fall

Steps to Happiness on a Fall Day:

1. Purchase Trader Joes Spiced Cider*
2. Pour into a microwave safe mug
3. Microwave until nice and hot
4. Sip, preferably whilst sitting outside on your screen porch, reading a good book

Fall is finally here. And even though I try to savor all seasons, I've got a special little place in my heart for autumn. That special little place gets larger and larger for every Georgia summer that I suffer through.

The air this evening is chilly, but I keep the door between the kitchen and the screen porch open to let the fresh air in. I sit outside on the porch, and just because I can, wear a sweatshirt with my bare feet.** Feels lovely around here.

And finally I allow myself to open the bottle of spiced cider that has been sitting in the back of my closet since last fall. Have you tried this? If not, head to Trader Joes and buy a bottle. Maybe two bottles! I bought two bottles last year and only drank one, so I saved my second bottle for this fall because drinking spiced cider in the summer is probably against the Constitution or at least the code of normal behavior. So on second thought, better only buy one.

The battery in my camera is currently dead, so I scrolled the internets to get a suitable replacement. From here

I think Trader Joes actually sells this cider year-round, but I pretend that they only sell it when the air feels chilly. If I'm feeling spring-y or summer-y, I walk past the cider spot with eyes averted. If it is fall or winter - but mostly just fall - I notice the spiced cider on the shelves enthusiastically and get all excited that they've "brought out the seasonal stuff." Yes, I play games with myself to increase my happiness.

Homemade cider is probably infinitely better than this cider. At least, it could be better. Actually, I am pretty sure that this cider is just as good as homemade cider. Either way, I have this cider - and not homemade cider - so this is the cider that I drank this evening, when the temperature dipped and the sun set and I said thank you to this beautiful world.

Good night

Good night

Good night


*Heck no this isn't a paid endorsement! Or even an unpaid endorsement! Trader Joes doesn't even know who I am! Although sometimes I think they do when they are all friendly and chatty, asking me "Are you sure you only want one case of that two-buck Chuck?"


**I should clarify that my feet were not wearing the sweatshirt, but that I was wearing a sweatshirt while also having bare feet. I don't like ambiguous sentences, but at the same time like for sentences to flow in a specific way. It was difficult for me to get both in that sentence, so I gave up ambiguity in order to get the precise flow.***


***In which I demonstrate how anal I am when I write.