be " a Star someday in the sky with my name on it??" So the sign was brought to me and as always I get them to give me the new Clergy's name written down by them so I get it just right and to my delight, knowing this but not realizing it was this Church? our Dear friend Peter Anthony's name was on that piece of paper . We knew he had been studying hard for sometime to get his own Church. I have known Peter for many years and he taught our son back in the lower grades. Peter decided to change his career and do what he dreamt of doing. Congratulations!!! Peter, we are very happy for you . So I have been working on the sign the last couple days , redoing it front and back and re lettering in honor of Peter's new posting . I removed all the old cracked paint and gave it a new face lift. It will be bright and cheerful for it's new Boss Man, Peter. Now this is what I meant in my title by,something old...now to the new...which is a "GYM" amazing I can even spell the word Gym..for ,since I was a child , I have Kayaked and Cross Country skied , but never was one for shamefully exercising in such places as Gyms. I have worked very hard on the farm , in the hay fields, woodpile and chasing cattle through the woods as well as swim everyday ,Spring,Summer and Fall in the Medway river, but the inside of a Gym was very new to me. I went up awhile ago to get a quick feel as to whether or not I could do this and to my surprise today was my second day with my new found exercise,not so bad ...seems to be working for me the Gym experience.I am focusing and careful not to over do it in the beginning. I only stayed on everything I tried for no longer then ten minutes each and not ready yet to try all that is offered there . I am feeling good for this new adventure and must be on the look out for exercise type clothing, gotta love Frenchies for that. So ,wish me luck, I may be putting my bike away for the Winter,then again if we have a nice day, she may call me from her shed and me being the caring person I am ,may have to take her to town for a run, we don't want her to gain weight over the Winter sitting idol.I Love my bike, walking has been a challenge with my bad feet and legs but getting some weight off has made a great difference and just maybe I will again be walking up a storm someday.

almost Dec.2010

The show is over and to be honest..I still have some great little gift items as well as good prices on paintings and floor mats, which by the way I was having a hard time getting people to walk on the one I took to the show, and by the time the show was over this mat looked walked on . Once home a simple wipe with a damp rag and she is as good as new, these can be walked on, a lot.

To our excitement when we were setting up , as well as crafter's we see on a regular basis ,here come a few we have not seen in a couple years. So much fun and reminiscing of the good old craft show days, when money was to be made as well as great people and friend's to meet. Some of us have sadly passed away over the years and we all talked of them on Sunday. Doing the show circuit as we called it back then, never was there a weekend without a show.There was so much there at this show in Liverpool ,wonderful well made products, and the knitting, over the years I have heard from some saying oh, there are too many what they call Grannie crafts at the shows, if what these people meant and I believe they did mean mittens ,socks etc. well this talent is being lost, hopefully young people are learning to knit, rug hook ,Quilt etc...for this is what the Maritimes are all about, our talents passed down over generations. I bought a few pair of socks and mittens yesterday, wish now I would have gotten myself a pair of mitts so I will go to the next show on Sat. Dec. 4th at the High school here in Liverpool as a costumer this time and get some more little treats such as warm hand knit mittens. There was a lady there selling mitts that were recycled from wool sweaters and felted, so warm ,well done and pretty.Must get a pair.

I could have done better at the show to be honest, I really thought I had great products at a steal..so anyone out there who as I said above still is looking for something different ,give me a call.

Back to our old friends from shows past, I am uploading a few pictures from the show,with a few of us, of course as the show was dieing down we got a big case of the "sillies" which always happens, jokes start to fly and cameras come out.Talking with some of the old gang who still travel and do these many shows especially this time of year ,I was told all in all the shows are still good,of course we can't even dare to compare to the shows in the 70's and 80's and of course when you consider the price you pay for the big shows, prices need to go up because of the price of the materials ,shows etc. So as our Dear stain glass friend's said, they find they are making their show rents by selling smaller items but still must take the larger pieces just to show what they have. Actually I had only one problem at the show, my legs and feet..I was in a great deal of pain by the end of the day, you thought I was going to complain about something else?...no ,just pain, we hit the so called sack by 7:30 PM last night and I slept, not continually ,that could never happen but I rolled out at around 7:30 AM this morning. I am headed out on my bike soon for my morning run and will not be making anything today but a clean house, so much to look forward to, wish someone else would clean it and I could still look forward to seeing it done, not the case.

