It’s November! And it is still warm outside.  I don’t know whether to gripe or be grateful for the weather.  We need rain, but in Oklahoma, when the rains begin in the fall, winter is right behind.  Last year we had a major ice storm the day after Thanksgiving. My flower beds need attention before the ice and snow.  The over waist-high basil should be dried and crushed for use in soups and sauces this winter. And I just got called back to work for the Christmas season.

November is NaNoWriMo month.  National Novel Writing Month is celebrated in lots of ways; in Enid, the public library is hosting a Tuesday writing blitz http://enid.okpls.org/homepageslider/come-write-in-this-november/ .  You can sit in the semi-quiet of the library and work on putting as many words on paper (or computer screen) as your fingers and mind can stand – to be edited later.  The object of the month is to get 50,000 words (a short novel) down before the month is through.  In case you’re wondering, that is over 1600 words a day or just over six and a half pages a day.  You can do that, right? Well, you can if you’re committed and organized.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you know what happens after Thanksgiving – Christmas!  It is upon us once again.  I’ve started a small Christmas list and even bought a few things, stuffed them in the linen closet (the place of honor for future presents,) and began to peruse the sale flyers. 

My husband is griping because it is too warm to hunt deer.  But the deer are probably happy. As a long- time hunter, there was a time when he would be on pins and needles awaiting the season.  He has mellowed with age. 

It is still warm enough to walk the dog first thing in the morning.  Once winter hits, she’ll get walked in the afternoon sometimes and other days not at all.  But the weatherman has forecast rain for this evening.  I think I’ll make a pot of chili.  Maybe it will encourage the season.

What are you doing for autumn?