What a beautiful week this has been. I think we waited long enough for this good weather. We had a very long and snowy spring followed by a very humid and very rainy summer and so I am thinking we are going to have a great fall. Today certainly feels that way!
Yesterday, my mom and I had the perfect day to some shopping and lunch. The sky was blue, the sun was bright and the air was cool 0 just like this morning. Last week my mom had asked me when we could plan to do lunch and shop and when we set the date for yesterday, little did we know it would be one of the nicest days of the entire year.
My mom is at the stage in her life when she doesn't want or need very much for her home, but she loves to join me when I go to some of my favorite shops. She will ask several times a year when we can make a date just like yesterday. Mom doesn't decorate in the same style but she is one of my biggest fans. Here's my mom waiting for me by her pretty garden outside the back door. She has always had the nicest gardens.
From my folks home, we headed north to Templeton, MA to the Country Mischief. Silas Stone built the brick dwelling on the common with bricks used for ballast of ships coming from England in the 1770’s. In the 1830’s the house was enlarged by adding a two-story ell build of wood onto the original home. In all the house has nineteen rooms.
During the course of the house’s long history, it has been known as many things. It was once Joseph Upham Tavern, and during 1837 a private high school for boys. The downstairs was a general store at one point while the upstairs domed ballroom was the site of local political gatherings. The house has also been used by Templeton Physicians for their private practices. The owner Gail bought and refurbished the house in 1991. There is just no way to see every thing in ever corner of every room of this shop!
In the ell of the house is the Mischievous Chief - a quaint little restaurant open for breakfast and lunch a few days each week. Since we arrived close to noon, that was our first stop of the day. Here's mom sitting by the fireplace. It was actually chilly enough to enjoy the fire!! How lovely!
I sat across from mom and these are the goodies on the wall that I was eyeing the whole time!
I want that black shelf with all the drawers.
I want that black shelf with all the drawers.
Me and mom!
The fireplace was so pretty.
We each decided to try a small cup of apple squash soup and then a shared sandwich. The soup had chunky bits of cooked apple floating in a creamy nutty bisque. The Monte Carlo sandwich had a smokey maple ham paired with turkey on french toast. Everything was just yummy and they were all perfect fall flavors for an almost fall day sitting by our first fireplace of the season. Thanks for lunch mom!
After browsing the many room, and making our purchases, we then headed south to Fitchburg to one of my very favorite stores, Homestead Primitives. Fitchburg is an old industrial mill town and Charlene and her husband purchased this old building and they have the neatest primitives shop. They add all the windows and trim across the front and did a wonderful job of primming up a plain ugly old building. Here is the middle section.
And the right hand section. There is an equally long left hand section.
And some inside shots - they don't do the store justice!
Here are my few purchases for the day - this is my new lantern. I have been looking for prim lantern to use with my battery operated candle up on top of my settle bench. I love this round one with the hinged lid. It's perfect!
I found this big wooden bowl for a great price. The perfect size to fill with seasonal goodies. This plaid towel is the perfect colors for the band I plan to stitch and sew on the hem. And isn't this little scoop the perfect size to hold these perfectly prim candy corn?
After leaving Homestead Primitives, my mom wanted to get some bittersweet. She is the one who taught me all about it when I was growing up. We lived in a nearby city and she actually came to a hillside in this town to gather it. I remember waiting in the car while she and my dad climbed the hill and filled bags with it. That hillside is off limits now, so I brought my mom to the spot David and I found a few weeks ago. We got enough for her and I got more for outside. I also stopped on the way home and got my bales of hay straw so after DH helps me get my corn stalks today, I will be DONE decorating for fall. Of course I will be doing some of my usual tweaking and then I'll be taking some new pics so I'll post those early next week.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And when I got home, look at what was waiting for me in the mail box! Yippee - see I said it was the perfect day didn't I? Beautiful weather, shopping and lunch with my mom, more bittersweet and Country Sampler. What more could a girl ask for?
How about DH coming home almost an hour earlier so we could be done with dinner at a normal hour for a change - the perfect cap to the perfect day! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And I have been tagged by sweet Sue over at The Cotton Patch. I have to list 6 random things about myself and tag 6 others to do the same. Here are my 6 things:
1. When I was born my hospital baby bracelet had blue instead of pink beads. They were partly correct - I have man hands and feet. They look just like my dad's and not my mom's. But the rest of me most definitely deserves pink beads!
2. I hate fish and seafood of every kind. Yes, I have tried many kinds and no thanks, I'll pass.
3. My grand dog Brady is the first dog I ever liked and I was 50 when that happened.
4. 2005 was a big year for me/us. I turned 50 in March, I graduated preschool in May (okay you got me, I actually retired) and we celebrated our 30th anniversary in June.
5. I use 3 pairs of glasses - no wait 4. One pair to read or do very fine close work; one for distance driving at night or watching TV across the room; my old reading glasses are now perfect for sitting at the computer; and my prescription sunglasses for driving during the day. However, unless I am doing one of those specific above activities, I don't wear any glasses at all
6. I have a titanium screw in my right foot holding two bones together.
Now I have to pick 6 gals to do the same.
Birgit from The Primitive Country Bug
Collen from And Baby Makes Five
Carolyn from Cranberry Crossings
Debbie from Ribbonwood Cottage
Lisa from Black Sheep Prims
Merrie from Stitchin By the Lake
Okay ladies, I leave it up to you what you do this with one!!
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Several of my new blogger friends asked me about additional pics of our home. I have two slide shows posted over on the right. One of early fall decor, and lower down on the right, you can click on the settle bench for a slide show before I decorated for fall.
I also keep online photo albums on Webshots and if you scroll down all the way under my blog roll, there is a link to Photo Albums of our Primitive Home. Thanks for asking ladies!
And thank you for stopping by. I so enjoy your visits and comments!
I hope your Thursday was perfect too.
Until next time - hugs, Linda
