I Love Fall

There's a distinct feeling of autumn this evening, a chill in the air and a need to close the windows a tad. Also, my feet are cold for the first time in 5 months. I adore autumn, mostly because I can put on some layers and not have to suck in my stomach quite so much.

Because the air is cooler, I was able to put on the oven tonight, and made shepherd's pie for dinner, the Official Favorite Dinner of Thing 2. (There's a bit of a controversy here surrounding shepherds pie; I make it with just meat and potatoes, and put the corn and peas and carrots on the side. Some people, who are hopelessly misguided and just plain wrong, think that the vegetables should go in the pie, where they would overcook to an indistinguishable mush and be baby food. I wonder how some people get through the day, thinking like that.) Thing 2 was absolutely giddy when presented with dinner. I should be so lucky to get that kind of reception for my efforts every night.

I also made bread, from scratch. (I feel very Amish.) Bread making is one of those things that people who don't cook think is miraculous and like the Olympics of cooking, while those of us who make bread know this is foolhardy in the extreme. Making bread consists of stirring, kneading, waiting and baking. That's about it. It does have an enormous payoff, though, in that people think you are a god, and the house smells really, really good.

I am also looking forward to this evenings activities, which do not have the same cachet in warmer weather. I rarely watch tv in the summer, as there is almost nothing on that does not make me stupid and/or crazy. But in the fall I shamelessly plunk myself down and watch my favorites. (Okay, not quite shamelessly...I am full of self-loathing that I watch "America's Next Top Model" quite as regularly as I do.)
I can't crochet or knit in the summer because when it is 30° out, the last thing I want to have on top of me is an afghan or a blanket. Plus, sweaty palms + fuzzy yarn = yuck.
I'm not a huge tea drinker, but in the cooler weather I crave tea like it is heroin. My mug is my crack pipe. Iced tea is nice, but not the same thing at all.

In the summer, I spend a great deal of time in the cool of the breezeway, but in the autumn it's the couch, with a cozy blanket and a heat-seeking cat. A good book and a cup of tea are the natural accoutrements. Occasionally, I will have an afternoon nap, which, by the way, are the two most beautiful words in the English language. Toby will concurr.

Autumn also encompasses my favorite of all holidays, Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving, because it is really only about having dinner. And only one dinner, to boot. There are no presents to buy, no cards to send and nothing to decorate. There are no expectations of perfection, no ideal to emulate, and no emotional minefields to navigate. One does not have to attend any services, parties or celebrations of any kind. Most of all, there are no Thanksgiving songs to torment and torture me for 3 months beforehand. It's all about having a bang-up dinner, with a large selection of desserts. (My mother-in-law, bless her heart, wouldn't consider showing up with any less than three different kinds of pie. I just love that woman.) At my family's, my niece and myself are the only ones who like pumpkin pie, which means that we don't even have to pretend to be polite about sharing. And by the way? Pumpkin pie makes the best breakfast ever.

So, as reluctant as I am to see the end of a very brief summer, I'm happy to put on elastic waisted pants and take a good, big breath.