The Spy / L'espion

In the absence of our usual furry visitors, who always disappear in winter only to return when the snow melts, this little spy has been spotted regularly in our yard over the winter.  I haven't been able to get close, he's not a trusty one, but my camera was better than me at approaching him.  I took this shot from our bedroom window.

Wish you all a great weekend!

En l'absence de nos petits visiteurs poilus habituels, qui disparaissent chaque hiver pour revenir ronronner à notre porte dès que la neige se met à fondre, ce petit espion a été repéré régulièrement dans notre cour tout au long de l'hiver.  Je n'ai pas réussi à l'attirer, il est très méfiant, mais ma caméra a été meilleure que moi pour l'approcher.  J'ai pris cette photo depuis la fenêtre de notre chambre à coucher.

Je vous souhaite à toutes un bon week-end!

2012 in pictures / 2012 en images

Osprey / Balbuzard pêcheur

Wood Duck / Canard branchu

Wild flowers in my backyard / Fleurs sauvages dans mon jardin

My best furry friend / Mon meilleur ami poilu

Hello Frog! / Coucou la grenouille!

Funny Duck / Canard comique

My favorite view on the St.Lawrence River/
Ma vue préférée du fleuve St-Laurent

Acting cute/ Elle fait la belle

Waterlilies / Nénuphars

Greenhouse in Sherbrooke / Une serre à Sherbrooke

Mickey Mouse Tulips / Des tulipes Mickey Mouse

I love, love, LOVE chickadees!/
J'adore les mésanges à tête noire!

Happy New Year!  Wishing you all the best for 2013.  I meant to come here a few days ago with a review of 2012, but I was busy with other things -- I was sewing new pajamas for Patrick and for me, working on some decoration projects that I will be able to show you sometime soon, and playing with my new toys, Photoshop Elements 11 and iPad4.  So instead of going over the year, I am stopping by today with some of my favorite pictures that I took in 2012 and that didn't get to make it to my blog earlier.  Hope you like them!

Bonne année à tous!  Je vous souhaite une très belle année 2013.  J'avais prévu venir vous présenter une revue de mon année 2012 dans les derniers jours, mais j'étais occupée par autres choses -- je cousais des nouveaux pyjamas pour Patrick et pour moi, je travaillais sur quelques projets de décoration que je pourrai vous présenter bientôt, et je profitais aussi de mes nouveaux jouets, Photoshop Elements 11 et le iPad4.  Donc, plutôt que de revenir sur l'année qui est terminée, je vous présente plutôt aujourd'hui certaines de mes photos préférées que j'ai prises en 2012 et qui n'avaient pas été publiées sur mon blog avant aujourd'hui.  J'espère qu'elles vous plairont.

Lazy Days / Jours paisibles

I am on vacation this week, and we are having the most perfect weather ever.  I have been taking it pretty cool, spending some rare time in the hammock, leafing through magazines and enjoying simple pleasures in my backyard.

Je suis en vacances cette semaine, et j'ai la chance de profiter d'une météo tout simplement parfaite.  Je prends le temps de relaxer en passant quelques rares moments à paresser dans le hamac en feuilletant des magazines, et en appréciant les petits plaisirs simples dans ma cour.

The Blue Jays come every day to bathe in the sun.  I am amazed how a simple bird bath filled with fresh water can attract so many birds.  The blue ones are the most common, but finches, sparrows, chickadees and robins also take turns.

Les geais bleus viennent chaque jour se baigner sous le soleil.  Je suis toujours épatée de voir comment un simple bain rempli d'eau fraîche peut attirer autant d'oiseaux.  Mes amis bleus sont les plus nombreux, mais on y voit aussi régulièrement des chardonnerets, des bruants, des mésanges et des merles.

My friend Gazou is now a fixture in my backyard, a summer day without him is a sad day.  Even when he spends the whole afternoon sleeping in the shade under the honeysuckle tree.

Mon ami Gazou est un habitué de ma cour arrière, une journée d'été sans lui est une journée triste.  Même quand il passe tout l'après-midi à roupiller dans l'ombre du chèvrefeuille.

Nothing looks more like summer than black-eyed susans, except maybe sunflowers, but I skipped a year and do not have them in the garden this summer, just so I can appreciate them even more next year.

Rien ne ressemble plus à l'été que des rudbeckies jaunes, sauf bien sûr les tournesols, mais j'ai sauté une année et je n'en ai pas semé dans mon jardin cet été, histoire de les apprécier davantage l'an prochain.

I found this strange wild flower in the untamed end of my yard, and even after looking through my plant guide, I cannot tell what they are called.  Their leaves look somehow like those of dandelions, and they have a big head of delicate lavender flowers.  Some specimens are as tall as three feet and kind of scary.  If by any chance you know what they are, please let me know!

J'ai trouvé cette fleur étrange dans la partie sauvage de ma cour, et même après une recherche dans mes guides d'identification, je suis toujours incapable de la nommer.  Ses feuilles ressemblent un peu à celles d'un pissenlit, et elle porte une grosse tête de délicates petites fleurs lilas.  Certains spéciments atteignent jusqu'à près de trois pieds de hauteur et sont un peu effrayants.  Si vous connaissez son nom, j'aimerais bien satisfaire ma curiosité!

My sweet peas are now in bloom, and although the flowers are very pretty, I was sorry to find out that they do not smell anything.  After reading a bit about sweet peas, I realized that the perennial varieties are not fragrant, only the annual ones are.  I will still keep this plant because it is so good looking and a great climber, but I will probably add some annual sweet peas to my garden next year, so I can finally enjoy their fragrance.

