A perfect fall evening

I just had to share what a great evening it's been. There's a chill in the air - we're in the upper 40's right now - and it smells like fall outside. I had some "nice chops" (Dennis gets a kick out of me saying that) in the refrigerator, and still have a 1/4 bushel of apples from our apple picking this past weekend. I found this recipe at one of my favorite websites, and thought it not only used what I had on hand but sounded appropriate for the season and yummy too. And let me say, it sure was (I added some sliced onions for a little extra flavor). Definitely a keeper.

While I was making our dinner, Dennis gave Matthew his, and then proceeded to make me this....

I wish I could share how it feels, smells and sounds in here right now. Just awesome.

That's all for tonight. Gotta go knit by this beautiful fire.

Love this blog!

A friend of mine turned me on to this blog, and I am completely addicted!!! I'm going to waste countless hours checking out all the posts.

Here's my favorite so far......


see more pwn and owned pictures

Know what I hate?

Well, I'll tell you. I hate it when the automatic flushers on toilets kick in and suck down the toilet seat cover before I even have a chance to sit down.

'Nuff said........

Out for a Sunday drive

Today we headed out on one of our favorite fall trips - a ride out to the Hidden Hills of Western Mass. Our main destination was Jameson's High Meadow Farm in Chester for apple picking. It's tucked away down the road from the main farmhouse, and you have to stop at the farmhouse first to pick up and pay for a bag. Yes, we learned this the hard way last year. The best part of this farm is the implement you use for picking the apples. They've fashioned these pickers using something that looks like the cage on a lacrosse stick. You use the wire "fingers" on the cage to pull the apple into the cage. Brilliant!!

As we got close to the farm, it started to rain. Of course it did. We lucked out, though. We caught a break in the clouds and we were the only ones at the orchard. The sun actually came out and it got quite warm. A little too warm for our liking, actually. We prefer it a bit cooler so it feels like fall, but at least it stopped raining. Matthew had a blast - he loved trying to get the apples in his mouth. Check out the slideshow in the right sidebar for some pictures - there are too many to include in this post.

We also like out to check out the foliage at the Knightville Dam. We usually get there when it's way past peak, and this year, we were actually just a bit too early. So no photos. Good thing because the battery in the camera croaked as we were leaving the orchard.

We then made a stop at our favorite place, Huntington Country Store. It's such a fun place - lots of different rooms filled with all kinds of goodies. There's one room that's just full of kitchen gadgets - mushroom brushes, corn silk removers, nutmeg graters, etc. The best part of the store is the bakery. They make so many wonderful things, and we always buy a nice assortment to devour on the ride home. Today, we bought a pepperoni pizza bread (yum!!) which we ate for lunch, and my absolute favorite - a Wrapple® - their trademarked apple confection. (Personally, I prefer to call it a Rappalie!) Check out the slideshow for a picture!

Despite the rain, it turned out to be a fabulous day. We saw some great foliage (everywhere but the dam), traveled down some beautiful country roads, followed the East branch of the Westfield River, and found some lovely spots we'd love to build a house. One of these days....

Trip #4

Today we made our 4th and final trip to The Big E. It was an impromptu trip, since the forecast was calling for a washout today. When we woke up this morning, it wasn't raining at all, so we decided to hit the fair.

Apparently, not many folks shared our idea - it was dead!

Matthew was still a little sleepy when we got there, but he perked up a little later...

...especially when he got to meet Smokey Bear!

We didn't partake, but I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Bought this cute little sign in the New Hampshire building. Great day to go through the state buildings - no lines, no waiting.

We visited our old friend, Harley, who hangs out with the Hallamore Clydesdales.

We decided to head home around 12:30. I suggested we just walk through the New England Center first, since I hadn't had a chance to look around in there. Yeeeahhh, not a good choice. As we stepped out, it started to pour! Luckily, we had a rain cover over Matthew's stroller, and we had our raincoats on. Even still, by the time we got to the car, Dennis and I were drenched. If only we'd skipped the New England Center...

We stopped at home long enough to throw our clothes in the dryer and pack up a bag of toys before heading out to a cookout at Chris and Allison's. Thank goodness for the delicious pasta salad, because Chris got a bit distracted while grilling...

Sorry, Chris. You knew I was going to post that picture. But seriously, most of them were just fine, and the second batch came out perfectly.

We got to spend some time snuggling with Ella and playing with James.

It was a busy day, and now we're enjoying just lounging on the couch in our cozy clothes. The forecast is calling for more rain tomorrow. Maybe we'll get lucky again and it will be nice enough to go pick apples (or make one last trip to The Big E before it closes up for the year).