Autumn is in the air

I thought we'd squeeze in another sunny week before autumn set in, but it looks like I was wrong.  I don't mind, though; I've had a fabulous summer, full of travel and learning and laughing. I changed jobs, I bought a convertible, we visited Madrid, Paris, Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, I've been to the States twice (or maybe more--I lose track).  Jess and I finally moved our relationship forward, and she put the ball firmly back in my court.  (That was a metaphor, not a double entendre.)  We had two months of glorious sunshine, with the lowest rainfall in 94 years, and I had two friends visit me in London.

Sure, we've got a bastardized government that is threatening the worst budget cuts in history, and the unions have responded with threats of strikes not seen since 1926, which could make the 'winter of discontent' look like a blustery day.  (My company also does significant business with the government, so cuts would hit it hard.)  Jess and I have spent three months fruitlessly searching for a house.  I haven't been able to spend near enough time with my family, nor visit my friends in LA.  And next Friday I have to fast for 25 hours.  But hey, that's life.

Over the next three months, as temperatures fall back to single digits (Celsius!) and the days get progressively shorter (in London we lose about 4 minutes per day, more than twice as fast as Los Angeles) we will continue getting on, getting on.  I've learned to love the seasons, and while fall may not be as spectacular here as in New England, it is still lovely to watch the leaves fall.  We're already talking about making an offer on a particular house, but we're in no particular hurry as house prices have fallen for the last three months, and are expected to continue falling.  I am making plans to go to Amsterdam next month, ostensibly to visit a friend of mine, but really to connect with a city I fell in love with 20 years ago but have not seen since.  Jessica's dad will be in London in October, my birthday is in November (hint, hint), and I'm still hoping I can convince Jess to take a long Christmas vacation to visit Los Angeles...via Australia.