Argh! It’s fall.
I get very conflicted at this time of year. Yes, it’s beautiful. You lose the annual flowers but the trees more than make up for it, at least in the short run.
A warm day is really a warm day. Unlike in the spring when a warm day still has an undertone of a cold earth.
There are fresh apples (and fresh apple strudel) and pumpkin in all its wonderful forms (lattes and pies and breads, oh my!)
But we all know what’s coming….at least in the northeastern part of the US. Yep, cold weather is on its way, maybe with snowstorms, biting winds, yucky driving (which always is fertile ground for stupid people posts) and a desire to hibernate.
You get tricked because it starts out with holidays. There was Columbus Day for shopping – warm and beautiful. Then we go into the Halloween season and when did it start to be a whole month instead of a day? Chocolate all over the place and on sale too! (Feeling cozy and loved, aren’t you?)
We are just about out of that and it’s Thanksgiving. That’s a big dinner where you eat too much and then it’s time to strategize for the shopping frenzy called Black Friday.
I took the beloved husband one year. It was late in the afternoon and all the crazies were gone as were the 52” TVs for $10. I showed him my secret parking spot 20 ft. from the back door. We got a whole lot of shopping done and used coupons too!
Just about when we are out of money, energy and any interest in interacting with people (or maybe that’s just me) it’s Christmas. More food, more running around, more of everything.
All these holidays come with decorations. Up with the pumpkin stuff. Down with the pumpkin stuff. Decorate with turkeys and some of the left over pumpkins that aren’t too scary. Down with the turkeys and up with anything red and green and sparkly.
I’m exhausted just thinking about it. The beloved husband is a diehard Christmas tree fan. It’s down to a 7-1/2 ft. tree now but I am trying to get it smaller. Its two days worth of work – one to put it up and one to take it down. The cats love it though. They fight to sleep under it. For heaven’s sake, it’s a fake tree! They think they are in Sherwood Forest!
I will stop anticipating the negative and enjoy the warm spell we’re having, the beautiful colors, the awesome sales, the great friends and the pumpkin lattes. We all know that in a few months I will be cold and cranky!
Happy Halloween to all!
Courtesy of Nate from Flickr
Fall foliage courtesy of pondpikecabins.com
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
I really struggle to enjoy the fall. I LOVE the weather, the trees, the apples, but I can’t stop thinking about the approaching winter. I’ve not yet figured out a way to enjoy fall without thinking of it as a harbinger of miserable weather.
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I have the same issues. I also love the pumpkin and gingerbread stuff. It’s not fall that’s the problem.
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Good one Kate! As time goes by, so do the decorations. 🙂 Sometimes I think “less is more” and relaxing to enjoy family friends is the “more” part.
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It is a wonderful time of year up until the biting, cold winter sets in and overstays its welcome. That’s one part I don’t miss. But the holidays … bring it on. That’s when the family get-togethers really kick in.
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I’m not sure that I’m actually conflicted personally…I am just not ready! I can barely handle the idea of the next eight weeks–and I feel a big Bah! Humbug! in that…for which the conflict is that I feel bad for feeling that? See what thinking about the holidays does to me? I’ve gone to mush!
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There is nothing like a good snowstorm to put you in the holiday mood but you don’t get that out there. Maybe a nice visit to a mountain ski resort? I try to do less and less so that getting ready isn’t so overwhelming. I used to decorate my old house to the nines! It was gorgeous. Not anymore.
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I’ve decided that the most HORRIFYING Halloween costume for me to see would be . . . Santa, or a Christmas Tree, or a scene from the Nativity. NOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Hearing about Christmas before the Halloween candy has been scarfed makes me want to barf. ACK! This morning, as I punched buttons in the car, I found a station that is already playing Christmas Carols. One after another. All Christmas. All the time.
On November 1st. As Scrooge might say, “I’ll retire to Bedlam.”
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Last year I was sick during the last part of October/beginning of November. My only enjoyment was watching the Golden Girls on Hallmark. Damn they switched programming to all Christmas movies all day every day. I couldn’t believe it either. It was well before Thanksgiving.
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Sounds like too many celebrations in one short time… I’d be exhausted after all that hard work, rich food and cups that cheer and also in-ebriate !!!
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At least the weather is pleasant for your holiday season! That would help.
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Every year we do LESS for the Holidays and like it MORE. We do spend a few hours decorating the place and putting up and 3-foot tree. Then we put on some carols and eat Christmas Cookies! Ho~Ho~Ho!
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A 3′ tree! That’s my dream. Maybe one that I can decorate and then cover and store for the rest of the year. When I was single, I would hand a wall 3′ half tree up and that was enough for me. I really didn’t have room for a big one.
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We leave it decorated with favorite ornaments & store it on a shelf in box. When it comes down, we plug it in, adjust a few bows, and REJOICE . . . that we gave the 9 1/2 foot tree to Goodwill.
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I’m a bit like Patricia above only I’d like to go to sleep now and wake up April 1…fools day or not!
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Not a bad idea either.
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I would be happy if I could go to sleep Thanksgiving night and wake up December 26.
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That would work for me except I don’t want to miss any fun gatherings, just the work.
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I am anti-social. 🙂
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Happy Halloween! I partake in Black Friday from a distance at the comfort of my computer and anticipate home delivery 😉
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That is the best way!
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Wow, that photo is beautiful! I get kind of cranky myself. Although I love the crisp air in autumn, of course today it was close to 80, but I know what is around the corner…FREEZE! I get very cranky when I’m cold and unable to get my dose of sunshine. Happy Halloween!
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It was supposed to hit 70 here today but it was rainy, dreary and 60. Not complaining though. It didn’t snow and it’s not freezing.
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I do the barest minimum these days, and every year it gets minimumer. Because I hate myself when I drive myself crazy (and nobody else likes me when I’m crazy either).
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I am working with the “less is more” theory and NOBODY likes me crazy.
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It’s all in good fun though. Even the cats think it’s fun. 😛
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The cats love it! Balls to bat around and things to tinker with. They are in heaven.
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As long as they don’t reach for the Star.
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Sorry, but I’m with you … as much as I love the cooler air moving in for fall, and even the beautiful fall colors, we all know that the Merry Season is just around the corner, and that tends to make me cranky. For instance, this year I will have a sister visiting me for a week in early December, and that means I feel obligated to hang the tinsel and resurrect the Oh So Merry tree, and slap on all the sparkly bits that make it twinkle. Call me a Scrooge if you must, but the Season quit being fun for me a long time ago, and even though I attempt to muster up some semblance of Holiday Cheer, it is only for the benefit of those around me. My preference would be to roll the calendar forward, and skip all the hoopla. Crusty, cranky, Scrooge … but I usually just smile, and carry on. After all, ’tis the season. 🙂
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I like you! Move over cranky sister! I don’t mind the get togethers’ with friends but prefer to avoid all the extra work the season brings.
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