Flannel!
Flannel shirts!
Flannel nightgowns!
Flannel sheets!
Well, ok, I don’t actually own any flannel sheets, and the thought of them makes me feel sweaty, but I suppose they could be cozy in a cold house in the FALL!!!
I’ve built up more time off from my job than I thought, so I’m going to milk those fall excursions (if you click that link, scroll down: I’ve collected my fall excursion blogs on the Best of page) for everything I can get this year!
Cornstalks!
Hay bales!
Gourds!
For a hilarious, and very foulmouthed (don’t click if you’re delicate sensibilities are easily offended by salty language-definitely not for kids) read the immortal take on fall decor from McSweeney’s.
I’ll be cutting and hanging thyme and rosemary up to dry to use for Thanksgiving and Christmas gravies. I’ve frozen five giant mutant stealth zucchinis, and I still have tomatoes on the vine that need ripening before I freeze them too.
Harvest season!!!!
I ripped out the zucchinis and planted year-old pea seeds in my front yard raised bed, and they’re coming up like crazy, which is a good thing because the even older seeds I planted in my backyard raised beds have been duds. I think there’s something wrong with that soil.
Compost! Fall leaves make great compost!
Nighttime temperatures have dipped to the low ’60s and mid-50s, and 40s are predicted for later this week.
Bonfires!!
S’mores!
S’mores aren’t on my diet, of course, but I do intend to make a few exceptions for autumn traditions. (BTW, I’ve created a new page on weight loss after 60 for all those likers and followers who found me because a wrote a paragraph or two about losing weight over the past month or so).
Next weekend, I swear, I’ll get that smokeless firepit I gave myself for Christmas set up, and light that m…..f….. up!
Hot cider!
Hot cocoa!
Hot tea!
I thank God every day that I live where I do. We were so, so freaking lucky this summer. Only three to five days above 90, and most of those weren’t humid days. The rest of the world was frying, baking, and sweating through apocalyptic conditions, but here, the jet stream flowed kindly upon us, and the great air conditioner called The Lake (Michigan) kept things tolerable, with breezes from the east. I know the other shoe could drop next year, so I’m just grinding out the gratitude with everything I’ve got for the mercy of this year’s summer here. Our system of keeping the house cool with drapes and windows closed during the heat of the day, and fans on and windows open at night through early morning, plus lots of ice water, iced seltzer, and some iced coffee, got us through.
But now, oh, the glory of it! I can have HOT TEA before bed, with my now exceptionally gigantic flannel nightie flowing all around the 32 pounds less of me that’s inside it, I can binge TV series I missed a decade ago while sipping Sleepytime until I nod off, to enjoy
Sleep!
There’s nothing like fall sleep. Windows open, fans off, listening to the sounds of the night. Breezes, the last of the summer insects, even the dogs barking when they’re let out for their nighttime relief. Then, waking up to a chilly, invigorating morning that makes you feel like the world can be bright, sparkling, clean, and spectacular again.
Fall is one last burst of beauty before decline, dormancy, and death sink beneath the stillness of winter, but fall makes me feel more alive than any other time of year. It’s probably the transience, the knowing it won’t last, and the urge to get out there and take it in, to the bottom of my lungs, and the farthest limits of my eyesight, for the brief time I can.
May your autumn leaves and your autumn sunsets be golden and red, your apples crisp, your gourds wonderfully weird, and your pumpkins plentiful! Let’s get out there and LIVE before it all dies, before we all hole up and hibernate.
(Oh, and for you Aussies and New Zealanders, and everyone else in the southern hemisphere, Happy Spring! Tell me what you love about the change of seasons where you live.)
Staring out at a suddenly clear, October blue (even though October is a week away) sky, I remain,
Your sentimental, autumn-loving, herb-hanging, tomato harvesting, pea-growing, still lawn-mowing,
Ridiculouswoman
Ridiculouswoman 
Sp.ing means the end of winter and the return of baseball, and by the way, The Lancaster Barnstormers won the Atlantic League North pennant today. The Championship series starts Tuesday. Summer is a warmer continuation of Spring. Fall is a cooler continuation of Summer, and Winter is a good time to work indoors on an unfinished play, or screenplay.
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I always wanted to write a screenplay! I want to take a screenwriting class to get the format right!
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There is a program called Final Draft that does all that for you. I would suggest getting that program and just start writing. It will put everything in the industry-standard format. I used to do it in Word, but every time I did a rewrite, even if it was just to change a few little things, I would have to do a time-consuming manual repagination, because the repagination “rules” for screenplays are a great big pain in the anal retentive butt. Final Draft automatically repaginates according to the rules, which to me was worth the price of the program. Plus, there are a lot of other great features. You’ll be up and running very quickly.
I would suggest going to their website https://www.finaldraft.com/ and check it out. Then call (818) 995-8995, connect with their customer service and see if there are any special rates available for you. The sales staff is very eager to make a sale and they will probably give you a discount to get the sale. (It’s not that expensive, but why not try to save a few bucks.)
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P.S. Good luck, and I hope to see you at the Academy Awards.
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P.P.S. At least a thousand screenplays are written for every one that gets greenlit. You have to get the “slush-pile” reader interested right away. Dan Brown, in his Masterclass, suggested that if your story starts off slowly, then add a preface, flashback, or whatever that will hook the script reader, then, once you have them interested, you can go about your story at a pace that suits the story.
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💗💗
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Happy Fall!!
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Thanks! Back at ya!
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I am enjoying (so far) my first fall as a Michigander. I, too, was surprised at how comfortable the summer temps were when I first arrived here in my new home, in Portage, a few days before the nation’s Independence Day after a cross country drive from So Cal. All the shorts I had in my suitcases went unworn here. Thank goodness I have unpacked (from my U-box) and hung my cooler weather “uniform” – velour sweat suits – into my new apartment. I’m betting, though, I’ll have to buy some new gear for my first Michigan winter!
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Yep you’ll need a winter parka long enough to cover your behind, some warm, waterproof snow boots, and assorted hats, scarves and mittens. You’re in for a great with a Michigan autumn – colors should be gorgeous!
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