change...

Keeping with the theme of senses, this week has brought with it crisp mornings that are just a delight for running and cool evenings that make sleeping much more comfortable. More than person has mentioned the tangible change in the weather and while it could just be a cool snap, the pending onset of fall is definitely in the air.

There's a confusion of emotions that ebb and flow with this notion - sadness that the lazy, hot days of summer are coming to an end, yet the delicious, anticipated notes of autumn are almost here. There are parts of every season that I love, but I can't deny that fall gets the label as favorite. The colors of the leaves, the flavors that run rampant, decorating with pumpkins, gourds and sunflowers, and just the need to cozy up in a comfy sweater with a steaming cup of chai tea - there's just so much of fall that I love. Perhaps it's also because it is such a fleeting season...and obviously it leads into winter which, aside from the holidays, is my least favorite season.

For me, now, the fall brings with it even more emotions because it encompasses two of the most defining days of my life - my wedding day (our first anniversary is right around the corner and I can't wait) and the day my father died. These will both be days that I will never forget; days that forever changed me in the blink of an eye; days that harbor such distinctly different memories and thoughts.

But for now, I'm determined to enjoy the last vestiges of summer before they succumb to autumn's finesse.

sense...

The senses can be pretty amazing. Isn't it funny how you can smell something in the present and all of a sudden, you're transported back to another time, another memory, another place where that exact smell was first had? I would have to say the sense of smell is the strongest of the senses as far as the ability to take you to a completely different time and place. With our eyes, it's so hard to remember how things might have been when you're looking at them in the moment. Like how I know that growing up, the backyard of my childhood home was completely different; there was a back porch, a patio and no screened-in deck...but it's so difficult to imagine that because of what I see there now.

However, close your eyes and breathe deeply the scent of something you may have always known or just encountered once in a blue moon and the memories of those experiences linked to that scent will come flooding back. In some ways, I love that. There are so many things that I obviously can't relive, but having the memory attached to something fragrant and delicious is such a treasure. Like how the smell of apple fritters always takes me back to our vacations at the cottage on Silver Lake in Michigan; freshly baked apple pie puts me right in my mother's kitchen; the crisp scent of pine brings back memories of Christmases old and new; sawdust, oil fumes and cigarette smoke make me recall sitting in my father's shed watching him work, and the dank smell of an old basement reminds me of my great-grandparents' house. Just this morning, I was making banana bread, and the smell wafting from the oven made me think of my grandmother's kitchen.

And yet there are those odors that bring with them sadness and perhaps fear. The smell of carnations has a way of reminding me of the various funerals I've attended throughout my lifetime and the loss of dearly loved ones.

It's so easy to take our senses for granted and to flippantly push those memories away. But it's so important to cherish them as long as we're able because they truly are the link between our past and our future.

DIY...

It's a good feeling knowing when you make a good team. For the past 8 months, my husband and I have been tirelessly working on refinishing our basement, and the fact that we can do it together with limited bickering has definitely made the process that much more enjoyable.

When my husband bought the house (prior to us dating), the previous owners had done a sloppy effort of 'finishing' the basement with that nasty wood paneling that throws back to the 1980's. With the help of some good friends and a few beers, that was torn down over a weekend. The week after this past Christmas, the hubs took a whole week off and his dad (who has literally been a handyman Godsend) put in the new studs and framework for what would become the 'Dan-cave' as we decided to name it.

From step to step, through sheetrocking, plastering, choosing paint and trim colors and carpet, we kept making progress and with each step, the basement took on even more resemblance of a usable space.

This past weekend was probably one of the most triumphant, since we made our first really big purchase together - our sectional - and also installed the last bit of baseboard in addition to finishing up the installation of the cabinets and mini fridge. Thankfully, we'd done some research ahead of time in regards to the sectional - I think we'd both learned our lesson in the past that trying to shop together without prior discussions of what we're both thinking usually ends in disaster and more than likely tears. With the Massachusetts tax free weekend as the fire under our butts, we bit the bullet and financed a pretty fabulous sectional that will fill up the basement space perfectly and offer plenty of seating during family parties, get-togethers, and most importantly - football games.

(don't be too impressed - this isn't our basement, just a sample picture of our soon-to-arrive sectional from the manufacturer's website)

But the point where it was most gratifying to know what a great team we are was at the end of the day yesterday, when we could stand back and look at this space that was literally concrete floors and walls 8 months ago and see a completely different space....and for the most part, we did it all together. We had put in the last of the baseboard, and I was walking around with a paintbrush and three open cans of paint making touch-ups on the walls, and for a moment, we both just stopped and looked around and smiled at each other. This was a huge accomplishment. And soon we'll be able to enjoy this space and share it with the ones we love.

So as difficult as some tasks can be, as frustrating as deciding on a paint color, installing ceiling tiles, measuring out baseboard, and everything else can be with a significant DIY project like this can be, it's so much fun to be able to look back and think 'we did this...together!'

And no one got strangled. ;)

summer...

There's something inexplicably invigorating about the smells of summer. Maybe it's just the nostalgia of it all - how certain smells just bring back memories of being a carefree kid and not worrying about anything except when the sunset was bringing the day to an end. Or maybe it's just the unfortunate brevity of summer that makes every scent, every scene, every moment seem that much sweeter.

The other day, I was going for a run after work. It was pushing 80 degrees, the sun was low in the sky, the streets were busy with people on their way home from their jobs. As I ran down side streets, along yards and gardens, I was struck by the wonderful smells that so define summertime. The sweetness of freshly cut grass, the delicious waft of savory smoke from the grill, the pungent smell of water from the sprinkler on hot pavement. These smells truly do define summer both now and in the past... They brought a punch of homesickness - not for home, but for that feeling of being carefree, relaxed, having no expectations of the day to come but only for the present.

Being an adult definitely changes the view with which we see summer. Now we rush through the week to get to the weekend and then we unintentionally pack the weekend with so many things we want to do that the weekend goes by doubly as fast and we are suddenly back to the doldrums of the work week again.

I like being able to spend the evenings relaxing with my husband, sitting on our back step, enjoying a beer together while he grills dinner, relishing the fleeting moments of summer that will soon be replaced with cooler days, changing leaves and other signs of autumn.

But for now, it is summer... and I love every scent of it.