It was a day spent gathering bittersweet with my sister, navigating through the throngs at The Market Basket in Salem (we decided they should hand out medals to those of us who made it out), and driving through a graveyard inspecting some very old stones (with names like Putnam, Bertram, Ives, Sewall, Cutter).  It’s left me a little tired.  I especially find driving south on 128 in the glaring afternoon sun wearing.  But, it was a good visit.

I don’t have any recent pictures to share, so I went back a year and found a few, from a little further up the North Shore.  That’s Good Harbor Beach above, and Pebble Beach below, both on Cape Ann.
I had just gotten my iPhone and was enamored!  Since D. dropped his about a month ago, I’m borrowing an OLD one from a friend (so that he could use mine until the upgrade date).  I really hate to admit that I am feeling a little nostalgic about that phone  — especially its camera…. really.

This bridge, or its predecessor, echoed with my bare feet for many days each summer growing up, as I padded across it in a big excited vacation hurry to Long Beach.  It is nice to be able to visit a place like this as an adult – particularly since we moved around so much and not one of our addresses could be called “my childhood home”.
This was just a beach parking lot last year.  THIS year it is grave to a large whale that washed ashore about a month ago.  Citizens volunteered to cut it up and bury it here.  It was heart-breaking to read about.
This is one of my husband’s favorite places on this earth – Loblolly Cove.
MANY of the quilts I photographed last November managed to find their way to completion, I’m somewhat surprised to report!  The crow/moon collage was one page in my 2010 Sketchbook Challenge.  So was this:
Sometimes, it’s good to look back and see where we were… to notice what has changed and what hasn’t.  Of course, around here the biggest change is that C. has gone off to college.  We are headed up to Montreal for a visit right after Thanksgiving – it will be a treat to be there and to see him, both — I just hope Jack gets along with our house sitter’s German Shepherd!!

C. loves granola.  Before sitting down here, I slid two trays of it into the oven… that luscious maple cinnamon fragrance is starting to fill the entire downstairs – yum.  (That’s two posts in a row using the word “yum”!)

What hasn’t changed is the focus on fabric, stitching, collage, composition and FOOD.  I have already started the Christmas baking.

What has changed for you in the last year?  Anything significant?  Any significant constants?