Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

The weather has finally cooled off. I'm so ready for fall, and the 70-80+ degrees was killing me. Give me 50's and below, please. I need my sweaters, sweatshirts, and sweatpants. I keep saying I'm going to move further north. I need to follow through, move to Wisconsin or northern Michigan. Maybe Minnesota. I like summer with the heat, the sweat, the cold showers, but I love the cool of fall and the cold of winter. I love wrapping myself in a fleece blanket and sitting out on the porch in the mornings, with my cup of hot coffee, watching the steam rise. I also love making soup and homemade bread. My kitchen is a mix of odor right now. On the stove is acorn squash soup in the making. A holiday candle is going near the sink. I really don't know why I lit the candle. It just seemed like a fun thing to do while I stood and washed the dishes. It's time to blow it out and let the soup fill the house with thyme and nutmeg. Soon the bread will be in the oven to add its deli...

Nearly 27 miles today. With intensely numb toes by the end. So numb I simply couldn't feel the floor after taking off my cycling shoes. My fingers? Just fine. My face? No problem. Even without my balaclava. I've searched the apartment for my neoprene booties, but so far no luck. So the toes are just going to have to go numb.  Towards the end of my ride. I didn't realize until after seeing this photo on the computer that I'm actually in it, too. My go-to for thawing out my toes was hot chocolate spiked with a little bit of Bailey's Irish Cream. I'll ride 27 miles in 35 degrees with a real feel of 29 any day if it means hot chocolate with Bailey's is waiting for me at the end. I thought about having a second but then I thought, "J, save that last bit of Bailey's for another day. You'll be glad you did." So I tucked the Bailey's back in the fridge, behind the milk and orange juice (not that anyone else will drink it, but just to be ...