One more picture I want to share with you is of my mats displayed on the floor , they are looking for a home. Well, it looks like I uploaded two pictures of my mats..forgive.The picture of the Poinsettia is a flag I did for outside my house.It is painted on canvas both sides, I make all my own garden flags and I will be doing more for sale this Winter and can do commissions if requested. Can anyone...Lynn, tell me if I spelled "Poinsettia" correctly? I can't find it in my dictionary anywhere.So now off I go to get my day on..."Merry Christmas all" Blesses sent your way.

Thanks for the spelling Lynn..I have corrected...my error:-)I couldn't spell my way out of a paper bag...D:-)

Santa is on his way

Merry Christmas!!!

these are snowmen needle felted pins. Barnboard Santa's.

A couple examples of my needle felted figures. Plus I have much more then what you see here .

Summer is done and Santa is on his way,it was nice to have folk's drop by to take a look this past Summer, me being one, not of a few words, met a lot of very nice people who have stayed in contact with me since returning to their own sleepy little towns and saying that they are returning next Summer..these people make my days, not always buying but spreading a smile and joy sometimes fills a gap much bigger then a wallet... the cold weather hits and wow!!we need to keep as much of that green in the oil tank and where did everyone go?I do believe back to their own little pieces of Heaven . These past few years we have not done the big Craft Shows that we did for so many years before. In a way it is great not doing them , and again in another way ...sad...our crafter/Artist friends we got to know from doing shows together year after year, meeting new people, old friends and hopefully sell enough to not put you in the hole after food ,lodging etc. as well as gas and the price these big shows charge.It is nice to be home and stay put.The excitement over the years when we were younger out weighed any hardships of lugging heavy displays and product. This season I find I am itching to get out and say Merry Christmas to all as well as I am working hard on gift giving products ,thinking of the economy, something for that person in the office or a buddy exchange gift we all dread because of the prices of just the simplest gifts. Give me a call ,make an appointment to visit my studio/gallery Deb,354-3690 or come see me at the Craft Show Sunday November 28th from 1-3 at the Liverpool Fire Hall ,you may be surprised at what I might have to fill that so hard to shop for acquaintance or friend as well as your loved ones. Walk by some day or evening ,look in my window ,see a little bit of what I have here .Where are the days when you could get a homemade gift for under $10? Right here, in my studio /Gallery, 142 Payzant St. Liverpool. Funny, I had someone say "I was looking in your window the other day," my answer was, "Great!"Just about everything in my Studio/Wardroom Gallery is on sale from now till Christmas including some paintings.I have a few very interesting fun needle felted figures left ,as well I made two needle felted Santa scenes this past while along with needle felted under $10 gifts. Here you see some of my cushion floor painted mats which I was forced to put on the floor to show how durable they are and you can keep them on the floor to walk on or you can have them framed and put up on a wall, these I am offering just for Christmas at a very reasonable price. Sea People figurines ,many people know our "Sea People" well I have a couple of Santa's and Wizards left from the Summer Season, they will be offered at a lower price as well. I mean business this season as do many of our local businesses, I know, myself included , will find what we are looking for right here on our own back doorsteps this Season. Our Maritimes, we have some of the most talented people right here in our midst, we need not travel far from our homes to find that special gift for that oh so special person. But only look from where we stand. Liverpool Merchants like many small towns these days find it difficult to maintain throughout the Winter Months and sometimes one feels like we need to travel to Bridgewater or Halifax when in fact every store here in town and Artisan may have just what you are looking for and if not ,you may be pleased to find out it can be ordered in or still handmade by someone like myself still in time for Christmas.

One more thing, I am starting a list for after Christmas into the New Year workshops ,felting,painting ,hooking, copper work etc. Anyone interested in doing a workshop with me can add your name and what you are interested in doing to the list and we will discuss details at a later date, after Santa returns to the North Pole. And we again are idol with time on our hands waiting patiently for warmer weather.I will have this list at the show on the 28th or you can add your name here at the Gallery or by phone.

gone too long and whats up?

