It's October and I have some news!!

HAPPY OCTOBER!

Hello to all my blogging friends! I am still here - I have just been very busy and by the way, where did September go? It flew by Behind My Red Door that is for sure. And now my favorite month is here and we can expect a lot more foliage and cool weather to enjoy. And I intend to do just that starting right now. For most of my adult life, traveling during October was limited to a quick weekend get away because of school for the kids and later for me. When I left my job in the spring of 2005, that restriction was forever lifted. To celebrate, that fall we took 3 really long road trips because that really is our favorite way to travel. We enjoy listening to CD's and chatting and we really are great driving companions. We have done that since the day we got married and traveled with his company before he settled into an office job. So in 2005 when we discussed taking a 30th anniversary trip and it was natural to plan a road trip. That fall we covered thousands of miles and we timed each of the three trips to take advantage of peak foliage in the states we traveled to and it was the perfect way to spend the fall of my 50th year, celebrate our 30th anniversary and celebrate my 'retirement' as well. And each year since then we get away at least once during October and often in early November as well. This year DH and I are heading to the lakes region of Maine for several days and hope to see sights like this. I actually found this picture on a Maine tourism site, but if you ask me, it looks like the Mt. Washington on Lake Winnepesauke in NH, one of my favorite places on earth.

We are actually starting out in NH and heading up to the Wolfeboro area and may just see the real Mt. Washington dock there. When the kids were young and DH and I would sneak off for that short weekend get away, we often took the 4 hour tour around the lake and enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa on the deck while soaking up the brilliant foliage all around the lake. If you can ever to the Lakes region of NH, you must take that boat trip.

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While in the area, I am hoping to make a stop at Apple Hill to do some shopping. If you love colonial or prim, check out the store and the homestead. Real colonial decor at it's best. They use a lot more blue than I like, but they are probably more historically correct too. I hope find a 'souvenir' to bring home!

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After that stop we will head to Lincoln, NH where we honeymooned 33 years ago and from there, pick up the scenic Kancamagus Highway, one of the prettiest roads I have ever been on. I am very blessed to have literally been coast to coast and from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico by car. I have been in the desert and mountains and on the plains and that highway is at the top of my list of favorite drives. It is spectacular in the fall, literally breathtaking!

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From the end of that road in Conway, NH we will find our way to Waterville, Maine. For once, we don't have a crowded agenda. We plan to take foliage rides on back roads and make good use of our GPS. I have a list of several other prim shops and plan to plug all their addresses into the GPS first thing. Maybe I'll get to one or two if I am lucky. If not, I am just happy to get away with DH. Please cross your fingers for nice weather. No matter what though I hope to have many foliage pics to post next week when we get back. And to keep you happy until then, here are a few pics from the Kanc!

This is Whatcha Working on Wednesday so do go over and check Leslie's My Country Home to see what everyone else has been working on. I can't even remember everything I worked on since my last post (it's that CRS - Can't Remember Stuff) but I do remember getting our cool weather clothing out, packing for the trip, stopping the paper and mail, buying snacks and goodies for the trip, spending some time with family and friends, doing a big project on the Internet and making sure the house is spotless (I hate coming home to a mess!). And I have been busy working on another big project Behind My Red Door and I'll share that exciting news next week when we get home.

AND of course I have to have something tangible to show you today. I have been working on this wool wall hanging of Father Christmas. I have a growing Father Christmas collection that I started 25 years ago or more that I put out the day after Thanksgiving and this will be a great addition. I even have the perfect spot picked out - over my little desk in the living room. I love the plaid wool of his coat, and though it is hard to tell from my picture, the background is hand dyed tweed. This pattern is called Santa's Little Helper and is a Primitive Cellar original and it is available here. I have all the pieces ready to stitch together and it needs some other details like crows feet, facial features and some rusty bells in place of buttons, and a rusty star for the top of the tree. I am bringing it with me to work on in the our hotel suite in the evenings when DH is doing work on his laptop. We have a 2 room suite with a fireplace so it will be nice place to relax and warm up and sip some mulled cider after a long day exploring the woods of Maine.

I recently shared with you the goodies I received in a swap with Karen of My Yellow Farmhouse. Now I am excited to share with you that Karen has opened an online shop selling wool, patterns, and other supplies and it is aptly named Farm House Woolens. If you are like me and you have a difficult time finding nice wool and patterns locally, check out her new shop. She doesn't have everything in stock and but she is always adding more so go on over and check it out. She is the nicest gal and sooooooo talented! If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing her blog, you really need to check it out. I love it when I see she has a new post! It's always interesting and there is always eye candy. We love our pics, don't we??!!

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So my blogging friends, this is it for me for this week and I need to get a move on. We are having a new mattress delivered today so taking the whole bed apart and remaking the new one, along with last minute packing and errands will keep me busy today. I probably won't get to visit blogs or answer until next week and I am still not quite caught up from last week. That big Internet job I had to do took up so much online time, I was getting cross-eyed. I'll be back up to speed next week so save your best posts for me. I hope that each of you has a wonderful weekend and can enjoy some fall goodness in some way. Sip some cider, bite into a crunchy apple, walk in some fallen leaves or just breath in the cool crisp air. The season is all too short so soak it in while you can. We certainly intend to!
Until next time - hugs, Linda

P.S. Here are a few clues as to my exciting news! Don't forget to check back next week!

Bet you can't guess!??!