Celebrate the Small Things: End of Summer

Well, autumn is here, and by evidence of the pouring rain that pelted Eastern Washington all last week and the changing fall colors, and there is no turning back. No regrets. I am  fired up to do more indoor activities with the weather change. There is something about rain pattering on the rooftop and windows that I find so settling. Perhaps it comes from having been raised in Western Washington, where rain can pour twenty-four seven. Rain is rare here in comparison, so when it comes, I become somewhat nostalgic. I love the smell, I love the sound, I love the change it foretells.

So today I am celebrating the return of cold weather and the end of summer. It is an opportunity to pull out that thick terry cloth robe, crank up the fireplace, rearrange the desktop, and start anew. I am already buzzing with new energy. Yesterday I finished chapter 22 and left it on my husband's desk to read (he's my in-house editor). I also sent a sample chapter to a writer friend to read.
Happy about that!

Summer is such a  detour for me, and from what I have read in other blogs, I know it is a challenge for writers in general. I wish it weren't so, but from the pictures below, you can see some of my end of summer distractions. I love all seasons, don't get me wrong, but cool weather is better for writing, at least for me in the current home I live. 

This brings up another point. I have wondered about setting up an outdoor writing porch next year, like the one I had at my last home. It was wonderful to sit outdoors on the north porch under the trees, with my laptop on my knees. I loved listening to the birds sing and feeling the warm summer air on my cheeks. My patio is too bright and hot here, but perhaps on the other side . . . I wonder, a porch could be added. Hmm.....next year maybe.....next year. Do you find writing locations as important as I do? Do you need a special place to inspire you, too?

One of my End of Summer distractions:

No kidding. This is one of several outhouses we found at an outdoor wedding we attended in Snohomish, WA. It even smelled good! Snohomish is in western Washington and off the beaten track a ways. It is a beautiful forested location for a wedding, but services are lacking in places. A prior outhouse we had found (en route) was, uh,.....not so nice.

 

Vince and me. Dressed up for the big event

 

So nice to dress up for a change.

Family loving family. What I love most about family gatherings.

 

Natalie and Jason, the happy couple.

"The Wedding Dance"