Islesboro

A few weeks back, Mr. Cobblestone and I took 

our bikes on the ferry to Islesboro for the day.  

It is an idyllic island with about 

600 residents just 3 miles off the coast.
Although we did not spot any of the celebrities who 
have homes on the island, we did see many of the 
gorgeous mansions and enchanting cottages.  
There were breathtaking views and blooms everywhere.  

Here is Grindle Lighthouse that you see at the ferry dock.

As we rode down to the southernmost tip of the 
island on Pendleton Point Road, 

we passed this church, which I found stunning.

I believe this place used to be a B&B.  

Too bad it is now closed.
 

We had our picnic spot all to ourselves

 ~ a rocky beach with a 

view of neighboring Job Island.  

A fisherman on a lobster boat passed through 
Bracketts Channel

and waved as we had lunch.

We stopped at the little shop in Dark Harbor 
on our way back for an ice cream.

This sign at the ferry dock had us wondering about the obviously large amount of circumstances that prompted the last rule. 

Ewwww!

Where are the new mice, bears and bunnies you ask?  Here, there and everywhere!  I know it has been some time since I've had anything new to show you.  Rest assured they are under construction ~ as it feels is our home as well.

We've bit the bullet and have started the process of re-doing the flooring in our entire house.  Yay!  The fun part was of course going to the flooring store and picking out new materials.  Then the realization set in ~ the realization that NOW is the time to complete some rather messy jobs around the house ~ BEFORE the new carpeting is installed.  So Mr. Cobblestone and I have been busy.  

It started with painting baseboards, which lead to painting whole rooms, refinishing the lower kitchen cabinets and even adding a wall or two.  Please don't report me to the HGVT gurus who worship at the altar of open concept.  Come on ~ our quaint and cozy New England style cape has no business trying to be open concept.  I think the house is happier now that we've put it back to the way it should be.

Rockport Harbor

 

We have manged to do a bit more exploring ~ more about that in a later post ~ and we try to enjoy our harbor as often as we can.

I was happy to spot these buttercups blooming along the 

roadside one evening on our walk to the harbor.  

Did you too hold them under chins when you were a 

kid  to see if that person liked butter?   

Takes you back, doesn't it . . .

Mrs. Ricks

Here is a commissioned mouse that is to take her place on a Widow's Walk display ~ desperately searching for any sight of her husband's ship coming back into port. 

 My camera didn't do a very good job of capturing the three tiny tears on her left cheek. The hem on her dress is wired to position into a wind blown look. If I received photos of her in the display I will share them with you here.

Here is Cappy Ricks (whoI made years ago)  

the husband she is soon to join.

Sweetness

To me from Mr. Cobblestone . . . just because . . .

Cobblestone Creations Around the Globe!

My website has undergone a face lift recently, streamlining 

it a bit and adding new content.   Not only does this make 

it a more pleasant experience for visitors, it 

also feeds that techie side of my brain. 

One of the exciting things for me has been to add a map 

 (via BatchGeo) to show the locations of where my 

little friends are now living.  

There have been a total of 168 different collectors to date.  

168!  

Who knew?!!  

The program is quite easy to use.  If you have an excel file with the locations, all you have to do is copy/paste on their site and the map is drawn for you.  I have also included the number of items at each location and there are different colors of pins to reflect that data.

If you have a Cobblestone Creation, can you find the pin for your zip/postal code?  Some of you will find yours easier than others due to the number of my little friends that you have adopted.  And if any of you penguins are interested, you can be the first on your continent to have Cobblestone Creation of your very own! 

Thank-you all so much for giving my creations loving homes. 

Move over Mr. Groundhog

One of the things I've come to enjoy about the people in Maine is the overwhelming sense of 'doing for yourself.'  Now, that is not meant in the sense of doing only for yourself, as I must say they are some of the most helpful people I've met.  I mean 'do for yourself' in the sense of not waiting for the government to do it for you. 

So I feel quite comfortable following their example and declaring that today, August 2nd, shall henceforth be know as Penguin's Day.  If we have a special day to mark the halfway point of Winter, the day when so many people get excited about the coming of Spring, I see no reason why we, here at the halfway point of Summer cannot herald the coming of Autumn.  

Now I haven't got all the details worked out just yet, but I suppose it will have to involve a group of men in black tie and tails perhaps coaxing a little penguin out of his igloo.  

You will understand that it may take me some time to make these arrangements.  Do you suppose Jon Hamm would be available?  At the very least I will have a little Cobblestone Creations penguin for next year. 

For today, I can leave you with this photo from one of the Celebrate Winter parties that Mr. Cobblestone and I hosted.  It is a darling plate of penguins made of black olives, carrot pieces, cream cheese, red peppers and silly frilly toothpicks.  

I spy some yellowing leaves in my forest . . . just sayin'.

Free Shipping to Canada and Europe

Ok ~ call me crazy but I've decided to change 

my shipping policies to include 

Free Shipping to Canada and Europe 

on everything at Cobblestone Creations.

This decision came after I investigated the customs fees and VAT taxes buyers in those countries are forced to pay whenever they purchase something from the USA, which can be at least 20% of the purchase price. 

Although legally I cannot (and will not) change the value of the item on the customs forms, nor declare it a gift to reduce the taxes, I can help out by picking up the shipping charge.

And just a reminder ~ everyone who joins 
my mailing list also receives free shipping. 

The tiny blue bear in the photo above is Skiff, 

who is now available on my website.