Close to Perfect . . .

We've been spending a lot of time in Cornwall lately.  We're hoping to make it our new home next year.  More than any other time of the year, fall is when I want to be there the most.  If someone took me on a drive, blindfolded me and dropped me in the middle of the town, I'd take off my blindfold and swear I was in Vermont.  Its small town feel reminds me of how I grew up.  No place is perfect but it certainly comes close to meeting all of my criteria for perfection!!  : )

We visited Jones' Farm in hopes of bringing home a pumpkin or two but my perfect little angel (do you detect a hint of sarcasm??) below decided that she was going to be in a mood and complain about pretty much everything.  It was windy out that day and she was cold (although it was in the low 60's!!) so the hay ride to the pumpkin patch was out and the pumpkins that had been pre-picked were too small to carve so they were out too. 

Magical rocks in the gift shop.

So we settled on visiting the barnyard to see the miniature ponies, goats and chickens. We were even lucky enough to finally see Miss Fern out of the barn.  She's been a part of the Jones' Farm family for a couple of years now and this was actually the first time she was out of the barn when we were there.  She was enjoying the sun and didn't even bother to look at us when we talked to her and told her how pretty she was.  : )

The view from the gift shop.

As you can see, the foliage still looks pretty good here but it's been so strange this year with some trees not even reaching peak yet and others having lost most of their leaves.  To top it off, there's a chance of SNOW in the forecast for this weekend!!!!  Oh my, that Mother Nature is quite the comedian, isn't she??  NOT!!!  : )


Many blessings for a very happy day ~ Wendy

A Perfectly Balanced Weekend . . .

We had, what I would call, a perfectly balanced weekend.  Dinner at our house on Friday night with life long friends and their kids who have now become life long friends with our kids.  Isn't it so amazing how that happens??!!??  One of the many special things about small town living.  : )

Another wonderful thing about small town living ~ glimpses of days gone by in the form of an old abandoned barn.

Saturday was a day to catch up on laundry and start filling my online shops again.  I made a big decision that I've been mulling over for a little while now.  I've decided to leave my job at American Greetings and concentrate on selling online again.  My shops have been neglected since I started working and, quite honestly, judging by how well my shops have done in the past, I can make more money with them than I make with AG.  Plus, I get to be home when my kids get home from school which is something that has always been important to me and was starting to happen less and less.  My last day is March 31st and I'm feeling good about my decision.  I feel the Universe is nudging me in a different direction and I have to go with it.  : )

Saturday afternoon we watched Brendan's basketball team play what ended up being their last game of the season.  They played their hearts out against the first place team and went neck and neck with them until about the middle of the second half and then they lost steam.  : (   Brendan had a great season and even scored a couple of baskets.  His confidence has soared since last year's season and I thank his wonderful coaches for that.  I'm going to miss his games but not those Tuesday night at 8 pm practices!!  : )

Yesterday I puttered around the house and listed a few more items in my Etsy shop while Jim worked on finishing up my closet that he's been remodeling when he gets the time to work on it.  Megan had a friend come over to keep her occupied otherwise my husband wouldn't have gotten anything done.  She loves being Daddy's helper and we all know how that works out sometimes.  Haha!!

Yesterday afternoon, another life long (since 5th grade!!) friend, Stacey, called to see if she could stop by for a little while.  She's in town from Florida for a couple of days and brought a quiche on the plane with her to give to me.  She had posted photos on Facebook of a 12 course meal she was cooking the other night when she couldn't sleep and I had casually mentioned that I'd love her to bring one of the quiches she baked to New York with her.  Well, guess what we had for dinner last night???  Yep!!  Chicken, bacon, broccoli and cheese quiche.  TO DIE FOR!!!  Just one of the MANY reasons I love that girl!!!!

A perfectly balanced weekend . . .  Friends, family, down time and homemade quiche!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful week ahead ~ Wendy

A Season of Change . . .

This weekend we moved my mother into her new little cottage in the woods.  When I first saw where it was located, I felt a little nervous that she and her two dogs would be too isolated from other people compared to where she was moving from.   She does have neighbors but they're all spread out on a dirt road except for the ones that are across and down a little hill from her.  I made her promise that she'd carry her phone with her at all times in case she ever fell or had a medical emergency.  She's only in her 60's but has had several serious medical issues this last year.  She's fine now but you just never know.

