It Really Is Fall According to the Date

 But we have very little color in the trees. Everything is still pretty green. There are a few maples that are red, but nothing spectacular. This morning surprisingly started with a pea soup fog and we have gone from 57 to 62 F. Although, the sun has come out so I expect it to warm quite a bit.

Here is a shot from this week last year (2023):

I was actually a bit early for my 8 a.m. eye doc appointment in Florence today. It's 9.4 miles so it only took about 20 minutes. After that, I treated myself to brunch at the Miss Florence Diner, aka Miss Flo's. I think it's Miss Flo's that started my love of diners.

Fond memories welled up as I sat on the 'bar' stool near the kitchen entrance. When Deb was about 2 years old, we went there as a family and the waitress looked at Baby Debbie, and then looked at her father and said, "Can't deny that one!" Not that he ever would, of course. (She is now in her 40s.) We got a good laugh at that. When I was an undergrad at UMass, I got to know some guys who had a car (they were upperclassmen) and for a treat, we would motor off to Miss Flo's for a late supper. One guy always ordered the lobster pie (there is a full restaurant in the back). I never tasted it and forgot to ask if they still have it. 

Ann and I went to the Pine Hill Orchard in Colraine, MA. It was a lovely day for a wagon ride (which really needs heavy duty shocks, in my opinion!), so we hopped right onto the wagon after we parked. It was a fairly long and bumpy ride and then we walked almost to the end of the row which had honey crisp apples. The more common ones such as McIntosh were closer to the front. As I was about to tell Ann that I had enough, a stern looking guy popped up at the end of the row and said, "You were supposed to buy a bag first." This was news to us (no signs to that effect) and I was congratulating myself for having the fabric shopping bag rolled up in my purse. Ann had a reusable bag with a sweater. We told him we were going to dump the apples in the paid-for bag. He said, "I'll wait." Holy smokes, I thought he was going to zip tie us next and march us off to the pokey. I guess they have a lot of people who think the apples are free. The 'big' bag was $23! We split a medium sized bag (about 8 apples, they were really big apples) for $15. Ann, bless her, treated me to my apples. 

I have felt very unproductive lately and I don't know what I have shown you, but beyond the two Barbie-sized mini quilts, I have finished these quilt tops. 

Yes, it's time to change my couch cover to Fall colors. I have the fabric all washed, I just have to put it one. Maybe I'll more to show you -- I have to get cracking on items for the Sleighbell Fair! (No, no dammit dolls this year. They were hard to make!)

Emily and I went to Glen, New Hampshire to visit Deb and Paul in their country home (vs the condo in Boston). This was taken on the common in North Conway which is next door to Glen.

Pork Chop allowed me to take his picture. He actually had a really good time and had many admirers who smiled at the happy dog, happy dog.

I know you're probably sick of looking at my glass collection, but I wanted to show Elaine and Lorne the 'jewel' that they gave me. It's glowing pink/purple in the top right. (It's totally visible when I sit in 'my' chair.) I'm sorry, I'm too lazy to take a better picture. Right now, with the shades closed, it's a very deep purple on the right side and gold on the left. I love it! I also have my new beaded humming bird on the green martini pitcher. I got it at the Ace Hardware store in Palm Springs. We all love that store because the employees are so nice! It's also the type of store that if they don't have it, you don't need it.

This coming Saturday (Oct. 5) will be Emily and Tina's Great Adventure. We're going to drive to DC to a hotel in Dupont Circle. The next day we will go to the National Gallery of Art to see: Paris 1874: The Impressionists. (I may have switched the title around, but you get the idea.) Then we motor off to Ohio.

We are going to the Cincinnati Zoo, woo hoo! I hope to see Fiona the Hippo. But if it's too chilly, she won't be swimming in the pool. I don't know what backstage things we might get to do. Here's last year's picture from when Emily and I fed the giraffes at The Living Desert in Palm Springs.

It's time for me to buy a big pumpkin for the front yard. I imagine my front steps with cute little pumpkins -- and then I remember I don't want to entice squirrels up onto the porch. That's too close for comfort for me! When Mom first moved into her house in Quincy, I opened the back door to the small yard and there was a squirrel there waiting expectantly. He wouldn't shoo away. The original homeowner had been feeding him/them. Here I admire the coal black squirrel in my back yard (I have only seen one), but he will have to walk to the stump in the front yard to eat pumpkin. Although I suppose I could put some in the way back rough. Nope, can't encourage the bears. (My neighbor about 5 houses up the street had a bear fishing in her koi pond last year.)

I hope you have a lovely rest of fall! Cheers!