Leaf Peeping in Vermont and New Hampshire (originally posted October 2012)

My sister decided on the spur of the moment that she wanted to go to Vermont a couple Saturdays ago so we all piled into my car and went all the way up the Quechee Gorge.  It was a bit cloudy and chilly but what beautiful scenery!  It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.  There is a bridge which spans the gorge and here are shots from both sides.

We also went to Woodstock, which was pretty crowded.  Here are both sides of a covered bridge, of which Vermont has the most in New England.

 

On the way home I took a wrong turn and we ended up in New Hampshire, where I believe these shots were taken.

 It's been wonderful this fall to enjoy the season, rather than stress about painting the house.  I have one coat of yellow left on the last side, which should only take a few hours.  Right now I'm working on replacing the trim pieces that had rotted, which has been a nightmare.  Another nightmare is rehanging my front door, after taking it down for painting.  Logic would tell you that if it fit before, it'll fit after painting.  But nooooo.  Nothing is easy in an old house, it seems!

Random Late Summer/Fall Stuff

With all the rain that we had the Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea grew to about six feet by six feet.  It was gorgeous, until it flopped when it got too heavy.

We went to White Flower Farm and it was beautiful as usual.

Their hydrangea droops too.

I want this sumac but I don't think I have any room left!

Beautiful cimicifuga.

The Lloyd Border.

Can you believe the size of this weeping beech tree?

My mother's town, South Windsor, has some lovely gardens.

The spiky bush is caryopteris.  I want it (of course).

Can't show you foliage in my yard because it hasn't changed yet. Can you believe that? I'm really looking forward to the holidays this year. Despite the angry people, violent manmade and natural disasters, national and international crises, there is so very much for which we can thank God.

Castine, Maine

Tone on Tone is one of my favorite blogs.  They have a cottage in Castine and after seeing pictures, I wanted to go waaaaay up there, Downeast.  Castine is a tiny little town with only a few streets and mostly historic houses built in the 18th and 19th centuries.  It's a long drive, especially the last 15 or so miles, in the deep darkness, when you don't know the way, and your aging eyes don't see well.  We stayed at the Pentagoet Inn, built in 1894, a couple decades younger than my own lovely abode.  The breakfast was out of this world.  We were in an adjacent building in a small room with a tiny bathroom.  I think the inn was filled up with Navy folks and contractors.  Castine is home to the Maine Maritime Academy, from which my co-worker's son recently graduated.

We stayed to the left (forgot to take a picture of the main building!).

Here's the town beach.

We stopped at York, Maine on the way up. It's a really beautiful town as well.

On the way home we ate at the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine.  We saw the review on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Channel.  Thankfully, the chocolate cream pie was just out of the oven when we were ready for dessert.  It was absolutely divine.

We've had pretty much continuous warm, sunny, beautiful days this autumn and our time in Maine was no exception. Flowers were still blooming.  My mother really loves Vermont. I prefer Maine, which has so many beautiful, picturesque towns. What can I say? I'm a Maine-iac.

2014 In Review

Overall, it was a good year.  Family members were relatively healthy - no hospitalizations.  My very bright brother-in-law got a great job and left his long-time position.  My smart niece got a job in her field in September.  My other smart niece bought a cute log-cabin type of house in Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border.  My nephew just moved to a cute rental house and his sister, my niece who got the job, will move into his condominium.  My sister and I are very much looking forward to her move because she'll be closeby.  My brother got a big raise.  Not too bad for one of the worst states in the union.  My nephew got a job as well, in New Hampshire.  I pray it's a good match for him.

On the homefront, I'm getting a new porch floor and framing.  In anticipation of that, I painted the trim and ceiling and bought a new light and house numbers.  We went back to Kennebunk and to Marblehead.  We discovered how beautiful York, Maine is.  We rented a house in June on Cape Cod in Hyannis.

We had one of the coldest winters ever, and things didn't really warm up until Labor Day.  It was great not to have that awful heat and humidity.   The fall was beautiful as well.  Even December seems warmer than usual.  It was an okay gardening year.  The hydrangeas took a hit from the cold, and many didn't bloom.  The roses likewise died way back.  Some things were very late, like butterfly bushes.

I extended the shade garden on the north side of the house.  Purple Majesty, Snow Queen and Blue Billow hydrangeas went in, as well as two hostas.  I also planted Nikko Blue and Blue Bird hydrangeas nearby.  In the shrub border I added Endless Summer, Preziosa and Tardiva hdyrangeas.  There'll be a huge hydrangea explosion next summer, hopefully.  I planted Harlow Carr and Midnight Blue roses in the back garden.  Hopefully the deer and woodchucks will leave them alone next year when they hear all the new dogs in the neighborhood.

 

 

Things are good, and I am grateful.  Hope things went well for you and pray that your new year is bright, shiny and filled with all good things!

 James 1:17 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

December 31, 2013

Day Trip - Stonington, Mystic and Noank

I like to go to Stonington because one of my favorite authors lives on the main drag there.  Alexandra Stoddard, an interior designer, wrote Creating a Beautiful Home, in which she chronicles the renovation of her 1775 "cottage."  She describes it so well that I was able to spot it immediately.

Have you heard of Living a Beautiful Life?  It was her bestseller.  She's all about being present in the moment and intentional in your actions.  The book is divided into sections on eating, dining and bathing in a way to heighten one's senses.  I highly recommend it.

It was a beautiful day; many people were out walking with their dogs, or each other.  We ate at a favorite restaurant, Noah's.  The food, including delicious desserts (my favorite part of a meal), is homemade so dining is leisurely.

Some other houses I love:

Pretty, old-fashioned decorations.

Can you tell the style of house I love?  It's my new favorite; I think it's called Federal style.

We then went to Mystic and Noank.  They both were kind of quiet, which is fine.  Noank is a lovely seaside village in the town of Groton.  Here's what we saw:

Steep road lined with luminarias.

Check out the rooftop dining spot above the wreath in the center.

Pretty, simple decorations.

Another Federal beauty, in Mystic.

As much as I complain about taxes, Connecticut is a truly beautiful state, with many stunning homes.  It has numerous old Colonial and Victorian homes in every part of the state.