Well ,I have been away from writing here in my blog for about 2 weeks, since Halloween when I last whaled on my drum..look out today..i am whaling, I already informed Chuck of this ..and sure enough I will see once he hears the music it will then get under his skin to then find him whaling himself, seems to always happen that way. You know when you don't think you feel good and then a great tune gets in your head and well, you could say "Game over " and another game takes it's place.

Here is a photo of my Gallery window, Christmas is in the air now as we can all see when looking in the store windows, so not to be out done, I came up with this, I decided to do a very tiny local craft show, tiniest one I have done in years and years. Our last shows costing not the art and crafts trade show which is way expensive ,our last big show cost $475.00 for 3 long hard days ,well now you know why we slept in attics ,basements and in our camper out in the back parking lots of some of these shows, I have the stories ,trust me ,you can only imagine the goings on we witnessed in the middle of the night in Halifax sleeping in our trailer in a large empty ,creepy parking lot in the middle of the city. Another time for those stories. This is the same display I will use at the show, it is at our local fire Dept. here in Liverpool on Nov. 28th, do drop by if you can. Here I posted my two Santa scenes , needle felted in his red long John's "The night after Christmas" relaxing ..the other one is called "Thank you Santa" and here he has a little girl on his lap ,she holding a Teddy Bear.

As well as my Santa's I have been trying to do a few things to do with Christmas and keeping in mind ,money is hard to find for gift giving when bodies need fed and kept warm throughout our yet to come ,seems so long Winters, so I am working on what I call treats , gifts one can justify buying to give to someone special without breaking the bank ,so to speak. Like I have said before in my writings , I for one do not believe in spending heating money on gifts for people just because it is Christmas ,my thought is to give that gift to whoever is special in your life ,whether it be Christmas or just a regular day, for the giving of the gift at whatever the time is a gift to be cherished not just because it is Christmas ..a gift is given with Love whenever you feel or see something that moves you and makes you think of the person for who it is given.

I am working on products ,little treats for special people in your lives under $10.00. And, if I am lucky enough to sell ,I will then put that money in the oil tank to keep our tired ,weary bones warm this Winter..so come on by the show or my Gallery and check out my products,there just might be something that talks to you .

Now to our little adventure the past couple weeks, I found in a news paper an ad from Bridgewater for bidding on a drafting table ,well I won the bid,and after we drove there to get what we thought was a simple table so the measurements said to find a yes by measurements it would fit ..not so big..but.. to our surprise ,this thing was very heavy made, old and lets say well made. After a lift, we decided to leave and call in some troops for help, after a week of wonder and worry not to loose out regarding what I paid ,we finally called our Dear friend Brian F . and he came to our rescue with his truck yesterday and we now have this table here, not for my tiny house but Chuck can use it in his shop. And as usual after finding this large drafting table and mentioning it to my friend Betty ,she informs me she had one ,much lighter and may fit in my house, well we picked that one up yesterday as well..now this one we could handle ourselves, but not to out do ourselves from another adventure, we arrived at Bridgewater Frenchies to meet my friend and this lighter table to find fluid pouring out from under our engine hood, anti freeze ,the cap was left off...:-( after Chuck checked under the hood before we left, he forgot to put the cap back on..well lets just say the drive home with the lighter table on the roof of the car was exciting and we prayed the whole way home to get home.....and of course we did not have Brian's cell phone number with us..so he and the other heavy table in his truck had no idea we were somewhere out on the open road...just ageing a little more with worry, and people wonder why we seldom go far from home these days....how does it go? yes ...we would screw up a glass of ice water:-)

I am better off sitting here puppy sitting which we have also been doing for two weeks, Lady Baby Belle , who is our other adopted doggy daughter along with Miss Laura..who also has been here for about the past week...they play so well together ..Laura being like a big sister.Here is a shot of them looking at me while I sit here on the computer...so cute...they are very good girls and great friends..and they Love Aunt Deb and Uncle Chuck, these two lovelies sure do fill the void which our Dear departed Eddie filled...and Eddie will always be in our hearts...he was a wonderful..spoiled lap dog.

