12 questions, 36 answers, and no sex

by the 3H's

1. When do you know it's really truly fall, regardless of what the calendar says?

HANK:  There's a thing that happens when you touch a wool dress in the summer--it's unthinkable to put it on. But then, one day, the air is different...and that wool dress seems--just right. Also, flip flops feel inappropriate. Sigh. The dahlias are in their last burst of colors...And you think about sweaters.

HEATHER: I wind up out of town with my usual sandals and knits and realize I'm freezing. What? Summer’s over? Ah, hell! Or, someone says, hey, hurricane season is over. Do you think the hurricanes know that?

HARLEY: When we can all stand to go upstairs at night without air conditioning. Hallelujah!

 2. Any fall rituals?

HANK: We have a couch in our sun room--we change the slipcovers from white duck to taupe suede. It's so funny--instant fall. Big bins of chrysanthemums on the porch. And it's our wedding anniversary! We'll get out the photo album, and look at the pictures, and have champagne.

HARLEY: I can’t believe I’m admitting this here, but I change the dinner plates. From delicate red and white polka dots to heavy brown and red square plates. I sound awfully Martha Stewart, don’t I?

HEATHER: The zoo. There's that little jingle, "all the animals in the zoo are jumping up and down for you!" No, no, not really. Not until the temperature slacks off. Fall arrives--and you can go to the zoo. It's a huge misconception that we don't have seasons. We have hot, hotter, not so hot, and wow, actually almost mild and pleasant! Fall is not so hot, and animals get frisky. 

3. What will you be happy to say goodbye to about summer?

HANK:  Um, I like summer. And it went by too quickly.

HEATHER: Me, too, Hank. I love traveling in summer--it's so easy, carry-on and a computer bag. Fall means more luggage and waiting at MIA to get it back. Oh, wait--I'll be glad to say goodbye to hurricane season, tho it straddles a bit into fall.

HARLEY: Wet beach towels.

4. What will you be sad to say goodbye to? (Heather, dollars to donuts your answer is going to be "Chynna" . . . )

HANK: It's less about the season, and more about how the time is just--GOING BY. So fast! They just discovered that neutrinos can go faster than the speed of light. Well, I think the days go faster than the speed of light.

HARLEY: I’m kind of missing those polka dot dinner plates.

HEATHER: Chynna. 

5. When do you bring out the winter clothes (and where do they live all summer)?

HANK: Gradually! And they live on the third floor, in a room that I snagged for a big closet. (Don't tell.)

HARLEY: They live in the “guy” closet. This is one of the happy side effects of divorce: closet space.

HEATHER: What are winter clothes?

6. Favorite season?

HARLEY: This one! Fall! Woo-hoo!

HANK: Ah. I have reasons for liking them all. Is that too sappy? Fall is good!

HEATHER: I love them all. Summer has always meant family travel. Spring is Easter and a family and friend get-together known as East-over because close family friends are Jewish. Christmas--more family. And fall gives us Halloween, a favorite holiday, and no matter how old I get, I'll dress up and I love to take out the kids, big or little! And St. Patrick's Day is in spring, which is a big day when we all celebrate in honor of my mom. I love them all.

7. Are you itching to put up your Halloween decorations or are you thinking "what Halloween decorations?"

HEATHER: Most people believe that we have our Halloween decorations up all year. Our tastes are a little on the weird side. My sister told me once, "Who ever thought you'd grow up to have the Addams family house?" We are eclectic.

HANK: Too soon, too soon...!

HARLEY: I’m looking at my watch, thinking, “isn’t it time yet?”

8. What is your favorite scent of fall?

HANK: Cinnamon. Burning leaves! Remember when everyone used to burn leaves?

HEATHER: Mount Trashmore doesn't smell quite as badly!

HARLEY: Here's my least favorite: brush fires. The curse of California and the smell is one you never forget. You wake up in the morning and say, “Oh, shit” and then you turn on the local news to see how close it is and how much to worry.

