It's been a bit crazy.....

....around here lately. It's funny, I felt like time was flying this summer when we had family living with us, but ever since they've left, I feel like it's moving twice as fast!! How did it get to be late September already?

I went to return a curtain to a store the other day and they were putting up Holiday decorations. I almost freaked out. 

What happened to fall? apple picking, pumpkin hunting in preparation for Halloween? Thanksgiving anyone? sigh. I LOVE this time of year and it drives me bananas when the stores (and even some people!) try to make it go by faster, get it over with and have it be January already. No thank you! I want to play in the yard in the cooler weather, watch the leaves fall and the geese fly south. I want to smell the wood fires and the yummy baked goods coming out of the oven. I want to feel that first touch of chill when you can reach for your favorite sweater or cozy up on the couch with a hot cup of cider and a good book!

So I'm putting the breaks on, people. There will be no rushing of Fall!

I've started a new routine. Swimming in the wee hours of the morning before work twice a week. Maybe three times... but I'm not going to push it. Because I love it! I love the world before everyone wakes up and makes it crazy. It's so peaceful. calm. at rest. 

I've woken up each day before my alarm goes off, thrown on my swim gear and headed out in sweats. LOVE it. Get to the gym, check out the lane situation as I head to the locker room to drop off my bag. This morning I felt especially lucky as I was one of three people in the pool. Speaking of being at rest. The pool was calm and my brain just unfocused as the laps went by. 

I took these with my phone from out the car window on the way home this morning. When I first passed the lake on my way to the gym, the mist was much stronger and there was no light other than the full moon. It was jaw-dropping beautiful. It was too dark for a phone picture. Just imagine the above in blackness with a full moon in the upper left-hand corner and mist all over the lake, gently rising towards the trees.

Yep. My laundry room. Reality check. My house is not always clean. I may have a Monica closet (Friends reference). Or a Monica basement. And yes, a few contractors have now seen the Monica basement. Which means it is now an endangered species soon to be extinct if all goes well! Cross your fingers!!