Happy Anniversary

We went to Niagara on the Lake to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We returned to our favorite bed & breakfast and returned to my all time favorite restaurant in the world at Hillebrand Winery. We strolled through the town & park enjoying the lavish flower arrangements. We spent some time by the Lake enjoying the view out to Fort George on the penninsula. The weather was warm and the colors bright. We enjoyed walking, sitting on benches, taking photos and being together. What a sweet anniversary get away!



On the day of our anniversary we had a huge and magnificent lunch at Hillebrand Winery. Again, one of the favorite meals of my life. That place never fails to allure and inspire me. After lunch we walked around the vineyards a little and then came back, dressed down and headed to our favorite coffee shop to wait out a rain storm. My husband read, I worked on my the brim of my daughter's fall hat and we sipped our cappuccinos and listened to the rain. So peaceful. You can tell we've been married a very long time that this was a highlight hour in our day - coffee, chit chat, books & yarn, enjoying the fall weather. A peaceful way to spend our day together.



This house is the gallery of mother & daughter artists from the Niagara on the Lake area. They have distinctive styles but enough similarities that you know they're related. Several of the daughter's paintings were stunning. A beautiful victorian house with great architectural features, flowers, fireplaces & these huge ferns on the front porch. I didn't have my knitting with me but plan on sitting on this porch with my yarn the next time we visit. What a beautiful, peaceful, creative, sweet place to sit a spell.



We drove back from Niagara on a two lane road that has serviced the upstate are since the days of indians & settlers. This road cuts through little farm towns, vineyards and orchards. We stopped at a family's little place in front of their house. This photo is of the pumpkins displayed on one side of the fruit stand. All these are grown in their family's garden! They were sold at $0.25 per pound and you could just sort through rows & boxes and grab ones you liked. We had a grand time picking the perfect pumpkins for our front porch area. My Chicago husband was just stunned at how many personal farms and how many pumpkins are for sale along this road. I've been grinning my pumpkin smile all week enjoying this sight.



One of the biggest perks about being in upstate NY in the fall is apple season. Apple season was such a part of my growing up years and I assumed it was the same everywhere...nope! This upstate NY tradition is alive and well and just as I remember it. My favorite NY apples so far are Paula Reds and Honey Crisps. I also made a pie with exactly 6 20 oz apples (that's the name of the apples, 20 oz) and they fit the pie exactly - just as they were designed to do.

Cider is it's own blog post and I'll get to that but have to mention that I drank almost a quart of the most perfectly balanced cider last week. The insides of my mouth were raw but I was LOVING it. Apples, cider & pumpkins...all things about the fall that I'm enjoying.