9. Are you starting your Christmas shopping, already finished Christmas shopping, or reading this sentence and thinking, "are you people nuts?"

HANK: Are you people.... :-) But I must say, I have thought about it. With much terror.

HEATHER: No. I don't Christmas shop early. I've tried it, and then Christmas rolls around, and I can't find the things that I've bought.

HARLEY: Same here. I forget all the hiding places. Hopeless. 

10. Do you care about the World Series?

HEATHER: Sure. That's baseball, right?

HARLEY: Yes, I think it is baseball.

HANK: Yes! Yes I do. I do. Go Sox. Sigh. They are absolutely tanking, and my poor husband is distraught. But Boston is really fun when the Sox win--there's a great spirit and sense of community.  Although that hasn't happened recently..sheesh.

11. Do you really change the batteries in your smoke alarm when the time changes?

HEATHER: Um, okay!

HANK: This year we will, yes, good idea.

HARLEY: I can never find the smoke alarm until the batteries die and it starts beeping. 

12. Would you even consider wearing white shoes between now and next Memorial Day?

HARLEY: What, are we savages? Barbarians?

HANK: You know what? No. That's so sad.

HEATHER: I think I have white sandals.

We regret that we neglected to consider the IOCHFTS crowd. Please feel free to include sex in your comments.

Comments

[Reine]

I should just go home and stay put were I still know how to dress with the seasons, because here in Tucson it's still doing the triple digit thing. I can't get used to it. My son looked at my stadium coat yesterday and said, "What the heck is that?" OK, so he didn't say heck, but he did make fun of my coat even though it is light weight wool and has barrel buttons instead of those big bone toothy kind of cow horn whatevers.

I heard there are people in SoCal who wear white after Labor Day, but I never saw any when I lived there. I had to store my patchwork madras shorts for visits back to Marblehead though, because people in West Hollywood pointed and laughed. I never went back to Barney's Beanery after the time I wore my Nantucket reds there one night. And they were all faded and nice and soft, too.

I've cleaned out the iced tea jug and the coffee pitcher, so I can put them in the back of the pantry. Oh I forgot, we don't have a pantry here. We don't even have a mud room. Maybe I can put them in that funny little cabinet over the fridge. No, can't do that. Step says there's some kind of vent piping stuff in there. Oh wait a minute, he says he can make a little room by taking the rum out of there for eggnog season. Oh good, he found my nutmeg grater? OK. I can do this.

I am ready for haboob season to be over. I never heard of a haboob before we moved to Tucson. First a wall of sand moves up the valley knocking down power poles, making it impossible to see, causing tractor-trailers to jackknife, breaking trees in half, and depositing strange piles of dirt and vegetation in your yard and driveway and through any window you might have open. Then it rains and turns it to cement. Why didn't I know about this before? Haboobs begone!

[Reine]

Oh . . . baseball! Yes! GO SOX!!!!! Jacoby Ellsbury . . . I love him.

[Nancy Martin]

Here, summer was too hot and humid to enjoy even a minute outside, so it went by too fast, and now it's fall, which I love.

I love everything about fall. But the best thing might be that I can once again wear shoes that don't cripple me. (Dansko clogs---yay!) If I had to wear summer sandlas much longer, I'd start limping.

Photos of those changing plates, please, Harley!

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

Our weather has been so screwy the last several years, that we have summer weather into October. I finally put the pastel Crocs away this weekend, but am still wearing darker Crocs rather than my Danskos - because it is hot and humid here.

This is wrong on many levels, and why I would like to bean people who say there is no climate change.

White after Labor Day? Only if I am in the tropics after Easter. And by tropics I mean Florida.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Changing plates? I LOVE it. I mean--its fabulous. I think that means I get to go buy new plates.

We have a red plate, that says "You Are Special Today" that we put out for each other (and everyone!) when there's something wonderful.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Seriously. I am getting new plates. I mean--right
now, there's jsutthe two of us. Thats's TWO plates! I could get a plate-a-month. Wonder if we could have the tarts plate of the month club?

