wood, it heats you up twice

This time of year always reminds me of an unfaithful lover slipping out in the night.

If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even realize that summer had left and fall had greedily filled up the space. 

I love fall.  I truly do.  Once I can get over the sadness of losing sun-drenched days when my biggest concern (aside from not losing my mind) is where to go swimming.  I like sweatshirts, crisp air, wood fires, fresh apples, a reprieve from lawn mowing and an early discussion of Halloween costumes as much as the next girl, yet each year I look at fall and think, "Yeah, but you're not summer." 

In the great seasonal score card, falls gets brownie points from me this year just for the relief of not needing to be quite so creative about exercising.  I can now exercise while the kids are at school and I no longer have to leave the house in the dark at 4:45 A.M. only to return in the dark at 5:30.  Lots of dangers lurk in the pre-dawn and it's not cars I worry about.

Yes, in case you are wondering, I have a real fear of being sprayed by a skunk.

One of the other hallmarks of autumn is our annual wood stacking party!  We used to move all of this wood alone and then we got smart.  Have 3 cord of wood delivered. Call your friends. Then call for pizza delivery.

 

Among our circle, friendship knows no limits.  The Smith's came despite Matt's dedication to Sunday football.  And he didn't just load wood.  He helped split some for the fire pit.  It was a welcome sight to see a man doing some labor around our house for a change.  Matt makes an excellent surrogate husband for us.

 

Ella hooked Matt up with her radio so he could listen to the game in the basement while he stacked wood.  Yes, our seven-year-old let Matt borrow her boom box.

 

Sandi was thrilled to be participating in normal life.  You never saw someone so excited to stack wood.



Ange and her trusty side kick.



Billy and Ashley, wood stacking party newbies, were a huge help!



Emilie, who just finished a Half Ironman (totally amazing!), was loading wood like it was no one's business.  At one point she said, "I'm going to PR the next trip."  True story.



Kim came late, but as she said in the message she sent indicating her delay, "I am worth the wait."  Even if Kim didn't lift a single log but just sat there and laughed her infectious laugh, she would have boosted productivity.

The kids were super motivated to help out this year.  I don't know if they remembered getting paid last year or maybe they heard me say, "We will pay you," but they were going to town.

 





Kaylee



Kendall

 

Brady




Anna was on self-appointed Cinderella duty.



I don't know if the Smith's were hard up for cash or what, but even Beckett joined in the cause.



Maya was probably the hardest working kid and I got no good pictures of her.  Here you see her, dedicated and safety conscious, helping rake up the detritus with Anna and Matt.

Before we knew it, it was time for pizza and payment.


 They all gave me a hug but perhaps they had no choice since I gave them each $3.

 With just a small pile of wood left to move the following day once a new space could be made to stack it, we took our pizza and beer (smores, not Pumpkinhead for the kids)  to the campfire.  Ella had brought her doll out and was very protective of it (not an ideal toy for a party, I realized belatedly).  She asked Tia to guard it but it got stolen under Tia's momentarily distracted watch which made Tia redouble her efforts.  The gaggle of interested kids and the appraising eyes of her niece made her a tad nervous.

The next day, with Maya's assistance and unbridled enthusiasm, we made quick work of the remaining pile.

From this:

to this:

Thank you to all our friends who helped us this year!  You make even manual labor fun and festive and we love you for it.  You can warm your toes by our fire anytime. 

Actually the thought of a crackling fire sounds kind of appealing.  And applesauce bubbling on the stove.  Fleece zip ups and leaves the color of gold.  Maybe I can get into the idea of fall after all.