Yes, it's been a while ...

Pause over, perhaps. I guess I needed a break. But it feels right to resume now.

Since September activity has centered--or at least tried to focus on--getting the out of doors ready for it's winter spell. I noticed this year, and was struck by how lush summer foliage is. It becomes apparent when it all bursts into flaming color then disappears. I can now see the surrounding hilltops through the barren tree trunks; the boundaries of the lawns are no longer as well defined as at the height of the summer explosion--I can see well beyond the edge of the grass into the extending forests.

The colors were very, very beautiful this fall. The surroundings of Halls Brook Road were on fire!


The front and back yards were ablaze!


And the waning days of autumn were gloriously beautiful!



The garden exited with grace and took a well-deserved bow. Job well done!


The outdoor furniture and garden ornaments are now tucked in for the coming months. I planted some new tulips and some Fritillaria bulbs but I'm unsure about those. They are sold locally, but the packaging states zone 5 and I'm wondering if they'll survive the winter. We'll find out. I decided that the now humongous rugosa patch out back has to go. It has spread incredibly fast these past 2 years but it's not producing that many flowers and tends to spend more time being an eye sore. So next year I'll have a new large, round, garden bed in it's place. I've started to pull them out--ouch! ouch! and ouch! They bite back. There's a lot of dead wood in them. The new bed will have sun flowers for sure and gladioli and so many other wonderful plants. The task of removing the rugosa's will continue in the spring at which time I'll salvage a few for plantings in other locations.

Vermont's sheep & wood festival came and went, and as always, it was glorious! Perfect weather, perfect day.


Indoors, I finished a table runner for Christmas.


And I'm in the process of making ornaments.


I finished a scarf. Knitted in 100% silk and lined with a silk-like fabric.


The orchids, having spent the summer outside, came in a gave birth. They are in blossom right now.


And the Thanksgiving Cactus is also in bloom.


Our community orchestra held our fall concert Sunday and it was a resounding success. We even received a standing ovation! I'm a little sad that rehearsals will be over now until sometime in January. However, in 2 weeks we'll start rehearsing for the UVMC (Upper Valley Music Center) Messiah sing-along which will include orchestra this year. I'm really looking forward to that. I believe the sing-along will be on 12/20. Our cello choir class ends Thursday, and that too, makes me sad. But I'm pretty sure the school will schedule another class for next semester so there's something to look forward to.

Well. Here's to keeping abreast of things "going forward"!

Glorious nature ...

An early autumn walk this afternoon brought me to never-ending magnificence. Nature's creative endeavors never cease to amaze me. These beautiful, humble plants present an awe inspiring vision. The first appears to be out-of-focus but it's not! Its seed pods are so fuzzy as to indict the cameraman of an unsteady hand but 'tis not so!



Heaven!

Christmas is a round the corner ...

Well, almost. So for my new project I'm making a Christmas table runner. Here is one square nearing completion. It will be three squares long, with a border running around the whole thing. Picked the fabrics out of my stash. So happy I picked up tons of scraps at thrifts and all. Having a wide variety to pick from allows me some artistic freedom.



The fabric at the left will probably be the outer-most border.

Also in the works are a couple of knit scarfs. I've started to think about a larger knitting project again. Maybe a new sweater. We'll see.

I spent the weekend on an impromptu painting project! Had no idea I'd be painting this weekend, but the notion started to congeal Friday and I was at the paint store Saturday morning. Then again Saturday evening because I decided to do the dining area wall as well as the living area wall. Finished the dining area today after 3 coats of paint. I like it very much. Warmer than the off-white-rose-tint that was on the walls when I moved in. Amazing what a little paint will do.



The music room has been off limits since Friday when my piano technician stopped by to treat the piano felts with moth killer. The solution should kill any eggs in the felts and then he will selectively replace some felt. He swung around while I was out running errands and when I returned--forgetting that he was going to pop in--I could not figure out why there was such a strong odor of oil in the kitchen. It wasn't until I went into the music room--where the stench was overwhelming--that I recalled his mission. Strong, strong stuff. I had taken the door to the room off it's hinges when I moved in to create a more open feel, but I quickly went down stairs to fetch it and re-install it so the room could be closed off. The smell is cooling off with every day. I think it may be a week before I can spend any time in there. But it needs be done. Also needing attention is the pump organ: One of the bellows straps tore. The tech says he can fix that for me as well.

I've been harvesting my tomatoes lately and had enough to make a big batch of soup to freeze for this winter. Next year I will need to stake the tomatoes for sure. They became somewhat unruly this year. Still a good crop, but difficult to harvest!

Scrap quilt #4

My word the past 4 weeks have flown! It doesn't feel like more than a few weeks since my last post but I've just noticed that it was written almost a month ago!! My word.

There has been another change since that post: The deck is not being built this fall. It needs to wait until next spring. Bummed, but still: I wasn't expecting to use it much during the winter.

The scrappy quilt top is finished and if finances allow, I'll send it to the long-arm quilters at end of week. Much pleased with it. Now on to a Christmas table runner.



Classes and rehearsals are on the move again. We had our first orchestra rehearsal of the season last Wednesday. Concert will be in November. Only known pieces for the program so far are Beethoven's first and Dvorak's Serenade Op. 44.

Cello choir class will commence Thursday morning. We will have instruction and get to play cello ensemble music together. Looking forward to it!

My private lessons are now seeing me work on Bach's 2nd Suite, as well as continued work on "thumb positions" and scales (as always!).