An Apple Orchard and Apple Fritter Bread

The month of October is off to a beautiful start, wouldn't you agree?  In my previous post, I wrote about our little getaway to Hendersonville, in the North Carolina mountains.  On the day we headed home, we got an early start after breakfast and made our way to Grandad's Apples.  This was the first time we had ever visited an apple orchard; we've always just stopped at produce stands along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall to get our fresh apples.     

A Fun Trip to Hendersonville

Hello Friends!  Are you having a good week?  We left last Wednesday driving to Hendersonville, North Carolina, for a two-day visit.  My mom and I started this annual tradition in 2020, and this year, Hal went with us.  We all had such a good time.  The weather was perfect, and it was a real treat to get away for a change of scenery.       

      

First of November

Hello friends!  Happy first day of November!!  We're smack dab in the middle of my favorite time of year, and I can't believe that all of October passed without my writing a single post.  Life has been busy here, and I've been trying to live each day so haven't made time to write about my life lately.  I'm not sure anyone's still interested in reading what I write, but no matter.  I'm still here.  😉  Are you having a nice fall so far?  The foliage has been spectacular here, so I feel sure it has been lovely everywhere else, as well.  Two years in a row of extraordinary fall beauty, and I'm drinking in those colors everywhere we go.     

  

Saying Goodbye To Summer

Hello friends!  Are you enjoying the last days of summer?  Maybe I should say "official last days of summer."  Chances are, it could be hot in parts of North Carolina into October.  Nevertheless, summer is waning, and fall is just around the corner.      

        

   

Happy Halloween From Charleston

Happy Friday everyone!  Are you looking forward to the weekend?  Today is officially Hal's last day in the working world; he was initially scheduled to retire at the end of September, but his boss asked if he would work until the end of October to help get his replacement up to speed.  So here we are -- one of those big milestones in life, that when you're young, feels like it's light years away.  Oh how the years have flown!  I'm hoping that since he's worked from home for the last year and a half, that will make this transition somewhat easier for him.  Also, he may be called in next year to do some consulting work there, if he's interested, and I think he probably will be.  😉       So, Sunday is Halloween, and I'm posting some more pics from our Charleston trip last week.  There were some creative Halloween scenes around town, and we took pictures of our favorites.  I realize some people don't like Halloween, but we've never taken it too seriously; it was all in fun when we were growing up, and the same when Will was young.  I hope you find some fun with the pictures, and no offense intended.         

         

A Busy Fall

Hi all!  I'm finally getting a chance to write another post for October.  We returned on Friday the 22nd, from a four-day trip to Charleston.  I know it seems like we go there a lot, but we always seem to find something new to do when we visit.  We didn't go anywhere last year other than a long weekend at Oak Island, so we had this trip to Charleston scheduled for May of this year.  Sadly, we found out Duncan had cancer at the end of April, so we cancelled the trip for May.  My mom was able to get a room for us in October, and we were glad to get away.   

      

Fall Front Porch 2021

I'm very glad to see October -- how about you?  Such a lovely month of changing foliage, early morning mists, blue skies, and beautiful sunsets.  Today we've had Irish weather, as my husband says.  It's been alternating rain and sunshine for most of the day, and the rain has been such a nice, gentle one.     

      

   

Fall In The Family Room

Happy November to you!  Like so many of you seem to do, I love this time of the year.  This is the season when I am really drawn to hearth and home.  The last time I posted, I said I would share some of my fall decor this week, so I'm starting with our family room.   

October 30th, This and That

Can you believe tomorrow is the last day of October?  2020?  What a year, right?  I hope you're enjoying a beautiful autumn wherever you may be.  We have some pretty colors here in our town, but we've seen prettier.  Weekend before last, we drove up to the mountains for the day, and the colors were so dull; it was as if the leaves were seriously considering just skipping the whole show this year.  It was a disappointment, for sure.  Chalk another one up to 2020.  I am thankful for mostly blue skies and puffy white clouds today.  Yesterday, we suffered the leftover wind and rain of  Hurricane Zeta, and I realize that what we had was mild indeed compared to what the people of Louisiana have been hit with.  There were several large trees down in our neighborhood and the surrounding town; this morning we heard that about 100,000 residents in North Carolina are still without power.  In looking at pictures of the Gulf Coast, we were very fortunate.   

   

Hello September and Goodbye to Summer

I think a lot of people are ready for fall.  I'm always ready for fall, too, usually because it's been so boiling hot and humid here in North Carolina.  This year has been quite different in that respect.  We have had some very hot days, but overall, our summer here has been pretty mild temperature-wise.  If you disregard the earthquake that began in Sparta, North Carolina, and the hurricane that hit Oak Island a week after we visited there, well it's just been a very uneventful summer.  😏     Welcome September 2020, my birthday month and the first month of fall.   

Duncan Loves Fall, Too

Hello friends!  Are you having a good week?  We've been busy, busy, and I don't see things slowing down anytime soon.   I have not posted on Duncan in ages, and I thought I would share a few pictures.  Oftentimes, he can hear the wind from inside the house (or we think he can) and he almost begs demands to be taken out.  You see, he wants to engage in his favorite activity -- chasing the leaves as the wind blows them around.       

