On Remembering

Today cannot pass without remembering ten years ago. The Lord has carried us this far and will continue. This hymn which we sang at worship this morning states it well. Words by Edward Mote, ca. 1836. Still just as true today. I find comfort in knowing the Lord has always existed and will continue no matter what happens. And He has promised to take to Heaven all those who love Him and call upon Him for forgiveness of their sins. In this I rest.


My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

September Beauty

  
Yesterday was beautiful at nearby Fort Adams. Grandma, Grandaddy, The Pres, Fig and I all went over there to take advantage of the rare sunny day this week. On the way we found the local farmers' market and got fresh organic meats and cheese to take home. We also got warm, flaky blueberry and strawberry cream cheese turnovers. That started the day off right. Never mind that we already had breakfast at home.

The water was chilly but Fidget ran right in. She brought dishes and a shovel with her and played cooking for hours, dashing in and out of the water. She also did water shows for Grandma, who was the captive audience in the beach chair. We had the beach to ourselves for most of the time we were there.Maybe the locals think it's too cold for the beach now that Labor Day is past. But we wanted to enjoy it before it turns truly cold.

 Even though it was chilly water, it got up to the low 80's outside.  Dad and I waded in looking for starfish and other pretty sealife. The Pres snorkeled around the cove and brought back some impressive pottery shards (they called them pot sherds when we were in art history class).

 Dad and I headed over there and found some lovely pieces too. In the cove the shoreline is all covered with a fine silt, disguising pottery pieces, which may explain why they're still there hundreds of years later. They are so old, they must be colonial, like many of the houses around here. I was fascinated. I can't believe Fidget had no interest.

 Here is the pile the Pres and I brought home, with some bottle necks and bottoms, pieces of dinner plate and bowls, cups, who knows what else. One piece looked like it had been shaped around a thumb and the Pres said that is likely part of a man's pipe!

 We were not too tired when we got home, so changed clothes and went to the Tennis Hall of Fame, and shopped the street it's on, and even hit the Portuguese Festival on Bellevue Ave. It was such a great day. When we got back Mumsy and I wound my new skeins of yarn into balls. This is Manos Maxima by Manos Del Uruguay, color: Chrysanthemum. I can't wait to start knitting Fidget a new winter pullover. It was supposed to rain today but the sun's coming up in a clear blue sky. I may not get any knitting done today after all. There are still plenty of sights left to see here in Rhode Island.

Happy Sunday!

Today my inlaws are on their way. All the talking and planning and cleaning up are over. They're really coming! Fig and I have a list a mile long of things we want to do with them. The topiary garden, the water, bike riding, the gelato shop, the knitting shop,the cliff walk,  the mansion tours... We can't wait! I hope to get some great pictures over the next couple of weeks.

The Pres ordered an underwater camera too, so I hope to have fun shots of all the things he finds for us. When I go down looking I realized I can't see well through the mask or goggles because I leave my glasses at home. But he is a good sport. He brings up lots of unusual things like sea stars and urchins, the other day he found a live conch, and he has salvaged useful things like a Razor scooter for Fidget.

There are several hours left til the folks come. The house is vacuumed, the laundry is clean, the bread just came out of the oven. Maybe there's still time to finish Mumsy's knitted birthday gift before they arrive. It's a toss-up though; I'm also reading Alexander Mccall Smith's The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, the latest in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. It's so hard to pull away from a good book!

Calm During- and After- the Storm

Hello again on another peaceful day on Aquidneck, where we live. The storm did not hit us all that hard here on Rhode Island, even though we were without power about 30 hours. We thank God that the storm passed easily and we had no flooding or breakage. Even though we knew things could have been much different, we have  seen Him bring us through much worse storms in N.C. when we lived there. And we trusted, no matter what He chose to do, He would bring us through.

The day after the  storm was very sunny and there was a chill in the air. There were hardly any cars on the bridge, after all why come here when there was no power? There were a few people at the dock putting their boats back in the water. Life was returning to normal. There was no thought of the Pres going to work, so we went for a long walk. During our shore-combing we found lots of old pottery shards and shells and starfish and sea glass to add to our collection. It was just a bit too chilly for the Pres and me to think of swimming, but that didn't stop Fidget. 

Sunday morning early, as the rain started to get heavy, I made King Arthur Flour's Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins. I was so glad I did later, as shortly after Fidget got up we lost power. She is determined to hate almost anything baked, but these still won her over, I am thrilled to say. I didn't make the topping because I didn't have pecans. And I'd read a reader's review saying it didn't need the topping. Maybe they were just slightly less sinful! Either way they were such a cheerful way to weather the storm together. I only wished I'd had a cup of hot tea with them.

 It warmed up as the day wore on. First thing in the morning though we all got out our home made socks to wear with long pants. But darn it, Fidget's socks had a hole. You may remember them, above.

Who would've thought they'd have a hole already, when I just made them in January? Anyone have any great ideas on how to darn things? I've never liked a pair of socks enough to fix them before.

During the storm, we kept busy playing Bananagrams, Scrabble Jr., reading a thousand and one library books, and knitting. The Pres kept up with his homework. Here's my current project. I was so happy to discover this yarn leftover from my dear friend Karen's project. And I had a pattern called Cafe Au Lait Mitts by Paula Mc Keever that I wanted to try. I love this pattern! The only bummer is that I have almost run out of this gorgeous Cascade 220 yarn. So I need to find a yarn shop before I start the second glove.

The power returned yesterday afternoon after our long walk. It was so peaceful to go in, sit down with a hot cup of tea, and knit away.

