When I walked outside this morning, it was though the earth had been waiting for that precise moment when the calender flipped from September 30 to October 1.  After months and months of never-ending summer, the breeze touched my skin with the slightest briskness of early-autumn chill {and even that's enough to forgive the afternoons back in the nineties}.
  I'll readily admit that October is my second favorite month of the year {after December, of course}.  Much as I enjoy the hot relaxation of June and July, nothing can beat the absolute thrill of walking into Bath and Body to the delicious aromas of pumpkin and cinnamon and nutmeg and apple and caramel all mixed together.   Hardly anything is better than being able to pull out the scarves and boots and sweaters, and my oh my is it great to launch into the end-of-the-year holidays.  From Halloween to el Dia de los Muertos to Thanksgiving to Black Friday to Christmas and finally New Years, the whole city of Phoenix will spend the next three months bustling with festivals, and how I can't wait to snuggle up with family/friends, watch cheesy movies, sing pretty songs, and decorate the house with first ghouls and then Nativities.   
So with a glass of Martinelli's in hand {since it's just a little too early for hot chocolate or eggnog} here's a cheer to the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year.