I don’t mean to gloat, but I have to say how grateful I am that in my very own lifetime, I had the extreme pleasure of slow-dancing to this silly young crazy yearning song:  MUSICA   And I know lots of you did too! How LUCKY are we???? Timing is everything!!! Don’t be jealous of us all you young whippersnappers ~ just put it on, and go to it. But it won’t be the same unless you can think of some way to make your hands clammy and your heart race. Be sure to close your eyes and only move your feet about an inch at a time. Ohhh, Earth Angel, earth angel, will you me mine . . .

That song still makes my heart race, and so does this!  Here we are the other night having dinner at Home Port, a delicious fish restaurant up Island in Menemsha, and that, dearest ones, is the sun setting right outside our windows. This time of year we get amazing sunsets. And it all happens to this very special one-of-a-kind MUSICA  . . . (you can play both MUSICA’S at once ~ and you can turn this off if you want, but we can’t ~ it’s a good thing we LOVE it).

As we left the restaurant to go to our car, voila, down drops the sun and up pops the moon! You know we have gorgeous moon rises on the Island too . . . those and sunsets are just two of the kazillion reasons I love it here . . . Here are a few Island sunsets just for you . . .

Hello. This is the beach at the end of the walk we take everyday. It’s the nature’s address where I find my best happiness.

Here we are at East Chop Lighthouse built in 1869 . . . Look at that sky, one hundred percent real color, no faking anything here!

This is the pond across from Bend-in-the-Road Beach . . . Just driving along and there is your basic sky. Pull Over!

Here we are on the deck of the Aquinnah Shop . . .  overlooking Gay Head at the far end of the Island.

We look out our kitchen door, see a sky like this, and jump in the car to look for the source, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

And here it is, glimmering gold and worth every penny!

So what are your favorite things about fall?  I mean besides the sound of the crickets?

It makes me happy to listen to them while putting  up my fall dishtowels . . .

and making the house smell good with one of my favorite fall dinners . . . Scalloped Potatoes and Sausages.  (Page 97 of Vineyard Seasons)

And while putting a little bit of the season on the kitchen door . . .

I LOVE the chilly wind, perfect for washing tablecloths and skirts and drying them on the line.

It’s also a wonderful time for re-reading old books and putting yourself in a happy mood.  I read this one over and over again, reliving one of the best times of my life.  Diaries are a very good thing! Thank you for inspiring me to keep this one!

I love my easy decorations like the leaf garland I drape over the sideboard in the dining room . . . 

And my owls, out they come to take their place over the fireplace in the living room.

and on the kitchen windowsill . . .

And of course, flowers! I’m really just getting started!

And the crow collection, meeter and greeter at the back kitchen door.

HUH?

This morning it was pure nirvana on our walk. I had to wear a warm sweater and a scarf and keep them on the whole time.  A chilly wind was blowing, the sun was shining in the clear blue sky, and bright yellow leaves spotted the woods. It was just as wonderful as you could hope for, filled with singing birds and cawing crows. Like usual, Joe and I played Morning Science the whole way out to the water. We noticed a trail of tiny broken pieces of styrofoam on the dirt road, and of course, being naturally scientific, we thought, what’s this? We hashed it over. What could it be?  How could it get there? Conclusion: Possibly bits from insulation that fell off a truck on its bumpy way to the building site for a new house out there. Then we noticed another problem, more alarming: Look at that tree! What happened? It’s hanging by a thread! Scientific conclusion: due to little pile of styrofoam at the base of the tree, we concluded the truck with the insulation caught on corner of the tree and cracked it down the middle. The only thing keeping it from crashing to the ground was the tree next to it which the cracked tree had glommed onto on its way down. Additional conclusion: Somebody better do something about that tree before it kills us. Profound perceptions from the two Morning Scientists.  For any of you who’ve never heard of our game of Morning Science, here’s what I wrote about it in my AUTUMN Book.

BOOK NEWS:  TODAY, Tuesday, the printers in Indiana have told us they are shipping the books! It’s so odd how if the clock ticks long enough, we really do finally get there!  How long till The Fairy Tale Girl gets to us via truck?  The scientists are just not sure.  Four days?  A week?

But you can be assured, when those books come in, first thing, for those of you who ordered it sight unseen (except for the occasional pages like those above), based on Faith and the Adorable Inner Girlfriend Support System Mentality, the very first thing we will do is pop your book into the mail. Makes my stomach quiver to say that.  There is something very scary about a new book.  Always has been, always will be. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see it, see how it all looks together,the paper, the ribbon, how it smells, all that book stuff!

And then, later this month, we’ll be hitting the road, driving the highways and bi-ways of old New England, taking the back roads to Western MA, where we’re spending the night at a B & B that used to belong to my friend Lowely’s grandmother, where Lowely spent summers as a child.  Did I tell you we’re going with another couple?  Our neighbors, two doors, up, Lowely, and her equally adorable man, John. Yes, so we get to see some of Lowely’s roots. After Lowely’s Grandmother’s house, we’ll head up through Vermont almost to the top, to an island in the middle of Lake Champlain for a few days. Then we drive across Vermont to New Hampshire for our book signing at Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith, NH, at 11 a.m.  

I took a picture of this bird house the last time we were in Meredith. Gorgeous spot on Lake Winnipesaukee

We get back to the Island in October and then I’m going to write you big fat WILLARD and tell you all about the trip with lots of photos of leaves ~ I’ll do my best to make you feel like you were there.  It’ll be a mini FINE ROMANCE. 

You probably remember my girlfriend Elizabeth, the one who was redoing an old house down the street from me?  Well, it’s all done and she invited Lowely and me for tea the other day. I only took a few pictures but I thought you’d like to see them.  This is her “snug” the cozy room with the TV in it … see the pillow?  She made that with my Martha’s Vineyard fabric, so I feel right at home here…

Just so you can put the face with the person, this is Elizabeth and Jack in one of my favorite pictures of Jack.  The eyes!

This one isn’t as good of Jack, but it’s much better of Elizabeth!

Here we are in her brand new kitchen with the beautiful working fireplace! She rents this cozy place out, believe it or not, so if any of you are looking for a Fall or Holiday getaway in New England, you can go HERE and get more info. (Mention FOSB (Friends of Susan Branch) if you call. Elizabeth told them to offer a special off-season price for my Girlfriends!) It’s got three downstairs fireplaces!  And it’s insulated!!!  This is an important thing if you want to come in the winter! It was written about in a local magazine, you can see more photos here.

She had the table decked out California style ~ California is where Elizabeth spends half her time . . . And, in case you can’t tell, she’s an interior designer!  Here’s her web site!

This is Elizabeth contemplating the big question of any tea party, WHICH CUP????  Sooooo exciting!

I love her kitchen chairs. And that little thin china cup, she reminded me, is what I brought her to celebrate when the house was finished. It couldn’t be in better hands. After this moment we were much too busy talking to take pictures!

And now this last photo, back in my dining room, just showing you how fading hydrangeas STILL look pretty! Trying to take my mind off the shipping of the books! SOON! XOXO Bye for now earth angels, Keep in touch!