knowing where your favorite pieces go

Yesterday was a great day, we had surprise company, Laurna who bought our farm, we could never have hand picked better people to buy our little piece of Heaven then the Wallaces, they fit in our old homestead like a glove. Tom was waiting to sell to us and we were meant to pass it along to them . Laurna brought a friend along to meet us Rosanne and I am pleased to say that like so many times before in the past doing shows and selling I have had the pleasure to meet the people who fall in Love with these special pieces, and again this was the case yesterday, meet Rosanne and the felted piece she now owns..it was one of my favorite pieces my European Market lady on her special Bicycle as you can see in the photo. I changed the eye color for her and this piece means a lot to her, she fell in Love with it right away..I was so pleased to have it go to someone who really appreciates it and to have met her .

Here we have Chuck and I celebrating Halloween by pounding on our drums and singing a few tunes after the girl's left, I am not kidding when I say ,we march to our own drums:-)really drumming is wonderful exercise and fills your heart ,mind and whole body with joy , we just may have to do it again today, hows about everyday.Do you like our new hair cuts and dye jobs?

I found the other day the most wonderful little chair and my plan for it is a Santa, it looks like it will be perfect, so that will be my next feltie to be made after I finish my Frenchy painting. Hard to believe really that Christmas is in the air, seems like yes ,just the other day I was biking with bare arms and standing outside with bare feet...I think those days are done for a few Months..time to get the socks out.

finished commission

Needle felted "Farm Fun"

Leave it to me to screw up getting these shots in order. This is a commission piece I just finished ,3 little girls having fun on their Gramp's and Gram's farm swing. I always seem to get my pictures not as I would like when uploading to my blog, someday I may get it right, so for now bare with me. In amongst all these shots is a picture of the girl's on their swing, below I believe. I started out with a sketch ,then sketched in the octagon box once I was satisfied with the layout I began to needle felt the background on a piece of felt adding 3 dimensional leaves on the swing tree. Here is a picture of the girl's starting to come together and here they are on the swing before they are clothed. After their clothing was added they started to come to life ,sorry for the blurred photo, I thought I had uploaded the better shot ,but as I mentioned earlier, I could screw up a glass of ice water when it comes to a lot of this computer stuff, sit me in front of my easel ,give me something to make..i can probably do it, but computers ,well I will continue to learn and work until I can get it right, I do hope I live to see it :-) so scroll up and down ,it should make sense to you .

I am happy with the finished piece and enjoyed trying to get the feeling of fun as it shows in the actual photo of the girl's on the swing .

Today I am working on something I have been meaning to do for sometime, Our local Frenchie's ,many of you out there do know "Frenchie's " second hand clothing store. Here in town we all know the Ladies who work there and I came up with an idea for a thank you to them , I plan to do a painting and make greeting cards from the painting, These cards will be sold at Frenchie's with the proceeds from the selling of the cards to go to our IWK Halifax hospital for sick children as well I plan to give the Local Frenchie's a framed print of the painting . Funny really ,I am in there pretty well everyday ,that stop being my reward for doing my bike ride each morning. Really I could paint Frenchie's by memory but yesterday after asking permission to photograph inside the store and to my surprise there were some of our locals shopping when I arrived with my camera, so there I have people I know to add in the painting, what fun.. as well as a couple of the girl's who work there..I will try and do you justice Ladies. There will be more on that as I come along with it. Today I will get out on my bike early ,there is word of rain and high winds, the other day I went out during a rain shower ,it was a challenge trying to see through my wet glasses but better then how I do in wind, with a strong wind, well lets just say, that is a workout, so no wind is what I prefer.

so off I go for now.

Tourisum and it's importance in small towns

This morning I responded to a comment on our Local QCCR "Pulse of Queens County", a whats happening here in our community online information page.

