NOW it's autumn

I judge the advent of autumn in many ways:

The calendar, which is usually unreliable since it can still be in the 90s for weeks.

The turning of the leaves, except this year it's been so dry we're just happy to see trees still having leaves, no matter the color.

The urge to put away all white slacks and sandals. (But I did that the week after Labor Day so it hardly counts. Some Southern traditions are ingrained.)

Turning off the a/c and opening the windows is a hint. Turning off the ceiling fans, which I did today, is closer to confirmation.

Eyeing my closet and moving tank tops and crop pants out, three-quarter sleeve garments in.

Realizing I have to put on real shoes or risk very cold toes. Happened this morning. Had to scramble for loafers, so this afternoon I packed away my sandals.

But the one sure way to know it's autumn for me: the changing of the purse. Good-bye woven bag with bright orange trim, hello dark brown leather.

There's a nip in the air!

The chaos that is my closet

It's that time of year again, when fall starts showing up, but summer lingers. Same thing happens in March/April, just in reverse. So while I have put away my white slacks, the rest of my closet looks like a second-hand store in need of rearrangement.

It's cold in the mornings, so a jacket has appeared on the hall tree. I've put away my sandals--except I needed them this afternoon. All my tanks are where they've been since May, but now my 3/4 sleeved blouses and tee shirts are beside them. I bought a new pair of jeans today--and a thin summery skirt. Things are getting crowded.

My closet will have a dual personality for a month, then I'll gut it up and decide that it's not going to be warm any more and "move the closet."

That usually guarantees a warm Thanksgiving.

The seasonal switcheroo

We had five inches of snow on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Five. Inches. Beyond mid-March. Beyond fathomable. It was almost a joke because then it was more melted than here by Sunday evening.

Hoping that was the last of winter (or of the unbearably cold winter although the temp didn't get below 30), on Monday I switched my closet. Out went winter, in came spring/summer. For better or worse, if it turns cold again, I shall have to dig.

Then, I made myself really look at items and decide not only if I was going to wear them again, but if I should wear them again. At the end of the hour, I had three Chico's shopping bags full for the secondhand store. To make sure I didn't have second thoughts, I handed them over on Tuesday morning. If it was a mistake, I'll have to not only pay to get it back, but hope it's still there.

I noticed a couple things about my wardrobe. My winter is heavy on jackets and vests. They don't go out of style and are available at bargain prices to shoppers like me who love to buy out of season. My spring/summer wardrobe (you'll notice there isn't a fall wardrobe because it's a mix of summer and winter) is heavy on crop pants. Again, readily available at bargain rates end of the season. That's why I have so many.

No excuses offered. No rationalizations. Just fact. Can't pass up a bargain.

Spring closet attrition

While I know it's too early to move my winter clothes into the other room and the spring/summer into the main closet (because if I do I know it will snow or do some other wintry thing just to get back at me), I have decided to let it happen by attrition. In other words, not finding what I want to wear, I'm going to raid the s/s closet and then leave it in the main one when it's time to hang it up. I'll even take sweaters into the other room. It wouldn't hurt to start making a box for the second hand store of those things that I think if I see them _one more time_, I'll start growling.

As to shoes, the boots are packed away and two pair of sandals have made their way out of hibernation. I hung one heavy coat. I folded fewer socks last laundry.

Oh, yes, I can feel the warmth starting in my bones, but I'm also wary of Mother Nature and her ill ways.