Reservoir Dog

This morning I went to breakfast at Friendly's with my good friend Ann.  We worked together at one of the local elementary schools and we still get together even though I left there 4 years ago.  Yesterday's thunderstorms ushered in some cooler weather (mid 70s instead of mid 80s) so we decided to take Kita for a walk in the reservoir.

Poor Kita is still so camera shy that this is probably the best picture I'll be able to take of her.

We followed the road up a steep hill to the top of an earthen dam at one end of a very long reservoir.  In a few weeks the trees should be quite colorful.  Kita and I both will be very happy when the weather gets a little cooler!  We're still waiting for those crisp autumn days.

Beautiful Blooms

One of Mark's orchids is blooming this week.  It's a Blc. hybrid (Brassavola x laelia x cattleya) that has velvety flowers and a delicate fragrance.  It's out of the greenhouse and in the kitchen where we can enjoy it!

Road Trip

Today I drove to Massachusetts to bring Ross the suit he plans to wear to the wedding this weekend.  The store tailor finished the alterations yesterday and Ross flies to CA tomorrow.  One benefit of being unemployed is that I am available for errands.  What a good excuse to see where Ross works and meet his co-workers!

The building has been completely renovated and looks like a great place to work.  Ross gave me a tour of the inside before taking me to lunch.

This is the Humvee that Ross rode in to get real-time data on the company's product in use.  

Then we went to lunch at Olympia Roast Beef and Pizza.  Woburn seems to have several roast beef/pizza places--I wonder if that's some kind of ethnic specialty as I've never seen that combination before.  The roast beef sandwich was delicious.

It was fun to drive on I-95, the "old" route 128.  When we lived in Lexington, we spent a lot of time on that road!  Brought back memories!

Breakfast of Champions

My dear friend Dorine and I headed over to Canton this morning for breakfast at The Village Cafe. Everything served there is wonderful and usually the only problem is trying to make a choice from their varied menu.  We decided to try the "Pancake of the Day":  pumpkin-cranberry-pecan, which just happen to be three of my favorite flavors.  We were not disappointed!

After breakfast we stopped down the road at The Shoppes at Farmington Valley for some window-shopping.  My big purchase of the day was some buffalo-hide chews for Kita at a cute little pet supply store called Leaps and Bones.  Then we hopped back in the car and continued on our way.  We finished our little expedition at Starbucks and made plans for next time.  I can't wait--Dorine and I always have a lot of fun together!

Missoni-for-Target Mania

I was pretty excited when Target announced that famed Italian knitwear company Missoni would be creating a collection for them to debut in stores on September 13th.  From the photo spread in September Vogue and a visit to the Target website, I found many different Missoni items that looked very appealing.  When September 13th rolled around, I headed over to my local Target around noon--and I was too late! Way too late! The sales clerks told me the entire Missoni women's line sold out within 15 minutes of the store opening.  I was really hoping to buy a Missoni tote bag, scarf, and possibly a knit sweater, so the minute I got home I tried the Target website--which had crashed due to the volume!  By the time I finally managed to get online the following day, everything Missoni was out of stock.  Refusing to pay the high prices for this merchandise on eBay, I consoled myself that Missoni was just not in my future.

Imagine my delight when Ross and Malima arrived for the weekend with a special gift--the Missoni scarf I had coveted the most!   The colors are fantastic and I know I will wear it a lot.  What a great surprise!

We all had a fun weekend!  Ross was able to get outfitted for Malima's cousin's upcoming wedding, and then we hit a couple of local thrift stores where they had success finding items for his Halloween costume.  The weekend just flew by.



Cider Mill

On Sunday we went to the Avon Cider Mill for the first time this season. We bought some of the fresh apple cider and admired the pumpkins, apples, gourds, mums and other plants. This is the last year for the cider mill because a new magnet school will be built on this site. When we moved to Avon before the kids were born, this is one of the first places we visited. Every fall we come here for the cider and we often buy our Halloween pumpkins here too. We will miss this place!

Bushels of apples are waiting to be sold.  Next week the Macouns will come in and that's my favorite variety.

The mums and ornamental cabbages looked spectacular.

The old red building in the background was the original cider mill.
It wouldn't be fall without a visit to the Avon Cider Mill!