Someone asked why our Local "Kings Orange Rangers"( KOR) reenactment group wore their colorful uniforms during the off season at different meetings etc,actually they suggested they were drawing attention to themselves as if to show off. Hopefully I can make some sense to those who question this as to why we need to be up front ,colorful and advertise our towns in what ever means we can.I am not the brightest apple on the tree and never would I ever claim to be, but I have been in the Tourism business since living in Lunenburg back in the early 70's , moving there and buying a 24 thousand dollar house in 1974 ,that house today I would only dream of what it is worth, not that I agree with prices of houses going up in such an extreme dollar way but when you look at the whole picture ,everyone wins, the average person may not be able to buy that house today but because of the work that house may give someone through maybe tourism if it were a bed and breakfast , restaurant etc.,then that someone may be able to then take that pay check ,save and buy another house and shop in all the surrounding stores if they desired. Keeping our money in our Towns.Back then Lunenburg was just another charming little fishing port, as all our Maritimes were and some still are just that ,to yet be discovered .I also worked at the local tavern in the beginning in Lunenburg and saw only local fishermen coming in, today this tavern is an Inn and there are many bars and restraints offering work. Now these local fisherman's daughters and sons have work these days in what was once sleepy Lunenburg. They do not need to go to sea like their fathers before them and can stay home and earn a good salary right in their own town and maybe open a business.There can be nothing but good from being open all year and offering something to those who want . Plus ,we all know fishing is not what it use to be, let alone a lot of business. We need Tourism, Lunenburg can stay open for the most part in the winter these past years because it is on the all year Tourism map not just seasonal. Of course some out there may not see this being busy all year as a blessing, but if you really sit back and look you will see my point and understand that no matter who you are ,we need to keep our little towns open ,up and running, you can save gas and money by shopping at home in your small towns but the only way to be able to do this is to let people know we are here and open. These days it gets harder and harder for small mom and pop business's to get by in the cold Months. We need to let those people from away who want to visit quaint little Nova Scotia towns all year long know that we are here and open for them and we would love for them to visit year round and leave their money so we can feed ourselves during the lean times. Therefore we need to stand out and be accounted for ...yes ,look at us not past us. This is what we have to offer you and this can't be done without something to entice them here. We need to have ambassador's out there showing and telling people where and what we have to offer, they won't stop to see what we have if they aren't hooked with uniqueness somehow. Trade shows are great and we here in Queen's can be thankful for those who have done long hours in period costume at these events ,without them drawing people in with their colorful period uniforms/garb and showing and telling people about Queen's ,our town and surrounding area's rich histories, we would dry up and blow away. People are not interested in visiting a town where the streets and shops are empty, they will not stay if there is nothing for them to be entertained with and we can't justify staying open and paying big rents year round when no one is here to spend their money and keep all alive. Sometimes I hear people say they can't find anything they are looking for in Liverpool ,well if there were more people on the streets 12 Months a year ,the more money would be left behind and the more merchandise will come into town. You see it all works out, there is a good reason and many reasons to keep a small town alive. We have to be unique in some way ,drawing people in, to help with our survival through the Winter months and having a reenactment group in our town of Liverpool as well yes our Native history and so much more, is very good for us, so much we have to offer, not everyone needs to dress in period costume to make us stand out but those that do should be commended for doing so ,because of them, people are interested and will stop look and listen to then have lunch , may even end up staying the night and possibly returning and buy one of our many homes which are for sale someday. We need to attract people with what we have. I must share with you ,one Sunday morning this past Summer I had my open flag out, Sunday's in Liverpool are known to be quiet, but Tourists have saved for their trip and want to make the most of their money so if there is nothing here in Liverpool for them, they will continue down the road to another town. This day a car pulled in and these people were so happy to see me, at first I thought maybe I had met them before maybe while doing a craft show years ago but no, they were excited to see that something was open on a Sunday morning to entertain them, they did not buy but took my card and left a wonderful comment in my Guest book and since then I have heard from them and they plan to return next Summer, so when they do I hope the Town will and can be open for business for them as well as others and this is why we need to advertise us as an interesting town rich in history and the only way to do this is to use what resources we have and that is our local KOR and anything else which may make people stop and look ,if we don't stand up and say, "Hi!!! here we are over here , welcome"we will all end up with houses we can't sell someday and no shops at all in town. We need our "Ambassador's , thank you to all of them, let us all try to be "Ambassador's...OK? We need to be thankful for those who are trying to put us on the year round Tourism map.
Tourism can only help us, we all need to understand this whether we feel we are in the business or not, it affects us all.

work ..work never ending work..

