No blue skies today, what a difference a day makes!

It has rained pretty steadily all day and at times it has been really heavy. Not cold though. Lee and I dropped Kate off at school and then went for a coffee before going to the fabric place 'Pins and Needles'. Well, Lee waited in the car while I browsed and decided what to buy to take home. I wanted to try something different. Ended up picking a pattern book that requires triangles, so also a triangle cutting guide and then a pack of great batik fabric fat quarters. I also for tape and Velcro for the cushion covers.

I got on with taping and then working out where to position the Velcro, not nearly as straightforward as it sounds!

Had lunch with Lee and we had our decider game of Scrabble. Lee said the hot tub was still warm so I had to do it - go out for ten minutes and be in the hot tub in the rain!! Was only ten minutes and no over cooking this time. Have finished the cushion covers and they are just the right size. Have cleared the debris, as I made quite a lot!

Have been listening to cd's this evening, Bob Dylan at the moment.

Lee and I had a game of Scrabble last night which was enjoyable, we usually manage a couple of games when I am over here. This morning, when the children were all at school, we drove over to Danbury  mall. We arrived at about 9.30 am and it didn't open until 10 am! Lee said he had never managed to park so close to the entrance. We did find a coffee stall open so had a drink while we waited for the shops to open. We went out separate ways and agreed a meeting time and place. There is a carousel at the back of the food court. Quiet when I went by it of course.

Santa's grotto was quite impressive.

And this was quite a stylish Christmas shop.

They are getting in the Christmas spirit at the house as well, the soldiers are out on guard by the garage!

I had a little wander round outside, it was a beautiful day today. The pool area looks quite different when the pool is out of action.

A couple of pictures of the house, haven't posted any in quite a while.

I sat in the hot tub for just over an hour and was seriously over cooked! Took a while for my face to stop tingling. My ankle has been particularly painful today so I moved it around a lot in the warm water and that seemed to help. While I was out I just bought myself a gecko to go on my bathroom wall, I have four already I think. This one was hand crafted in Bali and will be lovely and bright when in place.

I made a quick pattern and have been cutting out the cushions to match the ottoman. There is barely enough material and one of the backs will consist of three pieces of fabric! I need some more tape as well so will get some when I go to the quilting shop tomorrow. Mark made me cheese ravioli for my dinner and Lee and I have had another game of Scrabble this evening.Won't be late getting to bed as I am feeling quite tired, probably still recovering from being over heated!!

We went to Mama Rosa's last night to eat, they are already decorated for the Christmas season.

I slept pretty well again and woke to a very frosty morning.

I took this from the deck rather than moving the mesh shield! Was a bit achy today so have stayed in but made a start with the cutting out for the ottoman as I had made the patterns yesterday.

Pinned and sewed the sides and tried them for size, so far so good!

It is very heavy material and I struggle a bit with the whole thing,, especially the corners!

A great machine Pat, so thank you for letting me use it. I finished it off and did the stapling underneath, I had managed to remove the base material without too much damage. The the ottoman was covered and ready to go back into the lounge.

It's return met with approval from the family!

Lee and Patty asked me if I had brought my swimming costume with me, I hadn't because I knew the pool wouldn't be in use. But they said the hot tub out on the deck was up and running. So tee shirt and pants it was and I went out there this afternoon. I went out alone so took a selfie!!

And a couple of views from the tub, I stayed out for getting on for an hour I think, although the breeze was cold I was so low that it didn't really bother me.

We have had a take away this evening and I have played a couple of games with Kate, I think it will be early nights all round now as it is a normal day tomorrow for the familu.

Sit tight for a lot of pictures today, a full and very enjoyable day at that! When I got up it was misty and frosty, thought I would open the window and push the bug netting up, not a good start, the window opened fine but when I unlocked he netting the whole large panel fell out!! Luckily, being on the ground floor and not getting in too much of a panic I managed to replace it after I had taken my photos.

I went to the nail place with Patty, her mum and the girls. Had a pedicure, manicure and a lovely back massage. I never use nail varnish and have never ever done my toes, so a new experience! Picked a nice subtle colour, in for a penny in for a pound!

When we got back Lee was working on the vintage car, getting a new engine in.

Had a short trip to Katonah with Patty which was nice, we had hot chocolate and looked in a few of the quaint shops.

We had an hour or so indoors before going out to the New York Botanical Park so I have made some patterns for the ottoman fabric, then we set off, the park is in the Bronx. They have a fantastic train exhibition every year featuring many landmarks, all the displays are made of natural material and we were just enchanted, I took nearly a hundred pictures but obviously won't be posting them all. This was the first exhibit we saw.

Two displays as we started to make out way round.

A nice family group.

Managed to catch one of the trains in this one!

New York City.

Lee and Kate by the Statue of Liberty!

A statue from Central Park.

The little ladybird train going through.

Another impressive building.

Aircraft for a change.

And one more group.

Nearly forgot Kate with the stilted lady!

We drove home for a quick freshen up and then went out to an Italian restaurant, I have a delicious vegetable risotto and then we came home. All pretty tired from a full day. Nothing strenuous planned for tomorrow, I will watch the grand prix and probably make a start on the ottoman.

This morning I was up early and decided to start de-stapling the ottoman. Have you ever wished that you hadn't started something? There were so many staples, some through the very thin base material, some through tape and some more below that just holding the main material. Lee found me a multi tool that had fine pliers on and various other tools. The screwdriver was too thick to get under the staples so used a short metal attachment that went to a blade at the end. I was getting under them then but half of them were breaking and they were so long! This was the pile of staples and tape before we went out, I think I was just over half way round then!!

I also cut out the top area of fabric as it was torn and we had cut some out to take as a colour sample when we went for the new fabric.

It is Black Friday and it is a family tradition to go and get new clothing for Christmas at a mall. We went to a fairly quiet mall with quite up market shops. The girls enjoyed looking for new outfits and we went into several shops. The girls at the mall.

A nice shot of Kate and Angela.

And one of a reindeer decoration in the mall.

I finished removing the staples, and am pleased to report that I got the base material off in one piece with no damage. Just need to check out the sewing machine, make some patterns and see what I can come up with! We all sat in the lounge watching people pick 'tiny houses' to live in. Kate and Sal were playing a game on the ipad.

We have had a very tasty left over dinner and now an evening relaxing ahead.

Happy Thanksgiving, my first time across for this celebration. We watched some of the parade on tv, will just post a couple of pictures. Lots of huge balloons and live musical theatre action. They were expecting about two and a half million people on the streets in New York.

The family try a new cocktail at celebrations and this years was in honour of me! They know I like Baileys so the cocktail was Salted Caramel Apple Pie consisting of apple vodka and salted caramel Baileys.Cinnamon sugar round the edge of the glass and a slice of apple to finish it off! First one completed!

Bottoms up!!

Rebecca brought out the selfie stick for a group photo.

Time to carve the turkey.

And get ready to sit down for the meal.

A relaxed and enjoyable meal with lots of chat and laughter.

An enjpyable day and another get together tomorrow, shopping for the ladies and leftover dinner!