Well, Girlfriends, currently we are experiencing what I can only call “spontaneous adorableness,” but what else would we expect considering our source!  I have to show you . . . but first . . .  MUSICA!

You should go get some tea too … 🙂  Guess what?  We now have eighty-three reviews on Amazon!!! Amazing, wonderful, darling, detailed, brilliant, thoughtful reviews!!  Maybe I’m a little biased, but hey! I can’t help it!  Thanks to you, we have gone back for a second printing!!!!!!  Are you kidding???  NO!!!

We are doing our best to make sure the stores where we’re going for book signings are supplied with books, plus we kept a secret stash at our Studio just for our Blog Girlfriends (for as long as they last).  It will be a few weeks before more books arrive (probably by the end of October) and hopefully, by then, supplies will flow steadily through Amazon and other places.

S P O N T A N E O U S   A D O R A B L E N E S S

THAT’S OUR GIRLFRIENDS . . . WHO ARE  

A N D

Look at our traveling book!!  A Fine Romance is having lots of FUN!  When I say, “spontaneous,” it’s because we never thought to ask for photos, but they came anyway ~ through Twitter, Facebook, and via email . . . and look how cute!

This is Samantha who took our book to new heights! All the way to the top of Idaho’s tallest peak, Mt. Borah, at 12,662 feet!  Makes me so proud!

 In this one, our friend Judi is having her Fine Romance under the swaying palm trees in Florida . . .

And here’s our book, luxuriating in the Emma cupboard belonging to our English Girlfriend Chris . . . who lives in

 . . . in this adorable cottage in Buckinghamshire, England!  (BTW, I think there should be a law that one Friday a month certain people (all normal of course) are allowed to go into any house they want.  🙂 )

Imagine how this pine floor smells, how quiet the night is, how bright the stars, under the trees in the mountains at Trillium Lake near Mt. Hood in Oregon with our camper friends Holly and Ron . . .  with our lucky, lucky book!

And if this isn’t romantic I don’t know what is.  Cozy reading for beautiful Kate, who is visiting (from Connecticut) her grandmother (and our Girlfriend) Eileen.

And welcome to the Fine Romance Dinner our girlfriend Valerie made in Sacramento California, complete with Coronation Chicken and Hot Milk Cake, and Beatrix Potter People too!

Here is Sherri’s garden, and her favorite place to read . . .   I’m not sure where she is ~ maybe she’ll leave us a comment to tell us!

And this, this is Julie Marie’s “Princess Tess,” who, Julie says, gave A Fine Romance “Five Licks!” Another great review!

And here, from Karen, via Twitter . . . the biggy and the littley.

Thank you Girlfriends, you add so much to the festivities, and make everything even more fun! ♥

Mas MUSICA for the rest of the story . . .  And here we go . . .

I’m writing this from a motel on Cape Cod . . . because yesterday we kissed the kitties good bye, and left our house on the island . . . to cross the sound . . .

 I made a big thermos jug full of Gazpacho for the five days we’ll be touring around New England . . .

Joe packed up the van with all the necessities of life on the road, ice chest, electric tea kettle, Tin of tea, British Country Living Magazine, maps, Petey, signing pens, my pillow, my diary, his beret, his GPS, our Emma mugs . . .

And off we go on the boat.  (I just discovered something while writing this.  If a person has her name on the side of her vehicle, and it is parked just outside her motel room, she should probably not “run out to the car” to get cream from the cooler in her jammies with her sweater as a “robe” even on a very beautiful morning.  She might get out there, and realize her neighbors are packing up their cars in front of adjoining motel rooms, and having breakfast at picnic tables, and contrary to popular belief, she is not alone, nor unidentifiable.)

We rolled off the ferry and drove to the town of Sandwich, the oldest village on Cape Cod, settled in 1637.  We kept marveling at how beautiful it was, and how much it reminded us of England, like it had snapped off the edge of England and floated over here.  If you ever have a chance to visit Cape Cod, look for Route 6A, you’ll love it ~ lots of antique stores!  We came around the bend, and suddenly, we saw this sign in front of the Sandwich Town Hall where our event was scheduled!

