Oh, the end of summer....

This picture is representative of this summer for me--swimming and BBQs with my favorite people. It has been the summer of the BBQ. Matt and I have been in living in corporate housing at a new, very hip complex. Madeline is the only small person here and I am quite sure I am the only round-bellied one. The rest are young professionals with bikinis and beers. We have stuck out (me in more ways than one) but loved our time here mainly because of the pool and the BBQ area by the pool. We have used it on average 76% more than our corporate neighbors.

This weekend Matt and Annie made their second trek down to Charlotte from DC and we ate hamburgers and shishkabobs and went night swimming. We stayed up late talking and playing games. Doug and Christine came over and made us laugh and I creamed everyone in a game of Acquire. It was the perfect summer weekend. But I couldn't help but notice that it got dark an hour and a half before it used to and that my once abundant lemonade stash has now dwindled. I went to the grocery store last week and didn't even have the heart to buy anymore. I did, however, buy ingredients for butternut squash soup at the farmer's market. It's time to throw in the punch bowl and pull out the ladle.

Speaking of ladles, we bought a house last week. I was in actually in the hospital with pre-term contraction problems (everything is fine now. The baby and I have had a talk and he is planning on staying put for awhile) and I signed the papers from my hospital bed. My hair was bad, my body odor was worse and I had an IV in my hand. I'll never forget it. It makes me smile just thinking about what a good journal entry it will make when I get around to writing in my journal.

But, anyway, speaking of ladles. Now that we have a house that needs more work every time I look at it, I have visions of a Fall open house with caramel apples and soup in bread bowls. Isn't Fall the coziest time to welcome people into your new home? The thought of it really gives me the motivation I need to scrub, paint and customize the place. Almost. Yesterday Matt and I went over to the house and looked at each other with glazed eyes, wondering where in the world to begin. There have been few things in my life as overwhelming as buying a house (and that including having children and signing my eternity over to Matt). I just don't know when the house is going to feel like our little piece of Heaven. Or our little piece of anything. It is a 60 year old foreign blub of undone work to me right now. But someday (may it correspond with my vision of caramel-appled, butternut squash soup laden Fall) it will be home. When I does, I'll tell you all about it. I will capitalize Home in my blog and post pictures of it lovingly. And I'll invite you over for homemade donuts and cider (as soon as I learn how to make homemade donuts, that is).

Until then, good-bye summer. You've been good to us. Hello unknown Fall. May the myriad house projects you bring be as fun as swimming and shishkabobs.