Tomorrow is the BIG day!

Only one more sleep until Ollie comes home!

I know it’s small but here is the last update photo that I received this morning from the breeder.  She is holding the litter of puppies for the last time before they all go to live in their respective forever homes.

Ollie is on the far left.

By this time tomorrow, our family will be complete once again.

Market Day Goodies!

Yesterday was my favorite day of the week…market day!

People come from far and wide to shop at the Annapolis market. 

We were there bright and early…so early in fact, that some of the vendors were still setting up their booths when we arrived shortly after 8 a.m.

The market is quite large for a small town and there is always a great selection of fresh produce, bakery items, antiques and hand made treasures.

Cliff is renowned for his eclectic selection of fresh fruit and vegetables at very reasonable prices…and he even makes and sells his own maple syrup in season.

I came home with lots of goodies including, a freshly baked sourdough baguette, red and white potatoes, hot banana peppers, portobello mushrooms, kale, raspberries, peaches, a red pepper, cucumber, red onion, yellow beans, eggplant and the first pick of corn. 

Our larder is full!

We love fresh veggies, so I decided that we would have grilled roasted veggie sandwiches and corn-on-the-cob for dinner.

I sliced the eggplant, mushrooms, red onion and red pepper and laid them out on a large flat pan.  After drizzling some olive oil over the veggies, I added some fresh ground pepper and baked them at 350F for thirty minutes.

A short time later…yummo!

I then sliced 4 focaccia buns in half and started to layer the veggies.

First came the red onions…

followed by the mushrooms, red pepper and eggplant.

I then topped the stack of veggies with some sharp cheddar cheese.  (I used cheddar but you can substitute the cheddar with any cheese that will melt when heated.)

Ten minutes on the ‘George Forman"’ grill will do it.

And voila…a perfect dinner for a hot summer day. 

It was so good that we’ll be having the two leftover sandwiches for lunch today!

Remember those raspberries I bought?  I made two apple-raspberry pies for dessert…just in case you decided to stop by!

Only three more days till Ollie comes home!

P.S.  Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions regarding my PC/Mac dilemma.  I’m going to take the plunge and buy a Mac.

BOM progress and Mac vs PC

Today is the day when all of us who are participating in the Comfort & Joy BOM quilt along post our versions of Block 4. 

Here is mine done in wool, cotton and a lot of different homespuns.

I have finally caught up with the other gals and if you’d like to have a look at their progress, just click on the names that follow…Anne, Karen B, Karen P, Sharon, Kim, Diane.

My first three completed blocks can be viewed HERE.

The girls are quickly becoming ladies with each passing day. 

They spend a couple of hours outside of their coop every day and thankfully, don’t wander too far from their home.  When they’ve had enough, they just go back inside on their own.

I found out recently that they are Golden Comets and will become very prolific layers in another couple of months.  Being our “Golden Girls”, we’ve named them Betty, Bea, Rue and Estelle…get it?  *wink*

And now, I’d like to ask for your assistance.

In the next week or so, I’m going to be purchasing a new laptop and at Mr. Painted Quilt’s behest, I’ve been contemplating and researching a Mac.  If you have any comments or opinions, whether pro or con…Mac or PC…I’d love to hear from you.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Only four more days until Ollie comes home!

We went for a drive today…

To meet Oliver…up close and personal! 

Isn’t he the cutest little guy?

We asked for a puppy with a laid back, placid personality and Ollie certainly seems to be that kind of guy.

I held him for a while and he happily nestled into the crook of my arm.  *sigh* 

The breeder had all the puppies out in the fenced yard so we got to meet his six siblings as well..

His ears haven’t stood up yet but we were assured that they will by the time we bring him home on August 1st.

Nine more days…but who’s counting?

It was difficult to say goodbye but before we know it, our house will be complete once again with the addition of Ollie to our family.

