A Little Shift Toward Fall

There’s always that point when summer starts to feel just a little different.

Not over. Not even close, really. But different.

Last week had a little bit of everything.

Monday was the final night of Ladies Golf League for the season, which is always one of those little signs that summer is starting to wind down.

Tuesday was our monthly ladies event, and this time it was music bingo. It was so much fun. There’s something hilarious about sitting in a room full of people singing along to every song while also trying to remember the title fast enough to see if it’s on your bingo card.

We were doing pretty well until we got to the ’90s.

Luckily, there was a younger guy sitting at the table behind us who became our unofficial music consultant and kept helping us out with the song titles. My sister and I were laughing the entire time. We also ran into a few people from our hometown, which made the night even more fun.

Wednesday was Mahjong with just a few of us. A lot of people are still squeezing in the last of their summer activities and vacations, so it was a smaller group than usual.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I also had a bit of a plant-reset week.

I was outside with potting soil, planters and plants spread around the patio. I had picked up a new outdoor planter for such a good deal that I couldn’t resist putting it together right away. For now, I tucked a couple of mums into it while I wait to move them into the pots by the door.

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I know I won’t really plant that new planter until spring, but now I keep looking at it and thinking there has to be something fun I can do with it through the winter. So for now, it’s a work in progress.

I moved the fiddle-leaf fig into a beautiful new pot, moved my Thanksgiving cactus into a bigger container, and repotted a few of the others that were ready for more room.

Nothing complicated. Fresh soil, bigger pots and room to grow.

And now it’s Labor Day weekend.

With rain.

Lots of rain.

Concerts have been canceled. Outdoor plans have changed. Football is back on TV. Maple is perfectly content curling up inside, and we’re spending a lot more time at home than you might expect on Labor Day weekend.

Apparently the rain has also convinced me it’s chili weather.

Never mind that it’s still in the 80s outside.

I bought everything to make a pot of chili anyway. Maybe the rainy weather makes it feel like fall. Or maybe I’m just ready — or at least hoping — for fall to get here soon.

I’m definitely not wishing summer completely away. Around here, you hang onto those beautiful warm days as long as you can.

But I do love this little in-between part.

Golf wrapping up. Music bingo and a night full of laughing. A smaller Mahjong table. Mums sitting temporarily in a planter. Plants getting new homes. Football on the television. Chili ingredients waiting in the kitchen.

And September getting started.

That feels like a pretty good place to be.