Apples

So, over the last little while, Adam and I have been dealing with one of the joys of co-habitation: viral hot-potato.  Basically, this means that either Adam or I (or both...)brought some kind of cold/flu/achy/icky/fun-killing thing home, and we've been passing it back and forth between eachother for the last few weeks.  Adam got it first.  He dubbed it "The Man Cold", where it's just your basic stuffy nose/chest, sore throat and achiness, but it's like, a billion times worse because he's a man, and therefore a whiney baby every time he gets sick.  Now I have it, in the form of a dry cough, fever and body ache that makes me sounds like I never quit smoking. 

I honestly, truly believed that if I continued on and convinced myself that I wouldn't get sick because "I don't have time to be sick" that I would remain healthy through pure intimidation.  I was totally surprised when it didn't work.  Though, to be honest, I'm kinda glad I'm sick now... I'm going to be stupid-busy from now until Christmas.  I'm probably going to need more hours in the month.

Aside from being sick, Fall is totally my favorite season.  This past weekend, we traveled North to Sprucedale (well, Bear Lake), to visit Adam's parent's for Thanksgiving.  Jan cooks a heck of a turkey, and I"m so happy to see that they're enjoying having hydro!  They haven't experianced a winter with it, but at least they've gotten to cook a bit. 

We got to go for a bit of a walk around the property, including the piece that Adam now owns.  Which, as his common-law spouse(!), I am a part owner in as well... theoretically.  Anyways, there is a house on part of the property that John (Adam's step-dad) has been using as a kind of storage area.  I was really expecting a rotted-out shack, closer to a motel-6 for raccoons than something habitable.  But the place is actually in really great shape!  There's no hydro, but there's insulation throughout most of it, the windows are good, the structure is sound, and there are even power-outlets should someone choose to run hydro out there (or run a generator).  There's no running water, but I believe there was an outhouse.  So... it's not quite a cottage, but it's still a place that we could put some time and energy into turning into a get-away spot. 

Pipe dreams are awesome things.

Anyways, one of the things I truly miss about living in the north is the colour.  The burning oranges and brilliant yellows that pop against a truly blue sky.  Even the smell of the leaves and the dirt and the chrispness... you don't get that in the city.  I wouldn't reccomend trying, even, you'll get a snoot full of exhaust and smog. 

After a mild turkey coma, on the way home, we actually stopped at a real, live Orchard, with Apples!  Pick-your-own.  I've never been to that kind of place before, even though there's one not far from my parent's cottage.  It was really pretty.  There weren't many apples left, really... between the families there and the bugs, everything was pretty picked over, but we did manage to get an apple crumble from the bake-shop on the property.  It was AMAZING.  I need to bake more.

People think spring brings out the creative in people... the regeneration, wanting to open up after months of isolation and feeling stuffed and stifled.  But I think this is really the season to be creative.  You want to knit warm things like mittens and sweaters and scarves.  You want to bake things and fill the apartment with spices and joy.  You want to walk around in comfy jeans and really take in the world.

October really is a pretty awesome month.