[Margaret Maron]

Hank, I do the plates thing, too. Along with different table linens - yellow or white for summer; green or cranberry for winter.

[Twist]

Harley, your plate change is so much more interesting than mine (white to red). And I do the same to my hair (red under the blond). I figure if the leaves can change ...

[Karen in Ohio]

Since I'm as big a Halloween nut as Heather is--I have three times as much spooky decor than red/green/sparkly--the idea to just leave it out all year is very appealing. Don't think my husband would buy that rationale, though.

Favorite time of year? Fall, most definitely. Followed by spring, then summer, and winter only gets counted because of the end-of-year holidays. And Valentine's Day.

I forget hiding places, and I forget who in the world, or why in the world, I bought something like that. For whom? Was I nuts? So I just don't any more.

[judy merrill larsen]

I love the change of seasons; I get to cook differently. Just the other day it was cooler and cloudy and rainy . . . and I made oatmeal cookies and butternut squash soup. By next March I'll be hankering to grill everything, but now I'm sick of my grill. Tonight it's braised short ribs although it's supposed to warm up later in the week so I might have to hold off on spaghetti sauce.

Love the idea of changing plates!

[Harley]

Nancy, that red polka dot plate pictured above my spring/summer plate. I think it's Spode "Baking Days" -- but my fall/winter plates are dark brown and square. So that they don't clash with Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'd describe them better, but they're in the closet packed away with the Halloween stuff and you know what's going to happen if I go in there and start unpacking? That's a day lost from my life, on a week that I have an outline due.

Christmas, it hardly needs to be said, has its own plates.

Such a sexy conversation!

[Kerry]

Summer around here is so hot and humid that, like Nancy, I can't stand to go outside. Which sucks, because I like being outside. So summer tends to drag for me.

Spring and fall are both lovely, but I really do prefer fall - that first crisp, dry, sunny day when I CAN FINALLY BREATHE!!!!! I can feel my whole body expand. It's wonderful. Plus, fall and winter mean soft, baggy sweats and cuddly blankets. Comforting, and they hide the fat.

What are table linens?

[Ramona]

"What are table linens?"

Oh, Kerry, we must talk. I am the Tablecloth Whisperer.

[Elaine Viets]

White shoes? After September? I don't want to look like a tourist in Florida.

[Harley]

Ramona, I want in on the Table Linens tutorial.

[xena]

You all are so cute!
Yeah...I may just change my usual white paper plates to something more expensive like the matching colored plates at the dollar store.
By the time Halloween gets here I am costumed out. In the trade, Halloween starts in March. I'll start getting calls for special stuff soon. Don't get me wrong. I love Halloween and it does pay the bills for October.
Anything cool ...even opening the door to the ice box is welcomed in Miami.
I'm a Seven Year Itch girl myself. Keep you undies in the freezer!

[Ramona]

Harley, I've been thinking about offering a workshop: Self-Editing and Table-Setting, Together At Last.

For the IOCHFTS crowd, remember how the nuns used to say never go on a date to a restaurant with white tablecloths, because white tablecloths make boys think of going to be bed? Like a red/blue/green/purple/paisley/tye-dyed tablecloth keep boys from thinking of going to bed.

Silly nuns.

[Storyteller Mary]

Layers, I love dressing in layers . . . when the seasons change, I add more layers (which came in handy with the variable temps in my classroom). Eventually the sandals will be put away as cold and wet days give way to consistently cold.
I did just pull out a little mouse with pumpkin decoration, to go with pumpkin from my CSA . . . and leaves are falling.
I delay Halloween touches until October, which is coming very soon (along with mine and Karen's birthdays -- Oct. 5, the most popular birthday, thanks to New Year's festivities).

[Margaret Maron]

Table linens? A 90" round cloth, topped by a 60" cloth; matching/contrasting cloth napkins.

Ramona, can you answer a question I've never seen answered? In a simple fold -- in half first and then in a square and finally the square folded in half longways -- do you make that final fold so that it opens from the upper left or from the upper right?

