September

This is my favorite month. This is the month of my anniversary and birthday. This is the month when fall begins (on my anniversary, as it turns out, two for one special). Already that autumnal snap is in the air. I love that snap. I love that the mornings and evenings are cool and that there is still a hope of Indian summer for the sake of the garden. I love that the leaves are going to start turning, that the berries on my mountain ash are a bright, burnt orange and that school is about to start, bringing with it a return to my "real" routines.

Summer has it's fun, to be sure. Dining al fresco, eating light, cool meals, The Spouse grilling dinner. There are all the gorgeous fruits of summer. There are those perfect summer moments, sitting in the andirondak with a good book and a g&t at my elbow. There's the relaxation of schedules and set bedtimes. But I'm over it now.

I'm ready for dinner to return to the dining room table. I'm ready for daubes and gratins, ready to start baking. I'm ready for big, fruity wines to take the place of crisp whites. And I'm really ready to have the house back.

I love The Child, I truly do. I love having time to hang with her. But there are things that simply don't get done during the summer. My book, which really is almost done, has been on vacation, too. Blogging a few paragraphs is the most I can manage with someone else in the house. And fun as that is, it won't get me that syndicated column I dream about.

We have one more long weekend for staying up late, sleeping in and not having anywhere to be at any particular time. Then comes Bloody Mary Tuesday and the fall schedule. I plan to enjoy every minute of these next four days. But I'm ready for the change.


And just in case you haven't done so yet:

http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/katrina.cfm

http://www.redcross.org/

And if you know someone near the affected areas who might be willing to put up a refugee, Moveon.org has a site where they can offer housing. Pass it on.

http://www.hurricanehousing.org/