Mes pois de senteur sont maintenant en fleur, et malgré le fait que les fleurs sont très jolies, j'éais un peu déçue quand j'ai réalisé qu'elles ne sentent rien.  Après avoir lu un peu au sujet des pois de senteur, j'ai appris que les variétés vivaces ne sont pas odorantes, seules les variétés annuelles le sont.  Je vais quand même conserver cette plante dans mon jardin, parce qu'elles est très jolie et qu'elle est une bonne grimpante, mais je vais probablement ajouter des pois de senteurs annuels l'an prochain, pour avoir la chance de profiter de leur doux parfum.

This may look like the back of a dinosaur, but it is only a leaf from a new-to-me plant called pumpkin-on-a-stick.  The thorns are impressive, but so far the plant is not.  It is very slow to develop and I have some doubts about the possibility of actually seeing "pumpkins" grow on it before the end of summer.  Only time will tell.

Ne vous inquiétez pas, ce n'est pas le dos d'un dinosaure, juste une feuille d'une nouvelle plante que j'essaie cette année, une sorte de courges décoratives qui ressemblent à des citrouilles miniatures.  Les épines sont impressionnantes, mais jusqu'à maintenant la plante ne l'est pas.  Elle se développe très lentement et j'ai certains doutes quand à la possibilité d'y voir pousser des "citrouilles" avant la fin de l'été.  Le temps me le dira.

This, finally, is another wildflower found in my yard.  I don't know if I have new ones every year or if I simply had never noticed them before, but I had to look this one up to find out that it is called Hop Clover.

Enfin, une autre fleur sauvage que j'ai trouvée dans ma cour.  Je ne sais pas s'il en apparaît des nouvelles à chaque année ou si je ne les avais tout simplement jamais remarquées, mais j'ai dû vérifier dans mon guide pour apprendre que celle-ci s'appelle trèfle agraire.


And on this, I will go back to my hammock.  I had some sewing projects for this week of vacation, but the gorgeous weather has kept me outside, far from my studio.  My garden, however, has been kept in great shape.

Et sur ce, je vais retourner à mon hamac.  J'avais planifé quelques projets de couture pour cette semaine de vacances, mais le temps superbe m'a gardée dehors, loin de mon studio.  Mon jardin, par contre, est aux petits soins.

Hello there!  I am back after a long silence, caused in part by all the work that needed to be done around the house in preparation of winter, but mostly because of our computer's illness (a nasty virus) over the last week and some trouble with our internet connection.

I have a few things to share in the next few days, starting with some pics from our little escapade in Saint-Hyacinthe and Victoriaville which took place a week ago.  What took us there in the first place was an event called Salon Passion Bois, a kind of fair where woodworkers meet and sell their creations.  We had a great time there, and found many pieces that we would have gladly brought home.  Instead, we came back with some exotic woods like Canary wood, lacewood and amarante, to be used for inlays in Patrick's future creations.

We spent the night in a gem of a B&B in Saint-Hyacinthe, Le Nid Fleuri, and fell in love with our room.

The victorian patterned wallpaper covered all the walls and the ceiling, and even baseboards and switchplates!  It was the kind of bold decor that I would never dare have at home, but love to live in for one night.

The furniture was very interesting as well, like this reproduction of an Arts and Crafts armoire, made of pine instead of the traditional oak.

The next day, on our way back home, we stopped at every antiques places on the road.  It was our first time antiquing out of Quebec-city and we had a blast.  Most of these places we huge and packed with (affordable) treasures.  

This place is my favorite of all, Antiquité Michel Prince Inc., the picture comes from their website.

I came across lots of stuff that I would love to call my own, like this library card cabinet.  I am crazy about those, and I wish someday I can have one in my house, in my craftroom maybe...

via Benoît Rochefort

I also have a thing for floor grates, I like all the lovely lacey patterns, but I have no idea what I'd use them for, so this will be for another time.

via Benoît Rochefort

We met a bunch of cute cats all through the day, because it seems that every antique store in that area, ,most of them barns, had its mascot cat, and I just couldn't resist taking their pictures.

Yup, this is me with my new friend, who followed me to the car and would have jumped in if I'd have let her!

This little kitty is Zoé, and she was clumsily trying to catch a fly.  I thought it was funny that she'd choose to lay on a carpet with leopards on it.

I almost stepped on this one, she was lying very still behind a table, looking a me with her big green eyes.

Finally, here are our finds of the day.  Pictures are as we found them, they all need deep cleaning and a new coat of finish.

I wanted a small chair to use as a spare in our office, and I really liked the simple shape of this one -- and its price.  I can already figure it with a cute checked cushion, and I just happen to have the perfect fabric for it in my stash.

The telephone was an idea of my boyfriend.  It came to him while we were at a flea market a while ago, and we thought we might get one to hang in our living room as a decoration.  The small size of this one was perfect for our tiny space, and I really like the big tag Made in Canada.  We just don't see that much anymore...

And last, but not least, Patrick grabbed these two old planes.  They don't look like much today, but you should see what he can do with them, they'll be all shiny and ready to go when he's finished with them.

This was our little antiquing expedition.  If you ever are in the region and want to follow the route too, here is a link to the Antiques Roadways & Byways.

That's all folks, I will be back later this week with some stitching I've been working on lately.