[Harley]

I bet if some nubile girl dressed herself in nothing but a tablecloth, those boys would be thinking of sex, regardless of the pattern, fabric, or color scheme of said tablecloth.

It's for this reason I am not a nun. I'm too argumentative.

[Ramona]

Margaret, I think the fold is supposed to be nearest the plate, with the four loose corners of the napkin in the lower left. The idea is that you pick up the napkins at the pinch in the upper right corner. It opens as you do so and you can drop it into your lap, gracefully of course.

I should consult my mother-in-law on this-or maybe watch the dinner scenes of Downton Abbey or Gosford Park and see how they do it.

[Karen in Ohio]

That's the way I fold my daily napkins, too, Ramona. Ever since my youngest daughter learned table etiquette for a scout badge.

No kidding about boys thinking of sex. And they're so unpredictable! You never know whether it's the see-through baby doll or the flannel granny gown that's going to turn them on.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Oh,I love table linens. too...when we redid the sewing room (long story) we put in a closet, and now I can hang the tablecloths on round hangers. They look gorgeous--problem is, they look SO gorgeous, I can't bear to use them.

I really have to get up my courage to draw them off the hangers and put them on the table.

Luckily, EVERYTHING comes out now, right? Whatever spills, it doesn't stain.

(I think I was traumatized by the time my dear pal Kate brought out the linen tablecloth she'd gotten in, I don't know, Provence, or some place wonderful, and I proceeded to knock over a whole bottle of red wine on it.

We leaped up, grabbed the cloth, hightailed it to he bathroom and dowsed it with club soda and salt. Sigh. It still clenches my stomach to think of it.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Margaret--I vote: opens from the upper left.

[Karen in Ohio]

Hank, every time I have a dinner party someone spills red wine. Never fails. Club soda and salt are the first line of defense. If that doesn't work, soaking in Oxyclean does.

The only problem with having really nice linens (some inherited, some bought cheaply at antique/collectible stores) is ironing them.

I'm trying to visualize round hangers. Nope. Can't.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Karen, Hangers with round things over the wire. As if you put a paper towel roll on the wire part.

Yes, and the spilling red wine thing is so terrible! Once some bitchy woman at a party ("Oh, you knocked it over, you should have seen I had my wine glass on the floor so it's not MY fault") spilled an *entire glass* of red wine on my gorgeous gorgeous bittersweet orange satin shoes.

I ran to the back porch with a whole bottle of club soda, (Would you like a glass, the bartender said? No thank you, I hissed.) and just poured it on the shoe.

What're you DOING??? A baffled party-goer asked.

I'm POURING WATER ON MY SHOE, I said. GO AWAY.

[Karen in Ohio]

But how did your shoes turn out? Did they survive to adorn another day?

You can't just leave a girl hanging here, Hank.

[Lisa Alber]

Oh, I love the idea of table linens and plates for every season. I'll just have to live vicariously through you-all because I live in a condo with very little storage space...sigh...I also live in Portland, OR, which has such a short summer that it probably doesn't matter anyhow.

White shoes? The only white shoes I own are my workout tennies, and I NEVER wear them outside of exercising. I'm a black-sandal wearing kind of gal, which simply changes to black boots...

For me fall is better than the New Year for regrouping and energizing myself. I blame my geeky-girlhood (I loved school!). The start of the holiday season doesn't hurt either...I freely admit that I put out my Halloween decorations over the weekend.

Only downfall to fall: why do the stores insist on putting out their Halloween candy so early? I have a perverse fondness for candy corn.

Great post!

[Harley]

HANK! Horrors! If that isn't grounds for justifiable homicide, I don't know what is. Bittersweet orange satin shoes. I want to see them.

Did they survive?

[Harley]

By the way, is anyone else seeing personal messages in that code you have to type in before your comment will get posted? Or is that just me?

Like this: ur2pms.

How can I not take that personally? And how does the computer know?

[Laura (in PA)]

My husband brought home candy corn from the grocery store yesterday. I've been averting my eyes from the candy displays for weeks, refusing to believe I need any yet. When I saw the Christmas displays in BJs last week, I closed my eyes all together.

