Happy Tuesday Folks!

Actually it's my Monday/Tuesday :) Back to work after an extra long weekend! 

As much as I like to complain about the weather here in Newfoundland (like today... rainnnnn, or the last two days of pea soup thick fogggggg), the beauty of this rugged land offers up some of the best scenery in the world. I know... cocky of me isn't it? ;) 

Despite having a miserable last few days weather wise, one day of stellar weather is enough to make you forget all about it! Saturday was this kind of day. 

Winds = negligible. This is huge deal considering they call this the "wind swept land". I won't deny it, trees along our coast not only grow in the most precarious of places (ie: on the side of cliffs) but they're also stumpily short and often grow sideways in the direction of the prevailing winds.

Temperature = ideal. Well ideal for a long walk/hike without dying from the heat. 20 degrees C is nearly unheard of this time of year, but it HAPPENED!

Climate = dry as a bone. No mucky puddles to be had!

So I took advantage of the wicked weather. Filled a bag with a couple bottles of water and a blanket, donned my old sneakers, hitched my dog up to her leash and off we went on a trip to Ferryland. 

As a child I can remember passing through this quaint community almost every weekend on the way to my Nan's cabin. Back then I knew it as "Fairy-land" and boy did that ever set my imagination to work. 

Newfoundland (NL) has many superstitions and the mythical fairies are just one of them.

I'm not talking about your run of the mill, whimsical, beautiful fairy here. More like your menacing, conniving, poltergeist type of fairy.  

When my mother was a child my Nan would give her breadcrumbs before she would go out over the barrens (the mossy-marshy-rocky mix you see above). The breadcrumbs were for the fairies so that if they ever wanted to "take her" (who knows were) she'd be able to give them to the fairies in exchange for her freedom. 

Now imagine telling that to a kid! I'd be scared out of my wits with fear! Perhaps this is why I'm such a homebody now ;) Who in their right mind would want to go outside with freaky fairies about????

Luckily, this perception of fairies in NL never coloured my liking for the community. It remains, as it ever was, a real life example of what NL is all about. The fishing heritage, the cultural heritage, and the iconic landscape NL has to offer. 

For whatever reason, I feel oddly connected to Ferryland. I can honestly say it's my favourite community in NL, and I have been to MANY. It's not special to me for any particular reason. It's not THE most beautiful place in the world or even the province, although it certainly has it's merits! I don't partake in the community. I don't attend church there. All I've ever done in Ferryland is take in a walk from time to time. I've probably made the trek back and forth to the lighthouse dozens of times. Each time is just as satisfying as the last no matter if it's in the thick of a fog, in the freezing ocean wind, or when the sun is splitting the rocks. 

It's just special. I can't give any other reason than that.

After getting my annual dose of Ferryland, I headed back to my family's cabin in a neighbouring community. 

Again, despite the weather for the remainder of the weekend, I had a blast. Relaxing, stitching, and making bread!!!! (Another favourite thing to do of mine).

This time it was rolls :) What's Sunday Turkey without dinner rolls!?!?

I love tying them up into neat little bundles of pure heaven! All you have to do is tear them open, toss in a little butter and there you have it... PERFECTION!

I'm always a little sad when it's time to leave. And who wouldn't be when this is right outside your door? 

You wouldn't know from this picture if it was spring or fall, but I can guarantee you, give it a couple of weeks and the juniper trees will have filled out, the birch will have sprouted a few leaves, and together with the pine, this will become a luscious landscape of green and blue.

Before I leave, I have to show you my stitchy progress! It was a productive weekend in more ways then one!

Before

After

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Melissa

Pre-warning, a very picture heavy post upcoming.

Thank you EVERYONE for the very kind comments on my last post and welcome to my new followers :)

I didn't hermit much this weekend as I had plans to go to my cabin with the family. What a great weekend it was! The weather co-operated, and has been strangely warm this past week. Generally it's not that warm in April here, but it has just been fantastic lately. So of course I had to take advantage of this luck!

View from my Cabin's Balcony

The trees and shrubs haven't quite come back to life but it's getting there! Saturday the boyfriend and I went for the most fabulous walk to the lighthouse in Ferryland. Honestly, of all the small fishing communities left in the Newfoundland this community is my favourite. The lighthouse stands on a strip of land (and rock) the juts out into the ocean. The views are un-beatable and I love sitting on the barrens and taking it all in. In the summer, if you're lucky, you can even see hump back whales. I once saw one so close to shore here that I could even see the barnacles on the whale's back. CRAZY! Such an awesome sight. Below you'll find some of my pic's from the outing :)

Ferryland Lighthouse

The boyfriend and I admiring the swells

Leia enjoying the barrens, soon she'll be hunting on barrens like this!!!

Fluked into this pic... puppies generally don't stay still for very long.

Found the most adorable lambs and their shaggy looking mama :) Couldn't help myself hehe

Back at the cabin, I got two of my favourite things in... cooking and stitching. 

Newfie chic BBQ

Warmest place in the cabin = the best place to have bread rise!

In terms of stitching, I worked mostly on the small below - so cute! The backstitching was painstaking and it took a whole lot longer than expected but all for a good cause. It's a card for Ellie Dixon - a young girl in Ireland going through something no little girl should have to... 18 months of chemo!!! But she seems so brave about it all! Anyway sending this off tomorrow. Ellie's mom has created the blog site called Cards for Ellie if you're interested in learning more about Ellie and what makes this girl so amazing.

I soooooo needed a break from 'Oh Christmas Tree' so I concentrated my stitching efforts on my Papillon SAL. I am absolutely loving learning the speciality stitches this SAL has introduced so far. Also this represents my first attempt at using evenweave! Likin' it so far. The fabric is a pleasure to work with and is 28ct Irish Linen. 

Finally, I'll leave you with my TUSAL update for April! Love the reds and golds!!!

Happy Stitching my dears!