Oh My,  I thought.  But it looks mighty quiet around here.  Are we sure we’re in the right place?  This is a VERY nice neighborhood.  There was a gorgeous old church with a tall white-painted spire across the street from the Town Hall . . .

. . . and lots of darling houses.  I wish we’d taken a photo of this one at night when we were leaving . . . the ladder was down and it was magical.  But still pretty adorable with the ladder and in the daylight.

And look at this little cottage . . . doesn’t it just say love?  Look at those window boxes!  The blue shutters!  The garden!  Of course, I’m a fool for a picket fence.  Too cute!!!

And here’s the Town Hall ~ which has been continually in use for 175 years.  In 1939 President Roosevelt provided stimulus funds to repair it ~ there have been sing-a-longs, silent movies, balls, town meetings, and fireworks here, it’s a center of Cape Cod culture.  The Titcombs folks saved us a perfect parking place, that’s us on the right.  The Town Hall was so quiet on the outside, except for that “sold out” sign, I thought maybe no one had come, or there had been an emergency and everyone left . . . but then . . .

Oh, yes we can!!!

I talked and then they talked and I answered questions, and afterwards we all talked and I signed books for the nicest people in the world.  They talked to each other while waiting in line . . . the hall was a cacophony of women’s voices meeting and greeting, one of my favorite sounds in the world . . . And there were lots of handsome man friends who were talking too! 

 . . . they exchanged contacts and at least some of them went out to dinner together!  That’s Elizabeth from the bookstore behind me; she was such a doll, helping me and everyone with their books.  PLUS she brought a little show-and-tell for me to see, her first-edition copy of Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim — she let me hold it:  soft brown worn leather, embossed cover, little frail ribbon bookmark, beautiful paper.  She knew I’d love it, and she was right.

 Titcombs is a very special Independent Bookstore that was started by Vicky’s (in blue) parents (Ralph and Nancy) in 1969.  Vicky’s the oldest of eight children (just like me), so Titcombs has been a family affair from the start; Vicky’s brothers built the building the bookstore is in, their grandmother manned the cash register until she was well into her nineties.  All hard work, love, and the American dream. ♥ For our event, they served everyone Polenta Cake and Lemon Butter Cookies from the recipes in our book, plus my Grandma’s Chocolate Shot Cookies too . . . and iced tea with mint.  After everyone had left we signed extra books so Titcombs will have plenty of them in their store now that we’re gone.  I also want to thank Fran (in the pink) and also Elizabeth (in the flowery dress) for all their kindness and hard work.

And then it was over, and the lights were going out . . . but since we were kind of on cloud nine and feet were not actually touching the ground . . .

We drove under a big moon through the quiet streets for a little dinner at the Bee-Hive Tavern in Sandwich on Rt. 6A ~ it was our first time at this restaurant . . .

. . . but it definitely won’t be our last.  It’s so cozy with wooden booths — Joe had steak and fries and cold slaw, and I had crab cakes ~ yum.

Last night we got a room at the Earl of Sandwich Motel … Family owned, sparkling clean and quiet, a little fridge, wifi (thank goodness), comfy beds ~ but my favorite thing, our room (#2) is right across from their . . .

lovely treed garden where families were having their complimentary breakfasts at picnic tables.  One lady was working on her computer in the sunshine and there were ducks, geese and wild turkeys walking around the lawn.  So civilized!  We heard a train go by and one of our favorite sounds, that long train whistle . . .

 They have a pool here, and a duck pond, and look at those ducks/and/or/geese with the little cotton hairdos!

And that is it.  Joe is tapping his foot and saying, “Hello?” as if we’ve never met.  So I must go.  I will be out of computer reach until The Fine Romance van stops next in New Hampshire (if you’re near there, check EVENTS and come join us at a book signing).  So, that means your comments will have to wait until I get someplace I can read them.  But I didn’t want to leave you out of the action. Have a wonderful day everyone!  Dance by the light of the beautiful full Moon tonight! ♥ xoxo