Monthly Archive

“Brrrrr….

the breeze is chilly today.”  Jainey’s hair blew across her eyes, obscuring her sight for a moment.  She usually kept her hair up in a clip or back in a pony tail and she couldn’t decide if she was annoyed because it was in her face – or thrilled by it blowing freely in the wind.  She turned her head slightly and her hair obediently blew around her shoulders and flowed down her back.

Jainey looked up at the brilliant blue sky with its big puffy white clouds, took a deep cleansing breath and immediately started hacking like a 2 pack a day smoker.  “Damn, this stupid cold!”, she thought as she pulled out her trusty packet of Puffs Plus.  She blew her nose and stuffed the wadded tissues back into her pocket.  She was most determined to enjoy this beautiful fall day.  She knew that even though it was only the beginning of Autumn, this gorgeous sunny weather surely wouldn’t last very much longer.  Soon enough all the trees would be bare of their leaves and she wouldn’t be venturing outside nearly as much.

Zipping up her fleecy jacket, Jainey once more started out on her afternoon walk.  She was careful to avoid taking any more of the deep breaths that were certain to trigger another coughing spell.  The wind picked up, once more blowing her hair across her face, but this time, Jainey realized she was enjoying the tickles it caused on her chin.  She casually looked up at the leaves falling around her dancing in the wind and turned to do a pirouette, herself.  Spinning numerous times, giggling out loud with sheer delight just like a first grader, Jainey nearly lost her balance.  She slowly stopped and decided she should probably behave like a grown woman, she was out in public, after all! 

She turned her attention back to the leaves and stood admiring their cascading dance.  Reds, yellows, oranges and gold spun crazily in the air.  She looked up… whack!… “what the…?” just as a leaf slapped her upside the head!  “That was weird”, she thought, pulling it out of her hair.  Smack!… another one hit… then…bam!… another!  Jainey was being pummelled by leaves!  She started roaring with laughter at the hilarity of it all!

A car drove by as she stood on the sidewalk laughing at herself.  The driver slowed a bit, probably trying to decide if this was some crazy woman he should avoid or if she was just a happy person sharing her joy with the world.  Whatever he decided, he just shook his head and drove on.  Jainey didn’t care, this walk was turning out to be pretty much fun, despite the chill in the air.

Continuing on, Jainey came across people outside mowing their lawns (hopefully, one of the last few times this year), planting mums in pottery by their front doors and tying cornstalks to porch posts.  She stopped completely in disbelief, when she saw a couple lugging, yes, actually lugging full sized hay bales (or was it straw?) up their driveway.  “Where do you even get those things?” she wondered out loud.  “And why would you want that in your lawn?  Seems to me, it would be quite a mess to clean up at the end of the season.  Huh, what some people do for effect is beyond me!”   Not that she didn’t enjoy a nice decoration or two – but, some of the things she saw… indescribable.

Still wondering why some people went to so much trouble to decorate for the holidays, Jainey rounded the corner that would take her back home.  She heard music and laughter in the distance and as she walked closer, Jainey saw a gathering of people in her neighbor’s back yard.  Everyone was walking around with mugs of steaming… something.  (Do I smell apples?)  There was a small group gathered around a fire pit that was encircled by – yup – you guessed it… hay or straw or whatever those bales of dried grassy mess were!  Jainey chuckled to herself.  “I guess more people know where to get that stuff than I thought!”

She was spotted by her neighbor just as her foot hit the property line.  “Hey, Jainey!  Where’ve you been?  We’ve been looking for you!”

“Just coming back from my walk.  Nice hay bales.”

“Ya, aren’t they great?  There’s a farmer a couple miles out of town who sells them.  And, just an FYI, they’re straw.

“Oh, cool.”  Jainey made a mental note of it, under ‘things you will probably never need to know as a city girl who was forced to move to the suburbs.’   She was wondering what they would actually feel like to sit on.  They looked kind of pokey.  What Jainey couldn’t have known, was that she was about to find out…

“So, are you busy?  We want you to come join us… it’s HAPPY HOUR!”

Hot Apple Toddy

2 oz. Whiskey

1 tsp. Honey

 Apple Cider

Heat apple cider in a large mug in the microwave.  Add Whiskey and honey.  Stir.  Garnish with a cinnamon stick, 2-3 whole cloves and a thin slice of lemon.

Cheers!