Fall Leaves, redux

 I'm really going to miss fall this year.

It's been good to us.

On a treat of a two-and-a-half day weekend (a perk of late-night conferences last Thursday), we got in one more perfect fall afternoon, with a hike to the stream in Bedford.

  The kids both hiked down and back on their own power, with enthusiasm and many side trips to investigate moss and stones, and to search again and again for the perfect walking stick.  I

By Sunday the weather had turned back to November on us.  But we made the best of it by painting several basement walls in fresh, bright blue and yellow "oops" paint, and rearranging our dining and living room configurations.  Why not undertake several major projects in one day?  We're currently getting used to the new rooms (not sure if I love it but I DO love the cleaned and organized sideboard we got out of the deal), slowly carrying on with the basement project, and marveling at just how incredibly fast a month can go.  Holidays are coming soon, winter prowling around the corner ...
but I will hold on to fall for just a little longer, I think.

Fall leaves

Yesterday graced us with a perfect fall day, chilly and breezy and crisp.  The leaves are tumbling down now with a vengeance.  So what else to do but rake?

 

 It's easy to forget what fun it is to jump into a pile of leaves.   It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

 

Saving the daylight...

Facebook has been abuzz with invectives on the evils of daylight savings time.  The unfairness of it all, the havoc it wreaks upon the sleep schedules of the young and unsuspecting.

Usually, I am inclined to agree.  I don't even get to enjoy that extra hour of light in the morning.  It will still be dark at 5am tomorrow.

But today, just for today, I am a DST fan.  I am so grateful that we got an extra hour of today.

It was not a newsworthy day, not at all.  Just an ordinary Sunday.  We stayed close to home, we did mundane tasks, and there were no earthshattering changes to our lives.

There was, however, magnificent fall sunshine to be had in abundance.  Fifty-degree temperatures with a slight crisp breeze.  And that fall foliage that I thought couldn't get any better?  It did.  The leaves were breathtaking, laying themselves brazenly against the autumn-thinned blue of the sky.

New England's got nothing on Cleveland Heights when it comes to leaves.

Driving home through Lakeview after our perfect jaunt to Wade Oval, the Art Museum, and the sculpture garden and pond, we were hit all over again by just how lucky we are to have all of this right in our backyard.  That we can have a close-to-home day that just happens to include world-class art, a fall foliage tour, and a serene walk around a small, glittering lake.

How amazing that our children get to grow up taking this for granted.

Other highlights of this weekend include:  resale shopping with Jack and lunch with Gram, a fun birthday party at the Little Gym, the Cleveland Heights rec center chili cook-off (and an unexpected chance to visit with some friends), a great Skype session with Grandpa and Vovo (the kids are finally getting the hang of talking on the video-phone, I think) as well as deep-cleaning the playroom, making a lot of meatloaf, and doing yoga as a family after dinner.

Not to mention the fact that both kids are in bed at 8:00 tonight.

I'll take an extra hour, anytime.