Catching Up

I don’t know what the weather is like in your little corner of the world but in ours, it’s been extremely hot and dry and as a result, we’ve been spending much of our time indoors. 

I’ve managed to get myself caught up on the Comfort & Joy quilt along hosted by Anne at Cottons ‘n Wool.

Although the original sample is pieced and appliquéd entirely in cotton, I’ve chosen to do mine in wool-on-cotton with lots of homespun thrown in for good measure…just to add to the scrapiness.  (Mary from Quilt Hollow generously gifted me with a slew of homespuns a while back.  Thanks again, my friend.) 

I’ve made a couple of changes here and there but that’s part of the fun, right?

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

And here’s the entire left side of the quilt sewn together.  I’m going to add a lot of embellishments but not until after the machine quilting is done.

We went to the farmer’s market bright and early this morning.  I didn’t really need too much and came home with some fresh cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and an olive bread.

As soon as we got back home, I made a strawberry-rhubarb pie for tonight’s dessert.  For dinner, we’re having fresh local haddock, salad and a baked potato.  I can’t wait!

Just let me know if you’re coming so I can set an extra place or two. 

And last but certainly not least…

The breeder sent us this photo of our Westie puppy earlier this week.  She told us that we’ll be able to pick him up any time after the 1st of August which will make him eight weeks old.

I think we’ve finally decided on a name for our little guy.

Oliver…or Ollie, for short.  We think it’ll suit him to a tee!

The Dog Days of Summer

The summer heat is finally upon us here in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.  Thankfully we live close to the ocean where there always seems to be a prevailing breeze.

Our house is surrounded by huge maples, fruit and chestnut trees which keep us shaded from the sun’s rays.  Because of the heat, I’ve been staying indoors a lot which has allowed me to spend time in my studio…rather than in the gardens. 

And speaking of gardens, it has been so dry here.  Look at how brown the grass is in the foreground!

My poor vegetable and flower gardens are as dry as a bone and are as stressed out as I am!  *sigh*

So what’s a gal to do instead of digging in the dirt?  Sew, of course!

Albeit it late, I joined in on Anne’s Comfort & Joy quilt-along a couple of months ago and fell way behind the group.  My pattern was late in arriving (excuses, excuses) and because we were spending so much time out-of-doors ( more excuses), I just didn’t take make the time to complete my one block a month.  So over the last couple of days, I finally got all of the pieces cut out and sewn together for the entire quilt…

and I’m now ready for the fun part…the appliqué. 

By the end of this month the group will have completed the first four blocks and it is my intention to be caught up by then as well!

In the mean time, the gals have been outside playing.  What fun it is to watch them do their ‘hunting and pecking’ thing and they aren’t the least bit afraid of us.

And here he is at four weeks old! 

The breeder just sent us this photo of our baby so that means just four more weeks to go and he’ll be able to come home with us!

Doesn’t he just melt your ♥ ?

A surprise package was waiting for me at the post office earlier this week from Stephanie.  Could anything be more appropriate?  Thanks again, my friend.

Several of you asked if we had problems with the deer that visit our property eating our flowers and veggies.

Not since we started to use Wolf Urine!

Since we started putting out the wolf urine, we’ve had deer appear at the far end of our ‘back forty’ but none have ventured close to the house. Deer have a very keen sense of smell and if they catch a whiff of the wolf urine, they will not hang around long as wolves are their mortal enemy.

We purchased ours from our local nursery who recommended it as the product they use to keep the deer from eating their stock.

So far it’s worked for us as well.

First Friday Freebie #29

The dog days of summer have arrived and so has the First Friday of July!

My obsession with pincushions continues this month. 

After posting the photo of a pincushion that I designed for my swap partner in THIS post, several of you asked me to share the pattern so I decided to do so for this month’s First Friday Freebie.

To download the PDF file for A Vintage Pincushion, just click HERE.

Use your imagination and make each pincushion uniquely yours.

Have fun and most of all, enjoy!