Island Life

OK, I've decided Island life is the life for me!  Did my hints make you think of MAUI!  ALOHA was my secret 3rd hint!  Well, let me tell you it is one magnificent island! I'm an Island Girl for sure :  )
But the flight from Vermont is 13 hours and that is a long time.......turns out it is worth it, if you are lucky enough to have a long stay. We had 12 days so it was wonderful and enough time to forget the flight until the departure day. I took about one thousand pictures with my iPhone and my new Sony! I did love me new camera but there is definitely a convenience to the size of the iPhone.
My Hb had a conference in Maui, so we turned it into a vacation too. It was our Anniversary and  both of our birthdays close together, so lots of celebrating.

We snorkeled, did a whale watch, went to a Luau, saw a sunrise from a volcano crater (Haleakala volcano) and biked down the volcano, played golf, walked, swam, read, and ate so many tasty meals. But let me tell you it is one expensive experience, meals are so pricey but so elegant, fresh and delicious. Oh, did I mention the cocktails, so many special island drinks!

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton, "we had too", the conference was there, to bad right! The flowers, landscape and terrain are so green and lush. I was in photo heaven. So let me start with the slide show!




Approaching Maui, I was all smiles, ear to ear

                                                                    Whale watch

                                             Up close, so hard to get the ones I really wanted

                                                               Bamboo everywhere

                                         Flowers everywhere "Hibiscus"

                                             South American Cardinals, visiting our balcony

                           View from balcony, golf course 3rd hole and ocean in background

                                                    Banyan Tree with lights in front of Ritz's

                Catamaran for snorkel trip, so many colorful fish, coral reefs and one turtle

                                          Luau, they are so beautiful and double jointed!!!

                                                  View each morning for morning walk

                                                               So many orchids

                                                                      Surfers

                                             Visit to an Arboretum, so fun and informative

                                                   Peacock, boy was a lucky with this shot

                                                    Waterfalls and daredevils....not us!

                                                                      One Sunset

                                                               Another sunset

                                       and another sunset, we tried to see them every night :  )

                                                  Just Gorgeous views in all directions

 On top of the volcano for the sunrise, we got up at 2am, took a van to the bike location(to trail the bikes), drove to the crater (2 hours away) and got to see this magnificent sunrise! It was awesome. There was a couple who got engage just as the sun peeked through!! It was so sweet, everyone clapped and cheered!

 This is the map and the trail for our bike ride down. See the twisty roads, we were the oldest couple and we DID IT! I have to say I was so proud of us, It wasn't that hard, but we were definitely out of our comfort zone. Our hands got the most workout braking!!! It was the highlight of our trip. There were ten in our group, we stopped halfway and had a nice breakfast at a Lavender Farm, it smelled so wonderful. Then we proceeded down the volcano. We started the trip in fleece and windbreakers (jackets and pants) and started shedding clothes as we descended and ended up at the ocean in shorts and tops. We were back to our hotel at 1:00pm!

                                        The Ritz-Carlton, 3 infinite pools and Pacific Ocean

                                         I'm so happy to have had this wonderful experience



There are so many more pictures of flowers and food and trees and loveliness. I will probably have to write another Maui post, but for now this is a start.




I came home to a whole post office crate of mail and a lovely card and gift from Teresa! She makes the most beautiful crocheted hearts and I'm so grateful to have one hanging in my home.  Thank you so much Teresa, one of my longest blogging friends❤️

xoRobin            (Jack too.......see him)

Happy Love Day❤️Weekend

Hi Dear friends,

Wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Weekend. Hope that you are all surrounded by love and family or at least the people you want to be surrounded with! It is extremely windy and wintery here with a fresh snowfall of 12 inches. Hard to believe we could be getting so much. But I guess it is New England, USA.

Here are a few random photos

                             Lovely Valentine Day Flowers from my wonderful Hb

                              Beautiful Valentine crafts and cards from Abby(8) and Lizzy(6)

I love sayings and quotes.....love this postcard

                                      "Our mighty" (tall) pine tree latent with heavy snow

Made this little needle case from Molly Makes magazine, it was such fun,  I didn't know hexies were so much fun to make.  I can see many more in my future!

Some cute fabric coasters have been made with my "Vintage Singer", mentioned on my last post :  )

Look at these cuties....who wouldn't buy Girl Scout cookies from them????  Abby is a Brownie and Lizzy is a Daisy

                                                 This is my new toy, A Sony SL 5000



Why you ask, do I need a new camera, well we are taking a trip starting tomorrow! I will be needing to take lots of photos, so I can share with all of you. It's a surprise so I'm going to keep you in suspense! I will give you one clue, it will be warm and involve water, oh wait that's two clues!!!!






Well, just a quick post for all of you! Thank you for visiting and I will be back in 2 weeks. I hope your days are happy, filled with laughter and love. AND of course creative energy!




Aloha, xoRobin

                                                                xo Handsome Jack xo  (6.5 years)

Last January post

Where does the time go.....I just don't know! I've been trying to post all week and am finally sitting myself down to squeeze one more post for January.

I have been sewing a bit lately and I have a huge surprise to show you. Something from my past and very dear to me, something I used all the time as a teenager, something I learned on, and something that has been put away for TOO long......I cleaned it up, dusted it off and gave a spin..........

Can you guess, probably not......so here it is in its glory!

                                                  BIG TEASE

                                       Notice the ladybug sticker, very popular in the 70's

                          This was my grandmother's Singer and she lived to 99 years old!!

                                I have all the attachments and oil and motor grease and manual!

                     I'm not sure I have the table, the sewing machine fit right into the top.

