Is It Over Yet?

Summer, that is.

I'm not a summer person. Never have been, never will be. Summer in NJ is hot. And sticky. And did I mention hot? And sticky? Imagine if you will, you've just showered, gotten your hair to look good, makeup's on and you step outside...

And wet sheet just wraps itself all around you like a boa constrictor. Hair frizzes. Makeup melts. And you can actually see the air.

Welcome to Jersey in August!

Fall and spring are my favorite seasons here. People make fun of New Jersey (some of it we deserve - **coughcoughJerseyShoreCastGoAwayAlreadycoughcough**) but when you take away the high taxes, toll booths, and crowds, it's really a beautiful place to live. Just not in the summer.

About this time every year, I'm wishing I could just fold summer up and stuff it in a trunk. I'm tired of sweating. Of dreading the electric bill because we have to run the A/C. Of listening to my kids fight (do kids even go outside anymore? I never see anyone around in my neighborhood. Thank God we have the pool, or else I'd really go insane. No kids are ever outside playing. What is that about?)

So I'm ready for summer to go buh-bye. I want my turtlenecks, my jeans, my boots, to sleep with the windows open at night and need a blanket. I. Want. Cold. Or at least not suffocatingly hot and oppressively muggy. Blech.

There's this one tree (according to Wikipedia, it's a Black Tupelo maple tree) in my backyard that reminds me of why I love the fall so much. As the leaves change colors, it goes from brilliant red, to fiery orange, and it absolutely beautiful. I'll try to remember to post pictures when it starts to turn. It's amazingly beautiful to watch.

Besides, fall means Halloween (my 2nd favorite holiday) and it means Christmas (my favorite) is right around the corner. Fall is when I want to make my house look nice, so I do all kinds of projects (I've recently begun stenciling my kitchen. Which makes me wonder if we're going to have an early fall. Would be nice, no?) and I've got my grandmother's hope chest that I'm hoping to restore once the weather is a little cooler. I found it in the attic of my mother's house last November, when my brother and I cleaned it out. It needs to be refinished (which I've never done before, so it should be an adventure) but aside from the cosmetic aspect, it's in perfect condition (I'm a little peeved that anyone could just stuff it in the attic and let it get to the point it's in now, even if the damage is only superficial.) It dates back to the 1930s and I'm curious to see what it'll look like once I get through with it. :-)

So that's it, in a nutshell. Go 'way summer. I want autumn. Like, now.