September Rolls…Cold Weather Break…License To Feel Ill…ETC

It’s been pretty mild temperature-wise here. The first part of September is giving us the gift of highs in the 60s/low 70s, and at night we’re hitting below 50 degrees.

That’s…amore.

We’re nearly 10 days into September and that train keeps rolling. Kids have been in school since mid August around here and that just feels wrong. My kids were going back in August as well when they were in school, but it was usually late August. Usually after my dad’s birthday, which is August 18th. Some of these schools were kicking back to life August 12th.

What kind of summer is that? Don’t they know time is only speeding up, giving us the illusion that we have all this time to fit in a summer of memories. But that’s not the case. By the time you get around to item number 2 on the summer to-do list chain stores are putting out their back-to-school kiosks. .50 notebooks, Pokemon folders, and Transformer Trapper Keepers are taking the place of sunscreen, Caprisuns, and swimsuits. Summer anymore now seems like a two to three week blip on the radar; a mere afterthought while gearing up for dropping hundreds of dollars of school clothes, new kicks, backpacks, and the the 48-pk of Crayola crayons…with built-in crayon sharpener.

September was always an odd month. You start out on a holiday, Labor Day, which then leads into several weeks of waiting for the next break. My kids had fall break, which was typically a Thursday and a Friday and preceded by the Wednesday parent/teacher conferences. We didn’t get fall break 30-40 years ago. We got the long haul from the first of September to Thanksgiving.

The idea of September brings to mind burnt oranges, browns, yellows and reds. It was the first glimpse of fall, before fall officially arrives. The idea of pumpkin carving first arrives, as well as spooky movie season, Halloween, fun-size candy bars, and of course what you’re going as on Halloween. That’s as important as picking the perfect dress for Prom. You want to be original, yet you also want to be trendy. When you were in elementary school 40+ years ago they made it easy with costumes in a box. Cheapo plastic mask that adhered to your pre-pubescent head with a super thin rubber band that would dig into your skin like concertina wire. Then to finish the ensemble you wore a non-breathable plastic costume that was more body bag than Halloween get-up. It wasn’t comfortable, but you could represent your love of Chewbacca, Tor Johnson, Strawberry Shortcake, or Hulk Hogan.

Thanks to climate change(not real, huh?) September has really more or less turned into late summer. We don’t get real fall vibes until mid-October(or Boards of Canada season as I like to call it). Right now it’s 42 degrees this morning, with a high in the low 70s today. In another week it’s supposed to go back up to the mid-90s.

Calgon, take me the **** away.

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And with the low temps that started mid-week last week I happily shut off the air conditioning and opened the windows for some fresh air relief. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of cool-ish air coming in from the windows giving the home that much needed crispness in the air. Even if it’s a little cool, it’s still a wonderful feeling. Too chilly? Well then grab a blanket and hunker down on the couch or in the La-Z-Boy. Make a cup of hot chocolate or tea. Hunker down and enjoy the fresh air, folks.

Of course, with cooler temps and leaving the windows open at night comes the chance of getting a cold. In my case that’s exactly what happened. Though, I think it might have been a combination of cold/allergies. Ragweed has been extremely high, as well as mold spores and that combination completely messed up my sinuses and made my lungs feel fuzzy and congested. So Friday thru Sunday I had the feeling that I was getting Bronchitis. I’d ebb and flow from feeling okay to borderline ick. Lots of antihistamines, inhaler action, and pretty much whatever over-the-counter meds I could squash down my gullet. Despite feeling crappy I still took the dog on four walks Saturday, and three on Sunday. Celeste doesn’t care how you feel, she wants her walks. Sunday afternoon I decided to close up all the windows and turn the air back on, despite it being extremely mild.

And by this morning I’m feeling ten times better. The combination of allergens and people burning various piles of pine needles and personal garbage suddenly NOT entering my lungs made all the difference.

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I didn’t get to work on any music over the last weekend, which kind of bummed me out. It was on the to-do list, but that to-do list changed. I spent Saturday walking the dog, watching Alien : Earth, and cooking chicken taquitos. I also watched the movie The Life of Chuck which was wonderful. A great movie, and if you’re a fan of the Alien franchise Alien : Earth is a must-watch. Best Alien content since Aliens. And those chicken taquitos? They were excellent. Topped them with some queso, fresh salsa, and sour cream. Fantastic.

We still have some work to do downstairs to make my daughter’s space more her space, but we’re close to it being complete. So once I move a couple cabinets after work today I WILL sit down and work on some music projects. I’ve got some stuff started from last week, so I’m itching to get back to that.

I’ve also been wanting to do some painting. Have some ideas I’d like to flesh out, so we’ll see where that goes.

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Okay. That’s where we’re at here. Still feeling pretty optimistic about the future, especially now since that allergy/cold thing has all but lifted. And despite another heat wave coming soon I’m excited for fall. Excited to take the dog on long, chilly autumn strolls, both of us in sweaters perusing the northeast Indiana countryside on little mini-adventures.