Early fall and Indian summer

After the Melrose Fair last month, I've been gradually posting my huge inventory in the shop and taking a little break from hardcore crafting (although I can't stop cold turkey; I have a constant 'to do' list of custom requests and holiday gifts!). The month has still flown by, though. We were gone 2 of the weeks (1 week in California and last week in Maine). Both trips were work-related but lots of fun - especially last week in Maine. Now I know why people say 'Aaah, Maine!' The Maine coast was gorgeous, and we had a good mix of blissfully sunny and rainy/windy/cozy-up-inside days. One of the best parts was that the 3 of us were together for a week straight - Matt was teaching in a field course, I brought my computer work on the road, and we still had plenty of time for sight-seeing. It reminded me of how much time we spend, normally, commuting between home/work/childcare and keeping up the house. Oh ya, and cooking; the teaching assistants for the field course prepared the meals. It made coming home seem not so relaxing, but at least we got home on a Friday with a whole weekend ahead of us!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our fall activities...

Apple picking at Russell Orchards. So far, we have some applesauce and apple pie filling made and frozen, plus five 1/2 pint jars of peach chutney that I canned the night before we left for Maine (at midnight!).

Our first New England clam bake! Lobstah, corn, potatoes, clams, and hot dogs. Caden was in seventh heaven, and I was amazed at how the boy who is skeptical of zucchini and potatoes dug right into the clams and lobster! I wish I had a picture of him chasing the girls with one of the cooked lobsters!

Our first night in Maine at Pemaquid Point lighthouse.

West Quoddy Head lighthouse, near where we stayed at West Quoddy Station. Just a gorgeous location! See what I mean about blissful weather? I wonder if this will be the last time this year that we sit outside without shivering?

Pitcher plant in bog (aka muskeg - my Alaskan husband felt quite at home!) at Quoddy Head - so neat!

The one day I don't have any pictures of was last Sunday. We had an 'Indian Summer' day here on the North Shore - sunny and warm. We spent the whole day outside, picnicking on the deck, reading, playing, and working in the garden - basking like lizards in the very last patch of sun as the sun went down.

Now, it seems we're transitioning to late fall - it's currently 40oF outside/58oF inside. We're going to have to turn the heat on, again, pretty soon - it's almost stitching-under-a-wool-blanket-with-a-cuppa-tea season...