September 1st, Music for the Office on a Rainy Day and Pumpkin Spice (stop it!)

Monday started out a as a cliche in the weather department - that typical rainy Monday where you never quite feel like you wake up until at least mid-morning. I hauled myself into work in the morning with the promise of rainy-day music and a box of gingersnaps for company. I like my gingersnaps fairly peppery and not overly-sweet. This particular box was a random find at Ollie's, and I have to say, they are good. 

I have a rainy-day playlist with some very obvious choices in the classical music department - Nimrod, Vivaldi's Winter, Tchaikovsky's None but the Lonely Heart (oh, my word, a killer melancholy piece, I could just about melt into the floor each time I hear it . . . I think he composed it to cause people to dissolve into their emotions, it's so beautiful). You get the idea, mellow and lovely and centering music, easy to work to and get a lot accomplished while adding a layer of something that you only get on a really dreary and rainy day. I dug in with my music and my snaps and my fairy lights and before I knew it, hours had passed. I had been on leave to take care of the babies post-surgery, and digging out from under emails and requests was a bit of a bear, but it got done, and it was enjoyable with a true sense of accomplishment as a giant silver lining.  

That was Monday. Then, I woke up this morning, and it was September 1st. Bet it's the same where you are. HA! I broke out this guy. It's full of maple bourbon (flavoring only) coffee and pumpkin spice creamer. I have small, seasonal habits, but they're super easy to maintain and add so much to each change of season. I guess it's that "something to look forward to" mentality. One really easy ritual is my changing of the mugs. I have seasonal mugs that I absolutely love. Some are delicate and gorgeous, while others - like this one - are stockier and comforting. I have a mug tree, and I display four different mugs each season. Many are from England or Japan, as well as a few other localities around the world. I love my mugs. I have a lot of them, but not as many as you would think. I've known people who have cabinets full of them. It's mind blowing! I can't get used to that type of clutter, so I only have what I love. 

It's Pumpkin Spice Season. We all know it's a thing, either loved or hated by people, there never seems to be any in-between. I love it, personally, but then I love pumpkin anything. It's a given that Pumpkin Spice Season is huge for me. I don't start it in August, though, I wait until September 1st. Today's weather is high of 84, so that is more like a tomato sandwich with Dukes mayo kind of day, but I'm okay with the two scenarios co-mingling. I think that Pumpkin Spice Season will be rivaled in popularity by this year's Sneeze-Your-Head-Off-It's-Allergies-Not-Covid Season (you KNOW that's a thing). I always think about those cartoons where a head is swelled to gigantic proportions and the voice that comes out of the head is high and mousy and squeaky! Allergy sufferers know what I mean; it's completely relatable.

We still have the promise of cooler weather starting next Wednesday with what appears to be a mid-to-low 70s cooling trend. The weather guy yesterday used the words "Sweater Weather" since the mornings will be in the 50s with the cooldown (thank you, God). I've got just the thing for that, thanks to my mom - it's a candle and isn't that cute? I love a day that starts out cool and then warms up enough in the afternoon that you can shed the sweater and get some sun and still feel warm to the bones without feeling like you are dying from heatstroke and humidity. 

Our first pumpkin of the garden, it had to be picked due to getting over-ripe. It's adorable, but it won't have a long shelf life. That's okay, we'll enjoy it while it's here, and then we'll crack it open and throw it out back in the woods for the wildlife to enjoy. 

That's about it for today. I wasn't going to post, but then I remembered that it is September 1st, and I just had to do the nod to the Season of the Pumpkin. How fitting that September will begin with a full moon. Right now, it's very nearly there, and the sky is lit up nicely, even though there are quite a few clouds. I peeked outside in the dark, and the yard had that ethereal look, where the almost-full moon casts a diminished white shadow across the grass. Tomorrow the moon is completely full. I'm hoping enough clouds dissipate by tomorrow morning so that Lacey and I can enjoy a run outside under that full moon and stars. 

Happy September 1st to you. If you are a local buddy, here's hoping we both get some of those Peggy Ann Bakery pumpkin donuts soon. I need to find out when they're coming out this month . . . . that's today's top priority!