I have been burning it at both ends as the old saying goes these past days since writing last...here is a shot of a mat I finished in my so called down time.."When will you marry" after Paul Gauguin ,years ago when my younger sister married I did a "Gauguin" "Sisters Wedding Day" if I remember the title correctly. It was of one sister combing the hair of her younger sister on her wedding day. Much thought and research was given before doing it and I feel it was very appropriate , special gifts should be just that, something homemade or anything with much thought behind it,as I see it.

Speaking of that, my brain is in gear with plans of doing my older sis a special mat for her birthday to rest on her cottage floor in Summerville. More details on that as it gets closer to Nov. 7th. Also I have been finishing up another couple of mats but right now I will keep them from the blog for now , I am in thought as to what I want to do with them. If anyone would like to view what I have done so far, please call or drop in if my open gallery sign is up. End of season ,left over commission stock has returned and I have a few Xmas products at a very reasonable price as well. The Summer Tourist season was pretty good for my paintings that were out on commission but unlike past years, seldom do I see Christmas product return, hard to believe it but Christmas items do sell in the Summer. Then again it seems by the stores it gets displayed earlier and earlier each year. Here I am in the selling business, will pretty well make you what ever you want and I for one seldom darken the door of these box stores, going to a large Mall or store makes my head spin,it always has...I remember years ago we were doing an art show in a large expensive Mall, I won't say where , it was a special show and only a few speciality shops were open along with the art show, me being and always have been a hat person went into this fancy boutique store when I saw what I thought was the straw hat of my dreams, grabbing it excitedly from the shelf and seeing no price tag, I then asked the clerk "how much?" she replied "$175.00 "yup!!!that much, my response to her answer as I was putting the hat back on the shelf was"does it come with a brain?" I thought she was going to pee herself laughing, me thinking that she would be angry with my comment..not so.....we both had a great laugh and she then came out later that day and bought a painting from me .My step daughter just got a job at "Michael's" art supply store on PEI...I so envy her, I am like a kid in a candy store when let loose in such a place. I remember years ago we would make special trips into the industrial Park in Dartmouth just for "Michael's" these days, online or the art store in Bridgewater. So back to why I have been burning it at both ends, I try, and do succeed most days to sit at my easel but with Winter on it's way ,feeling it in the air and knowing very well when it changes it may change quickly,during these fine days we decided to put all away, taken care of Months of turmoil here there and everywhere in this tiny house and are ready with all my hooked mats cleaned and put away from where the puppy we puppy sit can't play and pull them apart, because of her I started making the cushion floor mats..Thanks Belle.

I remember back in the very early 1970's my Mom died in "73, she and I worked at a local Dept store together here in town which I have written about before. She bought many ,many carpet ends , small mats in all different colors at this Dept .store , they were selling for like 99 cents a piece or cheaper,she and I sat at the cottage one weekend and sewed all these mats together and made a wonderful multi color shag carpet which covered the livingroom floor. We would spring and fall clean the old place together ,at that time there was a collection of bottles from all over the world along the top ledge of the ceiling and we would wash every one of those bottles, today this cottage belongs to my sister and she is smart enough not to have all this stuff to dust, on the other hand I was blessed or should I say ?cursed with Mom's love of stuff...and I have been dusting here for days and I can see clearly now.

I had someone the other day remind me of how much I recycle and have been ever since I was a small child and when I was a teenager I would take from the attic my Mom's old dresses and rebuild them with less length being the 60's and adorn them with lace, to create a new garment. When Chuck and I married ,my wedding dress was made from an antique lace curtain , I did it in such a way so that after the wedding I returned it back into a curtain for our home, I know I should have saved it, but I do have pictures.I took the two lace panels ,folded them down on the outside when I got my desired length ,I tacked them together at the shoulders and cut the one in front to make it look like a dress with a jacket, my under dress was made from a pretty pink satin curtain which I wore for years after.

