Some color for your fall

It is set to snow here just outside of Boston and in fact there a few wanna be flakes actually fluttered down this morning. Still a few flowers are maintaing a tenacious grip on life adding vivid spots of color in an otherwise gray garden. I'm not surprised by the alyssum or the mums - they usually stick around until after the snow falls. The roses, however, are showing unusual gumption and the snap dragons should have given up long ago. It has been an unually warm fall, which may be confusing them a bit. Regardless, I'm glad they're still showing off despite the neglect they suffered over the summer. This was not a big gardening year for me. Twice the garden became nearly choked with weeds and I had to hire my children for a few solid afternoons of unwanted plant removal.

Usually around this time of year, we are complaining about the encroachment of Christmas on the rest of the year, but it feels so dark after 5 p.m. that I'm longing for the lights that will brighten the night. We ususally wait until a few weekedends after Thanksgiving to put up ours but I'm tempted to put them up now in hopes of sparking a trend. We may get the tree earlier as well. Now that we have kids, it seems to make more sense to stretch out the holiday so there is less pressure on the one day.

Kudos to all who have already started their holiday knitting - I know of at least one person who started in July. You all deserve to revel in your organization and forthought. I'm keeping it light this year since I have a lot of projects started already and my children are inbetween appreciating knitted gifts. But I will enjoy watching everyone else's gifting progress.