Gathering in...

Dear Diary,

I brought the old family bible to the wonderful lady who will take on the repairs to the nearly 190 year old volume.  It is in rather delicate condition but she is a master preservationist and will do a great job I'm sure.  She is also the woman who binds my photo journals each year.

She lives in a house that was built around the time my 3X great grandmother acquired the bible.  She and her husband have quite an extensive garden too and now is the gathering in time for them.  These pumpkins and squash are curing on the stone wall in front of their house and they had strings of onions and garlic hanging above the old wood stove in the kitchen.

This morning I leave for Massachusetts to stay with a friend and this afternoon I will teach an art lesson for her two little grandchildren.  I am really looking forward to it.  I'm going to do a lesson I use to teach to my first graders.  It involves a chipmunk puppet, Philomena of course, and a lovely story about gathering in their seeds for the winter.  It is a theme this time of year in northern New England!