One of these days I will put up a picture of our wedding and my dress to share here with you . Oh..Chucks wedding shoes were from the old Bills store in Mahone Bay , I forgot to remove the large orange $9.99 sale tag from the bottom of his shoes and as you can imagine when we were kneeling at the alter, all could see how much I paid for him, there was one picture taken of his shoe soles by his father who has since passed and to this day I have no idea where this picture would be, I wish I did.

sea people heads

Here are the sea people sculpted heads . These heads are hand sculpted from potters clay and left to harden and are not fired . When hard the heads are then painted .We have been making Sea People Figurines since 1978, yup that long. The bodies are wood and wire and they are dressed with recycled fabric soaked in a paper Mache' solution and after dry they get varnished and what we call propped with whatever props for their particular characters.

I will be honest , they are a lot of work, but the finished product makes you smile as they take on their personalities, which indeed they do just that. When I start this order I will take you on a Sea People adventure as they progress along and when done and all standing in a row are very amusing. That will be in days or weeks from now.

I have been preparing mats to be painted, the drying weather was perfect this past couple of days so I took advantage of that and I am ready now for days of rain and can continue on with work inside. Our storm windows out front have been taken down, cleaned ,painted and put back up for the winter. Furniture under the pergola has been secured and covered for the coming Winter. A few more things to take care of and we are all set to be stuck inside during our cold Months. This morning we are expecting rain and wind and my dear bicycle is all by herself in the barn, I love my bike and I may have to sit on that stationery bike just for the exercise...blah!!!!

I have an interesting boat bow I plan to do something with this Winter, these interesting pieces are harder and harder to find these days, we don't do as well beach combing like we did years ago when our young legs would take us for miles along our shores to find wonderful pieces of driftwood and treasured boat pieces. This boat bow has been waiting for me for a couple of years now, I have walked past it in the barn for the last time, this will be the season for something special to be done with it. I remember one boat bow which I painted on and it hung on the wall and looked like a boat coming through the wall. I had a Swiss couple look at it. They returned to Switzerland and not a week went by ,I got a call and was asked to ship it as soon as possible to arrive there as a surprise gift for his wife, they liked it that much. This one looks like it will be very similar in size and I look forward to seeing it complete. Before the snow flies I must ready a few boat pieces in preparation for Winter completion.

Also so that I can work into the Winter outside,we are hoping to add a roof off of our shop before the weather changes ,something to keep the rain and sun from us as we work outside Summer and Winter...just another chore to yet be done.There is always something to do,never an idle moment around here, I like it that way.Keeps me out of trouble..yeah ,right :-)

finished vinyl mats

Meet my mats..
i so enjoyed doing the "Mona Lisa" and see more like this in my future ..
I am working on another one which has been on my drafting table for days now, being the long weekend and weather was nice ,we had outside painting to do and mouths to feed so little actual art got done. Oh and my house is clean..that I enjoy when sitting long enough to look at it :-)
Puppy sitting today, it got quiet ..must run. Also have Sea People heads to start sculpting.

a lovely wedding

Sunday 10/10/10 was a wonderful sunny day for a wedding and as everyone is saying the magic day to get married.

Meet Yvonne and Kenny. We had a delicious Turkey dinner to share with them as Mr. and Mrs. It was very special like Chuck and I the Minister was a friend of theirs, Yvonne works for the Church, and it makes it all so special to be united in Marriage by someone who really does know you . Here is a shot of Ken alone,I wanted you to see what a wonderful smile this man has.And his beautiful wife Yvonne. None of us there thought we would ever see Kenny married let alone a Church wedding and tie...Ken you did it...Congrats!!! or should I say Yvonne ,you did it...:-) for he fell head over heels for a fine Lady.

Today Thanksgiving Day ,as well as breaking bread again with love ones and after my early bike ride ,my plan is to get my mats varnished and have them here for you to see tomorrow.

a heavy wedding presant

Happy Thanksgiving to all us Canadians and all who have in the past celebrated with us this wonderful time of year.

