Wrapping Up the Year

It's that lethargic week between Christmas and New Years where time and day aren't terribly relevant, although at least some adulting was necessary.  But mostly it was a quiet week, one of eating leftovers, lounging in pajamas and watching Harry Potter movies.  I should really have started keeping track of how many times I've seen each movie.  I'm going to say at least 25 times a year, if not more.  Never gets old.  I haven't been this obsessed with a fandom since I followed the Dead around.  But I digress.

I did manage a few crafts in December, although not the volume that I'm used to making.  I bought a bunch of sparkly jewelry at The Christmas Tree Shop and made a festive frame for the pic of the kids with Santa.  Dale was not a happy camper.  This was his 3rd trip to see Santa and 3rd time he had a meltdown. 

I did a few quick cross stitch projects in Dec. as well.  A couple friends up in Maine destashed kits they got ages ago (the copyright dates were in the early and mid 1990s) so I knocked a bunch of them out.  West Quoddy Head Light is located in Lubec, Maine.

I did some small ornaments to send to Tina & Pam out in OH....and I was in such a rush to get them in the mail early that I spaced on taking pics.   But I did remember to shoot the Santa I did for Lisa and celestial I did for Annette (which wasn't a kit, but from one of my pattern books).  It kinda looks like a fancy Death Star.  I also made them cranberry bread.

This was another kit that my friends sent me so I whipped it up real quick for my friend Tracy.

The other project I did was a Witch/Yule jar.  The tutorial suggested using wintery greens, crystals, lights, etc.  It took a few days for me to decide how I wanted it to look and when I finished, realized it really isn't any different than all the other Christmas-themed altered art jars I've done in the past.  

Still, it was enjoyable to assemble.  Finally found a use for that wizard head & crystal pendant.  That's hung from under the lid. I used a pic of a vintage card that has a pink tree, and added the owl, holly leaf & berries, moonstone crystals and sparkly 'snow'.

I covered the jar lid with natural paper and glued the metal finding on it, and then glued an old crystal cluster earring to that.  That's a stretchy hair elastic around the side of the lid, and then wrapped the lights under the lid.

Hung a couple jingle bells and charms from the lights.

I was out running a bunch of errands and decided to head down to Town Neck Beach.  I thought maybe I could do a bit of beachcombing.  Nope.  The wind was so cold and I hadn't brought a hat or scarf.  Even if I had it was too windy to walk on the beach anyway.  It really bugs me that this tree is always crooked. 

Choppy out on the Bay.

Low tide too.  I was bummed that I couldn't look for glass.

Next stop was downtown at the Grist Mill and Shawme Pond

I know I've shot this picture like a hundred times but it really never gets old.

Herring run.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Tooling Around Town

To say my hubby is going stir crazy sitting around the house would be an understatement.  Any time I need to go to Sandwich he jumps at the chance to come with me.  And of course Sagan doesn't want to be left out now that it's not summer and ten trillion degrees in the car.  

There was a very high tide that coincided with the Super Moon earlier this month so we headed down to Sandy Neck for a quick walk. 

The beach extends a good 8 or 10 miles to the tip and snowy owls have been spotted way down.  It's too bad we don't have a 4-wheel drive cause I would love to have seen them.

So much to sniff!

Then over to Boardwalk where the marshes were completely flooded.

I've always been nervous to cross at high tide but there was no way I was going over with it THIS high!!  I wouldn't even walk to the bridge even though it's close to the parking lot.

 Then we drove over to the Town Neck Beach side.  

I love this little solar powered Christmas tree!  There are a few ornaments on it and I've seen it lit at night.  It's not as bright as I thought it would be.  Or maybe it didn't get enough of a solar charge the night I saw it.  

It took a great deal of willpower for my OCD self to not try and straighten out that tree.  It was KILLING me.

This poor thing needs to be fixed AGAIN.  No matter what state of the art wood-like product they use to make Boardwalk, it ends up cattywampus after the harsh winters.

Over to the other side of the beach to see the rock art.  Can't get enough.

Look at how meticulously these were stacked!

And of course a swing by the downtown core which is just so beautiful and untouched that it has managed to maintain it's colonial charm while the rest of the town has gone to hell. 

Grist Mill and Town Hall.

Herring run/fish ladder

First Church of Christ (Unitarian)

Christmas is truly a special time in Sandwich.  It's postcard beautiful!

Making the Best of Yet Another Cold Day

We've gotten April off to a very cold start too!  But I took a little time to bop around downtown Sandwich one Sunday morning. 

This is outside the Glass Museum

There's a cell tower being put up on the steeple and I hope it doesn't mess up how nice the steeple looks.

Dexter's Grist Mill, looking really worse for the wear.

This whole herring run has been redone and a huge, beautiful old weeping willow was taken down.  All of the old timers are crushed that the tree is gone....I am heartbroken.  Apparently the roots were weakening the rock wall and the only way to do this project was to take the tree down.

Grist Mill & Town Hall

Newcomb's Tavern.

Town Hall

Then I drove over to Boardwalk and it was so cold and windy....too cold for my jean jacket.  People were quahogging in Mill Creek.

These are oyster cars (that's what Russell called them) and this is the first time that either of us has ever seen any kind of shellfishing in Mill Creek.  The creek featured above eventually makes it's way down here and all of the runoff and crap from town gets swept here. I would not eat shellfish from Mill Creek, no way, no how.

On the way back to town, I pulled over near the marshes to get a few low tide pics from that vantage point.  When I saw the brickwork like this, I wondered if it was part of the old Glass Factory, which meant I might have a shot at finding chunks of broken Sandwich Glass in the mud.  I figured there was no way because I was sure people have picked through it for the past 100 years or so.

So I ventured out onto the mud to get a few snappies.

I never knew there was a little dock out here.

A swing in the yard of the house that was next to me. I look forward to seeing green trees, hopefully soon.

But then.....