It's cold, yall!

Sometimes I get the feeling that I live in a postcard. Imagine this --- a burnt orange horizon slowly fading into pinks, grays and then a sky saturated with blue. Half of the sun pokes out from behind Sugarloaf Mountain, illuminating the frost-covered grasses below and the little red barns dotting the horizon. A small winding road is empty except for a yellow school bus packed with sleepy-eyed children on their way to another day at school. The lights on the bus blink slowly, almost in tandem with the lights at the railway crossing - yellow, red, yellow, red. A small silver train slowly passes by, the screeching against the tracks muted by the bellowing horn, warning all nearby of its impending arrival. And through the large train windows peers out equally sleepy-eyed men and women dutifully on their morning commute to work. On the opposite side of the train - facing away from the sun and the picturesque scene, right below the shadow-filled tracks, you'd see written in cursive letters - Welcome to Maryland!

The past few days definitely feel like a real fall. Morning temperatures range from 35-45 and the highs during the day rarely pass 65. The leaves are changing on the trees, many of which have yellow leaves at the top and green on the bottom. It's so unusal to be wearing coats and scarves and turtleneck sweaters in October. This morning, Jack Bing (my car, the mini cooper) beeped at me as I was driving to the train station, only to let me know how cold it was outside. It beeped, and puzzled I looked to see if I had forgotten my seatbelt, only to see flashing on the display screen the temperature (37 degrees F). Apparently, Jack just wanted me to know how cold it really was.

I posted pictures from our Saturday trip to D.C. to visit the Smithsonians, and my mother asked me about my scarf. No, it wasn't just a fashion accessory, it was actually cool enough to have on a light scarf as we strolled through the streets of the District.

Everyone warns me that it will just keep getting colder, and I take those warnings with a huge grin. Colder temps mean wearing really warm coats, leather gloves, a cute knit hat and warm tights. And it also means the possibility of snow, which - according to Kate - is fabulous when there's a plastic sled and some hills involved.

So, as I raise my mug filled with hot chocolate, I say "Cheers!" to fall.