Shellfishing Reconnoiter

Russell got his shellfish license so one morning we drove around, scouting out some of the beds open for digging.  The map in the town guide is really, really bad.  We had to compare it to a map of Bourne that I brought with us.  Pretty sure he has a good idea of where he'll go digging, if the weather ever gets warm.  These first pics are from various locations.

We finished up at Scraggy Neck so I could beach comb at low tide.  It was beautiful out...wind a bit nippy but not freezing.  Looking out towards Cleveland Ledge Light.

The same view, frozen solid, from January 2018.

 The water looked so inviting but for the fact it was ice cold.

I had some fairly decent luck with my beach glass endeavors.

Another shot from January when it was completely silent.  No sound of the water at all.

And back to normal with the awesome sound of the waves.

I am so grateful to my hubby for putting up with my painstaking search for treasure, even though he was really cold and hungry.  We went out for pizza after we left!

Right after I took that I looked at the sand and couldn't believe my eyes.  A beach glass bead.  I was literally dancing around.  This is one of the beach glass holy grail items and was a huge score.  Really one of the finds of a lifetime.

Dramatic skies

Looked threatening but it never did rain.

Once last pic of Cleveland Light before we left.

My treasures for the day.  Russell picked up a bunch of sparkly rocks he thought I'd like.  He knows me so well!

Another shot of the bead.

I hope we get some spring weather cause we're both eager to keep getting out to the coast.  It smells so good and the sounds of the water is very soothing.

Beach Cottage Shelf

I scored this hot pink shelf at the thrift shop and had to snap it up for a project I've wanted to do.  First thing though was that I had to paint the outside an off-white and light blue on the inside. 

I ordered nautical paper off Amazon and was so happy with the designs!  I meant to take pics before I started adding stuff but I forgot and glued the starfish and sand dollar in!

This whale though.  I LOVE this design!  It fit perfectly in the attic.

Next came selecting the different items to use inside. 

The top has a large snail shell and a clam shell.  The one in the middle is also a shell of some kind but it also looks like bone.

The starfish isn't real but looks real.  The shells are ones I've found on our beaches, including the clam shell still attached.  I added a bit of glue to the back of it to keep the hinge from eventually breaking.

Beach glass is from my friend Barit, who gifted me a giant vase full of glass she didn't want anymore. 

My friend Karen sent me a bunch of sand dollars from Maine a few years ago.  This is real.  I found the small ones around here.

Message in a bottle with some shells.

Last but not least is a small glass tealight holder full of beach glass.  The tealight holder is glued to the bottom of the shelf but the glass is loose.

This was a really fun project and took just a few hours one afternoon.  It was mostly waiting for glue to dry! 

Easter & A New Grandson

TA-DA!  He's here!

The day before was Russell's birthday and I'd been teasing Casi for months that she was gonna have the baby early, on or near his birthday.  She'd had a doc appt that day and messaged me that she fell out of the car in the parking lot and hit her knee really bad but they had her under observation for a few hours.  I told her that I was surprised her water didn't break and that I'd be willing to bet that this fall would get things moving.  Sure enough, her water broke about 8 hours later.

I'd told her to make sure they called us and I didn't care what time it was.  So I'm sleeping and hear my phone ring.  It's 2:30AM.  It never occurred to me it was Casi.  So half asleep I answered and didn't understand a word the person said so I go, 'you've got the wrong number'.  I hung up and saw I had a text so I checked it and it was from Casi, 'Joanne my water broke'.  I immediately called her back and boy did we have a good laugh!  Her labor was pretty easy and he was born at 1:15 in the afternoon.

I finished the birthstone key I made for them too.

I finished ours too, which contains all the stones of all the kids and their partners.

Mark had a few problems a few hours after he was born.  They think he aspirated amniotic fluid on the way out so he was on a CPAP, oxygen, a feeding tube and IV antibiotics.  Fortunately the problems started clearing up quickly and he's now eating like a champ.  He was able to go home a couple of days ago.

Been dying to egg Val's house for over a year.  I wanted to do this last Easter but she'd had surgery and couldn't keep bending over to gather them.  Russell & I started buying dollar store trinkets a few months ago.  We got up at 6AM on Easter Sunday and headed to her house.  We were stealthy...plus she was still sleeping.  

We were home by 7 and I waited for her to finally wake up and discover what we did.  I wanted to keep it a secret but it was getting late and I knew she had to leave for work so I ended up nudging her to go look.  This was her post.

We also had Shadow overnight that weekend.  She's so cute.  She grabbed one of Sagan's toys to bring to bed.  First time she's ever done that here.  

Silly boy was a bit jealous and VERY clingy when she was here.  I took this before we left to bring Shadow home.  Not sure why he was standing on the couch looking at my computer. 

My friend Cathy surprised me with this bracelet made for me by her 12 year old grandson!  A few years ago I made him a Minion from a kinder surprise egg pod and he wanted to make something for me.  I just love it and am so touched he thought of me and did something in colours he knew I'd love.

She also sent me this Snitch kit she found!  Can't wait to put it together!!!

Had Shadow again.  To say we spoil her as much as Sagan is an understatement.  She woke from a nap and took her lunch en suite.  

"Thanks Food Lady!"  She comes to me when she wants food.  It's hilarious.

When she was done, she nudged the dish off her bed onto the floor and went back to sleep.

Winter's still hanging on for dear life with mix rain and snow in the forecast quite a bit.  Hoping for spring temps soon so we can get out again!