I rarely use my table linens, other than place mats on the kitchen table where we usually eat. The dining room table is usually covered with mail, not linens.

I do love Fall, though. Apples! I made applesauce and apple pie yesterday, and apple crisp last weekend. I love apple stuff, and it signifies Fall to me. I agree with Kerry - when the air turns crisp, and you take a big breath full of fresh air and fallen leaves... It's like learning to breathe all over again. I love bringing out the sweaters, and boots, and not having to worry about my pedicure...

[Josh]

Harley, maybe you need some foil on your teeth, you know, to block the signals.

[Deb]

It is Fall when I am uncomfortable going outside without a sweater or jacket. (In my opinion, it is unnatural to need to wear a sweater or a jacket to go outside comfortably.)

Fall rituals? Well, I guess my "ritual" is pulling out the box of tissues and sobbing because winter is coming, and I will not be warm again until early May.

I'm NEVER happy to say goodbye to summer! NEVER!!!

I will miss being warm enough to go outside without some sort of cover-up, I'll miss fresh fruits and vegetables, I will miss being warm...

I've already started wearing some of my winter clothing, which lives in my Left Hand Bedroom Closet in the Wonderful Warm Months(the months that are also known as the Months of Normal Temperatures.)

The only white shoes I wear are my sneakers. I rarely wear anything other than sneakers, except if I'm going to a wedding or funeral.

Cannot wait to put up Halloween decorations and LOVE to get dressed up for Halloween,even if I'm the only one in the office in costume!

Did I mention that my Favorite Season is SUMMER??!

[lil Gluckstern]

Tell me
-doesn't anything make teenage boys think of sex? (Girls too, by the way). I like fall because of the colors and the smells. I found an old Halloween themed scarf which I never wear and tied it to my door knocker. I got the idea from a friend. Instant decor.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

So. Candy corn. Not my fave. But when I do eat it, I eat it color by color. Bite off the little point, then the middle, then eat the bottom.

Do you?

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Ah HA. My captcha combo was 3pzbby.

SO I guess instead of candy corn, I'm supposed to put out PEZ, baby.

[Lisa Alber]

Oh yeah, when I'm being a good girl, by which I mean when I'm not wolfing them down because of ur2pms, then I do eat them color by color. I'd forgotten about that little fall ritual! (But, really, this is the year that I WILL.NOT.buy.candy.corn.)

[Margaret Maron]

Thanks for the napkin info. I do NOT CHOFTS, but I've learned so much from you all on other matters!

Candy corn is only fresh and in season from mid-Sept to mid-Nov. Like tomatoes in the summer.

[Alan P.]

Speaking as an ex-teenage guy, everything makes a guy think of sex. It doesn't stop, only modifies. But when you are 16, if she is somewhere between has boob and doesn't have gray hair, your thinking about it.

And, as I was reminded of my two years working in a middle school, girls think about sex from about 14 until some other age, although relative hunkiness is a factor.

This is St. Louis, we start thinking about the World Series in February. The craziness starts in October. It ends just in time to be disgusted by the Rams and to think fondly of the Greatest Show on Turf.

[heather graham]

Hank . . . candy corn by color?
Hm . . . you must have the neatest dresser drawers in the state of Massachusetts!

Sadly, I would learn to eat candy corn color by color if it could help with my housekeeping or lack thereof!

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Margaret, so you so right! But see, I think like stale candy corn better. It's chewier. Fresh candy corn is too--fresh.

[Reine]

Ooooooooooh . . . I forgot my most important fall ritual. I go on the hunt for new flavored lip gloss to keep my lips from getting all cracky and ugly. This year I must find the new apple pie au naturale and the pumkin spice delish.

[Deb]

I'm not crazy about Candy Corn but on the occasions when I DO eat it, I eat it color by color. (I thought EVERYBODY did it that way!)

[Reine]

Candy corn by color? Of course - especially the chocolate kind!

