Noticing

It began to rain this morning after I dropped OC at school. I drove the few blocks from her school to the old neighborhood on the north side of town near the college so I could go for a walk. My leg has been hurting, so I walk instead of run for now.

Before I could grab my umbrella and head out, a woman came by to tell me that the tree under which I was parked has a tendency to drop limbs randomly, so I might want to move my car up the block just enough to be out from under it. She called me "honey". Or maybe it was "sweetie". She wore a sweatshirt with an orange plaid pumpkin appliqued onto the front, with a button and ribbon for embellishment.

I headed out for my walk after moving the car. It was raining the kind of light rain that is enough to drench you in a few minutes. How can it rain like that? So lightly that it weighs as much as a teaspoon full of feathers, but with enough water to soak your clothes?

I love the rain. I don't mind getting a little wet in order that I be outside, smelling the fresh air that the rain brings. I love how it washes everything clean, enhances the colors of the trees, sidewalks and houses to their dark and sharp perfection.

The neighborhood near the college is old. It's full of houses in the style of Victorians, Saltboxes, or Craftsmen. I'm not an architecture expert, so I am guessing that is what they are, but I don't really know. I like them for their use of materials like wood and stone, and for the style and detail that went into them so one family could enjoy the house but the entire neighborhood could enjoy their beauty.

In this neighborhood, which is my favorite part of town, there is a bed and breakfast that has a sign proclaming "Acadamia, Vinifera, Camaraderie". I would like to stay in that bed and breakfast, for those three things appeal to me greatly.

As I walked I thought of my house. Specifically, the dining room and what color I'd like to paint the walls. We have a bay window in the dining room, and it needs to be framed properly by color and with new trim in order to be as beautiful as it can be.

I thought about what curtains should go in the bay window, and at first I wanted Roman shades but then decided that no, sumptuous fabric that drops to the floor would be the thing for a dining room. I still don't know what color, but I know it should be something warm.

Fall is full of color and change. The air carries a hint of preparation for things to come that has a different kind of energy than the kind of preparation that happens in the spring. Fall feels like a winding down, of time that should be spent getting comfortable and making your house cozy in order to ride out the coming cold, the starkness of winter.

I think I'll build a fire today.