I love snow!

Thanks to Winter storm, Falco, we received 

over 20 inches of snow this week 

so I just had to share some 

the beauty with you. 

Love the Seussical hats on the lampposts

 

We love our forest!!!!

The deck is full of snow!

No grilling tonight.

Yes, that's my mailbox ~ no stick on numbers for me.  lol

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 . . .

I think I'm ready . . .

Believe it or not I have finally succumbed to Spring Fever.

So I am ready to say

 

Good-bye old friend . . .

 . . . and hello new.

Like a fluffy white lamb

March has come ~ and come in like a fluffy 

white lamb ~ a fluffy white snowy lamb!

Yes, it is still Winter, and you know I'm loving that.  We had a gorgeous snowfall the other night, but as neither Mr. Cobblestone or I have the skills (or equipment?) necessary to capture such nighttime beauty on camera, you'll just have to take my word for it. It was one of those snows that coated each and every branch is a thick layer of pure white deliciousness.  Unfortunately, it had warmed during the night and all that beauty was lost by morning.

But we did have a fun night of it.  Many (middle-aged) kids were outside playing and we found a snowman in our front yard, courtesy of our neighbors.  By morning, the poor dear had fallen over, yet was still smiling.  Just goes to show, you can enjoy Winter, every single bit of Winter, even the tail end.

Here's how he started out:

We did try to get some photos that night.

 

While I was taking pics of the snowman that morning, I also caught our turkey flock parading down the street.  It always amuses me how they follow each other single file down the road.

I also caught this Tom displaying himself.

And earlier this morning, these 

lacy tracks they left on our driveway.

~*~*~*~*~

I will have a new bunny (or maybe two)

available this coming 

Sunday evening, March 3rd.  

Here's a little tease for you!

~*~*~*~*~

And don't forget ~ the online show starts a week from today!

March 8-10

I'll have little bears and mice and even a nice big 12" girlie bear.

Another tick on my serenity meter

I actually was ready to post these pics 

yesterday, but it being Valentine's Day, 

it just seemed wrong to post something anti-red.  

Know what I mean?

But I am feeling so much better about our 

family room now.  Perhaps I am a bit more sensitive 

to color than most, and I'll admit that 

red has got to be my least favorite 

color of all, but come on, 

tell me this isn't a huge improvement!

~ After ~

(Yes, I still have my Father Winter and snowflakes up!)

 

~ Before ~

Can't wait to see it decked out in daffodils!

I also spent some time this week 

redoing the draperies for this room.  

 Now they look like something that belongs in my house!

(No, you most certainly do NOT get to see a before photo of these!)

Next week ~ back to mice and bears.

The BearHugs4U show is only 3 weeks away!   

Care to peek inside my studio?

As many of you know, Mr. Cobblestone and I recently 

moved from WI to Maine ~ and are loving it!  

One of the perks of our new house is my studio room, 

which had been a small bedroom tucked up 

under the roof of our cape cod style house.  

It is not exactly the way I want it just yet, so I won't 

be showing you everything here.  

When it is done, I'll try to post one of 

those fancy-schmancy 360 videos for you.  

But over the past weekend, we hung some 

new cabinets that Mr. Cobblestone made for me 

from shutters that used to hang in the dining 

room (ugh!) ~ that Holly Hobby style just 

did not suit our taste (see photo at end).

The large window in the room has been flanked by 

two of the new cabinets.  The shelf under the window 

holds many of the furry friends and trinkets I have 

received from artists from all over the world that I 

have met online.  Seeing them each day makes me 

smile ~ as do the prototypes of my mice from 

all those years ago. 

I think I've improved, don't you?  

Did you spy my toolbox in the lower corner?

Two smaller cabinets are on this wall, next to the 

door we made into the 'closet' under the roof.  

It's a great place for storage bins full of fabric.

 Here are those cabinets opened to 

show some of my teacup collection waiting 

for little potbelly mice to reside in them.

Two more cabinets by the door into the room.

 

There was a built in desk in the room 

when we moved in ~ a perfect 

spot for my sewing machine.

I added the skirt underneath made from the curtains 

that used to hang on the windows in this room

(Scarlet would be so proud!) 

and the cork boards to the closet doors.

The closets have shelves with smaller bins

that hold my fabric, wools, ribbons, etc

carefully sorted by color and type.

And here is a pic of the dining room with the shutters.  

They as well as the plate rail and tiny blue valence 

were one of the first things I took down when we moved in. 

Fabric for new drapery is still leaning 

in a corner of an upstairs bedroom.  

Sigh . . . someday . . .

Anniversary Celebration

It's been almost one year to the day that Mr. Cobblestone and I first fell in love with the Camden/Rockport area of Maine from atop Mt. Battie.   

To mark the occasion, we had a picnic there last weekend.  It was the absolute peak day for Autumn color and I have a few photos to share with you.

Looking down on Camden Harbor.

 On the other side of the bay is Acadia Park.

 Don't you love that one bright red tree among the golds and greens?

The red arrow shows the approximate location of our home.  

I still cannot believe we are so close to the shoreline.

"Don’t say it like that, say it like: we’re taking the train!"

Yesterday Mr. Cobblestone and I took a day off from our usual weekend routine of working on our new home and took a ride on the Maine Eastern Railroad.  They run special Fall Foliage trips from Rockland to Brunswick on Sundays.  

It was a very enjoyable and relaxing day, (one that Sheldon would have liked as well), scheduled at what appeared to be the peak day of color in these parts.  A two hour layover in Brunswick went all too quickly, allowing only for a brief lunch stop.  It is hard to believe that a mere 12 months ago we were strolling those streets thinking how nice it would be to retire to Maine someday ~ and now we are living here! 

Although the Fall colors seem to be peaking or even fading in most of this area, the leaves in our yard are still mostly green.  

Perhaps we are in a tiny micro-climate, or perhaps the fairies and elves who live here have an effect on such matters.

How much wood . . .

No, no, no, I'm not going to talk about woodchucks.  

But I am going to finally show you the 

wooded lot Mr. Cobblestone and I now call home.  

The following photos are all taken from 

various windows of our new home.

How sharp is your eye?  

Can you spot any signs of civilization 

like a road, or the neighbors' houses?  

How about Fairies?

Gnomes?

Elves?

 

I am so looking forward to the 

changing of the leaves ~ 

and of course the SNOW!!!