 

Dale Chihuly, Fall Storms, and Family Life

Hello all!  Are you having a good month?  Today it finally feels like fall here in our part of North Carolina.  What a month it's been.  We got the effects of Hurricane Michael here yesterday, and oh wow!  I told Mr. Forest Manor that I spent almost a whole week worrying about Hurricane Florence (which was a disaster for the N.C. coast) because there was so much hype about it beforehand.  I barely gave Hurricane Michael a thought, until yesterday that is, but Michael was actually worse for us in the Piedmont area than Florence was.    So what have I been up to since I last posted here?  For starters, spending time with family.  On Friday, September 28th, Hal and I took his parents to see the Chihuly exhibit at Biltmore Estate.  We had a beautiful day to travel up there, the exhibit was amazing, and we had dinner at the Stable Cafe on the estate, which was a lot of fun, too.  

November

Happy November!  Can you believe how fast this year has flown?  Have I told you how much I love this time of year? 🍁🍂  Only a dozen times or more, I'm sure. 😊  

It's beautiful today, and I have some of our windows open, bringing fresh air into the house.  Just a short post sharing some random images with fall color today -- hope you enjoy!

James Madison's Montpelier and Virginia Horse Country

You may remember Hal and I went to Charlottesville, Virginia a few weeks ago.  We actually stayed out in the countryside about 30 miles from Charlottesville, but more on that later.  On our first full day in Virginia, we decided to drive to Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison, with the idea that we would just enjoy the pretty scenery on the way but not do the house tour.  I had read that the grounds were free to the public, and we thought we'd just walk through the grounds and take some pictures.  The scenery on the way to Montpelier was indeed beautiful.  Once we got to the museum shop, we decided to purchase tickets and see the house.  It was a terrific tour; we were so glad we decided to take it.

Hello September

September and October are my favorite months of the year.  Of the two, I would probably say September is my very favorite.  You know fall is just right around the corner -- the days have started to draw in, the skies are clear and blue,  

Our Thanksgiving Table

My husband read an interview with a British actor many years ago.  The actor had been temporarily living here in the U.S. while filming a movie.  The interviewer asked him what he thought of American holidays, and the actor replied that he really enjoyed Thanksgiving.  He said it had many of the best qualities of Christmas -- time spent with family and good food, but without the pressure of gift giving.  We had never thought of it that way before, but we realized he had made an excellent observation.  Thanksgiving is special, and we love it.

We have much to be thankful for here at Forest Manor.  We have each other, our son, our extended family, and Duncan.  ;)  We also have a home, plenty of food to eat, medicine, clothing, and money left over to enjoy our hobbies.  We are thankful, also, to live in a free country.

Autumn at Biltmore Gardens

My husband took this past Friday and Monday off from work, and on Monday we visited Biltmore Gardens.  Our annual pass will expire the end of December, so we're trying to get a few more visits in.  We were last at the gardens for the spring blooms, which were spectacular, by the way.  We thoroughly enjoyed the fall offerings, too.

Checking In

Hi everyone.  I hope you've had a good week.  I'm personally wondering if there's another country I could move to, because I'm sick, sick of this election coverage.  So, I've been hiding out here -- 

Apple Pudding Cake

I'm so glad to see October -- how about you?  Unfortunately, it looks like we have a hurricane headed towards the coast, but I'm loving these cooler temperatures.  I've got to get my fall wardrobe ready and change out my pocketbook.  ;)

I'm sharing a recipe with you tonight.  It was my first time to make this, and I think it turned out well.  We bought apples in the mountains this past weekend at my favorite produce stand on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We got a bag of Rome Beauties and a bag of Golden Delicious.  I have to tell you that I've made apple pies for years with my mom's recipe, and it's a killer apple pie, if I do say so.  Everyone we serve it to loves it, and I'll be making one of those soon, too.  However, I've challenged myself to try some new apple desserts this year, so this was the first.  I would definitely make this again.

My Favorite Season

"No spring nor summer's beauty has such grace,

As I have seen in one Autumnal face..."~John Donne, "Elegy IX, The Autumnal"  

Hi folks; I'm still here and thank you for not giving up on me.  :)  As of this evening, we finally have all our blinds back on the windows and all the curtains back up, too.  We had replacement windows installed in our home on September 15th, and we had 13 sets of blinds to re-hang.  On this Wednesday, September 28th, they'll be here to put up all new gutters for us.  We're thrilled because they'll look so much better, and we won't have to worry about cleaning those bad boys anymore.  ;)  Now it's time for me to get over to the carpet store and start selecting new carpet for our den and hallway.  I'd really like to have that done by Christmas if possible.

Are you ushering in fall in your part of the world yet?  Have you started to enjoy some cooler temperatures?  Today was the first cool day we've had in over a week.  I'm busily putting out the fall decor in our house, so I'll have some pictures to show you later in the week.  Those of you who are new to House at Forest Manor, you might enjoy seeing some images from previous fall posts.