It's been a really nice weekend. Lots of fun with lovely people, some of whom I hadn't seen for a while.

Friday night was Tyler and some of the gang from Indy who I don't see so much now that I no longer work there. I was especially stoked to see Gillian, who I hadn't seen at all since she went away to school. Everyone ended up coming back to my place for a little while to hang out and Gillian and I ended up sitting and having a great little chat. It was really nice.

Saturday I hung out with Seg, John and Dimitra. We played online for a while, but managed to get out and go tobogganing before the sun went down. We tried the hill at Grandview this time and it was soooo great! We basically went until we couldn't go anymore, and then took a few more runs anyway. We were pooched and hungry and went out for Chinese dinner, then ended up back at home where we met up online again, this time with Megan along. I had a lot of fun with those three; I have some fantastic plans in mind for us this summer if I can get everyone to go along.

Finally, today was lunch with my sister. We text here and there, but mostly I think we get caught up in our own lives, and let a lot of time pass before realizing how long it's been since we've seen one another. We went out for lunch today, which turned into a long walk and talk up and down Main Street. It was a great day for it, a little chilly, but the sun was out and things were melting and we were perfectly comfortable sitting out on the stoop in front of a store for ages (at least until a spider dangled himself down from the overhanging sign and scared us both away).

In the spirit of such a lovely weekend (and such great weather) here are some summery pictures to hold us over a bit. I'm so eager for the weather to turn warm again, so I can have many more wonderful weekends out and about with people I think are great.

November Morning Thoughts

Winter is pretty much on its way. It's barely, barely snowing; in fact, it's supposed to get up to 11 degrees this weekend or something like that. (When you work in lottery, everyone tells you the weather.) But it's on its way as far as I am concerned. Here are the signs.

1. There is snow on the ground right now. And on people's cars and falling from the sky ever so lightly. It's not much and it won't stay, but the transition has begun.

2. It's dark by 5:30. Completely dark. In grade 6, my brother Eli and I would always watch the Simpsons after school. By the time it was over at 5:30, it was always pitch black out. And that's winter.

3. On Sunday, I made chicken soup and biscuits from scratch. It was delicious, but more importantly, I'm getting the urge for hot, savoury things like soup and hot chocolate and chili more often. Even Fiona's mention of roasting a chicken made me think, 'Mmm. Cozy."

4. I'm not biking to work any more. =(

5. I bought a winter coat. First new one I've had in a while. It's cranberry red and double breasted and falls to mid thigh. I'm excited to have some colour in my winter gear for once.

6. I'm extremely stoked for Xmas. I've been buying people's gifts early this year and everywhere I go I'm thinking of what to do/make/get for people. It's fun, and it's making me very excited for Xmas.

7. I want to be out walking pretty much all the time. In scarves and hats and mittens all rosy cheeked. In the woods especially.

8. Barb is calling on me to make some stuff for the sale up North. Fun!

9. Clementines are showing up in the stores in wooden boxes. Yummy!

10. The light is different. No more bright yellow sun, now it's pale and quiet and almost pure white. Very clean and Wintery.

As Winter's been approaching, I've been thinking of a post I wrote a while ago about the smells of the seasons and how winter doesn't really have any. My friend Devon responded to my note, suggesting that perhaps all of Winter's smells are indoor smells, like hot apple cider and soup simmering on the stove. The more I think it over, the more I've decided she's correct. With the exception of cool, icy pine and that crisp, clean, cold nothing smell of outdoors in Winter, all the Winter smells are indoor smells.

Like she said, soup and cider definitely. The cider smell also makes me think of how my father used to put cinammon sticks and cloves in a pot of water and set it to boil on the woodstove. Mmmmm.

Clementines are distinctly Winter to me. That first potent burst of scent when you break open the rind is very Christmasy. So distinct as well....the other day Eli had a clementine (unbeknownst to me) and then handled the kitten. When I took her back from him, I knew he'd eaten one as I could smell it on her fur.

Wood smoke is a good one. Also that earthy smell firewood gets after you bring it inside and all the snow and ice start to melt off.

Scotch tape is Christmasy (and therefore Wintery) to me as well. When I was younger, the only time I really remember encountering scotch tape was opening gifts on Xmas morning. So the combined smell of scotch tape and wrapping paper does it for sure. Now when I wrap the gifts as well as when I open them.

These are all the smells I can think of for now. Perhaps more will come back to me as Winter progresses. Or maybe you have some of your own you'd like to share?? Please, comment!