Ever since the weather turned chilly, I’ve been in a funk. It is not terminal, and I do pop out of it here and there, but late October is perhaps my worst time allergy-wise, and on top of that, my body does not deal with cold well at all. I start to dread snow, and we have not even had a hard frost.

I have been like a toddler who needs a nap, and I’m not liking myself much in this state. At least as an adult, I can see the mood and take a few actions toward turning the mood around.

Yesterday, I had the best of attitude adjustments when I met the lovely and talented Sharon P of KnitKnacks, for tea at the wonderful Gone Wired Cybercafe. We knit and talked and smiled and laughed, and petted each others’ knitting. She is a sunbeam in my life!

Today I had a small gift of a morning off. I had a class which cancelled at last minute. This meant I got to sleep longer, at least theoretically. And that meant that I didn’t have to stay up significantly past midnight making a pumpkin pie.

You see, my family is having Thanksgiving today. Eric and I both usually have Tuesdays off, and Mom travels a lot, and this just ended up being the best time for us to get together. So now I can start my day making pie. I’m not really alert for several hours after I wake up, in general, but I’ve made enough of this particular pie that I can do it in a half-zombie state, I’m sure.

Then my plan is to go for a walk. While I’m home working I decided to play some James Taylor. He always makes me feel calmer inside when I’m feeling rough. And then a walk will be good, since it’s sunny and the colors are starting to show. I think we won’t have much real color this year. There are huge areas where everything is still green, and yet some trees are losing leaves before they even turn. Yet a walk in sunshine, even with just a bit of color, will be just the ticket to make me smile again.

I went out several days ago and took photos a few blocks away behind our house, and took some photos. The first one here is facing west, lots of color. The second is from the same general vantage point, but looking mostly east. No color at all! Same day, same spot. And more areas look like the second photo this year, than the first.

But a walk in the sun will be good for me. I can take my knitting with me and I’ll be happier, for sure. I’m knitting on another sample mitten for my “Design Your Own Colorful Mittens” class at Threadbear starting tomorrow, 11-1:30 for 2 (or 3, optionally if the students want more time) weeks. Anyone else want to join us? I’m excited about the class. I have not done enough with colorful knitting lately, mostly I’ve knit with one color or at best stripes. This one is colorwork in the “stranded” or “fairisle” technique. It’s really relaxing and so satisfying!

Off to make pie, listen to Sweet Baby James (who is no longer a baby but a calming adult presence) and then walk. Then a long bubble bath and I think I’ll be in a reasonable mood for seeing my precious family for Thanksgiving Dinner. I will end the day with Mid-Michigan Knitting Guild, as well. It’s bound to turn around, don’t you think?

Photos: 1) View West with color, 2) View east with green only, 3) autumn leaf on someone else’s groomed green lawn, 4) our house with maple tree in front turning color. This tree is usually one of the most electric-orange trees in the neighborhood. I took a photo 2 years ago of the same tree, same week of the month, and you can see it was much more orange that year.