Taste of fall

I'm really running behind. Things have been so hectic at work that I haven't even been able to discuss the weather: it is now in full-fledged Fall mode here. The windows are open during the day, but closed at night because it is too cold! Actually, it is warm upstairs where we don't open the windows (no screens), but we shut them at night anyway because we don't want the dogs to get cold and uncomfortable.

We celebrated the arrival of fall by - what else? - going shopping. Some part of me feels guilty and ashamed for being such a consumer, but the rest of me doesn't care anymore. It's who I am and it makes me happy. I'll deal with the issues of being such a consumer and materialist later and in a different venue, but for now, we'll have to accept that I enjoy shopping. And it isn't so much the buying that I love, but the predictable changes in home furnishings, clothing and food that have, for most of my life, stood in substitute for physical seasons. I know it is fall when Old Navy starts to sell sweaters I won't buy and when Target sells pumpkin-shaped soup tureens. And when Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale is on sale. Last year we were tormented when Central Florida had apparently blown through the first shipment of this fine product. We saw it for a few days and did not buy it immediately. When we were ready for it, it was not to be found! Granted, we did not exactly canvas the entire region - we checked our local Publix Supermarkets and a few liquor shops. Really, it wasn't that big of a deal. But when we did find it, we bought a full case of it. It's a great beer. Kind of gimmicky, but it tastes like fall.

Also Einstein Brothers Bagels' pumpkin bagel. I miss that. I really do. There are a fair number of differences between Orlando and Raleigh. Most are minor, and in many cases I prefer Raleigh over Orlando. In the cases where I prefer Orlando, most are things that I have grown accustomed to and simply find replacements for. Florida's free market of liquor versus North Carolina's prohibition-era laws (NC actually has several dry counties!), for example, is something that I can get used to. It isn't as though I can't get plenty of liquor here. But Einstein Bagels is something that is irreplaceable. We tried Bruegger's, which is okay, but just not the same. And because it is such a similar restaurant, the differences are stark. I miss Einstein. Please, if you live near an Einstein, go and have a pumpkin bagel (toasted, with plain schmear) before they are gone. And tell me how delicious it was!