Welcome Autumn

It's hard to say what my favorite season of the year is. I always think it is a snowstorm, but since that's more of an occurrence, not an actual season, I guess it doesn't count. Other than when the sounds of the world are muffled with a fresh white blanket of beautiful snow, when you can go on a walk outside and watch each flake flutter down under the streetlights in the silence along streets with no tire marks yet, winter is just long and cold. I really do get all giddy excited over a snowstorm. Brian has been out of town (go figure) for the first snow of the year the last three years and it breaks my heart to not have anyone to share it with. I remember when we were dating and there was an amazing snowstorm. It was about 10 o'clock and I had been staring out the window forever. It was the perfect day for me. Finally, I got dressed and walked over to Brian's house to wake him up and make him go on a walk with me. I'm pretty sure he thought I had lost my mind, but he went. The snow was falling so softly and we walked down 4th South by our apartments in the amazing silence. Not a car was on the road and it was so perfect. Snow is magical, but winter is long. I enjoy autumn just about every day. The weather begins to turn cooler and we get out our jackets and the air is crisp. The windows are left open every evening to bring the fresh clean air into our home and cleanse our lungs. The trees turn such vibrant colors and the piles of leaves abound for playing, raking, rolling and jumping. Picturesque scenes abound in every neighborhood in Virginia, providing a pallet of color to amaze my eyes. Most streets here are small, windy and tree lined such that you feel you are in the woods all the time. Photo opportunities with white fences and beautiful streams line every road and I wish I had endless hours to explore the nature trails and photograph my cute kids in it all. When Maddie was only about three weeks old, we had a family photo shoot in the beautiful fall colors. It was so perfect that no one believes we were outdoors, most people tell me our backdrop looks like we were in a photo studio. It has always been a dream of mine to see the fall colors in New England. Last fall we took a trip up north and drove through and around the six states of New England for a week and loved it. Brian's parents and my sister joined us for our exciting excursion and it was a fantastic week together. I love to pull out my long pants and long sleeved shirts and sweaters again. Sweatshirts are such perfect clothes. They are the equivalent of comfort food in the clothing arena for me. Speaking of comfort food, out come my recipes for the most amazing soups and warm casserole dishes. There may be no better dinner than a winter baked potato soup or a chicken pot pie with homemade rolls (by the way, my Kitchen Aid mixer is still sitting on the floor in the dining room waiting for a final ruling by the boss about a repair or replacement, so no rolls in the near future at our place). One of the very, very, very best things about autumn is putting lots of blankets on the bed again. Is there anything better than crawling into bed and for the first time in months feeling the heavy, heavy weight of a blanket begin to absorb your warmth. It is such a soothing feeling for my tired and weary body each night to be smothered in the warmth of a heavy blanket. Sweet dreams to all I say. Welcome back autumn...