The Essence of Autumn

I love what Autumn brings: the cooler weather, the rainy days that make you want to curl up next to a fire and read a book, the change of color in the world outside, the earlier evenings, people wearing sweaters, and the sweet aroma of dinners cooking. There is something enchanting to me about the earlier, darker evenings. I must have always loved it because I get butterflies in my stomach when I’m out and about in the evening during the sun’s last rays of light. I love to see the dreary clouds and people walking briskly with sweaters and coats on. What mesmerizes me the most are the cars and their headlights. I love to see a line of lights, they make me think of two strands of Christmas lights winding perfectly spaced on a Christmas tree. Always two sets of lights though, one of white and the other of red. Every now and again you get the blinking yellow light as a car signals to turn left or right.

Autumn must be working her way into my blood. Tonight I thought a perfect autumn dinner would be appropriate. Thank goodness for food storage because I had everything on hand for this perfect dinner. I made a spiced ham complete with pineapple, mashed potatoes, green beans, and baked apples. One of my favorite memories while dating Adam was that his mom used to light candles for dinner when they had chili. So, I thought I’d bring that tradition on into our family. Our dinner was complete with candle light. I’m always a little nervous making something new, but Adam and I were both very pleased with how dinner turned out. Too bad it’s not about 50 degrees outside! However, we did get to enjoy fresh air.