Another summer comes to a close!

God Morning my friends!

Bare with me as I have myself a little pity party.

Yes, summer has come and gone once again. The summer crowds have returned home and the kids will begin a new chapter in their lives. New school for some, new teachers, making new friends. Grades getting harder! Gosh, don't we all remember those days...seems so long ago! .... and now for THE PITY PARTY! So sad that it has gone by so fast. I've missed spending more time with my kids and  the grands...all 5 are growing up so fast and I feel as though I'm missing out on their childhood. I know, some live in a neighboring state and others are so busy with summer sports and activities. I get that...and I know it's Not about ME! With that said, thank you for letting me vent. ❣️

Yes, tomatoes are plenty this year so here come another batch of roasted tomatoes. This time I added 2 whole cloves of garlic then pressed them out of the skins. As you can see I made a couple of baguettes for later. Most of my bread recipes came from this book....my bread bible.

The house smells so good!

Getting back to my Magnesium loton

This is the recipe I used, however me being me I made a couple of changes. I used calendula and Vitamin E oil. I plan on trying this again.

Gotta run....

Thanks for being here...drop me a comment..

A dieu till next time.

Tomato Season is here!

Hello,  I'm back! What have you been up to? The weather here in Maine is finally over with the heat and humidity....phew! I don't do well with the humidity but it's now a tad cooler and it's great sleeping weather.

Here's what I've been  up to. Yes, tomato season is here and our plants are so big. We've not had much rain but hubby has been faithfully watering his garden. Today I picked some and thought I'd roast some up.

Nothing like the smell of tomatoes roasting in olive oil, garlic, basil and thyme.

I got a small eggplant that I'll bake and use these to add to them. Shh! I was tantalize by my "Roomie" when she mentioned she was making eggplant parm. Hubby won't eat that so I'll make eggplant stacks....all for me. It's a small one so I'll to enjoy it.

Just enough, if I don't use it all I will have the rest on toasted hmm artisan bread and cheese. Now I'm hungry!

Flowers in my neighbors yard are just beautiful. I was going to cut a couple but decided to take pictures instead.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do,

They make me smile.

I happened on a post that a friend was making magnesium cream. Great! I've been wanting to attempt this myself. I researched the recipe and started....first make magnesium oil. Well it's not actually "oil"....just call it that. Magnesium flakes dissolved in distilled water.

So on, and so on. I thought the outcome was great...creamy and light,

It made enough for 2 tubs. But after it rested a while ....

Yup, it separated....not happy. I read that it needs an emulsifier! I might just make some "magnesium spray".

If any of you out there have any suggestions or helpful hints I'd be happy to hear them.

SLOW STITCHING.....

Here is an updater on my slow stitching prgress on my vessel.  It's coming along ok..but since I don't really have a pattern with directions I have to "wing" it. It's a slow process. I've also made a few 4" stitch patches but nt ready to show them yet.

#1

#2

#3

Gotta run for now but hope to be back soon.

Give me a shout!

Donna.

Girls day on the beach!

Life is good! Had a wonderful day spent with my daughter and granddaughter. It was the perfect day...a tiny bit overcast ( because of the Canadian wildfires) and a welcoming breeze. Quality girl time is what i call it!

Lot of paddlers and kayaking in the back these past few weeks.

I enjoy watching the young ones going solo on their boards. 

On my walk i noticed this thistle plant growing alongside the road. In my mind I've been thinking of doing watercolor picture of one. This happens to be perfect...with the bees in it and all.

Hopefully my next post will be the result. Beautiful!

A crafty young lady.....

A family of renters are here with their granddaughter. She gifted me this hand painted little duck on a mini canvas....I placed it on a tiny easel perfect fit. I will cherish it. How sweet of her.

Another picture of my "Star Island Hollyhock". Another white one...the next time I'm on the island I hope to get seeds of a different color.

Bye for now....have a great day.

Don't forget to give me a shout (comment) 👇

Threads and Hydrangeas

Hello again! In my last post I meant  to tell you about this new little shop that I visited in the town over. Kennebunk, Maine,

Yes, that's the name....and what a lovely shop! 

Tons and tons of gorgeous color threads! I'm in awe of their selections. Also has a large selection of merchandise...lots of goodies. Needlepoint patterns a plenty!

Beautiful, bright and very friendly staff!

Looking around  you see so many beautiful hydrangeas. They seem to be quite abundant this year not to mention their stunning colors. I skipped over to shoot these pics of my neighbors.  Miss Jill will love seeing them.  I would say these are periwinkle in color.

GIN PARTY!?

That sounds good to me!

You know the "potential Fashionista" that I follow on Instagram. She was having a gin party. She had friends over to her garden and had an assortment of gins and mixes. The purpose of this was to benefit "dementia" and they raised £200. Not sure but I believe translates to $260+ US dollars. 

@vivthecarer

#Vivienne Truran

Check out her page.

That's it for today.

Stay cool, stay hydrated but have a great day.

☆REMINDER...love hearing from you....drop me a line.

A Dieu

Ps. The MAINE EVENT.

My neighbor has a weeks vacation where her friends gather for events throughout the week. Morning walks, trips to Bentleys biker bar, yoga, circle of friends on the beach and dance party provided by a DJ. It's a great time.

Onion Skins Dye Results and The Maine Event 2025

Yes, here are the results ......I'm sort of happy with the color...Browns are not my favorite colors. 

Tan or beige I guess is what they are. Actually the color is a bit brighter than what they show.  I may cut them up into patches and do some slow stitching . Also going to try watercolor painting with the dye.

I Spy with my little eye.....my 3 chairs! They do not belong in My neighbors yard! That young man to the right was the culprit. 

