Fireside Chat

So, spoiler alert: I'm not the president, nor am I going to converse with the entire nation...though based on some things I've chatted about with people today, I might actually have something to say.

I *am* fireside.  I've got every candle in my room burning bright. It's pouring rain outside, and the wind is howling. It's finally chilly enough for the navajo blankets I tend to curl up under not to bring suspicious looks. It's getting dark earlier, which I always have at least a degree of trouble with, and the leaves are falling quickly.  In some ways I feel like fall may already be over, but in other ways it's like it's just beginning.

I've definitely always loved fall, and this year I was determined to get out and enjoy it as much as possible.  It's gorgeous...the entire world seems to turn to a cathedral of stained glass reds, yellows, greens and oranges set on fire by the autumn sun.

This year the colors have been amazing, and I've been lucky enough to take quite a few drives to see them at different state parks and forest preserves.  I've also had a great month or two for finding time to get together with friends and reconnect.  It's been great to take these drives with people I love and just admire it all.

I put together a little bucket list of "Fall Things" I wanted to do, and I've gotten to do almost all of them.

One of the ones that was a first for me was the corn maze. It was fun, actually. I started off with the intention of getting everyone lost. I was extremely successful in this endeavor, and then we needed the guidance of my friend Josh to get us UNlost.  Still, we had a great time, and I was happy that at the end, I was able to amble my way out of the maze first AND without the map they give you. (We initially decided not to use the map, then we realized, an hour in, that the map wasn't really all that useful, it was still a feat with or without it).

 Julie and Josh were my partners in crime at the maze, pictured above. :D

We did a whole family thing a week or two later. My mom and grandma and I went out to Kenosha to the pumpkin patch that I've been going to since I was a kid, and got our pumpkins (which I *still* need to carve) and indian corn and had dinner at a barbecue place. We did NOT get to Apple Holler, but apparently that's a really hard place to get in to this time of year. :D

That was a really nice full day with everyone.  Grandma and I got some alone time at Grant Forest Preserve in Round Lake waiting for Mom to get out of a meeting. We took a very short hike and stayed by the pond. Grandma told me Fall was her favorite season, and we spent a good amount of time just admiring the colors at sunset.  My grandma is completely and utterly awesome.

I've enjoyed all of it.   This past weekend I went to a birthday party of a friend's, and he and his wife always throw a huge Halloween inspired bash.  His heart's in film and he's won awards for his stop motion animation.  As a film buff, part of the party every year is screening films outside on a big projection screen while everyone sits around a nice big bonfire.  My coat still smells like campfire.  This year it was pretty cold, but they had plenty of blankets to pass around.  There was great food, apple cider, (some alcoholic thanks to another drink, apple bob), all kinds of decorations and silliness, and it was great.

This weekend will be a road trip, hopefully involving some more photography.  One thing fall has gotten me doing again is getting out and doing the things I love.  It's inspired me to write (sometimes to stay home under the covers and write, hehe) and I need to keep that fire lit.  So, whoever is out there reading this...keep me honest.
Keep me writing.

Keep enjoying fall, down to the very last drop of cider.