I have been painting mats since last I wrote here. But today I am off to a very special wedding ,someone we know from back in our living on the farm days. This young man ,well today he is not so young anymore but this evening he will be a married man and we so look forward to witnessing this glorious day with him. A lovely couple who found each other and we wish them many years of togetherness. Here is a picture of our wedding present for them and it's packaging. He gave me a couple old rotary saw blades which weigh somewhere 25 plus LBS. They raise Highland Cattle,so here we have it. More then likely it will take the two of us to carry this into the reception for sure.

Next week I will share with you the couple other mats I have done since my last writings,or almost done for I am waiting for a good day to finish with the varnishing of them. One is of the "Mona Lisa" yes and I am very happy with it so I look forward to sharing it here with you within the next couple of days. I bought some more cushion floor and made sure to buy the expensive flooring which does not curl,it lays flat because of the good quality and can be painted on the wrong side leaving the pattern as the bottom,the texture on the back side is so nice to paint on ,it paints up like a fine canvas,excitement floods me thinking of future mats.

As well , I got a call from someone in the US who bought one of our "Sea People" figurines from years back .She ordered some for her new shop to open in the Spring 2011, I Will share more of this with you as I start to sculpt the heads next week for them and also once she is closer to opening I will share then her shop info,so you can visit online or in person if you are near.Here now I will show you above a couple pictures of our Sea People who we have been making for so many years , as I mentioned in an older blog installment about how we became the Sea People in the first place back in 1978 in Lunenburg Nova Scotia.

a new project

Well I have been known in the past for saying that " If I want something, I try first to make it myself ". This is how we became the "Sea People" in the first place, we were poor ,living and inshore fishing out of Feltzen South Lunenburg Co. way back in '78.Remember the store bought Kitchen Witch's from back then? Well I wanted one and could not really afford one ,or had other more important priorities . In the attic of the old house we were living I found some fabric scraps, I assume the old girl who lived there before us may have been a mat hooker :-) so I made some salt ,flour dough and sculpted a head and used the fabric and made my first Kitchen Witch, then made everyone I knew a Kitchen Witch to eventually after it got too cold for fishing we ended up opening our first shop in Lunenburg N.S. and the Sea People were born. We have been puppy sitting this past while, Miss Lou Lou Belle" she has given me a rude awakening of just what puppies are capable of getting into and especially her being a busy Border Collie. Over the years I have collected some very nice hooked mats from crafter's I have done shows with , young and old. I adorn or should say did adorn my floors with these lovely mats until Miss Belle came into our lives, she likes to pull them apart. I rolled most up but I miss their bright colors so I decided to paint myself a floor mat on cushion floor as well you can use thick canvas but this is more practical . Years ago I painted a mat right on the floor in Charleston, it was great and so are these. I am on my third one as you can see in the photos. The flowered one is mine and my first. Already one coat of varnish on this one at least two more coats of varnish to go and I believe then a rubbing of Min wax, I need to do a bit more research regarding that before finishing the others.

The two Crow Joy and the one I am working on now with the checker board border will be for sale.Once this High Humidity ends I will start to varnish and finish them. I am excited at the endless possibilities and the fact these are a usable art and can be table runners or mats and be used in any room . They are easy to clean and dog hair will not stick to them...yes I like that idea.
I added the third mat this morning, Friday....of course it as well as the others still need to be varnished but done with the painting of it after working yesterday and finishing up last evening,it was a long day..but I am like that when I start something new and exciting, actually...that is what I do all the time...work and I love what I do..housework is another matter these days....Thanks to Chuck for being my Kitchen Boy . We have puppy again this AM, but my plan is to prepare another mat this morning and this afternoon after Belle leaves I hope to go in search of more floor coverings...the Beast has been let loose again. My head is a spinning with all these ideas for fun mats, the sky is the limit.
I very much am enjoying the bright colors, but have thoughts of maybe this one being a beach scene with a shell border. Wish me luck and anyone who would like to see them closer, do drop in, if you are near, one of us or both are usually here. So off I go to get ready for Miss Cutie Pie...Bright eyes...ball girl....silly puppy...lookin for clues or something to get into....Puppies are always happy...have you ever noticed that? "Lookin For clues and trouble" and so ...so soft...