The Adventures of Jane (Blondie) and Cindy

The Old Mill in Cedarburg, Wisconsin

This is the setting where Dan and I met up with our good friends Jane and Al this past weekend.

  Jane (Blondie's Journal) and her husband Al have become such good friends that we get together at least once a year. Jane and I hit it off nearly 5 years ago when we both started blogging.  And as an extra bonus, our husbands hit if off as well.

Jane and Al. 

Aren't they a cute couple!

We stayed at a quaint little B and B in downtown Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Cedarburg is a quaint little town in South Eastern Wisconsin.

It was about a half way point for us to meet.

However we have had many fun week-ends with these two.

This was the setting for our first ever meet-up in Galena, Illinois.

It was about 2 weeks before Christmas and the setting could not have been more perfect.

Galena is another good half way point for us.

You can read all about that here.

We stayed at a Victorian style Bed and Breakfast that was all decked out for the holidays.   There was a lovely light snow that evening and it just added to the ambiance.   

Another year we met in the little town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

It was also during the holidays and I remember we stood out in the freezing cold one evening, drank hot chocolate and watched a little town holiday parade go by.

You can read about that here.

The next summer found us traveling to Michigan.  What a treat to stay at their lovely lake home.  Here the guys are relaxing outside of the little guest house.  You can read about that here.

Back to Galena last summer. 

And last week-end in Cedarburg.

We spent Saturday shopping, eating and just visiting.

It was fun and relaxing.

And Jane, being the sweetheart that she is surprised me with this beautiful throw.

I love it! Thank-you again Jane.

The town was decked out for Autumn and Halloween.

Even the cute little popcorn wagon was dressed up.

On Sunday, the four of us had a leisurely breakfast at our inn.  Which by the way, was delicious.

We all packed up and then Jane and Al hit the road.  They had come a night before us.

The husband and I went back downtown to do a little sightseeing and then we headed out to a little park and this very old covered bridge.

Then we also hit the road because we had to make it home in time for the Packer game of course.

 I want to share my little grand-daughter all ready for some trick-or-treating.

She loves the story Little Red Riding Hood.

So I made her a cape and skirt, and lined an old basket with gingham.

Very easy and we had a blast just running around the yard and pretending she was  red riding hood.  

Off to Grandma's she goes!

Until next time,

Cindy

Autumn Happenings

It's been a busy month and blogging has just gotten away from me.

I just returned home on Sunday, after spending a week in Phoenix visiting my son, his wife and my little 2 year old grand-daughter Calista or Cali as we often call her.

What a delightful little girl she is!  Grandma is very in love and has missed her so.

And one of the parts of my trip that I always look forward to is a chance to meet up with my friends and blogging buddies.

Left to right going counter clock wise.

Ceekay (Thinking of Home) Jamie (Mimi's Corner) Marty ( A Stroll thru Life)

Linda (Reminisce this and that) and yours truly.

We always have so much fun, my only regret is that it goes way too fast!

My decorating for Autumn has mostly been sporadic and consists of gourds, pumpkins and mums!

We are lucky to have 2 great pumpkin patches just down the road from us.

One is pick your own for a buck and that is where I bought my traditional orange pumpkins.

The other one has a huge variety of pumpkins and gourds along with activities for the kiddies.  All free of charge.  I was shocked when visiting my son in Phoenix to see that all the pumpkin patches charged an admission fee.

And some of them were quite high. I guess it's the difference between city and country life.

I thought this was so pretty near our home.

Autumn has so many shades and so many textures, I just wish it could last and last.

Our trees are past this now.  They are either nearly in full autumn bloom or already past.  I see a lot of raking in our future.

We celebrated little Addison's 3rd birthday early this month!

This was right after we sang Happy Birthday to her.

She had the biggest grin the whole time and when we were done, she said,"please do it again".  And so we lit the candles and sang it all over again!

Here is a picture I took of her on her 3rd birthday.

She and I were playing hide and seek .  About the only way I get pictures of her is through play.  She is such a busy little gal, and pictures are not high in her priorities.

So that's about it for me.

Now I can spend some time getting caught up with all of you.

Happy mid-October everyone!

Cindy