Another gorgeous day in paradise! MUSICA!
Oh, I am working so good now, girls. So excited for the new book. It’s my most favorite thing I’ve ever done and that is truly saying something. You are going to love it. I almost don’t want it to be done. I’ve already started painting for it, yesterday I painted my first little house as a doll house with no walls! That was fun! And I’m laying out the pages, hurrying before you all forget where we left off from The Fairy Tale Girl!
But then, the sun begins to come up, I look outside . . . and oh my . . .
I had to go out the kitchen door . . . because all the leaves were calling me! What was going on in our back yard this morning as the sun got into the tops of the trees was just wonderful!
The sun was lighting the tree tops on fire . . .
Here’s the garden before the sun got to it . . .
Nice and cozy . . . all this beauty right outside the door!
But this is what I meant . . . the sun was hitting the tops of trees, coming through other trees and splotching them with light, like it does on the walls inside the house . . .pretty amazing, don’t you think?
Oh yes, definitely treasure . . .
It’s hard to show the wind in a photo . . . I keep wishing the leaves would stop in mid air and let me photograph them coming down . . . they are flying through the trees today.I can even see them here from my window in the studio because the light catches them and they flicker all the way down.
I almost forgot to tell you . . . I caught one in the woods today! It is not as easy as it sounds, believe me. But I got one, and I made a wish on it and tossed it!
Shhhhh, I would really like it to come true!
Dishtowels on the line are a pretty good second-choice indication of wind . . . . .
They can really get going . . . the wind is cool and fresh and smells good too. *Someone* should start raking up leaves!
Let’s let *Jackie* do it! He won’t mind. He’d do just about anything to get out there!
He heard me say that . . . Really? We’re going out ????
You might remember this photo taken in the spring, only instead of leaves, these branches were filled with white flowers . . . it’s an ornamental pear tree. Trees are year-round giving things. Squirrels love them too.
From our bathroom window on the second floor ↓ the squirrel condo in the linden tree.
Yes, just like Bogie and Bacall!
Sun in the tree tops . . . Autumn gold.
I hope you are getting lots of use from your Autumn book! There are a couple of recipes you may not have tried but I think you would love . . . one of them is Roasted Radicchio on p.50. A most amazing side dish, drizzled with balsamic syrup and so good, and different! Also the Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce and whipped cream on p. 93. I’ve never tasted a better one. Honest. You’ll love it! Also, as a treat, because you deserve it, on your next rainy day, try the Red Chili Onion Rings on page 29! Heaven! And just in case you’d like to make my Grandma’s Stuffing this year . . . here’s how to do it, very simple, but you need to plan ahead a little bit.♥
And then there’s this . . . mmmmmmm. Grilled cheese. Good for breakfast or anytime!
Here’s my darling Girl Kitty. Getting a little ear-scratching. We are having lots of quality time these days . . . I brush her every day to help her with those dastardly hair balls. She loves it and so do I!
While I was walking around the garden taking pictures, I went out back to the street for more splotches of morning sunlight . . . They have taken this old house almost completely down in order to save the parts that are salvageable. It will be gorgeous one day. Seeing it made me think, building a book is a lot like building a house. First you need a foundation, then you add the framing, 
then the sheathing, the shingles or the clapboards, then the windows and doors, so it’s all enclosed and begins to look like a house. And the whole time you’re tapping your foot and saying Hurry. Then you get the wiring, insulation and plaster, then the cupboards. the linoleum, and the tub . . . and FINALLY you get to the good parts, the paint and wallpaper (don’t quote me on how to build a house) and then, most exciting of all, you get to the part where you get to cut flowers from your garden to fill a little vase 
to sit on your window sill. ♥ And that’s exactly where I am on the book right now. At the flowers-in-the-vase stage. I’ve made myself a mock-up version of the book so although it’s very clunky, I get to see exactly what it will look like! And you are always on my mind as I choose the 
perfect photo, the perfect bit of art, the perfect quote and my very best words. And so it goes, until the house is built. Which will be sooner rather than later. I COULD get it to the printer in two months, IF I did nothing else, BUT, I don’t think that’s going to happen, SO, asap will have to do!
In the meantime, Kellee is away on vacation, when she gets home I will have a brand new WILLARD all ready for her to send out . . . I think she said it will go out on the 17th . . . so get ready and sign up your sister and your best friend so they get one too! I have so many exciting things to tell you. Many surprises are coming this way, Girlfriends, for all of us!
Just had to show you this beautiful rainy day we had last week . . . too pretty not to mention.
And this . . .
Moonrise last week over Vineyard Haven Harbor . . . We went down to Owen Park to take this picture. The October Hunter’s Moon always seems like the biggest one here on the Island . . . It was so exciting, waiting, waiting, the light of it came first, and then finally, there it was, peeking over the horizon! Looks like the sun, but it’s really the moon!
And here’s one of my favorite dishes, just love this color and love to see it every year.
And now, one of the many reasons I L♥VE my Blog, a surprise for my dad, a giant hug to say I miss you, Dad! Hope your day is going wonderfully!♥ Kiss Jeanie for me! XOXO
T H E
I A D O R E
And you too Girlfriends, the OTHER reason I L♥VE my blog . . . hope your day is going wonderfully too! I will hug the kitties for you! XOXO
it’s so NEAT. But this is different . . . my watercolors are under all of this. To add to the glory, Jack periodically comes and lays down on top of everything. Sometimes he hits the table and skids through everything. Then I wish to kill him. But instead I pick him up and kiss him madly and then he wishes to kill me. Despite the way it looks, this mess is actually organized, until Jack gets there. Yes, throw the rubber band. Get up, stop the concentration, because this mess does require it, and throw the dang rubber band. It’s just that I am doing the funnest book-two and wish not to be interrupted. What you see here are just part of the photos that are going into the book. They say no one likes to 
watch sausage being made, so if that is so, maybe you should look away, because this is an inside look at scrapbook book writing. And these are just the photos! Wait until you see the watercolors! I feel guilty for having this much fun while being derelict in my duties. But Mark Twain says it’s okay so if you have a problem with it, you will have to talk to him.
I say? Making stuff is my middle name. And this book has so many little textures and parts, I’m enjoying myself immensely, except if the phone rings or Jack knocks everything off the table. Until then I’m happy as a clam in my house of creativity, and I have no problem, especially when the days are chilly and the leaves are falling and I start wrapping up in shawls and lighting candles, shutting out the world and just making stuff. In fact, I feel just plain blessed.
