I wrote this last week…

This week is the last week of summer. Of course our south Florida summer is not exactly characterized by weather or a “season” (wait, those exist??), and the end of summer never involves “ah, it’s getting cooler” comments. Wishful thinking! The end of our summer for us means school starts Monday. Still sweltering, still raining most everyday, still means shortness of breath loading and unloading the groceries. Which pretty much is the case throughout the year, with the exception of a few short “cooler” weeks (and sometimes months). Hey, our grass is always green!

So, Monday (as in…yesterday) we transition back into the school routine, which will be much different this year. S starts high school. Really? Yes, it’s true. Middle school started at 9:15. High School starts at 7:15 and involves a 6:10am bus stop. Big changes, exciting changes. We’ll be getting up much earlier, but I’m OK with that. I sort of long for a reason to do so – I love time in the morning, but haven’t been able to get up for “no reason” lately. I dream of sitting on the patio when the “cooler” weather arrives – sipping hot tea, reading, and pondering what the day will bring. You know, mountain view, changing leaves, etc etc. OH wait, we live in south FL – oh well, I’ll take a palm tree and crazy squirrels view. I always tell John I’m “going to get up earlier.” And he probably laughs to himself because it NEVER happens. Well, it did once, when we decided we’d start walking in the mornings. Ha, ha, that was short lived. Anyway, I’m looking forward to routine changes (I like change) and the coming of “fall,” which even though it doesn’t mean THAT much for us weather wise, does mean pumpkins, fall decorations, and the pretending that our weather is changing. Maybe I’ll even put a scarecrow outside our gate. Maybe that will keep the ravenous squirrels away. Warm apple cider (mmm, I can smell it thinking about it!).
Update: New school routine went off without a hitch!

This summer was very eventful and fun. Lots of family time. Lots of reading. Lots of yummy home-cooked dinners (this is always the case, but it’s nice to have unending family dinner time without having to worry about homework, rush to gymnastics, dance, etc). We don’t watch a whole lot of TV, so really the only shows we’ve semi-kept-up-with this summer have been America’s Got Talent and Whale Wars. Well, unless you count the 24 John and I have been watching on Apple TV. That dang show. It’s so hard to stop watching. The episode endings keep you hooked and make it hard to turn off. Exciting life we lead, eh?

I am looking forward to “fall,” to what I will make of it in my mind and in our home. I’ll begin the celebrations Labor Day weekend by visiting my best friend. It’s been too long. We’ll sit in rocking chairs overlooking their awesome mountain view, drink sweet tea out of mason jars, and probably do a whole lot of nothing (involving antique stores). We’ll laugh, we’ll cry. It’ll be perfect. It’ll be much needed. I will be very grateful. Maybe we’ll try new recipes. Maybe we’ll make crafts.

No, the temps will not be cool until probably late November, but we’ll start bringing out the fall transitions in September. I’m talking hay bale with pumpkins next to the front door. That’s right babe, we’re bringing in the hay bale. Maybe even a stick scarecrow. Speaking of decorations, I’d like to start a collection of flags for our mini flag holder. Anyone have any recommendations on where to buy them? I’ve bought a couple at Michaels, but I’m looking for something different – fun and funky, and resembling a fun house rather than a turkey flag that screams “an 80 year old lives here with her cats, her shag carpet, and her draped lace curtains.” Not that there is anything wrong with that situation. It’s just not our house. Cats will never be present in our house. Ever. But that’s besides the point.

Random: I write press releases, and it kills me to follow the blah blah “no comma before the ‘and’ when you’re listing things. Anyone else find that hard to do? I guess most people don’t do it on a regular basis, so maybe no one else ever thinks about it.

And, because a post is better with a picture, here are two from John’s recent rib smoking adventures. Yummmm.