I'm sure you're all very sick of hearing how busy I've been. I won't bore you. Instead I'll say that autumn is here and I couldn't be more excited. The aspens will peak in a couple of weeks. The week of my birthday. The air is cold at night, brisk, and oh-so-comfortable during the day. I've taken to wearing a fleece vest when I leave for work in the morning. The water in the Eagle River is crystal clear once more, done with the spring runoff and summer silt, getting ready to freeze over again. Halloween is around the corner. Pumpkin soup in Beaver Creek while the kids run around trick-or-treating at the various company-sponsored booths before we head down valley for the real candy gathering. The grass is golden and, on the side of the freeway, purple. The flowers are still in bloom all over the place... but it's ending. The hillsides are yellow with the turn of the weather, instead of green. I find myself waiting for that perfect evening, when the day has been cold and I know the night will be colder, when I can curl up with a new book and a warm blanket. I itch for my kids to run in, cheeks red with cold and fingers icy, begging me for hot cocoa. There will be beef stew that simmers all day in the crock pot, hot chili, spaghetti... soup in cups that should really scald you but instead just melt the cold from your bones. I can't wait for all of those perfect comfort food nights!! The smells that gather in the house while everything is closed up to keep out the cold!! I can't wait to start baking! Ginger cookies and apple pies! Autumn, to me, is all things wonderful to my senses!