We're officially one month into the season already but autumn continues to elude us. We've had rain, yes. And a few thunderstorms and days with big grey clouds sailing majestically across the sky. But the temperatures have remained warm - in the mid- to high twenties - and our plants have come alive with flowers, blooming under the double caress of a gentler sun and higher levels of humidity. It should be a blessing. It is a blessing. But I cannot help feeling jealous when I scroll through my Instagram feed and see people wearing cosy sweaters and talking about cashmere and spicy pumpkin lattes in the same breath - not that I drink lattes since I am of the opinion that milk does nothing to enhance the taste of coffee and I only ever drink mine black, without sugar - but people are still walking around in summer clothes and eating ice-creams here. And I am desperately waiting for the weather to break.
I've been away for a while from here and I wish I could say that my absence has been due to some interesting project or exciting social life. But the truth is, it was mainly laziness and lack of inspiration that kept me away. I've spent a lot of my evenings these past three weeks reading, nursing my little toe that I may or may not have fractured (I never bothered having it checked by a doctor) after I ran into our very solid, wooden coffee table, and thinking guiltily about what I can do to be more active. Inertia has become one of my best friends which is not a good thing. I need to get out of this funk as soon as my toe is well enough for me to be able to wear some sneakers.
To be honest, we did have some minor house projects to work on which may have distracted me a bit. At the end of September we painted our peachy-pink living room a light shade of green. It's very spring-like but I miss our old colour. It used to make me feel like I was bathed in the rosy rays of sunset no matter the weather or the season. But, after 15 years of repainting the room in the same shade, we thought it was time for something different. Except maybe not this different. I'm still in the process of 'shopping our house' for accessories that will look good against the new wall colour. Next weekend we'll be tackling what used to be the playroom but is now turning into a mini library. I am dreading it, as there are still quite a few toys in it that no longer get played with but which my son wants to keep. No changes in colour there. I love the neutral beige walls.
After that is done, we will be hanging up our paint brushes until spring as we start to look forward to the end-or-year festivities. With an American in the house, I am sure that, before too long, we will be planning our Thanksgiving menu and then looking forward to Christmas. The stores here removed all the summer paraphernalia like beach umbrellas and deck-chairs and immediately replaced them with Christmas trees and tinsel. I just don't get it. Christmas is my favourite holiday. It's a special and meaningful time of year. But I hate the over-commercialization of it.
In the meantime, I will continue to impatiently wait for autumn. This year, like every other year, I will look for the subtle changes that remind me that, even though it is slow in coming, it is on its way. The grass is starting to grow and the vine leaves have turned orange and then brown. The olives are being harvested and I can hear robins, and other birds whose names I don't know, twittering and singing outside our windows. Soon the last remnants of summer will disappear but, clinging tenaciously to these days of light and warmth, a lonely cricket hidden in a garden wall, sadly chirps its final farewell.
P.S. Yes, it's still warm enough to swim.
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