 On Sunday, Megan, Brendan, Jakhai (our "adopted" Fresh Air Fund son who stayed the long weekend with us) and two of Brendan's friends all piled into the car and took a road trip with me back to Nana's new house.  While the kids explored the more than 30 acres that my mother's cottage is situated on, my sister and I helped her start to get some sense of organization out of the ton of stuff we had all moved the day before.  Just a little side note here . . .  please don't leave a legacy of clutter for your children to have to deal with when you are gone.  This really lit a fire under my butt to start to purge!!!  : )

 By the time we left late Sunday afternoon I, too, had fallen in love with her new home and everything about it.  The kids were able to take photos of a family of deer and even a video of a small coyote that was running around.  I didn't see a coyote in the wild until I was in my 30's!!!  : )  The thought of sitting in her living room on a snowy day, hunkering down with a fire in the fireplace makes me smile.  It's the perfect escape from all of the craziness in this world.  But I still made her promise to keep her phone with her at all times!!  : )

 Many blessings for a peaceful and beautiful Tuesday ~ Wendy




*All of the photos were taken during our recent pumpkin picking adventure in Warwick NY with the exception of the little scarecrow.  He's sitting happily on my mother's front porch in a mum plant!!  : )

A Recent Weekend . . .

 A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I and our families were invited to a gathering at our friends' house in Mountainville, NY.  It's a tiny town about 45 minutes from us but seems like worlds away with its rustic, country charm, barns and lots of trees and open fields.  The way the area where we live was when I was growing up. 

Our hosts, Mark and Maureen, were very good friends with my father.  After he passed away, Maureen and I spent a lot of time together.  I think,  in a lot of ways, it made us both feel closer to him.  I was able to see a different side of my father thru Maureen's words about him and I think just me being his daughter made Maureen feel close to him again.  My father's death was very sudden and premature and hit me very hard.  It was almost a year to the day after my first husband passed away suddenly, as well.  I don't know that you ever get over the death of a parent.  You kind of tuck it away and accept it the best you can and smile thru tears when you think about it.  At least that's how it is for me . . . 

Boogying (not sure how to spell that!!) down poolside.  Excuse my daughter's underpants.  She wanted to be completely naked but we were able to talk her into keeping her undies on!!  : )

Megan and niece, Annie.

 Mark and Maureen's house is absolutely beautiful.  And there's a perfect view of a barn while you lounge poolside.  Hello??  Poolside . . .  Barn . . .   Works for me!!!!!!

 They also have the most amazing tree in their backyard.  Mark told me what it was called but I don't remember.  He also said it's a pain in the neck because it constantly sheds.  I think it would totally be worth the aggravation!!  : )

 Meg had lots of fun exploring the grounds, smelling the flowers and playing with the two resident doggies.

Maureen said the pups spend more time in the pool than she and Mark do!!

 It was a beautiful day spent with friends and family and I'm so glad we were finally able to get together with them.  This has been a summer filled with time spent with friends, old and new.  Lots of new memories have been made.  I set my intention for having a great summer, spending more time outdoors and being with people whose company I truly enjoy and it's been one of the best summers of my adult life.  Sad to see it go but looking forward to "autumnal" memories.  There's THAT WORD again!!!!! I told you I liked it!!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful Wednesday ~ Wendy

Signs . . .

Today's photo-a-day challenge (found at Fat Mum Slim) is to post a photo of a sign.  When we went to Lancaster, PA in April, I took a couple of photos of signs that caught my eye.

First there was this one . . .

This was a one room school house that Amish children attend in the part of town where we took our buggy ride. 

Next was this one . . .

We were so tempted to have our buggy driver pull over for some homemade root beer!!  I think if it was just a little bit warmer out that day we would've done it!!  : )

I ended up going with this one . . .

You just gotta take a picture of a road called "Smucker Lane,"  don'tcha??

I wasn't sure if this counts as a sign otherwise I might have gone with this one . . .

Now I'm off to peek at what tomorrow's photo is!!  Can you tell I'm loving this Challenge??  : )

Many blessings for a happy Tuesday ~ Wendy