Woo is right! So happy it is Friday! We apologize for our brief absence as this past week was indeed an emotionally heavy one of sorting through stored boxes of my mother's and my husband's father's things, both of whom passed away recently - my mom two years ago and my father-in-law just this past October (and today would have been his 90th birthday). For me, it was impossible to go through my mother's things before now. She was my first and lifelong best friend, an amazing mother and grandmother to my daughter, my confidante, my support system, my cheerleader, and my therapist. Accepting she is physically gone, has been, well, too painful. Now, however, it is starting to become a familiar warm feeling to see her handwriting, and even that of my father (who has been passed 44 years now) on cards, letters, and photos that were saved amongst her personal items. I let the familiar scripts and memories of my younger days wash over me, and instead of feeling the pain of...

"By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather And autumn's best of cheer." ~ Helen Hunt Jackson With the arrival of Labor Day, also comes the unofficial end to summer. September is such a beautiful month. Perfect really. The temperatures are still warm. The waters still sparkle. And the crickets still chirp all lulling us into the false sense that summer is still here...after all, it's not the 23rd yet! But even with still humid days, although we do not wish to admit it, the sunlight is growing shorter and there is something in the air; while not yet the cool snap of Autumn, it is some thing. Something that tells us summer is ready to leave as Autumn beckons in the not-to-distant future, waiting in all of its golden glory of colorful foliage, crisp air, and pumpkins decorating the landscapes and our food!   I love September. But I admit I will miss the long, hazy, lazy days of summer when everything seems to be mov...