We were at the lake this weekend, and it was amazing.  The foliage is past peak, but there were still a few brilliant shots.  The lake water is colder now, so you don’t get the mist rising as it did in September when the water was warmer than the air.  And the water is very still — I mean, it doesn’t move.  I’m always struck by that in fall.

All the summer stuff is in – boats and toys all out of the water and in winter storage, traffic light to negligible, people few and far between.  It’s the off-season, and I love it.  From October through April, our place up there is an escape for me.  Our time up there is totally quiet.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love it in-season, when family is back and forth and the sounds of summer life are loud and happy.  But I do work then, and I don’t mean writing.  I do more cooking, dishwashing, and laundry in those summer months at the lake than I do in all the other months combined.

Off-season is lazy.  We keep the fire going, and we read.  I do the WSJ crossword puzzle, a whole weekend project right there, but I also knit – in the car up and back, then by the fire.  Favorite restaurants stay open year-round, so we eat out, and when we’re at the house, just the two of us, food prep is a snap.

This weekend, we stopped in at Innisfree, an independent bookstore in Meredith (NH).  They have a great children’s section.  I bought a bunch.  They also have a great crafts section; how to walk away from that empty-handed?  Even if I don’t entirely need that knitting book, I like supporting indies, especially ones who have supported me, which Innisfree has always done.  They had me sign all the copies of Escape that they had on hand.  Would I mind? They asked.  Are they kidding?  I love signing books.  I’m flattered when they ask.  And practically speaking, a signed book sells more quickly than one that is not.  Do you agree?  Or not?  Are you ore apt to buy a book with a sticker saying it’s a signed copy?

The Innisfree folks also filled me in on the news – namely that Escape is hot, but always, there in New Hampshire, Lake News and An Accidental Woman fly off the shelves.  It helps, of course, when the booksellers tell tourists that these two books are about the lake.  Thank you, Kathy, Martha, and Bev!