Random Thoughts on Fall Themes

About half the trees decided it was getting pretty darn late in the year, and all decided to turn color at once. Then 3 days ago, they all decided to drop their leaves at once, too. There isn't much color this year - most of the trees are a drab orange-brown - but it's getting colder now. It's the cold that produces the brilliant colors, I'm told. We have fewer than 10 hours of daylight now, because it gets light around 6:15 a.m. and is dark by 5:15 p.m. The days will continue to get shorter for another month.

Today, my friend A and I went looking for photogenic trees in the park. I took some photos with my Blackjack and posted them on Flickr. Nothing spectacular this year...

It looks like I may just barely make my heating benchmark: no turning on the heat until Thanksgiving. It might be hard for the next couple of days, because the outside nighttime temps are forecast to dip into the 30s and there is a frost warning for tomorrow morning. We've been staying in the 62-68 degree range indoors, but I'm not sure how much longer that will last. I took the precaution of bringing in the ginger, plumeria and anthurium tonight, but the ti is too big - it's gonna have to take its chances outside. When it gets really cold, I'll cover it with a blanket. And when the inside temperature hits 60, the heat will come on.

I rummaged through the storage tote this afternoon and got out my long-sleeved tops and pajamas. I put away the shorts and tank tops. Found a couple of sweaters I'd forgotten about, so I'll have some options for keeping warm. I've been using my fleece booties for a couple of weeks, now, because we have a draft across the floor (no square doorframes in this apartment, so lots of outside air sneaks in.)

Thanksgiving will be smaller this year, both in numbers and in amount of turkey. We got a free 13.5 lb. turkey from Save Mart for spending over $100 last week on groceries. It's about half the size Husband usually buys, and I get to cook it - my first turkey in over 21 years! Son will not be joining us this year, because he's gone to visit his friends Mike and Miranda in Georgia. Left this a.m. and will return next Sunday. So the smaller turkey is not amiss. I made the cranberry chutney this morning, and plan to make some cranberry and pumpkin bread on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, I'll bake the pumpkin pie, prepare the butternut squash for soup, and Thursday will be clear for the stuffing and the turkey.