                                                  Nothing like this insignia, "SINGER"



So after I oiled it, played with the tension, and got rid of the dust and lint......what does one make to give the "old faithful" a spin?


How 'bout some pin cushions ❤️

Talk about fun, using up scraps and buttons and all your favorite embellishments, this is the right project. And addictive too!

                                                    I even have things on the backs!


I will be putting them eventually in my Etsy shop, what do you think?  $5-7 plus postage....I'm so bad at pricing.




It is bitter cold here and having snow fall everyday. But I guess that's what happens in winter. I have been hibernating a bit and not bored yet. Actually quite busy but missing my daily long walks, it's just so cold. Jack did beg me to walk him this morning, so I bundled up and now I have a headache from the wind chill. It's 1 degree F here and negative with the wind.....oh dear

 Here's my second sprout from this gorgeous Amaryllis, it will be a total of 8 flowers, these bulbs are so amazing







Thanks so much for popping in, it definitely warms my heart and I can use all the warming I can get time of year. Wishing you all happy and healthy days ahead!



xoRobin

                                                    BRRRRRRRRRRR

Could not resist posting

                    Just for fun............HAD ME CHUCKLING!  Enjoy and stay cosy

Love ya,   xoRobin






                                    Posted as "their motto" in the only store in my town

                                    Maybe we have a post office and book shop too...........

This n That

Lots of random things going on, some reading, "All the light you cannot see" by Anthony Doerr. It is an excellent book and very well written, I am 3/4 of the way done and can't wait to finish, although then I will be sad it is over!! (if you know what I mean)    I have been knitting a bit, it is perfect weather for knitting because it is so cold!!! Negative degrees most mornings and evenings, and highs of 19 degrees F during the days.
I finally finished a project, a lovely cowl, I will gift at some point. It's my second one in this pattern...I made it longer so it could also be used as a hood.

Take a look

                                                     I added 4 "

                                                     To get the hooded effect

                                           Love this yarn



Next up a lovely starry night picot dot wrap (ravrely pattern)...with hand dyed yarn 98% merino wool and 2% lurex fiber for the sparkle

Here it is so far

Unfortunately you can't see the starry part, hopefully when I am finished I can get a better picture.





I was gifted a beautiful Amaryllis for Christmas and here it is Day 1 of blooming

                                          It's going to be a beauty




Well, I guess that's all my "this n that"   my dear blogging friends, new and old, I cherish you all. Wishing you happy days and peaceful nights. Thank you for visiting and all you lovely comments.




xoRobin

  My 60th,  I have no idea what I'm laughing at, but it was funny.....probably mom being a nerd!!!

HaPPy NeW YeAr

So happy to wish you all a very Happy New Year full of love, faith, inspiration and laughter! Where would we all be without some of these things in our lives? I know I would be lost without my family, unconditional love, trust, faith, hope and creativity. We had so much of all of these things over the holidays! I feel very blessed and am so grateful!

I had a birthday, my 60th and it was the best. All my children, grandchildren, spouses, spouses to be were up. All except the Arizona kids but we had just spent some lovely time with them.
For my birthday my husband planned a dinner, in a private room, at a lovely restaurant, for all of us. It was so enjoyable. The company, food and conversations were the best. Everyone said something funny, loving, and typical of mom,  I just howled the whole time, mixed with a happy tear or two. My granddaughters even chimed in.....it was a glorious night and day.

We had a wonderful time in Arizona, the weather was in the 60's, much better than Vermont. We had so many great meals out, our B&B was so lovely and the inn keeper was so fun and talkative. (maybe too much, shhhhhh) Breakfast could last forever if she had her way, but boy did she know her history of Tucson. We visited  "The Sonora Desert Museum", saw owls, falcons, hawks and all birds of prey, Bobcats, prairie dogs, mountain lion up close, grey fox, Javelina (ugly gray/brown pig type animal) and so much more.
Here are a few photos

 Mountain Lion, right up against the glass  (this is not a cage but a habitat made like home)

 My favorite photo, can you see the little girl's reflection on the lion's head and then the tongue, yummy! (scary thought)

                                                   Prairie Dog, they are so cute

                                                   Standing up, looks like he/she is praying

                                                   Grey Fox, amazing to see

                                                    Barn Owl

                                          In flight





Another day we visited the Mission San Xavier in Tucson. The first Mission to spread religion to the Indians. It was a beautiful building, made of lime, sand, rock, clay and wood. It is still a working parish and school, 1st through 8th. You are allowed inside, everything is original from 1750's. It is considered to be America's finest surviving example of Spanish Colonial architecture. Statues dating 1750's, vivid late baroque altars, and original paintings adorn the interior. It is like walking into the 18th century.

                                                    Love this statue

                                                    Impressive and beautiful

                                                    Surrounding Mission

                                         They write messages with rocks in the valley

                                                    One of the many cactus



Well, that's just a few photo, hope you enjoyed them.




Our Bed and Breakfast in historic Tucson was so quaint, homey and floral, just the perfect spot to stay. We were so lucky because I only had a few to choose from, we were so happy with our choice.

                                                    B&B

                                                    Our room entrance

                                                    Gardens

                                                   Another view

                                          Room decorations, so unique to the area


Well, this has certainly turning out to be a long post. We did much more, we visited an archeological sight and found many pieces of old pottery, with designs and paint. It was so much fun to explore and pretend to be explorers!!!!

Thanks for bearing with me, hope you found some things interesting. Many thanks for popping in to visit and thanks so much for making another year of blogging so enjoyable for me💕
                                                               "HAPPY NEW YEAR"



xoRobin

Grinding holes made from the archeological sight from repeated grinding of stone, tools etc.