Aaaaaaaaah....AUTUMN!!

If you can't tell by the title of this entry, fall is my absolute favorite time of year! What's not to love about fall?? ((just humor me and agree with me, okay? lol))


THIS autumn, in particular, is an extremely WELCOME season this year! What, with 70-some-odd days of 100+ degree heat during the summer, highs of 89 would be a "cold front" enjoyed by me and many others!

Fall leads into the holidays. Once we get past Halloween (which is NOT my favorite holiday), it's all a slide downhill from there! :) It's time to break out the recipes for cookies, cakes and goodies usually reserved for "layering" weather. Christmas presents from me are usually baked goods. People seem to like them! Fall leads to hot chocolaty winters, too! My family is ready for the various soups and chilis that fall weather calls for, as well as creative snacks not usually bothered with any other time of year.

The colors of fall are spectacular. God's paintbrushes are super busy this time of year, dotting each tree with splashes of vivid color against the most brilliant of blue skies. It's a playful time for children and those who are children at heart! Leaves are for jumping into, crisp and vibrant. Pumpkin patches galore! Harvest festivals bring out the kid in you. All of it representative of God's amazing bounty for us all.

This is the season of sports, too! We're in the midst of football season, wrapping up baseball season, and soon to start basketball (if it hasn't already). Don't forget about hockey, too! This is a fun season to be outside. Of course, the most sporty I get is a walk, but those are a joy, too! :) Oh, what wonderful things you can see on a walk! :) Still, any reason to celebrate a sporting event, I'm pretty sure I can rustle up some enthusiasm! : D

It's about this time of year that I really start thinking of holiday plans. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my most treasured holidays. I love seeing my family and watching my boys get to know their grandparents and their local cousins, aunts and uncles. My nieces and nephews have pretty much grown up by now. I'm happy to watch them grow into adults.

When I was younger, my favorite things to do during the fall was draw or do some kind of art or craft. I wasn't particularly talented in these areas, but at the time I liked my sense of creativity. The most favorite thing to do during the fall was to curl up with a weekend's worth of books!! : D THAT was my thing! Sigh. I don't have as much time for that anymore. I sure do miss it. :}

No matter. Times change. Times morph into longer hours of darkness and fewer daylight hours. It's a time of transition into a more cozy and intimate time of year. It's time to embrace hibernation! : D But not for a few days yet. I've got more fall days to celebrate!