Fall is Fleeting

I can barely bring myself to say “winter” these days.  I guess we are all a bit like that – unless you were unscathed by last year’s horrible weather.  The chore of changing over to the cold season never ceases to amaze me.  Apparently my mind shut down after dealing with last February’s difficulties because I couldn’t  find half of the winter clothing I thought I had.

It’s true that I had half been planning to move, so de-cluttering was on my mind in spring.  The first things to go, when moving from the northeast to the deep south, would be heavy winter clothes.  I am not a clothes hound by any means, but there is something about coats that attract me.  I found myself with far too many of them, so they went to Goodwill.  I only kept the 4 or 5 that I really love and do wear often.  Most are only good for the cooler fall days, and one is my heavy, hooded winter coat.

Somewhere along the way, I inadvertently disposed of my son’s only winter coat.  It is nowhere.  So I had to splurge and buy him a new one.  It had no hood, and he really needs a coat with a hood anyway.  And even though we plan to only spend one more winter here, my son needed good mittens too.  Mittens are one thing I never needed when living in Florida!

This past weekend I got out the snowblower (another nasty word I hate to speak out loud) and started it just to make sure I could.  I’ll have to fill the gas can soon.  Add it to the to-do list.

This year I will fill my metal bucket with sand before the weather gets bad.  The town I live in offers free sand to it’s residents, which I only found out about last year.  But getting it, is another story.  I’m not exactly super-woman when it comes to strength.  My son will have to do the lifting out of the car.

Thanks to the yard sale a year ago, my basement is very sparse.  All it will take is a little organizing and it will make me happy to go down there.  I still have far too many holiday decorations, so those must go to the swap shop soon.  Lightening the load always makes me feel good.

By the way, if you plan to view the foliage here in northern New England, you’d better do it soon.  It should be looking good for the next week or two, but there are no guarantees after that.  I’m taking my camera out this week.  The weather is going to be wonderful.  Norway Hill apple orchard, here I come!