Missing Fall

I love fall.  There are always lots of fun things to do and it's a great time of year weather-wise in the Mid Atlantic. Singapore has been a bit different.  A few weeks ago a friend posted a photo of her and a few other women getting ready for a morning run.  They were bundled up and looked happy but the thing that caught my attention were the leaves all over the road.  I felt wistful for the smell of leaves.  You know that fall smell- when you go out in the evening during the fall (maybe to a high school football game) the air is clean, the sky is clear, but there is a dry fall smell (maybe it's a fireplace off in the distance).  I'm not sure how to really describe it but I know it and it's not here in Singapore.  I think Yankee Candle needs to make this sent!  I love this photo of the girls with the Kiyokawa kids last fall enjoying a huge leaf pile.

My in-laws have asked me if I miss raking the leaves- NO- I don't really like that about fall, especially since we had 20+ trees in our backyard in Vienna.  However, on a perfect 63 degree day with the sun shinning and nothing else to do- an afternoon of leaf raking was ok.  We unfortunately, do have a tree here that drops leaves so I do still have to rake under one tree.  When it's 90 degrees and humid that definitely is not enjoyable.

I also saw a facebook photo of some of Katie and Jen's friends all wearing jeans and boots- fall clothes look so great!  We are all still wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts.  I feel funny in my pastel shorts and bright shirt.  I often now wear my 1 pair of black shorts, that dark color kinda helps set the fall mood.  It's hard to think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in tropical wear.  I know plenty of places throughout the U.S. and the world have warm falls, but I've always lived somewhere that the fall was always cooler than the summer.  Maybe in CA or SC the fall was warmer than the Mid Atlantic region, but there was a temperature shift.  In Singapore the temperature is basically the same all year round.  On the bright side, one good thing is you will never need a coat to cover up your costume on Halloween.  Here's a couple photos from the holiday here.

This Thanksgiving we are hosting 24 people in our home and I have my fall decoration up despite the fact that most people are already decorated for Christmas.  I had forgotten that only Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and almost daily see reminders that we are the odd ones waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to move onto decorating for the next holiday.