Fading of Fall

My favorite season is quickly leaving me, and I have let it pass me by this year. I have been so busy with life that fall has seemingly come and gone. I look outside my window and see that most of the trees in my neighborhood are now bare, prepared for the winter chill, and I'm quite sad about this. Normally, this time of year for me is a time of picture taking, open windows, and pumpkin farms. This year, however, it has been a time of busy life happenings: doctors appointments, things related to David's work, lots of chores, extra naps, illnesses, and just being overall too busy to stop and enjoy the beauty of the season.

Thinking of fall passing me by, I realized that there is one tradition that David and I used to do all the time before we got married but have not done once since being married: carving pumpkins. I totally miss it. We used to each pick out a pattern from one of the books, enlarge it to our pumpkin's size, and carve away until we had some pretty awesome jack-o-lanterns. But for the past few years, we haven't even bought a single pumpkin, let alone carved one. I think the mess and time of it has recently outweighed the finished product to us which really saddens me. I feel like it's about time we reinstate the pumpkin carving tradition simply because it makes me happy in the end, and I can cook the pumpkin seeds (the funny thing is I don't even like the taste of pumpkin seeds, but I love to bake them).

This realization about the pumpkins led me to think of what else we need to do that we simply have never done together: apple picking. I love  the idea of apple picking, and I have never done it. I just have this desire to go and pick my own apples then come home and make a dozen different products with the fresh produce. I don't know why this idea is so appealing to me, but I imagine it has something to do with reminding me of many colonial literature books I read when I was a kid. It just sounds romantic, fun, and organic.

So, I'm hoping that before fall is over, we can at least carve pumpkins this year. And my goal is that next year or possibly the year after that we will finally go apple picking! I'll let you know how these goals turn out, but hopefully there will be cute pictures of jack-o-lanterns covering my next blog post!

Wishing all my friends and family a wonderful remainder of this beautiful season! Enjoy it while it lasts because the cold and snow is coming soon! :) 

The Perfect Reading Weather

If you're a reader, you will understand this post perfectly.

Yesterday evening was the perfect reading weather. To be honest, I have four to eight different "perfect reading weather" situations which correlate with the different seasons, but it's been awhile since this one has visited me.

Around three o'clock yesterday the air turned extremely cool, and by the time I went to pick up David, I was sorry I hadn't grabbed a sweater. As the sun continued to set, the air continued to turn cooler and the wind picked up. I was secretly hoping it was coming and sure enough, by 8 o'clock, I had my perfect reading weather.

It was extremely windy and the rain was slightly tapping against the windows. The air was so crisp that I debated over opening a window for the evening, but I couldn't resist the lure of the fresh air filling the house. So, I opened the window just slightly, lit my mulled cider candle, and I grabbed a big, warm, and fuzzy blanket from the closet.

As the rain steadily ran down the windows, I cuddled that blanket up to my shoulders and I read for a good amount of time. My current book is Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, which fit the rainy setting and helped to chill me even more.  It couldn't have been more perfect; a scary book, autumn chilled air, a warm blanket, the drizzling rain, and the scent of a cider candle filling the house made for the best reading weather I've had in a long time.

In case you were wondering, my other favorite fall reading weather is when it is beautifully sunny outside and the colors of the trees are painting the sky with vivid colors that can't help but make you smile.

What about you? If you're a reader, what is the perfect reading situation/environment for you?

Ready for Relaxation

The arrival of September also brings the chaos of the new school year, and this year is no different. I have been feeling the strong inner pull to write for the past few weeks, but I've had so little time as I help my husband prepare for and start his new year. Although I posted about this just a bit ago, I am amazed by how much time is still being taken up by school work.

As soon as the rhythm of the new year is down, I will finally be able to attend to the things I have been craving. I've been breathing in the cool bite of the end-of-summer nights, and it has led me to crave pumpkin rolls, caramel apples, soups, homemade bread, and the distinct smell of turning leaves. I've also been dreaming of getting back into my book which I have taken a hiatus from writing. I thoroughly enjoy writing in my blog, but the words I put down for my book are much more creative and (in my opinion) beautiful. It's a whole different style of writing, and I long to get back to it.

I also am preparing my body as much as possible for this transfer, and I'm proud of that. I've been exercising and eating more often throughout the day. My weight is up to 119 which is about where I was prior to the egg retrieval. I have never felt such a strong desire to be a mother, and I sincerely hope this is my time. No matter what, I will know that I'm doing as much as possible to help the process along.

So here's to September, to cooler nights, the tastes of fall, more writing, and hopefully a successful transfer.