I Love New York Travel

I went out for a jaunt on our first real snowy day of the season. It was cold, but not too cold. I found it rather pleasant, when the wind wasn’t blowing too hard! I like winter, and I find many interesting things to photograph during it. I also like winter clothing– the pants, the flannel shirts, the cozy sweatshirts and socks and slippers. Some guys cling to shorts or the skinny ties and light jackets as long as they can, though. I have actually seen kids wearing shorts when it’s been 0 degrees. Nuts!

Anyway, we’re happy in the house now. I have some articles to write this evening, make the dinner, see to the kids’ schoolwork… then write more articles! I also have GOT to get some new themes for my blogs, and do some general blog cleanup anyway. I just haven’t had time. The online writing has been crazy! I am constantly busy. I’m happy for the work… but I’ll be needing a vacation soon!

This is what early November looks like in Upstate New York: scrubby weeds, pathetic-looking trees, muddy streams, and the ubiquitous gray sky. The flora looks so scrawny and pitiful it looks like it needs a major boost of vitamin c serum or something.

But it’s the gloominess of the month that makes November one of the worst months of the year. February is much the same, too. The season is old, everything is muddy, brown and gray, scrubby, and plain old ugly. The only good thing about November is Thanksgiving. It’s a great holiday.

Still, there is much visual interest in such November scenes. I suppose if everything was ALWAYS fresh and green and plump and beautiful, we’d tire of that, wouldn’t we?

Hm. Maybe not.

The end of November has actually been rather nice, now. The weather has been warmer than usual. Everything is still brown, but we have had some sunshine! That’s a wonderful surprise. The weather dudes are forecasting snow later this week. Not much, but enough to remind us that those of us who are not yet prepared for winter (*cough cough*) had better get moving….

*SIGH*

Another season nears its end. The whole year was an awesome blur. So much happened this year, that is it stunning when I ponder it. My dad died this year. So did my dog. We finally got our new kitchen, our dream of the past 13 years finally coming to fruition. I got a job with a writing company, which has enabled my income to rise (yay!). My daughter got her two precious puppies (Yorkies) this year. And school for the kids has been intense, with lots of homework and activity.

So I missed spring, summer, and autumn this year. POOF! All gone. So fast. No more.

You’d think that missing a few seasons wouldn’t be such a big deal. I mean, we get them every year! But I did miss them. I missed weeding my vegetable garden. I missed pruning and caressing my perennials. I missed raking the leaves and smelling that exhilarating crispy leaf smell. I was too busy in the basement and in the attic… making the home livable again. And warm for the first time in 155 years. Oh, make that the ONLY time. Insulation is a beautiful thing, I tell you. Installing it is a PAIN– it’s very abrasive and we nearly needed acne scar cream, it was so intense. But it’s DONE and it’s WARM in here.

I wonder how winter will be for me. Things surely will slow down SOMETIME. Won’t they?

Mmmm. I mentioned on my cooking blog that we have been on a pie baking binge. This is one of the apple pies we recently made. Last night, we made a Pear Berry Pie that was heavenly. How I wish berries grew like apples! I would have them every day. I know, I know, after eating mounds and mounds of desserts, I’d no doubt be on a quest for weight loss supplements that work… *sigh* I LOOK at food and gain weight. :-p Not fair.

Part of our baking spree has to do with trying to keep warm. The oven is a good little source of heat, as well as filling the house with marvelous smells. Winter is nipping at our heels…

…of autumn’s chores that await us.

And the leaves haven’t even STARTED to fall off the trees yet, truly.

They sure are pretty, though. I have an autumn scene of my lcd monitor desktop. The air is crispy, the wind is brisk…. but with the change in season also falls a slew of more chores to attend. Whew. I haven’t caught up since spring yet!

At any rate, my fall is turning out to be very slow. I feel so lazy, but given my propensity for over-work, I guess that’s just another way of saying I’m not working 20 hours a day right now. Although, I should be. There’s enough to do around here to keep an army busy. But thinking about it makes me tired, to want to take a nap.

Which isn’t such a bad idea right about now…