The Calm Before the Storm

 We went biking and swimming first thing this morning. We're hearing the hurricane may be on its way and to brace ourselves for the storm. For now though it's days as usual and all is calm.

Our house is so close to this pier that we ride here several times a day and go swimming. We are calling the new house Harbor View. Fitting, don't you think? The Pres came up with it. I think this is the first house he's named. Though he wouldn't have given any suggestions if I hadn't asked, still, he's come a long way. Or, I'm wearing him down after all these years. :)

 Just beyond this pier is another water access park. Sometimes people jump off and swim pier to pier, or over to the beach area.

 I love this periwinkle wicker chair set that we pass every day. Such a luxurious, comfortable porch. I bet the owner would be surprised to come home and find us sitting up there! So far, we haven't succumbed to the urge.

 A side view of the Anglican church.

 A lovely old bed and breakfast.

 Rhode Island is big on hedges and historic fences.

 Front of the Anglican church which is almost always open. This morning we stopped in briefly.

 It has some gorgeous stained glass pieces in the front entry.

 A neighbor's gated hedge always intrigues me as we go by.

 We got to Rhode Island in time to see all the multi-colored hydrangeas blooming. They are past their prime now, but still  beautiful to look at as they dry on the bush. The one at Harbor View is green, not as flashy as some bright fuschia and deep purply-blue ones, the soft pink ones that turn to green and the pale blues that deepen over time.

We also have roses around the door, which sometimes dress up our dinner table. They are so cheering to come home to. Sometimes we get a chill, especially when the breeze cools us in our wet clothes on our way home from the afternoon and evening swims. Then it's the perfect time for a cup of tea.

Wet Paint

Here is the peaceful scene I painted in last week. I don't know how Monet and those guys kept up that plein air (aka outside in the open air) painting all the time. Although there's nothing like being in the fresh air and the beauty of nature, there is so much to lug from the car! Then there's getting the wet canvas back home undisturbed. I can't imagine walking in from home or using a bicycle. 

That day I had a recalcitrant easel and I didn't have one of Monet's handy portable camp stools either so I had to set up on a rock where my easel could sit below and I could sit above. I painted one day on site and 2 back home where I had a comfy seat and a hot cup of tea at my side.

Here's the finished product. I was happy with how it came out. It was hard to give it away. It was fun to go to the Wet Paint show Saturday night and see all the wet work lining the walls. The bids were low from what we saw, including on mine, with just a few exceptions. We did not go back Sunday afternoon for the live auction they held for the work in which there was great interest (and high Friday night silent auction bidding). I am sure my painting was already gone by then. I hope it's in appreciative hands.

Even thought it was hard to give it away, it was good practice, and humbling to see the very low bids on it when we were there!

Welcome to Rhode Island!

 Hello from the cool North on a lovely summer's morning. We have been here about 2 weeks now. The Pres seemed to power through most of the boxes singlehanded, so our move went very well once we got here. 

Before we left River's Edge we had a last second surprise party for Fidget and right around that time I began itching all over. Turns out it was not the chlorine, it was an allergic reaction to Amoxicillin- something Fig and I have both had now. We will be steering clear of that from now on, thank you. Those itches lasted two solid weeks, during which we cleaned and painted our hearts out at the old home, and drove North in the 110-degree heat wave everyone experienced here on the East coast at that time. 


When we got here we had the heartbreak of unwrapping one of the Pres' paintings of Fidget, which was ruined with a foot-long gash in it (see top).  It was surprising since otherwise the packers had been very careful- nothing was missing, and we didn't lose many items to damage. We also had Fidget's Captain America birthday. Picture on the giant chocolate chip cookie in princess icing courtesy of the Pres. He can always be counted on to chip in. Fidget adored it.

 After these things we started to settle in to our new home, Harbor View. I got sufficiently well unpacked and organized to start a knitting project.

But it is hard to get anything done indoors when outside it is so pretty and Fidget just got out of training wheels. Suddenly she wants to be riding all the time! We ride first thing in the morning, at lunch, and even after dinner. It is such fun to ride down to the dock, jump in and swim, and ride home dripping wet. For now we share the docks with tourists, but already they're thinning out and soon the place will be all ours!


There's water just two blocks away from home. And no matter where you are around here, you aren't much more than 2 blocks away from water. 

  
We've explored the public water access docks and boat ramps, Boston for the day, beaches, and we've been to Fort Adams (above and below).

We've been to the Cliff Walk and the famous 40 Steps which end at these rocks. After this photo, a man and his dog ran down the steps, out onto the rocks, and dove in the water. I would have been afraid of sharks, for one thing, and of dashing myself to pieces on a rock. But either he and his dog got lucky or they knew what they were doing because last time we saw them they were swimming around down there having a ball.

There is lots of Colonial-era architecture around here. Many private homes are on the National Register of Historic Places. Even many that aren't have a plaque or sign outside with the year and the person who first lived there. This is the Pineapple House. There are also mansions open to the public for tours and a special topiary garden to see. How can we see everything in just one year?

Yesterday we went to Fort Adams again to start painting. There is a museum fundraiser called Wet Paint that Fidget and I have decided to enter. You paint a local scene, turn your painting in on Saturday, and all the art is auctioned off that night and the next.

Here is the scene I am attempting to paint.  The place was beautiful but the breeze kept messing with my paper palette so that by the time I left I was covered in paint. And the water kept calling to me. It was so refreshing. Fidget had so much fun swimming and making friends that she decided not to paint at all yesterday.Who could blame her?