The 40s and Joy!

First of all, my 40s are in the rear-view window, so if you thought that title was about being in my 40s, it's not! It's about something way better than that (although I liked my 40s; they were a good decade for me)! Starting Saturday night, we are dropping to the mid-to-low 40s at night! Woo-hoo! Even better, starting yesterday, we are in the low 70s for several days in a row! The first day of Autumn this year will truly feel like Autumn, and I'm grateful. 

This past Tuesday was beautiful. Nearly no humidity and only 78 degrees. Wednesday was the same, 78 degrees, but the humidity began building in anticipation of the remnants of Sally making its way here. She arrived Thursday morning, and although the rain has stopped, today will be cloudy and 71 and very breezy. That's the thing with cooldowns - they only roll in after something squishy or windy or nasty passes through. Take the good with the bad and roll with it. My heart goes out to the people who have been in the direct path of this ongoing onslaught of hurricanes and tropical storms. It has to be discouraging.

As you can see from the first picture, we've begun working on the yard. I still have to do the front porch, but that will be done - I hope - this weekend. For a lot of people, the seasons have run together this year. I wonder if they have definitive practices or habits or traditions for each season? If not, I can see how things could blur together. It takes effort to keep up with tradition when you just kind of want to sit on the couch and wait for all the icky stuff to pass! But we still have a whole quarter of a year left; that's an awful long time to simply sit around and stew in the soup of frustration! Lots can get done in this last quarter of 2020.

It's been an odd year, for sure. But in the end, I have mostly kept all my favorite traditions, and I think that has made the difference for me. I've loved each season, but Autumn is, hands down, my favorite. Ironically, my second favorite used to be Winter, but somewhere along the way, Summer moved into second place. Not because of the heat and the bugs and the humidity. I hate those things! But because of the tomatoes and the flowers and the lack of need to add layer after layer of clothing each time I take the dog or kitties outside. Winter is beautiful to look at if it snows; but if there is no snow, the landscape really does look like toilet scrub brushes! Spring is just volatile these days and the mornings stay freezing cold for weeks on end. I could skip it altogether sometimes, but we do get some lovely, moderately cool (not freezing) spring days up through the month of June.

The other pictures are baby pictures, of course! They're growing like weeds! Mama Bunny looks so good. She is owned and loved, and it shows. Look at her with a baby up that tree! She showed Higgins how to get down. Higgins has become the ultimate tree navigator. She's impressive!

Isn't my little guy plush looking?? He is the BEST to hold. His gorgeous eyes really pop in that silky, black fur. He's cuddly and is the only one who will lay in my lap for a minute or two without squirming away to go chase things and play tag with the siblings. He'll let me cover his face with kisses and stroke his precious little belly. He's got the sweetest personality, too. Just a love-bug. 

Higgins is by far the largest of the three kitties. She's smart and fast and always thinking about something. She's a stunning kitty with her markings, and she knows it! She's my husband's baby; he's very smitten with her. She's very nearly a border collie in cat pajamas.

Baby Trudy is just that - the baby. The tiniest baby by far, she won't get very big and will stay a much smaller kitty than her siblings. She's smart, though, and lives in her own world. She's definitely the happy-go-lucky baby of the bunch. Everyone is drawn to Trudy, and with good reason. She's irresistible. When I think of yummy kitties, Trudy comes to mind.

These babies are finally at the five-month-plus-a-bit-more mark, and what a relief. I'm hoping that it is smoother sailing now, and that when their chronic issue flares up from time to time, they recuperate quickly. Their bodies are developed and stronger now, with better immune systems in place. Everyone has been spayed/neutered and fully vaccinated. Time for what I hope is some normalcy in our future!! I will say that last night, after the rain finally passed through (we got a bunch), we did take them outside for a bit. They were happy, little muddy piglets by the time they wore out and we put them back in their little home for an evening snack and bed. They got cleaned up first, muddy paws and tiny bellies wiped off oh-so-carefully.

Full disclosure - I have not yet made it to our local Peggy Ann Bakery for their pumpkin donuts. I'm going to try to make it this Friday, if possible. With highs on Saturday and Sunday of only 71 and 72  and low humidity (we won't reach those temps till very late in the day), it's definitely going to be a pumpkin-everything weekend. That's front porch weather, so I need to kick it into gear and get my porch ready for Autumn. I know there are some other pumpkin goodies at Peggy Ann's, as well, so I may just stock up and fill my freezer with their goodies. Any time I've ever frozen their baked goods, once defrosted, they've tasted just as good as the day they were made. Right now, they have lots of pumpkin goodies.

I've got a couple of Autumn activities to look forward to, although due to Covid circumstances, some annual things are canceled this year. That's okay for now; just readjust and plan something different and pray that next year we are back to normal.

One thing that has changed this year that is akin to our local county fair tradition for me - which, as you know, got canceled, so I did not get my annual arts, garden, and craft exhibition tour or funnel cake this past July! - is the annual breakfast at one of our historic churches downtown. The church is also the mother church of the university where we work, so we have always tried to support the annual breakfast. We've done this for as long as I can remember! 

Arriving around 9 a.m., we stuff ourselves full of gravy, biscuits, eggs, stewed apples, fried potatoes, sliced tomatoes and, for the meat eaters, bacon and sausage. This is always followed by a walking tour of our local downtown area to see the scarecrow contest exhibits, tour the art exhibit at our historic gorgeous hotel, and stroll around our sizable antique mart. I will miss it terribly this year, maybe more so than the fair. It's a community connector in a small town, where you see people you haven't seen in ages and you hug the necks of friends you just don't have time to get together with very often. A small town can be a fish bowl, but it can also have its moments of deep caring and support. It's an annual marker for me, and it makes me a bit blue that we will all have to wait until next year (knock on wood).

So, readjust those sails on a different route, right? I'm ready today for snickerdoodle cookies (we have some in our kitchen right now), pumpkin donuts and maple coffee. It's the perfect day for it, and I plan to indulge. There are a lot of people who will get up this morning and face a very hard day, whether it's for health reasons or due to the hurricane or a myriad of other things. I'm sure they'd love to feel like they just have a day to indulge, and so I would be remiss if I didn't begin this weekend with a spirit of gratitude. Ahead of us, there are bright days and dark days and everything in-between. It is good to remember that no matter what kind of day we have, that God is in control, even if we don't make the right decisions or circumstances keep happening to us. Simply put, He loves us. That is everything.