Monday, September 17, 2007

I hope this song won't end soon

BOOM, fall is here. On Friday, the weather was as it has been since we got here on August 5th. Hot, slow, syrupy, thick. At night was the deafening chirp of nine million June bugs, which we could hear loud and clear because we slept with the bedroom window wide open and there's a tree less than a foot away.

But sometime Friday night, it got chilly. And Saturday had a definite... lightness to it. Last night we closed the window, and all that was out there were a few hagged-out crickets.

Then tonight? When we went on our walk? I had to wear my zip-up sweatshirt. And you had to kind of walk fast at first, so you wouldn't feel too chilly.

Who knows? Maybe it'll warm up again, but it feels fall-y out there now. Which is exciting for me, because I have not experienced a seasonal change since I wore long underwear as fashionable tights under cutoffs.

I moved to LA in early 1997, and I was in Seattle before that, which definitely had a change of seasons. But it's been 15 years since I lived in the land of seasons. The land known as Michigan.

Autumn to me feels so...retro. Maybe I should start wearing bodysuits again. Or not.

Today I am immensely grateful for my friends; those who have stuck with me this year even though they have not gotten any gifts, and those I have made this year while blogging. It was Marvin Garden's idea for me to blog about this year, and I poo-pooed the idea at first. Blogging. Okay. Maybe I could join one of those virtual reality worlds, too.

But I love it! Just today, I received a 1978 gossip magazine with Barry Gibb photos in it from faithful reader Kelly Garrett, who really only knows me through my blog.

My friend Dottie sent me a lovely note to cheer me, after she read here that I was blue. My sister-in-law sent me a PERFECT book, my mother just sent me beauty aids and such, because she knows I can't buy any, and my mother-in-law is sending me her hair conditioners for the same reason.

Without this blog, or bog, as Renee's mother would continue to say, I would not know dcrmom, stie, brownyn, jtcosby, kellie, fullyoperationalbattlestation, lara, Catherine, frankie -- and do you like how I have to keep everyone's names upper- or lowercase depending on how they write them in my comments? Could I be ANY BIGGER of a proofreading nerd?

Anyway. We decided to not spend for a year to see what it would be like. I had no idea it could be rewarding like this.



I leave you with this lovely photo taken at the wedding we went to earlier this year. The bride -- who I am also grateful to and who is still waiting for her gift -- just sent it to me. It encapsulates our views on dancing completely. Look at your June, there, shaking her groove thing, and those rather large hips. And then poor Marvin, thinking, "How long 'til this song is over? Will she like the next song? Are there any friends who look like they'd join her for the next number? When are her FEET gonna get sore? Will she ever stop?"

22 comments:

Tamara said...

You are so cute! No more negative self-talk!!! :) That is your new goal for the rest of the year!!! I say it is true, it is true.

I hope you don't stop blogging just because the year may eventually someday possibly come to an end...you have to have more to talk about, I mean seriously, you moved from BIG city to small town...that in and of itself gives you blog fodder!

Do you LOVE my run-on sentences? They must really drive you insane! ;)

Anonymous said...

And *I* am so happy to have "met" you! You do NOT have large hips. Not one bit. Only a few more months to go! But promise you won't stop blogging, ok? It would be too mean to all your new friends.

By the way, this is my first "fall" in the land of no seasons and I'm seriously disoriented. What on earth am I supposed to wear? They have WOOL sweaters in the shops. HELLO? It's 90 degrees out there. I'll grant you that it's cooler than the 93 that were the summertime temps, but I'm not sure I could handle a wool sweater! Do I just continue with t-shirts and jeans for the rest of my life?

June Cutoff Cash said...

Bronwyn,

The jean jacket and the hoodie are your new friends. You wear the T and the tank with these new friends. Ignore the wool. Step back from the wool.

Lisa said...

Glad you enjoyed the book, check out all of her non fiction. She is a riot.

Anonymous said...

As someone who has lived in North Carolina (as well as all 4 states that border it) I assure you, temperatures will reach 90 degrees again before they sink down for real. Don't pack away those tank tops yet!

Unknown said...

I am so grateful to know you too! :)

And I agree with jtcosby and bornwyn, I have already lamented to The Mister that it will be so sad if you stop blogging after the big "experiment" is over!

I am so glad that it is getting cooler where you are, especially with all the heat you guys have had...Are the leaves changing yet?

kellie

PS: The Mister and I were playing scrabble this weekend and I tried really hard to use your new word: Sparklefraffle. But apparently, in Scrabble I am only allowed seven tiles. Whatever!

