BOMs Away - a Nutcracker King at the Lighthouse

Welcome to the link-up for BOMs Away Mondays!

Where we share what we're doing on a BOM-type project 

so they don't stall out in UFO-land!

(Linky at the bottom.)

Despite a ridiculous sunburn, Scott and I had a really nice time this week - we spent several days at a bed & breakfast in a working lighthouse on the south shore of Lake Ontario. 

Braddock Point Light House, originally built in 1893, is now a privately-owned B&B. It is still a working navigation light that is commissioned by the Coast Guard.

It was the perfect get-away in a charming, quiet locale, with wonderful hosts and delicious breakfasts, all in a perfectly-balanced Victorian setting.

It is an old house, without central A/C, but the hosts keep individual units in each of the bedrooms, so our room was nice and cool during the unusual heat wave they had.

 The lake was peaceful to watch, with hardly any human traffic to disturb the wildlife, except on the 4th of July. We were treated to several passings of a small flock of trumpeter swans, some Canadian geese, and many other types of birds and jumping fish.

The dining furniture was amazing. The china hutch, table/chairs, and a matching novelty cabinet were all originally a dowry set for a woman in late-19th century Brittany, but it looks made to order for this lighthouse! Can you see the carved columns that are lighthouse towers with retro-fitted flickering bulbs and everything? The people carved into either end of the hutch and on each chair were all figures from the bride's family tree. I was completely enchanted by it.

We were able to climb up the tower one day for an official tour from the Lightkeeper.

Bit of a duck to get back down!

And they shared their 4th of July barbeque with us.  :)

We took some nice strolls around the area and enjoyed the ambiance of the lighthouse's yards and patios. Keeper Don works hard on them, and it pays off.

 Scott read a lot in the Adirondack chairs, and I did a lot of relaxing applique stitching on my Classic Nutcrackers BOM while we were there. The Nutcracker King is all finished.

He, of course, wanted a photo op fitting of his dignity:

Braddock Point lighthouse is one of the very last to have the U.S.L.H.E. designation. Later lighthouses are U.S.L.H.S. (The U.S. Lighthouse Establishment was replaced with the U.S.L.H. Service.)

I also got a lot of work done on the Shepherd, the Chimney Sweep, and a wee bit started on the Gardener.  (As I highly prefer the back-basting method, sometimes I'll work ahead on another block if I've basted on all the pieces in a given "layer" for my primary block, if I have a lot of stitching time in one day. The needle-turn always works easier if you can let the pieces marinate overnight.) This next guy just needs face details, his beard, and the sheep's head:

It was a very nice visit, and I hope to be able to return to the lighthouse some day in another season, to catch a different feel of the lake. 

I hope you are having a nice summer (or winter, for those in the southern hemisphere).  Have you done any BOM work lately?

~*~*~

Kate over at Katie Mae Quilts has joined me in hosting this meet-up,

and linking up from either end puts you on the party at both sides.