Well The MAINE EVENT is happening this week so who knows what we'll witness!

THANK YOU FOR BEING. A FRIEND!

Love to hear from you so drop me a line to let me know you were here.

Till the next time, A Dieu.

Can you see me?

OH heck no, not this old body with these fit young ladies! Of course that's why they look the way they do. "The Maine Event"....(with more to come)

HELLO everyone....back here again and so soon!

I have a new obsession on Instagram  "#vivthecarer" and I love everything about her. Her bio says she's  a potential fashionista! She's just adorable with her fashion style. Recently she was at a salon for a cut & style....it was great....wish I could find a stylist that could do that for me. I want to be "vivthecarer"...check her out.viv

Trying again to dye some cotton.  I've been saving my yellow and purple onion skins to dye with.

I think it may work this time. You can see a bit of the fabric sticking up in the center of the pot. When it's complete....I'll post a pic.

Well it seems people are having a hard time logging on to this blog so I've made a few changes. Please drop me a comment to let me know you were here.

Love hearing from you and thanks for stopping by,

A dieu! 

One year later!

How could it be?!

It's been way too long, but my intentions were good.

This is the first bloom from my hollyhock seeds taken from Star Island,  gosh years ago.

This orchid cactus has been blooming like crazy this summer. So potbound, that must be the secret. I put her in my small garden under the deck. 6 flowers so far.

It was a joy to teach my youngest how to make butter and adding herbs.

 

She really enjoyed how simple it was to make and is anxious to make more at home. She and her siblings had some on corn on the cob and said it was delicious.

It was a joy to be introduced to a new drink! And a lovely young woman.

Empress 1908 Indigo Gin...love the color and the flavor was delicious. Gin and tonic with a pea blossom flavor. Can't wait to experiment. 

Yes, I've been doing some hand stitching and of course water painting. No painting to show but some of the stitching here. Works in progress!

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I think these fall under the ocean theme, would you say. Jelly fish, seaweed,  shells etc.

Speaking of.......Rare sightings of Jelly fish...!

I Can't remember ever seeing them here....and so many!! So and grands paddled to the harbor where they saw  many more. I went to the fish lab with my youngest grand and saw plenty more swimming around the docks.

Garden Spirit!

Oh no! What to do!?

Well I thought she would do a better job....but evil got the best of her. Hair is gone as is her crown! It's a shame but we'll see if we can fix her up.

I'm heading out now, but promise to continue this writing later.

Have a great day.

*Remember, I love your comments. 

A dieu.

Not Going to Over think it!

So much going on right now. Not really.

Hello! Welcome! Happy you're here. I guess you could say I'm not a dedicated blogger..however I will do my best to keep up.

A while back I had this crazy idea that I'd like to dabble with clay.

So I went ahead and purchased some DAS Air dry clay.

Roomie came to hooking group with me....after we as a group went out for dinner.

So I showed her what I got and we both did some molding.

She made some beautiful leafs to use as shade pulls.

They were really cute.

 I made a few flower frogs for Mason jars.

They turned out pretty cute BUT kept tipping over as I attempted to insert flowers in them. Once I rearranged them they were better.

I may have to tweak the next ones.

So I think I must stay off Instagram. I get so involved in finding new projects.

Yesterday I gathered up some chives to make Chive Blossom butter

And I also infused some in vinegar.

Chive Blossom Vinegar for Christmas gifts.

 

I love the color they turn once in the vinegar.

On to another project. This is a prototype for textile jewelry.

Necklaces and  brooches that I am currently working on. Not sure how this will turn out..!

As I sit here wrapped in a blanket nursing this cold....it makes me smile to watch these young mud swallows flit around. So cute.

All of a sudden this newly hatched youngling showed up on my deck...not sure i can identify it. 

Soon my friends (sisters) will be here for our annual "summer camp". I'm so looking forward to seeing them. Here Ms. B. with Big Blue. Ms.D and Roomie will also arrive. Will keep you posted on the goings on.

Gotta run..

Thanks for being here....always appreciate your Comments.👇

A Bientot. 

Hearts all around with lots of LOVE.

Happy Day to you all! I'm a bit late with these wishes.... hope your day was sweet. Hubby still not up and about much so when I was out

On an errand I picked up a 'sweet treat' for he and I. Don't think I would leave myself out! Lol.

Yup! From R&R Bistro 1 dark chocolate turtle w/pecans and 1 w/ cashews.  Then 1milk chocolate w/pecans and 1 w/cashews for me. 

You can't check out without getting a couple of salted caramels. Oh my they are so yummy! To hell with my diet today!

Did someone say DIET? I don't think it was me. I made an Artisan Cinnamon Raisin bread. I was having trouble with it rising. Kept it covered on the counter over night and the next morning, heated up my pan then baked it.  The crust was nicely browned and crisp but the inside was still a bit wet.

So after much discussion with my "bread Guru" aka Cathy @Acornhollow.blogspot.com  we came up with a number of reasons

* old yeast, no I proofed it and still quite live.

* wet raisins, could be

* dough too wet, could very well be.

That being said  I should have increased the cooking time OR as she recommended,  used a cooking thermometer to check if it come to 190°. Huh? Who knew? See what I mean...that's why she's my "Bread Guru!"

Another love....Larry. 

How much do I love this little fluff ball! I sure hope he visits often. I think i could be his Auntie! 💕 Puppy Love by Paul Anka, wow, now I'm showing my age!

Gotta run...on to Nurse duty! I'm thinking of asking for a raise. I'll let you know how that works out!

Thanks so much for stopping in. Be sure to let me know you were here. Just tap on the "comments" button. ⬇️

Later.,DM