Goodbye Summer--- Hello Fall!

I have been so in denial about summer’s ending that I have mostly refused to check my email this weekend—not wanting to acknowledge that classes, and the whole semester, begin this week! It seems that I have been more reluctant than ever to let summer end—it began so beautifully with an emergency management conference in Emmitsburg  (always lovely to see old colleagues and meet new ones),

Elizabeth’s visit, which included beach trips to Cape May,

Rehoboth
and running up to New York City to meet Sophia’s young man, Tait,

and an Amish buggy ride through Lancaster County.
Next came some shopping, and a few college tours for Elizabeth.
In July, Ed and Fawn and I enjoyed a day exploring Herring Point

and having lunch in Lewes. That’s also where I took some great shots with my new Sony camera.

Finally, August brought a trip to SanFrancisco ...

...to attend the ASA annual meeting, which included being picked up at the airport by my son, Michael, and meeting his lovely Annie.

This was the cherry on top of an already lovely summer! ASA also included a pre-conference tour of sustainable wine growing in Sonoma...

...which also included wine tastings... (yes, note the plural!)...

And I also took a combined day trip to Angel Island (exploring the history of Pacific immigration) and to

Alcatraz (to explore the history of this island as a notorious prison from which everyone wanted to escape but very few actually did!).

In between, I finished Chapter 4 of my dissertation and have been working on purging papers stored in the garage. This weekend I’ve purged and cleaned my office, rearranged the furniture and now I am soooo looking forward to writing there in the coming months!

Yes, summer is over… sigh…The Old Farmer’s Almanac  

forecasts a terrible winter much like the brutal one we had last year. I’ve decided to treat myself to some great new boots (already ordered) and a great cashmere sweater to make it all bearable. Haven’t found the sweater yet, but this will give me something to do and look forward to. I’m also mentally preparing for revising Chapter 4 and drafting Chapter 5. It will be great to be done! It’s been a long time coming.

In between I will also be developing several new programs at work, as well as Chairing the Curriculum Committee. It’s also time to put the plans together for a family beach vacation at a pet friendly place for next June. In my spare time (haha!) I will continue to purge—and that feels oh so good!

Hello Fall! I might as well get used to you being here J.

Winter's Walk With Fawnie- dog

It's one of those crisp winter mornings- perfect for taking Fawn for a nice, long walk in the park!

Spring Has Sprung!

Almost on a daily basis I get up in the morning to look out and ask "Is it Spring yet?" We've had a few days here and there that have been teasers, but lately it's been wintry cold. Yesterday Fawnie and I went out looking for Spring, but we didn't see it anywhere. This morning though, we found some promise that Spring is on the way!

Last year Phillip planted a peach tree, and its buds show it has survived the winter! That's a hopeful sign, right? It can't be easy surviving winter when you're just a baby tree!