The autumn season has begun here in Minnesota, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. August and September were such busy months for me, and now I look at the calendar and see October is more than half over! Here’s what I’ve been up to…
1. The Minnesota State Fair was the highlight of August. One special thing Husby and I had the opportunity to do, in recognition of our contributions to the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, was dedicate a bench. (Benches are a necessity at the fair ~ I’m finding that out the older I get.) We dedicated it to Dad and my brother Diggy, who died just before his 26th year of working at the fair with Dad.

The small plaque on the back of a bench dedicated to Dad and Diggy and twenty-five years of working at the fair (and taking bench breaks) together.
2. September was full of craft shows. I was at the Dancing Dragonfly Winery, the Chateau St. Croix Winery, and the Baker Orchard, all in Wisconsin. I love Wisconsin. I went into each of these shows with doubts of one kind or another, but they all turned out to be fabulous. The organizers of the shows did a tremendous job, it was a blast to spend weekends with my fellow artisans, and of course the food and music at all of these events were wonderful. Husby and I have a special place in our hearts for Dave Ybarra and the Northside Dukes, who have twice invited us up to the stage to do the Hand Jive. They played at both winery festivals, so we got our share of the blues.

Dave Ybarra (center) and the Northside Dukes. Premium blues band.
Husby and I aren’t the only ones who like to dance to the music at the festivals…

Four ladies dancing it up in front of Auntie B’s Wax’s canopy.
3. Then came October, and Husby and I went to our beloved Door County for a bit of R&R after three consecutive weekends of craft shows. Our trip this fall seemed to be much more relaxing than the visit we paid in the spring. We managed to see a bunch of stuff we hadn’t seen before, and plus discovered some new restaurants that will surely become favorites for us. Not only that, we got to lounge around and do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, which no one can do unless one is on a true vacation. *deep sigh*

A lovely autumn in the County of Door.
4. There was also a trip to the family cabin to close it up for the winter. There was much raking and other miscellaneous chores to be done before the cozy little cottage is left to weather the forthcoming winter on its own. One never knows how it will fare, as it was built in 1950 by Grandpa Mike…from scraps.

Work gloves and rakes were the tools du jour at the family cottage.

One leaf of millions.
What now? There’s still a lot to do, but the chaos of deadlines is behind me for the moment. This is the time of year I cherish and I plan to enjoy it to the hilt. I have lots of projects in store for our home and a list of hot, comforting food to make during the chilly and downright cold months to come.
I also hope to visit this site more often too, documenting happenings at the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters. I’ve been away too long.
Here’s to a bright autumn and a peaceful season of dormancy. *squeal*