[Doc In CA]

I think it's totally cute that y'all think boys might ever think of something besides sex. That tablecloth could be tie dyed or camo or covered with food stains and we'd still be thinking how much we want to get naked with our date. Don't even get me started on what seeing a woman eat a popsicle or ice cream cone does.

[Reine]

Hank, Auntie-Mom taught me that the only way to eat candy corn was to buy it during October, put it up high in the pantry - out of sight - and have it the following October. Oh, and she always says never to buy it in September because sometimes stores put last year's out early. Auntie Barbara always did the squish test, but Auntie-Mom says that's not nice.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

AH, Reine...GREAT idea. xo

[Reine]

Margaret! Oh! Sorry Margaret and Hank . . . I meant Margaret on buying and storing candy corn!

[Reine]

Wait! I was right! Both of you on the candy corn storage thing. I am too excited! Can I brag? I have to buy a whole new fall wardrobe, because I've lost 70lbs since last year. Just pray I make it through the holidays this year!

[Deb]

Reine: Congratulations on your loss!!

[Reine]

Thanks, Deb! I'm trying not to celebrate my usual way - with food!

[Storyteller Mary]

Congratulations for all the self-discipline that represents.
I would think that if the stores put out last year's corn, that would just save you the step of waiting a year, or does it have to age in your own cupboard to work?

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

REINE!!!!!! Fantastic fantastic!!! Dancing and singing in Boston.. How wonderful!

(stay AWAY from the candy corn...)

And no worries about the holidays. You can resist--just remember how happy you are this moment! And who cares about eggnog and all that. Yuck. Been there, eaten that. Over.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

(Deb, that's truly funny...) xo

[Reine]

Storyteller Mary, thank you! No more candy corn for me. I must remember Hank's words about eggnog and all that! About the candy corn storage thing . . . Auntie-Mom says it isn't the same, because some stores put the same candy out year after year, and you just can't tell. She did risk it once in awhile when all the kids were little - but only at stores that sold left-over holiday candy for half price the previous year. Then she was pretty sure it was fresh and could buy extra to store in the pantry. Of course with all of us hanging around looking for cookies and candy at her house, she now admits to hiding it at Auntie Anna's in Milton.

[Paulina]

I've got two must-do fall ritual: buying winter clothes (for the kids) and gaining weight (for me). This year I was a bit ahead with the weight having started this honorable activity already back in spring.

I hate seeing summer off especially if it was just called "summer" like this year.

[Reine]

Thank you, Hank!!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! I will stay away from the candy corn. I will! I will!

It got much easier when I stopped rewarding weight loss with food. Clothes last longer than dessert and look much better now. I even feel better, and I never thought I would.

It got even better or easier(?) . . . no . . . more successful. I was more successful when I finally understood that I am always hungry. No diet, healthy or not, balanced or skewed, Pyramidal or Chinese medicine . . . no diet or exercise helps me with that. I just have to resist and track - assiduously - and that works for me.

I am imagining singing and dancing in Boston! Thank you Hank. xoxoxo

[gaylin in Vancouver]

I live in white shoes year round, of course they are sneakers and I pay darn good money for them so I wear them all the time!

Table linens, what are those, oh yeah, that plastic thing decorated with holly leaves that my mom puts on the table at christmas time . . .

I do have place mats and I always try to find the least stained ones to put on the table if I have company over.

Reine - 70 pounds! Awesome.

Vancouver has officially turned to autumn, it has been raining non-stop. I think mother nature is trying to power wash the leaves off the trees!

I don't know about anyone else here but peri-menopause has me thinking of sex all the time, regardless of the fact that I don't own table linens.

[Margaret Maron]

Reine, that's fantastic. Big cheers (and no candy corn!)

[Reine]

Gaylin, thank you! And you are truly funny with your tablelinens comments . . . least-dirty placemts . . . hahahahahaaa!

[Reine]

Maragret, thank you! No candy corn, for darn sure.

[Paulina]

Reine,70 poinds. Fantastic!!! Respect!