Anonymous said...

I think those bugs are Katydids (I'm not sure how that's spelled). When we used to go to Black Mountain to visit my aunt and uncle those things would drive me CRAZY. I would try to sleep with the pillow wrapped around my head the noise was sooooo loud and that was with the windows CLOSED!

Don't pack those t-shirts yet. There will be Indian Summer and it will be hot again for a few days. The fall is the greatest time of the year here in the south.

Don't stop blogging! Just because your spendless year comes to an end doesn't mean you won't have lots of things to blog about, especially in that little town. As you make more friends you'll have more bloggy stuff to share. Your blog is one of my favorite places to visit each day.

June Cutoff Cash said...

tee! I totally should have mentioned you in that group, too!

Yeah, what are Katydids? I thought they were birds. Now I have to Google.

Christie said...

I, too, am glad to know me some June. What would I do without my daily dose of sarcastic wit? I loves it. And you better not stop just because the year will end at some point. Blog on, baby!

Anonymous said...

Dear June,

You forgot to mention the calendar that we sent you...

We hope you liked it.

Anonymous said...

The bugs to which you are referring are probably cicadas...They are the ones who make the buzzing sounds that can be so loud. We had them in Michigan, too. Remember?

Anonymous said...

I just started reading your blog, starting at the beginning and working forward. Imagine how many hours that took. I enjoyed it and admire your stick-to-it-iveness coupled with self-forgiveness after spending lapses. Or is that non-spending lapses? Lapses in non-spending?

The Chicago suburbs are my original home, and I have lived in NC since 1978. I highly recommend it.

I agree with earlier posters about the nighttime insects. At the beginning of the hot evenings you might be hearing cicadas, but later on that pulsing noise is from katydids who tend to 'sing' in unison. It's one of the best things about nighttime in my weird opinion. My mother says that if the cicadas sing in the evening, that means the next day will be hot.

Elsie -- an hour NW of Charlotte

Anonymous said...

Does Marvin Gardens have a blog? If so, it would be interesting to read what he says about teaching in NC.
Elsie again

gramakas said...

Didn't you get any rain last week? We ended my hubby's bike trip in Asheville and his last day down the Parkway got rained out. Asheville received 3 1/2 inches of rain in 24 hours. We are happy to be back home in our desert... hopefully all the moss that grew on our suitcases will dry up and fall off! BTW, I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to sleep with the cicadas in the trees at bedtime -- and we didn't have the windows open! But the scenery was lush and beautifully green... everyone told us it will be fabulously colorful in just a couple of weeks. Then you will really enjoy this FALL time of year in the 4-season world.

Anonymous said...

It must be the weather cuz there is a serious case of the blues goin round blobbing land. Since you get me off my arse by your latest comment on my blob, I'll do the same for you. You're the best! My most favorite blobber! And I'm glad we are internet friends too.

And I LOVE the picture. I am SUCH a dancer as well.

Jamie

Anonymous said...

Good information about the jean jackets and the hoodies. I'm set for jean jackets, and I carry a hoodie in the car at all times for when I go to a public place and am freezing from the excessive a/c!

Catherine said...

You are a TOTAL proofreading nerd AND a dancing queen! Great picture, great blog, and happy Fall weather!

Anonymous said...

June, I too thought the bug sound you heard was cicadas. However, I googled june bugs and the noise described for the said bug was BUZZING...just as you wrote. It is their flapping wings that make a buzzing sound.

Cicadas do buzz in late summer here in Michigan.

Is a Katydid like a grasshopper or a locust? I must goolge as well. I think they are green.

Musings of a Housewife said...

I just love that picture! And of course your commentary.

Ahhh, the land of the seasons. Ain't it grand? It just turned fall here to. It's a bit too cold for me, frankly. Can I be any more of a whiner?

Lara said...

I'm touched and after 19 comments feeling very unoriginal but I add my plea....DON'T STOP BLOGGING AT YEARS END! You are definitely part of my morning routine! And that is saying alot cause I don't do anything routinely! I love your humor, honesty, transparency (even under an assumed name), and I admire your ability to not spend!

Anonymous said...

Kelly knows you from more than your blog! Lunch with Grandma...time in lovely Burbank...but yes, there sure could have been other times if you would have driven over a time or two.. I know how you loved driving about town.

Is there any mention of me and Kelly in your gossip mag?

Anonymous said...

oh, and it's suddenly fall here too. Although I'm not exactly sure we had summer. Maybe you could come over and carve my pumpkin for me? I'll dye your Easter eggs for you in return.