AUTUMN'S LEASE

We are almost at the end of autumn in Maine. There are only a few leaves hanging tenuously from my two giant maples. The other thousands race around the property looking for nooks and crannies where they will come to rest and eventually return to the earth as nourishment for next year's fiddle-head ferns. The thermometer outside the dining room window has plummeted to the 20's. Even the morning sun is not strong enough to bounce it upward today. But the sky is blue-blue and the air crystal clear. Far off I hear a gunshot as hunting season has started. There is a flock of turkeys near the barn. They are keeping their heads down as they peck the apples, red and yellow temptations within reach. No chipmunk has shown his head for days near the bird feeder. The field mice have moved in under the refrigerator. I keep catching them - cruel. Why do I bother? I know there will be a herd the minute I shut the door on From Away Farm for the winter. I bother because they have already chewed the fringe off three cotton rugs! The nests must be something out of Elle Decor!
I am headed to San Francisco next week for a long weekend of girl time. Alexis and I will shop for her wedding dress! I am positive that we will stain the samples with tears, mixed perhaps with champagne, but what are you going to do? Bitter and sweet. Make the best of it. Throw yourself at it and you are rewarded with memorable moments. I will take my camera. No, you will not see the dress; just a picture or two of the choices. Tulle, satin, ottoman, lace, organza! What shall it be? Bandeau, strapless, spaghetti straps, v-neck? Flounces, tiers, a-line, sheath? It will take days! If Peter were around, he would hand Alexis the credit card and say "whatever you fancy" and Alexis would dream Vera Wang and settle for a charming, practical, not-over-the-top expression of her true-to-form innately frugal self. She will rock! Blow you away with beauty, because it is not about the dress, but the person who wears it. And wear it she will! Of course, coming anywhere near Danda's dress will be a challenge. It is, by far, the prettiest piece of apparel I have seen in years! But, we will press onward, in hope.
More soon as the sun sets early and it is dark by 4:30. Cocktail time is at 6. That leaves plenty of time to put a thought or two on the blog, eh what? LSC