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Reine! That is sooo fabulous! Congratulations. Is it ok to hate you because I'm jealous? :-)

Want a wonderful way to eat candy corn? Make it taste like a PayDay candy bar. Take a bag of candy corn, mix with a jar/can of peanuts (dry roasted or salted, your preference) and enjoy. Proportions are at your discretion. Tastes just like a PayDay.

My personal favorite Halloween candy are the pumpkins. Can't get enough of them. I won't even go down the aisle with the Halloween candy to avoid them.

[gaylin in Vancouver]

My favourite halloween candy are the molasses kisses or chews - whatever they are called. I loved them and no one else did so I got mine, theirs, yum.

[Harley]

Yes, I too eat candy corn color by color. And pardon my ignorance, but aren't those pumpkins simply a plumper, larger version of candy corn?

I love how quickly table linens degenerated into sex talk.

[Reine]

Paulina, but you are in France. If I were there, I would be less in control. :)

Pam aka SisterZip, thank you. I am honored to be hated for a good reason!

I am lucky not to be in Salem right now, because if I were, there is the "Olde Pepper Candy Companie," right around the corner from where I stay. I would be miserable knowing there was a huge stock of peanut butter and molasses salt water taffy in there! By the time I go home I hope to be in top control mode.

[Deb]

When I first read this blog this morning I remembered that I have a second set of linen napkins tucked away in a closet somewhere. (Or is it a second set of placemats? I have trouble remembering to use the first set, and as for the tablecloths, all of them are permanently stained from all of the many colorful food items I have spilled or dropped on them over the years. There is a reason my friends say "I pulled a Deb" whenever they spill anything.)

[Storyteller Mary]

Sounds like time to tie-dye those tablecloths!
BTW, did Mr. T lose his "next" and "previous" icons. Good thing we know where they are supposed to be, cause that tiny little squiggle isn't much to go on (or is that just on MY computer?)
At least Valnet got my email working again, and said that leaving to teach aqua-aerobics was "cool."

[Laraine]

Hank, you totally made me laugh out loud ("pouring water on my shoes. Go away!"), in my office, so thank heavens the last patient had gone for the day!

But, did your orange shoes survive??? Inquiring minds want to know.

Since nobody else ventured into sex territory, and I'm not usually the one to lead that discussion, I'll just mention that one of the things I would like best about fall if I were currently with a man is that summer sex is sweaty, and fall sex is, by virtue of the cooler climate, not so sweaty. Experience varies by individual: no guarantees implied or promised.

I don't so much prepare for fall in decor as I remove summer stuff--the bright, Miami-colors-striped tablecloth goes into the cupboard; the matching pitcher and napkins, ditto. I only have white sneakers, no other white shoes, but I feel odd and apologetic wearing the white sneakers into the fall.

Unlike Karen and other remarkable souls, I forget to decorate for all non-Christmas holidays until the day is suddenly here . . . and I seldom pull out the Christmas lights and decorations until after Dec. 5th or 10th. I get cranky when I hear holiday music too early in the year, but I love to hear it exactly in the last two weeks of December.

[Laraine]

Oops, my IOCHFTS comment neglected the tablecloth discussion that had already started. Notice, I mentioned a bright, Miami-colors-striped tablecloth without a single inkling of what a guy might or might not think about its presence or its absence (on the table!). Hmmm. Now I have to go contemplate. Yes, that little << symbol is, um, teeny.

[Storyteller Mary]

. . but we all know that size does not matter . . . ;-)

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Reine! I love you. xoox

And listen to this! We used new plates at dinner tonight! Really fun. And all thanks to you all.

And yes, thank you..the shoes survived. Without even a watermark...

oxo

[Reine]

Hank, XOXO!

[Harley]

Hank, did you REALLY go out and buy new plates, inspired by the blog? And thank God the orange shoes survived. I think they deserve their own post.

Yes, Mary, it IS small and I'm not sure that size doesn't matter. Unless one is wearing one's . . . reading glasses.

[Reine]

Hank! I love you, too. xoox