There's a chill in the air...

I've decided that I really do like Autumn. It's the end of Autumn that I don't like, because it turns into WINTER.

I don't like Winter because of its brrrrrr cold weather... so I'm a little depressed that soon this nice warmth will be gone from the air. Today I was wearing flip flops and someone commented to me: "You won't be able to wear those tomorrow! A cold front's coming through." I'm trying to think positive and list all the things I like about colder weather.

I like slightly cooler weather... "sweater weather" my mom used to call it. I like wearing cute little jackets and sweaters. I like wearing three quarter length sleeves.

I like hot spiced apple cider and I love hot chocolate. I love drinking them on a chilly morning or evening.

I like the autumn colors, I love seeing the trees turn into bright yellows, oranges and reds. Our mountains look like Christmas trees, all colorful.

I don't like rain in the Fall because that usually means the leaves will all blow off the trees. I do like a blustery fall day, one that blows the leaves around in the air, just not all of the trees.

I love the cool crispy clear blue sky days that are perfect for football. I love going to football games, and having to pull out the "Grissom Band" sweatshirt, and throw in the stadium blanket. I DO NOT like to sit through a freezing football game.

I love to make beef stew in the crockpot... the delicious smell wafting through the air all day. I also love soup and bread. Soups and stews just don't work on a hot summer day!

I like the whole "Harvest" theme. I love being together at Thanksgiving with family... the smell of turkey roasting... and of course making the traditional pumpkin and pecan pies.

I love the Christmas season and all that goes with it.

Then, unfortunately, old man Winter sets in. January and February are usually our only really cold months. We have had a few 13 degree Christmas vacations. And we have had some of our worst ice storms in March. But January and February, well you can count on them being cold and nasty.

If it snowed more here I might be able to handle the colder temps better. I do like getting up to a freshly fallen snow. But that happens maybe only once a year. I don't like scraping ice off the car windows. Thankfully, I get to park in the garage!

I don't like wearing tights and panty hose. I'm a sandals gal.

Now here I've gone into saying what I don't like. I did mean to keep this positive.

I do like leaving a water bottle in the car and it stays cold in winter. And how if you go grocery shopping you don't have to run home to get the groceries in the freezer-- you have a little extra errand running time.

And I absolutely love fires in the fireplace.

I guess when it comes down to it, I can survive. But for a Florida native, a cold winter is just not something I look forward to.

Photos...

I was recently admiring my SIL's use of photos of his blog (see toilet entry 10/19) and wished that I would use more pictures in my blog. I like to blog on my laptop, but I don't use my laptop for photo downloading because of the relatively small harddrive. So, poor me, I have to get off my duff and sit down at the "big" computer to download digital photos, and then upload them here. Lazy me. I'll try to work on that, because I have some sweet pictures taken at the beach.

Ahhhh... There's nothing like the beach

Here we are on an almost deserted island. Fall is a wonderful time to go to the beach. When our school system announced that we would have a Fall break in October, much like our Spring break in March, I had mixed feelings. It meant pushing school up a week earlier than an already awful mid August start. (We started school August 8th this year.) But I tell you, sitting here at an uncrowed beach with very nice weather... I'm thinking I can handle that early start. Summer seems so short, but now we have an opportunity to go somewhere when crowds are low and temperatures are, well, temperate. Rooms are cheapers yet the view is the same.

As I write this, I'm sitting with my laptop on our private balcony, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The dunes are covered with swaying sea oats, and beyond them you can see the tide going out as the waves splash against the shore. The boys are out making their sand castles and forts and sea walls to protect them. What a life!

Today the weather has been overcast, so the temps have been lower. I had to come in because I was chilly in just a swimsuit/coverup. On the beach it gets very windy. We have a small kite that we just attached to a beach chair, and the wind just keeps it flying high.

Yesterday we saw dolphins playing out past the breakers. The sun was out, but luckily, no one got sunburned. Not even the two red heads. So far, a very enjoyable vacation!

Don't you hate it when....

Don't you hate it when you write a whole blog entry, and then for some unknown reason it disappears??? I had written a blog and, don't you have to be signed in to write a entry? I thought so. So after writing a witty and clever blog (the only one ever from my hands), I was asked to sign in when I posted it. So I click on sign in and then-- poof!-- it's gone. I was so discouraged and thus, haven't written in a while. It's been so long I don't even remember what I wrote about. Something about allergies and ragweed?

Lesson learned: Always "Save as Draft" before posting.

Okay, the next entry will be about our awesome trip to the beach!